Chapter 7
7
I didn’t leave the hotel. I fell into a state of numbness that lasted for days. I didn’t eat, barely drank, and did nothing as I stayed in my king-sized bed.
The phone rang entirely the first day, until it died from lack of charging.
After that disastrous lunch with Cain, I had nothing to look forward to. No reason to try. The days filtered in and out as I suffered in my lonesome. There was no escaping this dreadful union. No way out of this mess I hadn’t made.
Well, it wasn’t entirely true. I could walk away from everything: my penthouse, my inheritance, and my family. I wouldn’t lie and say leaving my belongings and money behind would be an easy feat, but it was my parents that left me gutted at the thought of leaving them for good. At walking away and never speaking to them. Especially with my father’s illness.
I was in an awkward situation and it left me sick to my stomach.
Heavy knocks sounded at my front door. Easily heard due to the static silence in my penthouse.
I guessed it was housekeeping. I’d shooed them away Tuesday morning when they attempted to come and clean. I’d wanted to be alone.
Now, perhaps they were doing a wellness check.
My phone was dead, but the calendar on the wall said it was Friday. The frosted glass clock nearby said it was just past twelve.
Huh.
The knocking was still going.
I climbed out of bed and padded out of my bedroom to get the front door in my ivory silk pajamas. My hair was still wrapped up under my scarf. Usually, when I was on my game, I didn’t allow anyone to see me like this, but I was beyond caring about my appearance at this point.
I reached the front door and didn’t bother checking the peephole as I unlocked it. I stood back and pulled the door open, prepared to tell housekeeping to fuck off.
Only, it wasn’t housekeeping knocking.
It was Cain.
My morally questionable fiancé.
Like always, he was sporting a suit, this one a three-piece indigo wool suit with a striped silver and navy tie that really did it for him. Cain looked impeccable in a suit. It wasn’t a surprise he’d been photographed candidly in style sections of gossip magazines and gossip pages online. He was bringing the suit and tie aesthetic back tenfold. His suits didn’t outweigh him. He wore them with confidence and a swagger most men would envy.
On paper, and in a photo, we did make sense together stylistically. My style was professional—dresses, blouses, and slacks. A look I’d always adored and obsessed over after growing up watching my father and mother go out to dinner or cocktail parties.
Still, even if we looked good together, it didn’t mean we were good for each other.
Cain’s men were hard to miss, as I spotted Beans and another man flanking the elevator and watching the hall for passersby.
I didn’t bother greetingmy future husband. Instead, I glowered at him, wanting him to get the hell on with whatever reason he’d stopped by.
He took his time in front of me, examining me in my state of dress. That morning, when I’d washed my face and brushed my teeth, I momentarily rejoiced that I hadn’t developed bags under my eyes or dark circles. My grim mind hadn’t taken my appearance yet.
“Can I come in?” Cain asked after a pause.
“If I say no?” I challenged.
“Then we can talk like this,” he said simply. He remained standing in my doorway peacefully as he stared at me, face hard to read. “I was out of line the last time we saw each other, and it’s unacceptable. I’m sorry.”
I couldn’t control my impulse to roll my eyes. “I don’t want to hear your apology. It means nothing, because we’re still engaged.”
“Fair point,” Cain admitted.
Even if he looked and sounded remorseful, I wasn’t moved. “So don’t bother starting off a cycle of doing wrong and apologizing.”
Cain peered into my eyes. “I don’t make apologies, Kennedy.”
Somehow, that felt fitting for what little I knew of his character. He ruled his business with an iron fist. He didn’t apologize for anything. Yet, he gave me that grace. “I should feel so special.” My eyes traveled to the plastic takeout bag in his hands. “What’s that?”
He extended the bag toward me. “Someone told me you haven’t left this hotel in days, and I wasn’t sure if that meant you were eating or not. It’s a bourbon salmon dish.”
I folded my arms. “I don’t want it.”
Cain did me one better by reaching past me and looping the bag on my doorknob. The food did smell good, and it was nice he was considerate of my diet.
Cain wasn’t fazed by my attitude as he stood back and moved along with his visit. “Listen, I’m going to Vegas for a while.”
“Ah, business? Of the requiring infant-size coffin variety?”
Cain snorted softly. “Of the casino variety.”
If I was stuck with this man for the rest of my life, I didn’t want to be played for a fool.
“Don’t lie to me,” I told him. “Just tell it to me straight. If you’re going to do something heinous, I’d rather hear that than some lie. If you’re going to screw some other woman, you can tell me that too.”
Cain’s eyes snapped to mine. “I’d never cheat on you.”
“Said every man ever,” I let out sardonically.
He grimaced. “I’m. Loyal.”
The finality and anger laced in his two words said enough. Cain was monogamous. This engagement was a sham, and yet I’d already stepped out.
“Okay,” I said in the end.
Cain ran his thumb along his bottom lip, studying me some more.“Have you seen your father?”
My heart clenched in my chest and all my emotion bubbled to the surface. “No.”
“Every second counts, Kennedy,” Cain said gently. “Damon’s a tough guy. He’s definitely putting on a brave face through this all, but he strikes me as the sentimental type when it comes to you. He didn’t…relent to this deal so easily. Despite the circumstances between you and me, you should see and be with your father as much as you can.”
His words seized my heart in a grip I couldn’t shake. Maybe, in some small way, he could understand the harsh reality of losing a parent. After all, he’d lost two. “You must regret getting to James so late.”
Cain averted his gaze and placed his hands in his pockets. “Let’s not compare notes.”
Or maybe he couldn’t relate, as he’d never known his father intimately.
Still, it was nice of him to try to smooth things over between my father and me. This whole situation was daunting considering my father’s illness. And asshole or not, Cain had a heart enough to understand that.
I didn’t know what to say, because despite the dark side of him I’d seen Monday, there was no denying his thoughtful side.
I grabbed the bag of takeout and examined it. “Thank you.”
Cain shrugged. “What’s your favorite fish?”
I gave him a small smile. “Salmon, actually. Good call.” I supposed it would’ve been nice to ask him about his taste as well. “What about you? What’s your favorite thing to eat?”
Cain was taken by surprise, though he recovered quickly. “Steak.”
“How do you like it?”
A dark glow passed through his eyes. “Guess.”
Because this was going too keenly for my liking, I got back to basics. How would the Devil like his meal? “Bloody,” I decided. “Medium rare.”
Cain grinned, wagging his finger at me. “Good guess.”
I took a step back, closer into my home, placing a much-needed barrier between us. This was too strange and bizarre. Almost civil, even. “Well, have a nice trip, Cain.”
He tipped his head at me, eyes once more solemn and serious. “Remember what I said, don’t embarrass me.”
“Wouldn’t dream of it,” I let out dryly.
Cain’s vision drifted to where I was wringing my hands before me. “And don’t let me catch you without your ring again.”
My eyes trailed to my naked ring finger. With or without his gaudy ring, I knew I was tethered to him. Stuck in this lifelong arrangement until death-do-us-part. “Anything else?”
A lopsided frown briefly coasted his full lips. “Go see your father.”
Perhaps that was the hardest part of this. The severed tie between my father and me. The way there was no going back after what he’d done in throwing me to this man I didn’t know, didn’t love, and didn’t want.
But there was no denying Cain was right. Every second counted.
After a curt nod from me, Cain turned and made his way toward the elevator. Once there, he glanced back at me, studying me.
I gave a tight-lipped smile before grabbing the takeout, stepping further into my suite and shutting the door behind me.
I tossed the bag in the nearby wastebasket and padded back to bed, ready to resume my depression nap.