31. Chapter 30
Chapter 30
Kaitlyn
The sheers lining the floor-to-ceiling windows in Griffin’s bedroom are allowing the morning light and first hint of warmth for the day when my eyes decide it’s time for me to be awake. The light fabric floats in the gentle breeze. The birds are singing a sweet song outside.
My head is nestled on Griffin’s shoulder. He was my chosen pillow after we finally decided we’d had our fill and needed sleep. I didn’t realize it could be like this with anyone. I sometimes get a chill when I think I almost told him to fuck off when he came to apologize. I think about all the goodness I would have missed had I acted in haste. I think my mother would have been proud I didn’t.
Griffin’s gentle heartbeat under my cheek is one of the most calming things I can think of. When we’re here, just us, this is what it’s all about. Gilly asked me to think about if I can handle anything the press could or would say about me or the family. The bottom line is I have to be. If I’m not, this is what I miss. This is what I won’t have. No words are worth depriving me of this. I’ll get better at it. I will.
My arms wrap tighter around my handsome Sleeping Beauty. That subtle movement is what gives me away. Within seconds, Griffin locks his hand under my thigh, tugging me in one swift motion flush against his entire body.
“Whoa,” I breathe.
“Mmm. You were too far away,” he growls sleepily.
“Six inches is too far away?”
“Yes.”
“Then who am I to argue?” I hook my leg over his body to get even closer. “How’s that?”
“Even better,” he grumbles sleepily then presses a kiss to the crown of my head.
“What are your plans today?” I ask him as I trace my fingertip over the indents that make up his abdomen. “Do you have to work?”
“It’s Sunday, baby. I’m not leaving this apartment or this bed unless I have to.”
I smile. “I was hoping you’d say that. I could really get used to this.”
“Good, because I don’t plan on letting you go. You’re stuck with me.”
“Don’t threaten me with a good time.” I shift a little and a delicious soreness makes itself known. “I certainly feel last night in my body.”
“Sore?”
“In the best way.”
“How about a decent soak in the tub? The guest bathroom has one where we can get the water all the way up to our necks without a fuss. I could even order us up some bubbles should the mood hit.”
“I can’t remember the last time I had a bath. Might have been at my parents’. You know, the claw-foot one. Ugh, I remember times after gymnastics I’d go in there until I was a prune.”
Griffin’s eyebrow raises slightly, along with the corner of his mouth. “A gymnast you say? I was wondering where your excessive flexibility comes from. I see it’s from years of practice in a way where I won’t have to harm anyone.”
I smack his chest lightly with the back of my hand. “I see we’ve hit the jealous portion of our relationship.”
“Baby, I was always jealous. I just wasn’t allowed to show it. You know, contract and all.”
“So it wasn’t jealousy at all with Wilder?” I tease.
“No. That old fart needed to be locked up for the way he spoke to and about you.”
I tuck the top of my head in under his chin. “You’re so confusing sometimes.”
He chuckles. “Not the first time I’ve heard that. Tell me specifically what you mean.”
“Well, you wanted to rip Wilder into little pieces for things he said and did, but the press, you tell me to ignore them. I don’t know. Sometimes the press has said worse things than he did. It’s confusing.”
“The press is vile, but they’re just trying to get clicks. If you shut them out, they can’t hurt you. Wilder was right there, in your presence, wanting to touch you, to disrespect you. He could have hurt you.”
I push myself to sit up and stare down at him. “You’d burn the world for me… wouldn’t you?” I ask him because the realization just sank into my chest. This is the kind of love I didn’t think was possible. It’s sitting right in front of me.
He sits up next to me but lowers his head a little so we are eye to eye. “I’d burn the world and throw myself onto the pyre for you.”
I shake my head, not even wanting to think of it, while throwing my arms around him. “I’m so in love with you.”
Griffin swiftly flips me over to my back. My hair puffs all around my face across the pillow. “I could live a whole life off of those six words.” His fingers play with my wrists before they move the hair next to my ear. “What if we did?”
“What if we did…what?”
“What if we tried to live the rest of our lives off it?”
I can feel the wrinkles in my forehead. “What if you were my forever?”
My breath catches in my throat. Is he really saying what I think he might be saying? Before I can even respond, our cell phones ring at nearly the same time. “Fuck’s sake,” he mutters as he climbs off me to reach for his while I reach for mine. “I’ll take this in my office,” he mutters angrily. “Shaw,” I hear him answer as he closes his office door.
My father’s unmistakable ringtone shatters the new silence I find myself in. After the quick time zone math, I’m realizing he’s up early, too early. “Dad. What’s wrong?”
“Kaitlyn…” he says gruffly.
He said my name, not Pixie. That means something isn’t right.
“Dad? What happened? Are you all right? Gillian?”
“Gillian is fine. Everyone is safe.” His voice is somber and a bit husky. He’s upset.
“You’re scaring me…”
“Have you checked your phone today?” he asks and I’m immediately confused.
“No? This is the first time I’ve touched it. Why?”
He sighs heavily. “How could you lie to me, Pixie?”
I sit up straighter. “Dad? What are you talking about?”
“Check your phone. I’m sure you have messages from your sister and friends.”
I place the call on speakerphone and see immediately that he’s right. I have hundreds of notifications that were clearly silenced overnight. I tap open the first one and I’m taken to a social media post containing a video. I don’t even have to click play to know what it is.
Griffin and I having sex on the balcony.
“Holy shit,” I breathe. “What is this? How did someone…?”
“I know you’ve had the birds and bees conversation long ago, clearly. I take it this was done without your knowledge.”
“Jesus Christ, Dad. Of course it was. How could you even ask that question?”
“Well, you lied about your relationship with Griffin to my face and under my roof. You made Gillian complicit in that lie to me and everyone as well. I’m not sure I know who you even are right now.”
His statement takes my breath away. “You what? Dad, I’m the woman you and Mom raised. I was always taught to help friends in need. I was taught people are innocent until proven guilty. I was taught you’d love me no matter what I could do. If any of that has changed, please let me know.”
I hear my father take a long, cleansing breath. “No. None of that has changed. How about you give me the short version of the truth?”
The sheet I’m holding to my chest starts to shake inside my fingers. “How I met Griffin, all the time we spent together, all the things we know about each other is absolutely true. The only part you don’t know is, his father is a manipulative piece of shit and wouldn’t give him his birthright at Orion unless he was in a committed relationship. I’m not going to break Griffin’s confidence about all the reasons why. He can tell you if you give him a chance to. All I can say now is what started out as a facade is now real. He is real. Daddy, I love him.”
“Pixie, I’m not even sure what to think anymore. I’ve seen more of you than any father ever should. I am angry, sad, and disappointed.”
I hang my head in shame. “How did you find out about the lie?”
“Keep opening articles and those Insta-whatevers. You’ll find out.”
I open another link, this time from Katarina and it’s a long article with still images of my naked body. My eyes quickly scan the words and see that an “anonymous source” confirmed our relationship started as a sham, or as they call it “a scheme to line my pockets and push Griffin ahead in his career.”
I look at the next link and close it when I see the word WHORE plastered over my face.
“I feel like I’m going to be sick.” I can feel the color draining from my face.
A distant door closing and footsteps pull my attention as I swing my head around to see Griffin marching into the room, his color not drained, but red with anger. “Let me.”
It wasn’t a question, but a soft demand. I need a minute to process and hope I don’t spew last night’s dinner everywhere in the process. “Hello, Sam.”
“Griffin, I don’t know that I can talk to you right now. I don’t take very well to people who encourage my child to lie, let alone to my face in my own home.”
“Let’s take this point by point, shall we? While she is your child, she is also an adult capable of making choices for herself. This was something we spoke about at length and she was comfortable with it. She even had it sealed contractually with NDAs. Clearly those don’t mean shit, and I will have balls in a jar on my desk when I sort out who dared to break them.
“Secondly, I cannot tell you how monumentally sorry I am for deceiving you in any way. I genuinely respect you and no matter what you might currently believe, I appreciate our candor and relationship.
“Lastly, and I’m sure Kaitlyn has likely reiterated this to you, I love your daughter. I don’t know when it happened exactly, but I would literally take a bullet for her. She is the sunshine in my life I didn’t know was missing. In this situation, I failed to protect her as I should have. I’ll fix this. I swear to you, on my honor as a man and hers at that.”
I can feel a knot forming in my throat as well as my stomach. I walk in a daze, clutching the sheet wrapped to my body, over to the balcony that was going to hold a private memory for us, but now it’s tainted for the whole world to see.
I slide the glass door open, needing the fresh air, and step outside.
I’ve barely placed my hands on the railing before I can hear the car horns calling for my attention. I look down and the streets outside of the building are covered by reporters, cameras, and people.
“Oh God,” I say, running back inside and slamming the glass closed. “Griffin…”
He’s still speaking with my father. “I understand. I promise, Sam, I won’t let her be hurt by this. Here’s Kaitlyn back for you.”
“Daddy?”
“Yes, Kaitlyn?”
“Please tell me you love me. That’s what I really need to hear right now.”
“I love you. I do. I need to go though. I just…I need to go. Goodbye, sweetheart.”
The line goes dead before I can say it back. I always say it back. It’s obvious he doesn’t want to speak to me right now.
I fight the urge to throw my phone at the floor in frustration and just stare at Griffin with tears in my eyes. “They’re everywhere.”
“Come here, baby.”
He holds his arms open for me and I practically fall into them. “He’s so mad,” I sob. “The free world knows as much about me as my gynecologist does, and more. How did we get here?”
“We got here because we were violated. A motherfucking prick violated you. I’ll fix this, Kaitlyn. I promise you.”
“How?” I scream. “Tell me how you can fix this.”
“Shhh. Take a moment. Think. I’m going to ask you to do something you won’t want to do right now, and that’s to take all of the emotion out of this and put on your legal hat. With that hat on, what is the first thing we should do?”
I know what he’s doing. He’s trying to give me my power back. I love him for it, but I don’t know if all the injunctions in the world will be able to repair the damage done.