Chapter Thirty-Seven
Kiyah
Two Weeks Later
Cinderella? Fuck him.
Me: I’ll be there.
“We tried doing what you wanted for the past seven years, and it didn’t work out. It’s my turn now.”
Fuck him. And fuck me too while we’re at it.
I folded faster than the speed of sound, like I knew I would.
Grant’s proposition to be my sneaky link was all the confirmation I needed that we had serious issues that could only be resolved by a professional.
As asinine as his suggestion was, I could easily envision a life full of deception, false smiles, and fabricated business trips that were fronts for romantic getaways with my stepbrother. We had no option but to make this work.
Grant: See to it that you are, or I’ll come find you.
Feeling a little playful, I bit my bottom lip and returned his text.
Me: You wouldn’t do shit if you found me.
My mouth gaped when I received another text a minute later. It was a picture of a belt wrapped around his hand. I licked my lips and groaned at the sight of the veins mapping his forearm and the thought of how the leather would sting against my ass.
I was about to text him back when I was interrupted by a ringing bell.
He wasn’t lying when he called me Cinderella.
Nori and Daisy had been running me ragged ever since Daisy was discharged from the hospital, and I wasn’t confident I’d make it five more weeks when Daisy was on her feet again. However, one of the things I was working on in therapy was making commitments and seeing them through.
The bell chimed again.
“Seriously, they could send a text,” I whined, dragging myself out of bed. “I’m coming, Drizella and Anastasia!”
I flew through my morning routine and met Nori in the kitchen. I was relieved that she’d at least started the coffee maker.
“Good morning, sis.” She grunted and returned to the list she was writing. I peered over her shoulder to read. “I see I’m making lasagna for dinner.”
“Daisy’s in the mood for your lasagna. I need to talk to her doctor about increasing the dosage of her pain meds. She’s not having a good morning.”
I chewed my bottom lip and refrained from telling her that there was nothing wrong with Daisy’s prescriptions and that her wife was stubbornly refusing them because she didn’t want to get “hooked.”
“Maybe that’s a discussion you should have with Daisy first.”
Nori glanced up from her list and narrowed her steely eyes at me.
“And normally I would, but she’s currently writhing in pain, which leads me to believe her judgment may not be the best.”
“Geez, I don’t want you in charge of my life support,” I mumbled under my breath.
“You’ve lived a privileged and adventurous life; pulling the plug will hurt me more than it’ll hurt you,” she responded nonchalantly. I would’ve balked at her coldness if it weren’t for the slight twitching at the corner of her lips.
“Stick to numbers because you’re not very funny. What do you and Daisy want for breakfast?”
“Eggs Benedict and fresh fruits.”
“Eggs Benedict? Girl, this isn’t The Waldorf.”
“We nearly died. You should be more compassionate, Kiyah.”
“Fine,” I drawled, trudging to the refrigerator to pull out the ingredients.
“Can you also pick up the dry cleaning?”
“Yes, ma’am. Anything else?”
“My new hearing aids are ready. I’d hate to assign you so many tasks, but I hate using my spares. They aren’t as comfortable as my everyday aids.”
“You don’t have to apologize. I don’t mind picking them up. Anything else?”
“Take my credit card and buy Kieran a housewarming gift—he has a registry.”
My brows joined in the middle of my forehead.
“Why the hell does he have a housewarming registry when he moved into an already established home? And why are we entertaining this?”
Nori shrugged. “I just want to point out how much you sound like your husband. But to answer your question, he’s the baby and gets what he wants. You can use my card to buy a gift from you, or will you and Grant give a joint gift?”
“Um….”
“Never mind—don’t tell me. I want to be surprised. Kieran’s housewarming party is this weekend.”
“So now there’s a party?” I asked incredulously.
“What’s the matter, Ki? I thought you liked parties?”
“I do, but—”
“Have you stopped to realize that maybe we are entertaining this because our family has been through hell recently? We found out that you and Grant were secretly married, Grant was forced into rehab, you were about to become First Lady to a psychopath, Daisy and I were attacked, and Granddad is dying. So, forgive us if we want to get together to have a bullshit party and fellowship with the family.”
Well… when she puts it like that….
“I’m sorry, Nori. I didn’t mean to upset you. You’re right. The past couple of months have been… formidable.”
She snorted, ripped the page from her notebook, and handed it to me.
“I’d say so. You haven’t heard from that creepy fucker lately, have you?”
“No, thank God. I have him blocked on everything, and he hasn’t reached out.”
Nori rubbed her temple with a free hand before saying, “That should be a good thing, but he doesn’t seem like a man who’d give up that easily.”
That’s what I’ve been keeping to myself. The fear that Todd was lying in wait until the perfect moment to strike. Something he said keeps coming back to me.
“It shouldn’t have happened like that.”
I shivered at the thought and focused on preparing breakfast.
* * *
“You don’t look so hot, Flower Power,” I whispered to Daisy, tapping out a few Tylenol into my hand.
She groaned as she shifted against the pillows.
“You don’t look so hot yourself,” she grumbled.
“You should worry about yourself instead of me. You need to take your narcotics because these Tylenol aren’t cutting it.”
“Yeah, fuck it. Give it to me.”
“Are you serious?” I asked cautiously, not expecting her to give in so quickly.
“Yeah, I feel like I’m dying here.”
I returned the tablets to the pill bottle.
“Good, because Nori planned on calling your doctor about upping your dosage.”
“Of course she would,” she replied, accepting the narcotics and a glass of water from me. She swallowed them down and returned the glass before resting against the new pillows Nori insisted I buy.
The doorbell rang.
“I swear to God, if another package arrives at this house, I’m wringing her neck.”
Since Daisy was discharged, Nori had been online shopping like it was going out of style.
She tended to go on little shopping sprees as a coping mechanism, but some of the expenses were a little ridiculous.
A few days ago, she purchased them new ski suits and skis for when they were ready to hit the slopes again, and a new set of top-of-the-line golf clubs to take to the country club.
“Be nice. She nearly watched her life partner die in front of her eyes. She’s coping the best she can. Maybe you should talk to her about therapy instead of wringing her neck.”
“I’ll talk to her about it because, knowing Nori, she’ll do something stupid like buy another boat, and then I’ll have to separate our finances. Imagine your money not being safe with a financial genius.”
“Kiyah! The door!” Nori shouted from somewhere in the house. I promptly left Daisy to answer the door to save my precious ears from Nori’s hollering. My breath caught when I glanced through the peephole.
Why is he here?
I opened the door and smiled when he produced a bouquet of pink roses from behind his back. I leaned against the doorjamb and crossed my arms over my chest.
“What’s the occasion?”
“Can’t a husband surprise his wife with her favorite flowers and spend the day with her?”
“He can, but I thought he planned on going to work today.”
“He changed his mind. Go put some clothes on, and let’s go. Apparently, we have to buy a housewarming gift for a bitch moving into an already established home. I don’t know why we’re entertaining this nonsense, but I don’t have any say in the matter.”
I shook my head and accepted the bouquet.
“Stop being cheap and buy your little brother a gift,” I teased.
“Cheap?” he squawked, following me into the house.
Getting Grant riled up always put a smile on my face, but his love and affection always warmed my heart.