Chapter 8

KISAREL.

I felt like a whore.

And the worst part was that I had no one to blame but myself. I was the one who made the first move on Mr. Stark. Me. With my own two hands and whatever was left of my dignity that night. So I had no right to feel cheap and hollowed out and stupid.

His cold dismissal had volumes I didn't prepare for. I mean, not that I expected anything other than returning to being boss and employee, but his sudden coldness?

I wiped off that stubborn tear again with the back of my palm as I pushed the front door open.

The moment I stepped foot into the living room, I immediately wished I had spent the entire night with the cold, grumpy Mr. Stark rather than return home.

"Good evening, Freda," I greeted my Aunt, who looked as if she'd been sitting with her anger long enough that it had curdled into something specific and targeted.

"Where are you coming from?" She stood up from the couch, her red, glossy lipstick catching the lights above her.

Moonie sat with her legs crossed, ready for another show tonight. I was the only entertainment they had.

"Freda, I told you before I left - I was on a business trip with my boss." I heard how flat my voice was. I didn't have the energy to dress it up tonight.

"And what makes you think you have any right to be anywhere that close to Oceans?" She kept moving toward me as she spoke, closing the distance one slow step at a time, and I knew what was coming. I'd seen that walk before.

Before I could form my thoughts, her palm collided with my face in a resounding slap.

I pressed my hand to my cheek and said nothing. There was nothing to say. Saying something only extended it.

"What have you been telling him?" she demanded. "Why isn't he answering Moonie's calls?"

"I didn't tell him anything." My jaw was tight. "He's been busy. We were at the office all evening."

I tried to explain.

"It was just a business trip. I was made his personal assistant. I..." My throat closed, and the sob came out before I could stop it, which I hated. I hated crying in front of them. It always gave them something.

Moonie looked down at her phone and brightened. "Mum. Someone just confirmed that Oceans has been at the office all evening." She looked up with a bright smile.

Freda's whole body relaxed. "That's good news. He wasn't ignoring you after all," she smiled before she turned back to me, and the warmth left her face just as fast as it had come. "And you..."

I stared at her blankly.

"If he ever finds out about Moon and Jace, kiss whatever is left of your inheritance goodbye." She spat before going to take her seat.

I almost scoffed.

Whatever is left? As if there was anything left. My uncle had walked into my father's life the moment my father stopped breathing and helped himself to everything - the company, the houses, every asset that had my parents' names on it.

I'd tried twice to speak to my father's attorney to really understand my father's will, but he kept shutting me out.

But I understood enough to know that every time Freda made that threat, she was counting on me not knowing the full picture.

I nodded and turned to leave.

"Spend some days with Jace," she called after me. "Go and apologize to him. Make things right."

I stopped and turned around slowly.

Did she even think for a second that Jace and Moonie owed me an apology? Why should I be the one apologizing?

"Wait... What?" I scoffed, "Jace should be the one apologizing here. I wasn't the one who was caught cheating."

Freda turned her attention fully to me again. "Don't be ridiculous. Jace is a man. Men are polygamous in nature."

"And my cousin had to be the one he practiced polygamy with?" I argued, even though I tried my best to keep my voice as even as possible.

"Moon is every man's dream." She said it so easily. So completely without shame. "Get over it and move on. He'll be here in thirty minutes to pick you up, so go and get dressed."

I stood there for a moment, looking at her, and I thought about all the things I could say. All the things that were true and deserved to be said out loud in this room to this woman who had moved herself and her daughter into my life and made herself comfortable on top of everything that should have been mine.

But I said none of them. Instead, I argued for my sanity.

"But I just returned from a long trip and went straight to the office," I argued, unable to believe how much my life didn't belong to me anymore, "I'm exhausted. Mr. Stark has an eight AM meeting tomorrow, and I can't afford to be late. I..."

"Jesus sweet Christ!" Moonie finally spoke, slamming her palm on the couch, "Do you ever stop nagging?" She turned to face me, "Get ready and get the fuck out of this house already!"

She turned to her Mum like she had solved my problems, "Oceans just asked me to visit. I'll be spending the night at his place," She announced with joy and satisfaction, and somehow, I felt an involuntary ache in my chest at the way she sounded, even though I had no business feeling that way.

*

I sat on the floor of my room with my back against the bed and my safe open in my lap.

That's where I kept all my valuables...

The photograph of my parents. Dad with his arm around Mum's shoulder, both of them looking slightly past the camera at something I couldn't see. I had spent years trying to figure out what it was. I never did.

The knitted socks Dad got for me when I was seven from Ma'am Dora's store.

And the only necklace my mother had passed on to me when I was eight... She told me it had been passed to the firstborn daughters of the Jerob family for as long as anyone could remember. I had never worn it.

I kept it here, out of sight, because Freda had been looking for it since the week of my mother's funeral, and I had never once let her find it. I didn't know what she wanted with it. That was exactly why I kept it hidden.

"Freda was my mother's younger sister. The second daughter of their father. The necklace was never hers to begin with, and she knew that. So, she had no business owning it.

I carefully went through the items, as they always gave me solace whenever I was down. And that's why I guarded this box with my life. The password was something no one around me could ever crack, no matter how hard they tried. I had made sure of that.

I wiped off the tears that fell down my face as I pressed the photograph to my chest and sat there in the quiet.

"God, I miss you guys."

Then my eyes moved to the last thing in the box.

The watch.

It belonged to the stranger I had saved six years ago.

For some reason, trashing it felt wrong. Otherwise, why keep something that belonged to a person who never cared to look for you and say "Thank you for saving me" next to the things that mattered most to me?

My fingers traced the small engraved letters at the back of the watch that I had traced so many times that I could do it with my eyes closed.

O.S.

The ringing of my phone jolted me out of my thoughts.

No matter how in a hurry I was, I never forgot to lock my safe. So, I locked it and tucked it back into my closet.

When I reached for my phone, I saw a text from Jace.

"I'm in the living room, baby."

My heart sank.

I had a quick shower and put on something casual and comfy while I tucked everything else I'd be needing for work tomorrow in my duffel bag.

The moment Jace saw me alighting the stairs, he stood up immediately and closed the distance between us.

His eyes held that quiet, warm guilt I had become familiar with.

"Babe... You look stressed." He kissed my cheek, "Let me take care of you tonight, okay?"

Moonie sat with her glare fired straight at me. She and Jace had been talking and laughing over something before I interrupted them.

See? They weren't even sorry about what they both did.

She was fully dressed, obviously waiting for Mr. Stark's driver to come pick her up.

No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't stop myself from imagining what they'd both be doing together tonight. Images of how Mr. Stark had handled her in bed replayed in my head, and I knew for a fact that Moonie was indeed going to have all of that tonight.