“It’s…” Kaiden began, his voice low and guarded, as if he were about to reveal something he hadn’t shared with anyone before. But before the words could fully leave his lips, another voice cut through the moment, sharp and desperate.
“Lucy!”
I turned instinctively toward the voice, and there he was–Brendan–storming toward me with a mix of urgency, fear, and despair painted across his face.
My breath hitched at the sight of him. The damage from the punch I’d landed on him was far worse than I’d anticipated. His face had taken a turn for the worse since I last saw him. Didn’t know a single nose punch could do so much damage. One of his eyes was swollen, encircled by a dark purple bruise; his lips were cracked, and his cheek bore the raw, inflamed puffiness of swelling. Wow! Maybe I should apply to be Daredevil’s assistant–I could make a pretty decent sidekick, like Robin to Batman.
The air around us shifted, heavy with tension, as Brendan closed the distance. An uneasy feeling crept over me, tightening in my chest. With Kaiden standing beside me, I felt secure–utterly certain that Brendan wouldn’t dare lay a hand on me. But that same sense of safety was clouded by worry, not for myself, but for Brendan.If Brendan so much as made one wrong move, I knew Kaiden wouldn’t hesitate to step in.
“B–b–b–Bren-” I stammered, trying to find the words to break the rising tension. But before I could say anything coherent, Brendan dropped to his knees in front of me.
The sight of him kneeling, his head bowed in apparent desperation, left me utterly stunned. My words died in my throat, replaced by a disbelieving silence. What was he doing?
Kaiden’s body tensed beside me, and I could feel the shift in his stance, his protective instincts kicking into overdrive. My mind raced, torn between the conflicting emotions of shock, curiosity, doubt and dread for whatever was about to unfold
next.
“Please,” Brendan said, “I am sorry. Forgive me. Please.” His head was low, his eyes looking at my feet instead of my face. “I shouldn’t have cheated on you. I-”
“Seriously?! Is that how you ask for an apology? No remorse, no desperation in your voice?” Kaiden interrupted with such ease, as if we were shooting a movie and Kaiden was the director. Wait a minute! He didn’t-
“Oh, God! Tell me that I’m just being paranoid. Tell me that your are not the mastermind behind all this bullshit,” I said, looking straight into Kaiden’s eyes.
He scratched his brow. “Maybe… just a little bit.”
“What do you mean by a little bit?” I hissed, the anger bubbling to the surface, spilling into my voice. “Who do you think you are? And what makes you believe that a forced apology would help in any way? Did it ever occur to you how ridiculous this makes me feel? A forced apology? Seriously? It’s the last thing I would ever-”
“Oh my god, can you please just give your mouth a rest?” Kaiden’s hand clamped over my mouth, muffling my protests mid- sentence. His palm was firm but not harsh. It might have successfully muffled my words but did nothing to quiet the indignation bubbling inside me.
“How much do you talk?” he muttered, exasperated. He turned to Brendan with a genuine curiosity. “How did you even manage to handle this for so long?”
Brendan, still kneeling, shrugged with a resigned expression. “She was gentle with me.”
Gentle? I couldn’t help but frown and cringe at their conversation. Men!
I didn’t think twice. With all the strength I could muster, I slid Kaiden’s hand between my lips and bit down.
1/2
Chapter 40
79%
+50
“What the-” Kaiden hissed, yanking his hand back as if I’d set it on fire. He shook it wildly, grimacing. “This…” he pointed an accusatory finger at me with his uninjured hand, “this is what you call gentle?” Then he turned back to Brendan, shaking his head in disbelief. “You know what? The deal’s off. No chance for you.”
“Deal? What deal? What chance?” I demanded, the frustration surging anew. “What the hell is going-”
Before I could finish, Brendan wrapped his arms around my legs, gripping them as if letting it go would send him plummeting into a deep, dark abyss. His desperation was palpable, his voice trembling with panic. “Please, forgive me. Please, please, please, Lucy. My whole career depends on your forgiveness. I promise I’ll never cheat on anyone ever again. I’ll change. I’ll be a better man. Please, I’m begging you! PLEASE!!”
I froze, the weight of his words sinking in. My fists clenched as I turned to Kaiden, my fury blazing. How dare he? How dare he force Brendan to grovel like this?
Once again, here I was, back to square one. Not Lucy Hailstone, but Kaiden Sterwalt’s stepsister. I had always thought, despite Kaiden being the reason for all of this, that he would never be the one to strip me of my identity. But I was wrong. There he was, once again, meddling in my personal matters without so much as a second thought or a word of consent from
- me.
“Would you have apologized to me if I weren’t Kaiden’s sister?” I asked, my voice calm but cold, betraying the ache in my chest. “Would you have apologized to Lucy Hailstone? No lies. Just the truth. Tell me, would you?”
“Def-”
“Answer carefully,” I cut in sharply. “If you’re honest, I might forgive you. But lie to me, and you’ll regret it.”
Brendan froze, his head lowering even further and hands slipping from my legs. His voice came out soft, broken. “No.”
The truth hit me like a punch to the gut, but at the same time, I felt a strange sense of relief. At least he didn’t lie. At least he respected my threat.
“Thank you,” I said firmly, stepping back and pulling my legs free of his grasp. I turned to Kaiden, my gaze piercing. “I forgive him. So, be the man you claim to be and live up to whatever offer you gave him.”
I didn’t wait for a response. I brushed past them, leaving the parking lot and the mess behind me.
“Introv–Lucy, hey,” Kaiden called after me, but I didn’t stop.
Kaiden had always had a knack for irritating me, pushing my buttons until my blood boiled. But this was the first time he’d truly hurt me. Yeah, I know, he might have done it with the right intentions, but I am not a little kid. He should have at least asked me if I needed his help. Asking isn’t mandatory, but it shows how much a person respects you and your decisions. By not asking, Kaiden proved that he is nothing less than my mom.
To be continued…
AD
