Kieran
Losing track of time, I had no idea how long it had passed since the sand-filled bag started taking the hits I so generously kept throwing at it, but judging by my bleeding knuckles, I was down in the gym more than I should’ve.
But it was worth it. The physical pain I inflicted on myself, the exhaustion that overtook my muscles and made it hard to breathe, relieved my swelled-up brain of some pressure, making it easier to think rationally and analyze all the wrong moves I made in my poor attempt to separate my brother from the girl I was convinced wasn’t the right choice for him.
I fucked up.
I relied too much on Philip and his rationality when I should’ve known better. He was desperately in love, and there was no way of knocking sense into him, no way of making him realize the truth.
It was a mistake trying to coax him into breaking things off on his own.
It was a mistake trying to use his illness to persuade him that leaving her and breaking her heart at the beginning was better than watching him in that state. We both knew how hard it was to watch the person we loved the most wither and die in front of our eyes.
I used the most painful memory we shared to manipulate his feelings, and it disgusted me! I despised myself for it! Because no matter the tricks I used in business to win deals and beat opponents, I had never been untrue to my family. This time, though, for a brief moment, I thought that maybe the end justified the means, realizing too late that it was the course I should never have set my sails on.
Especially when I knew the truth.
The same day when Philipp told me he wasn’t feeling well and that he had seen the doctor, I contacted him. Thanks to the generous donation I made to his department, the doctor agreed to withhold the results for a few days, as the preliminary tests showed there was nothing to worry about except for some shadows on his lungs that most probably were remnants of the inadequately treated strong flue.
I was disgusted with myself. I hated myself for what I’d done, and I prayed Philip would never find out because if he did… Nonetheless, I’d done it in the blink of an eye, sure it was foolproof.
After the deed was done, I realized I should’ve gone directly to the source instead of playing on my brother’s emotions. If I weren’t wrong, a nice sum of money would do the trick. A million would be a small price to pay for my brother’s freedom. Although I wouldn’t hesitate to offer more if needed. Would that break Philip’s heart? Probably. But it would pass. He would heal quicker than knowing he spent years sharing a bed with a liar. Because she had to be a liar! All women were liars. The only one that wasn’t was long gone and not coming back.
The lead-heavy feet took me upstairs to the bathroom, where I hoped a shower would wash away the evidence of my outburst: sweat and blood from my body and worry and angst from my mind. Indeed, the hot water relaxed both my muscles and my soul, and with the plan cooking in my head, I wanted nothing more than to take a break and forget everything until tomorrow. Or maybe I could grant myself a night out. God knows I could use some…
The doorbell disturbed my newfound peace as I was drying my skin with the towel. Had Philip changed his mind?
I strolled naked across the bedroom towards the window that overlooked the front yard, but I saw no car parked outside.
Great! I began imagining things. Had I gone mad?
The bell rang again.
Who could it be? I wondered while I put on the comfortable sweats I wore whenever I could get out of those smart pants. It took me a minute to get down to the front door, and by then, the annoying sound repeated what seemed like a dozen more times.
Angry at the disturber of my peace, ready to confront anyone on the other side of the door, I wide opened it, but the person standing behind them was not who I expected to see.
Actually, I’ve never seen the blond angel that stood in front of me… The blond angel with the entrancing blue eyes quickly transformed into the devil, the devil who provoked me, the devil who brought the worst out of me on the surface.
The devil whose brave, taunting eyes will haunt me for the rest of eternity.
The devil whose words kept me awake all night because they brought revelation and shed some new light on the events that occurred in the last few days.
Philip’s stupid girlfriend was pregnant.
And that changed everything.
New rules are now applied.
New plans had to be made.
No King offspring could be neglected or unacknowledged.
~ ~ ~
The morning found me in bed, fully awake. I hadn’t slept for a moment that night. Tortured by the knowledge that presented itself to me, becoming an uncle didn’t let me close my eyes, not even for a second. Finding peace in a dreamless sleep was impossible under the circumstances.
But what gave me more trouble throughout the night were those fiery blue eyes that wouldn’t leave me alone, no matter how hard I tried. They entrapped me in their ocean depths, not letting me escape their imprisonment.
Too late did I realize it was the feisty blondie who had done what I had been struggling with for almost a year – erase every memory of Nora from my mind.
As soon as the decent hours announced themselves, I emailed my secretary to cancel all of my meetings. I had more important things to take care of.
The next person on my list was Philip.
“Hey, brother,” I greeted him, my voice didn’t sound as stern as it usually did. “How are you?”
“Ellie is not picking up my calls,” he grunted desperately. I was sure he blamed me for it.
“About that…” Here it goes.
Sophia What happened to me? What in the world made me knock on an unknown person’s door and attack him like I had no functioning cell in my brain? Had I gone completely mad? Probably. But considering the turmoil in my head that refused to settle down and let my thoughts clear out, it was no wonder I fucked up. “Kieran…” his name rolled off my tongue as I marched away from the estate gate I had intruded so rudely. Who the hell was he? Darkness started enveloping the peaceful part of town I found myself in, so I pulled my phone out of my pocket and called a taxi. After what happened earlier, I could never again feel safe without light. Memories of what could’ve ended differently at my former workplace flashed through my mind, and I shivered in fear. As if it wasn’t enough, being reckless almost cost me my life not so long ago. If I had died on that threshold, who would have been there to take care of Ellie and her baby? By the time my ride arrived, I was shivering. Getting inside
Sophia “What do you want, Philip? Weren’t you the one who said to forget you, not to look for you? So, what are you doing here?” To a stranger listening to Ellie’s rant, she would’ve sounded cold and distant, accusing... But I knew my sister better. I heard how her voice trembled; she fought to keep it steady, not allowing it to break and uncover her pain. “Please, Ellie. I need to talk to you. I need to explain…” the young man pleaded. “Mind if we take this inside? I’m not a big fan of giving a free show to neighbors.” Kieran interrupted the scene, his deep voice startling me. Ever since we showed up, he didn’t take his eyes off of me, not giving a shit about the scene happening between his brother and my sister. I could feel his intense stare on me as he assessed me, scrutinized me, making an army of ants crawl down my back. “No, Philip. You don’t need to talk to me. You need to leave.” Ellie stood her ground, and I admired her for that. Just yesterday, she was a broken little gi
Sophia Every time I faced catastrophe in the past, I found a way to make things right; I found a way to hold all the strings that my life consisted of tightly in my hands and not let go, no matter how much those strings were cutting into my flesh. This time, though, things were falling apart in front of my eyes, and all I could do was watch. I was sure my sister was about to destroy her life and that Philip King, the father of her child, could bring her nothing but trouble and tears. Her happiness was the most important thing to me, but I believed she could never have the life she deserved with the man she chose. Ashamed of my thoughts, I kept quiet and never voiced them out. I tried so hard to mind my business and not meddle in her decisions, letting her be an adult but controlling my never-dying wish to protect her, even if that was from her own actions, was a struggle on a whole new level. It’s been a few days since the King brothers raided our apartment, and from that moment,
Sophia I had to give Philip a chance for Ellie’s sake. My rationality persuaded me to be patient and listen to whatever he had to say while my heart screamed at me, flooding my mind with images of an orange pill dispenser and my sister in tears. The silence surrounded us for just a few moments before Philip spoke. “I know you don’t like me, and I understand. I deserve it. To be honest, I will never forgive myself for what I did, no matter what you think of me after I tell you my reasons for acting the way I did. But what I want to say is that I love Ellie more than my life, and I would never intentionally hurt her.” Sincerity was beaming from Philip’s eyes, entrapping me in their depths. Intrigued by the hint of mystery in his voice my senses picked up like a hound hunting a rabbit in the woods, I unconsciously leaned towards him, not wanting to miss a single word, as I pushed aside all the other things that bothered me. Philip had my full attention. “That was exactly why I wante
Sophia “What is it with you strangling me every time you see me? Is that a fetish or something?” I squeaked; every word I uttered felt like sandpaper on my constricted throat, causing tears to blur my vision, but I didn’t back off. Not this time. I watched him straight in the eyes, and I didn’t waver. No matter the rage and hate that blazed in his grey, stormy eyes, I held his gaze with all the courage I could muster, and it angered him even more. He shoved me inside and advanced after me, and as soon as he crossed the threshold, Kieran slammed the door behind us and forced me further in until we reached the living room, which was just a few steps, really, but now it seemed to be a hundred-mile-long journey. “What do you want?” I spat, whispering. Kieran’s nostrils flared, his jaw clenched, and I was sure he was holding himself back from snapping my neck. I wasn’t afraid of dying, though. At least it would serve a good purpose. Kieran would go to prison, and Ellie and her baby wo
Sophia Ellie and Philip stared at Kieran and me for a few moments since we were still standing too close to each other. Her eyes flickered towards my neck, but she couldn’t see anything thanks to the dim light and my soft, blond locks that were let down freely. Upsetting my pregnant sister with the truth about her future brother-in-law was the last thing I’d want if she didn’t already have her own suspicions. And Kieran never really tried to hide his bigotry towards us. “Why are you so giddy?” I asked, catching Ellie’s eyes, pretending I did not know what was happening. A diversion was always the best strategy, and it worked like magic. As soon as that question was out, Ellie’s face lit up with a smile that showed how happy she was. “We have something to tell you,” Ellie mused. I didn’t miss her small hand searching for Philip’s and his finding hers. “Yes, we have an announcement to make, and as you two are the most important people in our lives, you deserve to be the first to kno
Kieran She was driving me crazy. Sophia Howard. She wracked chaos in my soul; she dominated my every thought, and as if it wasn’t enough for her to torture me during the day, she was there every night, too, creeping around in my dreams. She was all I could think about, she and the ways I could make her submit to me and do as I wanted because nobody ever dared to defy me the way she did! And she had to be punished for that. She was a wolf in sheep’s clothing, I was sure of it! All I had to do was prove it, and I would have her trapped. She would have to abide by me. Although I had no doubt Philip was the father of that baby, I still insisted on Sophia breaking them up. It was only a test for Sophia because I could never wish harm to my nephew or niece. My brother’s kids were my kids. She passed the test successfully, which made me more conflicted with myself as I tried to reconcile two impulses: punishing her for not doing as I ordered and wanting to own her because she didn’t do a
Sophia Ever since I woke up, I had one thing on my mind - what could Kieran possibly want from me? Whatever it was, if it meant he would let Ellie live peacefully with the man she loved, I was ready to listen and set aside everything that transpired between him and me. My feelings about Kieran were conflicted. I hated him from the deepest pit of my soul. I hated who he was and what he represented, and I hated him for being a threat to my sister’s future. I hated how he acted and what he considered me to be. I hated his violence and arrogance. However, I could hardly wait to see him today. While I was getting ready, I chose to wear a turtleneck, the only one I had in my closet. I detested the restricting feeling it gave me, but I had to hide bruises that formed on my neck, and the weather could still justify wearing such a piece of clothing. Ellie went to her class, after which she would have lunch with her fiancé, and I stayed home. Alone. ‘I’ll have to get used to this,’ I thoug