Keenan’s POV

A week later...

After Rory got discharged from the hospital, I helped take him home, trying to make sure he would be safe and okay in my absence.

“For the last time, Keenan, I’ll be fine.” Rory tells me frankly, as I follow him into the house, “you are worse than a worrisome girlfriend. Hope you know.” He tells me grumpily. “You’ve done enough, you need rest.”

I roll my eyes, “Coming from someone who was making wedding preparation on the hospital bed, I’d gladly take the advice.” I sarcastically remark with a snort.

“Well, that was different.” Rory argues and I raise a brow at him, “I did that because I was and I am still eager to get married and settle down and make a family with Taylor and Reign, but you need to go home and spend the night with your wife.”

Hearing Rory refers to Vary as my wife brings alive a feeling I once thought I lost, which is the ability to own someone or something. With Vary, I always feel like I’m in control and even though I hated the way she had given herself to me without fear of being hurt, I admit it felt overwhelming and sweet.

I may never admit it to her face, but she is one hell of a woman, stubborn, self-willed, patient and tries to always see the good in me no matter what I’d done to her. Many a time I’d expected her to snap or yell, but I only got those reactions a few times, and those are still the reason I can’t get her out of my head. I love the way she trusted me those times to take care of her and although I did a very shitty job with taking care of her; I love the way she would always let herself go in my hands.

She was never my type, and it’s not just about the colour of her skin... Maybe it was thirty per cent of the reason I never consider it, but she isn’t the type that would get my attention, but it’s a wonder because she has. Those beautiful brown eyes that always look at me like they are staring into my dark soul, those full lips that she always seems to chew on and her unique self that makes me wonder what I did to deserve and or what it was she even saw in me.

Well, I know whatever it is she saw, it’s gone by now. After what I told her at the hospital, she’d left without a word and hasn’t returned or called, not that I blame her, I don’t expect her to after everything I did... Or do I?

I snap out of my thoughts and shake my head, “Well, that’s not happening.”

Rory’s brows rise and he stares at me, “Don’t tell me you don’t miss her.”

Do I miss her? Maybe I do a little... Or maybe a lot. I miss the taste of her lips on mine; I miss the softness of her skin against mine, and I miss her voice; I miss her accent, which at first was annoying, but living a week without them has made me realise just how amazing it was to my ears. That’s the reason I haven’t gone home. I can’t go home because I know that she’s not there.

“Rory,” I differ, but he doesn’t follow.

“‘Cause I know you miss her.” He pats my shoulder. “It’s okay to be sceptical. I was with Taylor too, but in the end, she is the one I want to spend the rest of my life with”

“I’m not sceptical, Rory, I kissed Phoebe,” I reveal, making the reason I can’t go back to Vary.

He sighs and goes silent for a while, then he looks up at me to ask, “Did you like it?”

My mouth pauses as I reason back to the kiss I had with Phoebe and the origin of the catastrophe that has happened in my and Phoebe’s love life ever since. The kiss was sweet and fevered, and it brought back memories of the past we both shared many years ago. But I didn’t want those memories anymore, and I regretted going further because I paid physically and emotionally. Physically because Jack’s rage overtook him and my rib and face bore the pain and emotionally because out of the pain, I caused Vary to hate me with my hurtful words.

“I didn’t, and it doesn’t matter anymore,” I replied. It wasn’t worth the pain that followed.

He nods, “That’s what I thought. You didn’t like it because you would rather kiss another and we both know it’s not Taylor.”

“Even if it’s her, there’s nothing I can do. She already hates me.” It didn’t hurt until I said the word. Hate is a strong word, and it’s the last feeling I want Vary to have towards me. There was a time I didn’t care what she felt towards me. I didn’t care if she loved or hated or even resented me, but now, I do, and it scares the hell out of me.

“Apology sound like a good thing to do.”

*****

I pull up before the house and I turn off the car before getting out. I get down and glance at the house and notice the light of my room is on and I walk in wondering who among the maids had gone in and forgotten to turn off the light when they came out.

Talking about the maids, I don’t think I’ll need so many anymore, considering I’m the only one who’s going to be in the house from now on.

I climb up the stairs and I meet Josephine, one maid I had employed to keep the house. Her head is down while she climbed down the stairs and I touch her shoulder, making her head bob up and on seeing me, she gasps in fear.

I withdraw my hand and immediately raise it in surrender.

“I’m sorry, sir, I didn’t think you would come today.” She speaks up in a nervous –squeaky tone.

I give her a not-so-impressed full-face smile, “Of course not, I do my things like the second coming of Christ just to catch the unfaithful servants.”

“I’m sorry, sir.” She apologises again, her head lowering.

I ignore her apology. “Why is the light in my room turned on?”

She nervously bites down on her lower lips, feeling a little uneasy. “She says she’d stay in your room after moving your things out.”

My brow rises. “She? Who is she?”

“The boss.” She answers in a weakened tone.

I roll my eyes, “Oh mio Dio, lo so che è il capo e la testa della vita. (Oh my God! I know she’s your boss and in charge of your life!) Don’t your boss have a name?”

She blinks fast, and for a moment I think she is playing me. “Um, she said to not reveal who she is to anyone or she’ll make me suffer the consequences.” She replies, and this has broken the record for the most absurd thing ever said to me.

She also stole my line...

“I’m your boss, your number one duties fall to me.”

“I’m sorry, sir.” She says and before I can say another word, she hurries down the stairs and away from my presence.

“I’ll have you fired tomorrow, and if not, half your salary for the month is gone,” I yell at her and walk to my room.

The door is closed and I take hold of the knob, only for my hand to grow sweaty as nervousness kicks in. I hiss at my nervousness and cuss at myself to man up; I open the door and step in.

I hear the shower and my eyes go to the bathroom door, which has a little opening. I walked to the bathroom and when I enter the bathroom; I find no one there.

Seriously?!

Whoever it is, is too clumsy or knows how to fucking piss me off.

I walk to the shower and turn it off, getting a little wet in the process and when as I make my way back into the bedroom, I see Vary sitting on the bed staring at me.

The relief and happiness of seeing her washes over the anger that had built up in the last three minutes. A weird spark seems to go up within me as I stare at her not only in my room but on my bed, wearing a slim hand white nightgown and extremely short black lace pants. I can tear from her skin in just one second of a hot make-out session.

Vary gets up from the bed and walks towards me, her hips swaying with every step she takes and I wait patiently for her to come to me, not wanting anything to be according to my dictation, but according to hers.

The only thing I permit myself to do is look and yes, I look at her, at her heavenly curves and figure in those little clothes.

She walks up to me and when she’s standing before me, she speaks, “I forgot to give you something the last time we talked.”

My eyes narrow and my brain calculates the last time we talked. As my brain tries to conclude, my eyes go blind and my cheeks burn up painfully and as my eyes clear up, I see Vary glaring at me. My hand goes up to palm my cheek, which is still burning from the impact Vary’s slap had on it, and I stare at Vary in disbelief.

And I thought you hit like a woman.

“Vary- sha,” I force myself to say after a minute of massaging my numb cheek, “I’m sorry for the way I acted last week I was mean and a jerk......” Am I saying this apology out loud, or am I still practising in my brain? “What are you doing here?”

“This is my house,” she reminds me.

“No, it’s my house, but since you are my wife, it’s our house.” I correct her carefully.

She shakes her head, disagreeing with what I just said like she has something better to prove, “Not what the lawyers said.”

Maybe she has something better to prove.

I frown, “The lawyers? What have lawyers got to do with this?”

She nods her head, “The divorce lawyers have everything to do with this.”

My ears aren’t hearing well. Or did she just say, divorce lawyer?

Wait, is she thinking of divorcing me?

“What?” I ask, my tone overwhelmed with the utmost shock of my life.

“Are you deaf?” She hisses out in annoyance, “I talked to my lawyers last week after I left you at the hospital. They said I could sue you for bigamy or I could have two-thirds of your wealth.”

“What?” I ask, still not over the divorcing me part.

I think I’m going crazy.

“You are divorcing me?” Horror and pain are obvious in my voice and I don’t really care if she senses it or not because I can’t even imagine her leaving or even worse divorcing me now when it feels like I’m slowly discovering how I feel about her.

Yes, I shouldn’t feel surprised or hurt. I pushed her to this point, but I am surprised and hurt!

“Yes!” She replies instantly, “You said the hope of you ever loving me is useless and I can’t stay and sacrifice my life and chance of finding true love out there on you, Keenan Hilton, I have a long life and as you can see I’m still much in my prime.” She points out her point with a hand gesture over her body. “So I advice you to leave now.”

She turns to leave, but I grab her by the arm and turn her to face me. I’m acting out of the usual Keenan line, but desperate times they say call for desperate measures.

She stubbornly struggles with me and smacks my chest hard a few times, “Let me go!” She yells angrily, “I can sue you for this!”

I don’t let her go. Instead, I tighten my arms around her, before saying, “Then I’ll tell the lawyer you always love role-play during sex and told me to act bossy around you.” I pull her closer to feel the hotness of her body against my slightly cold own. Yes, I can feel my excitement building up, but I try to pull that side down for a bit. “I won’t let go if you keep acting that way.”

I desperately wait and hope she cooperates and stops fighting me and after another minute of useless struggle, she clenches her teeth and stops struggling and just stares at me.

“What do you want, Keenan?”

My lips curve up as I offer her a small smile, “I want you to go out on a date with me.” I answer, surprising even myself.

“Are you crazy?” She demands, casting me a hard glare before resuming her struggle with me. “Why in God’s name would I do that?”

I gently stroke the fine, soft skin of her cheek against her protest and she calms down again and her adorable brown eyes fixate on mine, “Because like you said, you do hope I feel even if it’s a little, you hope I feel something for you and maybe I do and maybe I don’t, but would you want to walk out without ever finding out?” I cock an eyebrow at her and let her go.

She moves away from me and walks to the bed and though my body tells me to follow her; I stand and watch her in silence.

“You are only saying this because of your money. You know more than half of your wealth is at stake and you are looking for any reason to make me stay and not take them.” She drops on the bed, her elbow resting on the pillow, and she rests her head on her hand.

Her legs are long, flawless and beautiful to behold and all I want to do is run my hands over them until they open to me on their own accord and welcome me in, but I doubt that is happening soon so I shake the thought of my mind.

I shrug, “Maybe that’s it. And I’ve worked all my life to own what I own today and I don’t want to give it all up without a fight, no one will.” I walk towards the bed and I can see the physical reaction of her body and a carnal satisfaction grows in me, knowing she’s still much affected by my closeness. “So yes, it’s partly about my money and partly about you, Vary. You have seen an ugly side of me; a side most people don’t see or come back after they do, but here you are in my room, on my bed after everything.”

She sits up almost immediately after I say these words, and I know her guard has risen. “I’m not sleeping with you if that’s what you are saying.”

I can’t help but chuckle at her naïve mind as I halt when I’m at the foot of the bed. “You are gonna want to when I’m done.”

She scoffs, regaining composure after what I just said. “I accept your offer, but I doubt I’d want that.”

Not ready to argue with her, I smirk. “Where are my things and where do I sleep?” I ask instead, as I fold my arms over my chest.

“In the guest room,” she replies.

I nod, “Okay, just don’t forget to turn the shower off when you leave.”

“Silly me, thanks for taking care of that.”

I press my lips together, “Okay, good night then, sleep tight.”

Sleep tight honey, tomorrow the game begins.