Page 49 of Claiming His Wife
“Your father came down to my newly-opened private investigation business in Seattle. I must admit that I was impressed. I was barely out of school and barely established. The idea of work was pointed toward survival when he told me he wanted me to keep a close eye on his daughter.
A rich young girl in the big bad city, clearly enjoying her first taste of freedom could run into a few problems. I jumped at the opportunity. You were the only client I had for the past five years. Your father’s monthly payments kept me housed, dressed and fed. I never needed another client.”
“Is that why your apartment was right in front of mine?” Kalilah listened with a heart that threatened to bleed out, but she did not look at him anymore.
“Yes. Your father wanted me to shadow you and report everything back to him. Watching you day in and day out, I fell in love with your gentle spirit and kind nature. I knew I needed to meet you, so on that day you needed help with your groceries I decided to finally make your acquaintance.” Everything he was saying made sense. It broke her heart to find out that her life was still a script written by people who had no business interfering in other people’s lives.
His words hurt, but she refused to acknowledge the pain, at least not yet.
“I was a job to you? Did my father give you a bonus for dating me too? A good plan to keep other men away?”
“It was nothing like that, angel, I swear it. Your father didn’t find out about our relationship until you came back. He told me to stay away from you, but I couldn’t. You have to know that what I feel. What we have together is real.” He took a step toward her, but the look on her face must have halted his steps since he stopped.
“Real? You tell me that I was a job paid for by my father, and you expect me to believe that you love me? Our entire relationship was built on lies!” She returned as she shook her head.
“I’m sorry, angel. I swear, I love you, and we can work through this. I know we can. Think about us and our future. We’re so close.”
“There is no us. Not anymore.” Her heart was breaking. He was a huge part of her life for almost two years – one year as friends and nine months as a couple – and it hurt to know that she was only a job to him.
“It him isn’t it? That ex-husband of yours.” He looked straight at her with eyes that were red-rimmed and glistening with tears.
“This isn’t about him. He didn’t make you take the job from my father or lie to me,” she returned.
“Please, Kalilah. Believe me, I never meant to hurt you. Listen, we’ve both hurt each other. We’re even. Please, angel.” He took a step towards her, and she was slow to react when he took her hand in his and knelt before her. “We can work this out.”
“No, we can’t. Goodbye, Jonathan. Go back to wherever you’ve been these last few months.”
“Damn, I don’t think I ever had a chance,” he lamented.
She turned her head away from him, and the truth hit her as he gathered his belongings and left.
Kalilah hopped in the shower and cried her eyes out. When she was done crying, she got out of the shower and dressed. There were things to be done, things she needed to take care of before she lost the anger coursing through her.
Her parents’ mansion was oddly quiet. Kalilah did not hear any of the many workers that frequented her family’s home. Bates waved her into the home, and she asked him if her father was in at the moment. This scene seemed like déjà vu.
Standing at the threshold she took a deep breath as she tried to shore up her defenses; Richard was not capable of emotionally hurting her again, though try he would. She needed her defenses for the little girl who still yearned for her parents’ approval. The door to her father’s office swung open before she had a chance to knock. The open door revealed a very irate Finn.
“Lilah?”
“Finn?”
“I wasn’t expecting to see you here.”
“Yeah well, I wasn’t expecting to be here today either.” She stepped into the study. “Father.”
“That simpleton told you, didn’t he?” her father sighed, a bit of guilt in his words.
“You cannot change, can you? You cannot help yourself from playing God in other peoples’ lives!” she yelled. Kalilah waited for some kind of response from the man but he simply snorted, turned his back to her and began to walk away.
“Typical of you!’ she cried aloud. “Always the coward!”
He suddenly stopped walking and Kalilah knew she had struck a nerve. She had never spoken to her father in such hostile tone. She wasn’t ever permitted to utter her grievances in such a disrespectful manner either. Everything was swept under the rug, and she was sick and tired of it.
Kalilah’s father turned around to look at her.
“I will let those first few insolent words from your mouth slide, child!” He then turned from his daughter to look at the man standing beside her. “Talk to your wife. Make her see reason, son.”
“I happen to enjoy seeing my wife all fired up,” Finn said, then shrugged.
