Chapter 10: Trust. Kiss. Break

Emery’s POV

Killian’s penthouse was quiet but loud. 

He really went through with his words— I was not to leave without his permission. He had stationed his guards downstairs— two of them 

Even after Killian had checked the door and window, I still couldn't bring myself to calm down. At every step I took, I remembered his words. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw his face. That admirable yet cold face of his — the hallway man 

And his word continued to haunt me — he had started a war he wouldn't survive. 

Killian hadn't said a word about it ever since that day. I saw him standing close to the floor-to-ceiling window with a half-empty glass of bourbon in his hand. He didn't notice my approaching, or rather pretended not to be aware of my presence.

He was staring at the sky like he was having a conversation with it for his next strategy.

I wrapped my hand around myself. The room was warm, but chill still crept into my spine 

“Did he touch you?" He asked 

“What?" I asked, and a deep line appeared on my forehead, and my face twisted with confusion. What was he talking about?

“The man from the hallway, did he touch you?" he asked again, this time his tone more demanding. 

“He didn't hurt me," I said 

“That's not the point, Emery," he said. His tone was no longer demanding, but almost like he was pleading.

I exhaled loudly. My hand found its way to his shoulders. I squeezed them gently and said, “I didn't tell you this so that you can go on a revenge spree, I told you so I can know if I'm safe." 

“You aren't," he said. There was a hint of panic in his voice 

“What?" I froze. My voice was barely above a whisper.

 I was supposed to scream at him. I wanted to ask him why he offered to help if he was in such a game. I wanted to ask him why he dragged me into a game I didn't know the rules to. One, I wasn't sure if I could survive. But the words stuck in my throat, and all I could utter was a whisper. 

“You can't be saved, not when the Sinclair name is like a signature on you. Not with Tobias desperate to get you. Not when people believe that you are mine,” he said 

I looked at him, astonished. “What are you talking about? Isn't that the lie we were selling?” I asked 

Killian's eyes flickered with something. I couldn't tell what I was — fear? Desperate? Possessiveness? “Yes, we sold the lie, but it isn't just a lie anymore." 

"What does that mean?” I asked, unsure of what he was saying. 

"I should have known.”

"What should you have known?” I asked, but he didn't respond to my question and continued. 

"I should have known they would come at you,” Killian said, his voice low and raw, " they always pick the weakest link." 

There was a hint of panic in his voice, but I had no care cause something he said had caught my attention—weak.

Weak? 

He saw me as weak? And I found it extremely offensive. How could he say that? Was it because I was a woman? Or was it because I didn't have status like them?

“I'm not a weak link," I said. My voice came out small but defensive. 

“What? No. That's not what I mean." He snapped his head to me and stepped closer to me." What I meant is that you weren't prepared, and I shouldn't have let you out of my sight." 

"I'm not a doll, okay.” I was offended by the fact that he thought I always needed his protection. “You said I'm your fiancée, so I am to stand beside you and not behind you." My throat dried up 

He stared at me, his expression unreadable. Then, he said softly, “You are right. I'm just… I'm not used to this. To care this much if someone gets hurt." 

I narrowed my eyes at his words, my heartbeat pounded loudly in my ears. “What are you saying?" 

He looked down, his hand dragging through his dark hair. “You weren’t supposed to mean anything. You were supposed to be a shield, a convenient way to throw Tobias off. But you’re not that anymore.”

My breath caught.

Killian stepped closer, his voice shaking slightly. “I didn’t expect to… give a damn if someone whispered threats in your ear. Or want to burn down the city to find out who did it. I didn’t expect to lose sleep wondering if you’re okay.”

“Then why do you care so much, Killian?”

His jaw tensed. “Because I’ve watched you break and patch yourself together with nothing but spit and pride. Because Tobias never deserved you. Because you walk into my world like you don’t know your worth—and I want to tear it down until you see it.”

My breath caught in my throat.

There it was.

The rawest truth I’d heard in years. I didn't think anyone would feel this way about me. Maybe I had really been too devoted to Tobias that I had forgotten who I was and my worth. I wasn't from a wealthy background, but everyone had their worth; if I had no worth, Tobias wouldn't have chased me around when we were dating. 

But what if that was just part of their plan to get me? After all, he did say I was just a shield to cover him for the media. That I was an easy target 

My heart pounded. I hated how much I wanted to believe him. 

I turned away, staring into the sky. “I don’t know what to do with that.”

“Neither do I.”

His honesty hit like a punch. He wasn’t trying to manipulate me. For once, Killian Wolfe wasn’t in control. 

And for once, I wasn’t afraid.

I turned slowly. Our eyes locked, and something passed between us. Heavy. Unspoken. Real.

I should have walked away. I should have said something sarcastic and pulled myself back together. I should have gone to the guest room, crawled into my bed, and waited for sleep to steal my day from me. To kill my confusion 

And everything happened so fast, the wall disappeared and I saw him… I really saw him alone. Lonely. Unmasked, it was just for a second, but it was there 

And my body seemed to grow a mind of its own, and I couldn’t think. Couldn’t reason. I just felt. Felt the way my ribs ached at his words, felt how my feet moved without permission. Felt the space close between us until there was nothing left but the thrum of electricity.

I stepped forward and kissed him 

Not the kind of kiss meant to seduce or claim or punish.

But the kind that asked— Do you feel this too?

It wasn’t planned. It wasn’t soft. It was messy, raw, trembling with everything I didn’t dare to say. His lips froze against mine for a second—just a second—and then he kissed me back like he was drowning in it. Like he needed it.

His hand cupped the back of my neck, drawing me deeper as if he’d been waiting for this-for me. And for a moment, I wasn’t broken or bruised or the pawn between brothers.

I was Emery.

And Killian wanted me.  

My hands gripped the front of his shirt. His fingers slid into my hair, anchoring me. For that brief moment, nothing else existed. No threats. No headlines. No Tobias.

Just this.

Just him.

And me.

When we finally pulled apart, breathless and shaken, the silence was deafening.

I whispered, “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have—”

His thumb brushed across my jaw. “You don’t get to apologize for that. I meant every word, Emery. I don’t want to lose this before it even begins.”

But something shifted in his expression, something that made my stomach twist.

“Killian?” I asked cautiously.

He stepped back, just a half-step, but it felt like a chasm opened between us.

“I need to tell you something,” he said.

The room went cold.

“You asked me once if I was using you.”

My heart stuttered.

“The truth is… I didn’t stop the media stories. I leaked the first photo of us myself.”

The words crashed into me like a freight train.

“What?” I thought he was different. I should have followed my sister's words. She was always right, I don't know how to tell my sister. What would she say?

But he had sounded so convincing that I thought he would be different, but as always, I was naive. 

“I needed leverage. To provoke Tobias. To force his hand in the negotiations. You weren’t supposed to get dragged into this. But then—then you did matter. And I didn’t know how to undo it.”

I staggered back, something hollow and sharp blooming in my chest. “You used me.” My heart tightened. His words broke my heart into a million pieces. I should have known that in every game, one must be sacrificed. And I was the sacrificial pawn 

I didn't know what I was expecting when I started to believe him. He had always been way ahead of my league. I was from a poor background, and he was from a wealthy background.

They were all the same. They were all scammer. Deceiver. Why had I always foolish? Always expecting what never existed. 

Having hope was foolish, childish, and stupid of me. Now I knew

“I protected you—”

Just another lie to keep me calm, but I was way past that. They had all lied, saying it was for protection, but a protection that kept me locked in a cage that was wrapped in gold.

“After you put me in the line of fire!” I asked, my pain was tearing me apart, like my soul was dying. Tobias’ betrayal cut deep, but Killian's betrayal cut deeper because I had begun to trust him. I had begun to depend on him to far too long. I had begun to believe he was different

His jaw clenched. “It was a miscalculation. One I regret.”

Regret?

A laugh slipped out—sharp. Cold. Bitter, too bitter to be mine. It sang a hollow song like betrayal could make a sound. “You manipulated me, made me think I was safe with you, kissed me like I meant something—and all this time, I was just a piece in your sick power play against Tobias.”

His eyes blazed. “It wasn’t supposed to go this far!”

How was it supposed to be? I wanted to ask, but I was too pained to ask. I was too drained to continue. I felt the light leave me. I blinked my eyes occasionally to hold back the tears that threatened to fall.

“Do you even know how many times I’ve been lied to? Hurt? Used?”

And the warmth that bloomed in my chest from the kiss we had shared died completely the moment I looked past his shoulder… and saw the text flashing on his phone.

From Tobias.

You’re playing a dangerous game, brother. She was mine first.

My stomach dropped.

I stepped back, the cold slamming into me like a wave. “You knew,” I whispered. “You always knew what he’d say. You knew they would come for me, that this would stir him up.”

“Emery—”

“Was this all just a way to piss him off? Did you kiss me back just to prove a point?”

His face twisted with pain. “No. God, no. It wasn’t like that.”

But I was already backing away.

The spell was broken. The warmth was gone. The kiss felt like a weapon now. Another power move in a game I never agreed to play.

“I need to be alone,” I said.

He reached for me, but I flinched.

His hand dropped.

I walked out, closing the door behind me—heart shattered, lips still burning from

a kiss that could have meant everything.

Or nothing at all.

God, I was such a fool.

The silence on the other side of the door was deafening.

He didn’t come after me.

Maybe that was the worst part.