Six

KAIDA REED POV 

I turned to my car, my hands grabbing the door handle to open it when the headlights of an oncoming car suddenly blinded me.

I paused, blinking the droplets of water from my lashes. Who the hell could it be?

The car stopped. 

Lucien came out.

My blood turned to ice, everything inside me churning as he closed the distance between us.

What was he doing here? How did he even know where to find me? 

Wait. Was he...tracking me?

I thought he only knew I witnessed his crime because he saw me that night, but what if that wasn’t the case?

My stomach dipped hard, my hand clenching around the door handle.

If he was tracking me, does that mean he knows I have the recording?

God damn it, this was starting to get a lot messier.

He had killed that man without a flinch, which meant it wasn’t the first time. If he finds out I have a record of his crime, he is going to kill me without hesitation.

I had to be careful. Until I find a way to get away from him, I need to keep him from getting suspicious.

Lucien stopped in front of me, his eyes sweeping over me like I was some stain under his shoes.

And in that moment, all the fear I felt vanished, only to be replaced by a pulsing dark rage that left no room for air.

"What the hell are you doing here, Kaida? Do you have any idea what I’ve been through looking—"

My hands crashed against his cheek before I could think twice about it and I flinched, my palm stinging.

His face whipped to the side from the force, his body freezing up for a second as he tried to process what just happened. Then he turned to face me, his eyes wide with disbelief as he met my gaze.

I didn’t regret it.

He caught hold of my wrist, his nails digging into my skin. "Are you out of your fucking mind!" he roared, shaking me. "How dare you put your hands on me!"

I yanked my hand out of his hold, then shoved at his chest. "Because you deserve it!" I sucked in a sharp breath. "Today was supposed to be our engagement party, and what the hell did you do? You disappeared to God knows where! I’ve been stranded here all night because of you!"

His jaw clenched. Hard. "You have no right to hit me just because I disappeared for a few hours. Who the hell do you think you are, huh? Are you trying to piss me off?"

I closed the gap between us even as my heart pounded a fierce rhythm in my chest. "What if I was?" I asked, then tilted my head. "What are you going to do about it, Lucien?"

He leaned in, the darkness he tried so hard to hide flickering in his eyes for a second. "If you won’t respect and treat me like the man I am, I don’t see the need for us to get married." 

It was a threat, and maybe it would have worked on me in the past, but this time all it got out of me was a snort.

He gaped at me, the shock on his face almost comical. "Do you think I am joking? Do you think this marriage is going to work if you keep acting like this? Just because you saved my sister’s life, it doesn’t give you the right—"

"Enough!" I yelled, my hands curling into fists. "Why are you suddenly bringing Nessa into this huh?" I jabbed a finger into his chest, then met his gaze. "Tell me, Lucien, did you only agree to marry me because I saved your sister’s life?"

"Why would you ask me such a ridiculous question?"

"Because you just implied it! "It might not be what you meant, but that’s exactly how it sounded. I never forced you to propose to me—You told me you were in love with me... Or, was that all a lie?"

He grabbed the back of his neck, let out a frustrated sigh, then turned away from me. 

"I don’t have time for your madness, Kaida. The guests are waiting for us. This is not the right time to start your crazy talks?"

"Let’s call off the wedding."

He whipped around so fast that the water clinging to his hair hit me in the face. 

"What did you just say?"

"You heard me loud and clear." I slowly wiped the water off my face, my brows furrowing. "Ever since you asked me to marry you, you’ve changed. I feel like you don’t really want us to be together, so let’s just do ourselves a favor and call everything off."

"Are you out of your god-damned mind" he grabbed my shoulder. "Do you realize what you’re saying right now? Are you fucking drunk?"

I pushed his hands off of me, grabbed the door handle of my car, and yanked it open. 

I didn’t get to enter as he grabbed my arm and spun me to face me.

"What kind of game do you think you are playing?" He gritted out, the fury in his eyes making my heart skip a beat. He looked like he was seconds away from really hurting me. "Our wedding is a month from now and you want to cut it off. Weren’t you the one begging for us to fix an earlier date and all of a sudden—"

"You’re hurting me," I cut in, my gaze dropping to his hands. "I’m going to be holding a press conference tomorrow and I don’t plan to wear a sleeved dress, so let go." 

I arched a brow as he continued to hold onto me.

"I don’t understand why you’re suddenly throwing a tantrum, but I really didn’t mean to be late to the engagement party. Something urgent came up at work that needed my attention—"

"On our engagement night?" I scoffed. "Please, try to be more original."

He paused, studying me for a beat, his forehead creasing. "Something is going on with you... You’re different."

"Yes. I am." I held his gaze. "From now on, I plan to put myself first. I don’t care if you think it’s selfish. I won’t let you walk all over me just because I love you."

"Kaida—"

"Let's call off the wedding. If you can’t make me your priority...if you don’t love me at all—"

"I fucking love you!" He yelled, a flash of light rendering the cloud at his declaration. "I won’t let you leave me after everything..." He stopped, his mouth pressing down tight. Then he exhaled roughly, and took my hand, his eyes searching mine. 

"Fine, you’re right. I was wrong. I was wrong and I’m sorry. But can we talk about this when you’re a lot calmer... You’re soaked through and I don’t even know how you drove all the way to this place... Let’s just leave here and talk at the house okay?"

I pulled my hand from his. "We don’t need to talk about anything. Also, I know my way home, so you don’t have to come with me." 

"Kaida," he called, his voice getting desperate. "Stop being so stubborn. If you’re doing this to get my attention..."

I scoffed. "Don’t flatter yourself, Lucien, you’re not all that," I said, got into my car, slammed the door shut, and turned on the ignition.

I glanced at him, scoffed at how pathetic he looked, then reversed and drove away. 

I watched as he got smaller and smaller in the rearview mirror, the frustrated look on his face satisfying. 

"You’re going to beg and grovel at my feet this time Lucien; too bad nothing is going to turn out in the way you want."