Been Away

Chapter six

Luna POV 

Still pondering, I heard a knock at the door. "Come in," I said when the door opened and a maid came in. 

"Good evening, ma'am. Dinner's ready," she said. 

"Okay, I'll be there in a minute," I said, and then she left the room. 

I climbed down from the bed and immediately left the room, walking downstairs to the dining area. 

Moving toward the dining room, Liam was seated on a chair, and a huge figure of another man was seated with his back to me. I couldn't tell who it was, but with the body structure, I could tell it was Kieran. But the question was, what would Kieran be doing here? 

I approached the dining area when he turned around, and to my wildest surprise, it was Kieran. 

"Kieran," I called out to him softly. 

"Hi," he greeted with a smile playing on his lips.

I pulled out a chair and sat down. The dining table was filled with a lot of delicacies, and fortunately, they were my favorite dishes. I picked up a fork and knife and was about to dig in when Liam asked, "So Luna, when will you want the wedding to take place?" 

I almost choked on my food due to his comment. He wasn't supposed to bring this up, not because Kieran was here, but because I wasn't in the mood to discuss the wedding. "Maybe..." I hesitated.

Kieran's question cut in, "Are you getting married again?" He looked directly into my eyes. 

"Yes," I said hesitantly. 

"To who?" he asked, his curiosity getting the better of him. 

"She's getting married to a cousin of mine," Liam replied. 

Liam's casual mention of the wedding plans seems to have triggered something in Kieran due to the way he'd reacted.

Kieran nodded, "Okay."

Liam took a bite of the chicken and said, "So I'll tell him everything tonight."

Then Kieran got up from the dining table and was about to leave when Liam asked, "Ain't you gonna eat?" 

"I've lost my appetite," he said with a smile and walked away. He was trying not to show signs of anger, but I could tell he was upset. Or isn't he okay with the marriage plans?

The rest of the dinner went in silence; I didn't say anything to Liam, and neither did he say anything else. Just as I was done eating, I walked back into the guest suite.

*Thirty five minutes later*

"Was that true?" Kieran asked me while coming into the guest suite.

"What's that?" I asked him skeptically. 

He took a deep breath and said, "That you're getting married to Liam's cousin." 

I sat down on the stool facing the mirror and took a red lipstick, applying it gently to my lips. 

Of course, Kieran had listened to my conversation with Liam, even though he had walked out for a reason I didn't know; I knew he had heard a little of what we were talking about. I never expected him to come asking if it was true, as though it seemed like we were joking. 

"Yes," I nodded. 

"Are you being serious?" he asked, his voice laced with disappointment. 

I dropped the lipstick and turned my face to him. "Do you have a problem with that?"

He walked back to the door, looked around as though he was trying to check if another person was listening to our conversation -- after a short while, he closed the door and moved closer to me. 

"I have a problem with that," he said, his voice barely above a whisper. 

This was the least sentence I was expecting to hear. He had a problem with me marrying Liam's cousin. What's bad about that? Why wasn't he okay with it? 

I raised confused brows, as it was obvious I had more than one question to ask about what his problem was. 

He couldn't just be against this marriage thing if there was nothing he was burying inside his mind.

"And why aren't you okay with that?" I asked him, with worried lines showing on my forehead. 

I knew Kieran had a reason for saying this, and whatever it was, I'd like him to explain it all to me. 

"I'm listening," I told him. "I don't trust them," he said.

"Why don't you trust them?" I asked him. Of course, I have a lot to gain from this marriage, and this was actually the reason I'd accepted.

"I don't want you to accept Liam's proposal  to marry his cousin," he paused and continued, "I don't trust them.

"You don't trust them because of what?" I asked him. 

I really want him to be open to me about his fears.

"Because of everything, and I'm surprised you're even asking all these questions," he told me. 

"You're surprised I'm asking all these questions? How am I supposed to know what you're talking about? If you don't trust them, you're supposed to give me a reason for that." I told him. 

"I know there's a lot of secrets those two are hiding," he said. 

There's a lot of secret they're hiding? Which secret?

"Which secret are you talking about?" I asked him.

"Luna I don't want to talk about that now, just please, listen to me__" he told him.

"You've been away for quite a long time now. Even if anything had happened, you ain't supposed to be aware of it." I told him.

"For the fact that I was away for a long time doesn't mean I don't know what I'm talking about." He told me.

"I don't think his proposal for the marriage is a bad idea, I'm also gonna gain from it."  I told him.

"You don't know who his cousin is," he told me.

"Liam haven't tell me who he is either." I said.

"That's where the problem is," he said.

Who's he?