Kiera drove back home with a heavy heart. The weekend was a disaster and she wouldn't try to sugarcoat it. Mikael's family was strange and she couldn't say that she wanted to see them again, and because she intended to be with him, avoiding them entirely would be difficult. There were good moments. The lunch she had with him on Saturday was one of them, and the night she spent in his arms was the highlight of the weekend. But Saturday evening changed a lot of things for her; she was no longer in a hurry to get to know him. She discovered that what she wanted was space, but perhaps that was only because of his family and she was judging him too harshly. Yes, he followed her all the way to the hotel to apologize which she found strange but understandable, but he didn't stay the night and he didn't try to persuade her to return. What did that show her?She couldn't say she was happy with how everything turned out.Kiera opened the gate and drove inside. She left the hotel at seven so s

The front door was wide open so Kiera knew that they were home. She held her breath as she parked the car. She released it only when she was locking it. Her feet were moving before her mind could process what she was doing or intended to do. She wouldn't let the matter go, though. She would confront the problem head on and take responsibility like the adult that she was. She walked inside and looked right. They where in the kitchen. Her impression was that they had been discussing something heatedly before she entered. They were staring at her as if she was a stranger. It made her feel bad but she held her ground. "Where were you?" she asked. "I thought you left for good." "Why would we leave for good?" Simone asked. "This is our home. And you, Kiera, are family to us. We had business to attend to. We left early so we didn't have time to inform you.""Business?" she asked. "What kind of business? Why aren't you specifying? Since when do we keep things from each other?" As she said

Kiera looked back and forth between them."What are you talking about?" she asked after a painful moment of silence.Simone and Kane simply stared at her. Kane appeared to be more uncomfortable than her and she wondered once again what it was that Simone wanted to tell her that Kane disagreed with. It made no sense to her why she'd want to tell her something which he didn't.It tied her head in a knot."Kiera," Kane said, "we were talking about—""Mikael," she said sternly. "Yes, I heard you. What I want to know is why you were saying those things about him. What makes you so sure that he was the one who killed Jared?" That was what she gathered he said. She wasn't totally sure but she'd risk it and see if she'd nail the jackpot."I'm not sure of anything," he replied, matching her tone of voice. "You misunderstood me. Then again, that tends to happen when you listen in on other people's conversations."A frown pulled her brows together. "I wasn't doing it on purpose. I walked in on y

Kane returned late in the night.Kiera couldn't believe that the day had passed like some kind of joke. The incident happened at around eight AM and she spent the whole day waiting for news or something. Anything. There was no call from Mikael and when she lost her patience and tried to call him, he didn't pick up. Simone tried to call Kane and the same thing happened.Her fear was palpable.She didn't believe that contacting the police was the right thing to do because it would implicate Mikael further. She felt bad for prioritizing him over Kane but she couldn't help herself. It was her heart's desire to protect him at all costs just as she had when Simone grabbed that rifle and tried to shoot him. She still couldn't believe that that had happened. She didn't even know that Simone could handle guns. Hours had passed and they said nothing to each other. It wasn't that she was tremendously upset at Simone for doing what she did. Perhaps she was still too anxious to process and inter

Kiera returned to her senses slowly. Pain was the first thing she felt. She couldn't even open her eyes because the back of her head was on fire and her neck was stiff. There was a heavy weight on top of her, there had to be. Why else couldn't she move? Something wasn't right. She felt threatened. It was Mikael who had hit her. That was her first coherent thought after struggling for a few seconds to sit up. He was standing behind her, seemingly to let her pass, and then she felt the hit and as she fell, he hovered above her. His face was a blur but it was him who had done it. She had numerous questions and the first one started with him. Why did he do that to her? Why would he hit her? To stop her from leaving? Why? A groan left her lips. Her mouth was dry. She opened her eyes and saw darkness so she wondered if she had even opened her eyes. Another thought occurred to her: what if the room was dark because the sun had set? She didn't know how long she had been out like a flame.