I tried to keep myself busy so I wouldn’t allow my mind to drift to thoughts of Angel and his possible deception. But I reminded myself that Kaiden had no proof.

And that was that.

There had been no sign of Angel, he had been closed up in his study with James. I wanted to be a fly on that wall.

I needed some help moving some boxes so I went downstairs and asked Jack to help me.

“Sure thing,” he said and followed me up the bedroom where the boxes from my room had been kept.

I had packed my mother’s journals away earlier, deciding I wasn’t ready for any more surprises. Finding the man who I had believed to be my father wasn’t my father and then discovering a man who I had considered an enemy was my biological father, was my limit. Maybe on day I would be able to read them, but as of right now I couldn’t. There was a chance I might never have a courage to read through all of her thoughts knowing there would be no happy ending for her.

“I wanted to move these boxes back into the wardrobe until I’m ready to unpack them,” I said, feeling like I had started something and not finished.

“They are pretty heavy,” he said, picking one up. “I helped Mr. Knox move them. It’s a good thing you called me to help. You definitely would have hurt yourself if you had tried to move these on your own.”

He talked merrily as he moved one box after the other.

I nodded.

“Mr. Knox asked me to repack them when he was done going through them.”

I stopped. Angel had gone through the boxes, he had never mentioned that

“Really?” I asked, feeling intrigued and nervous. “All of the boxes?”

He nodded, carrying the next box into the wardrobe before he returned to pick up another.

“I think he was looking for those,” he looked in the direction of the box that held my mother’s journals. On the outside of the box had been labelled journals.

One thought slid into another, like clogs in a whole network of thoughts. Why had Angel been interested in my mother’s journals? Then I stopped.

It couldn’t be true. No, it wasn’t possible.

If he had gone through my mother’s journals he would have found the same entries I had read through after discovering my biological father was Andrew Vincent.

“Did Mr. Knox mention what he had been looking for?” I asked, trying to keep my voice light for fear he would clam up and I would not get all the information I was looking for.

“I think he was looking for a clue to find your father,” he murmured, carrying the next box into the wardrobe.

I was stunned. Jack moved the remaining boxes and left.

I sank into the closest chair. My mind processing what I had just learned.

It wasn’t a coincidence, there was no way. Angel knew. My heart fell, it meant Kaiden was right. And that meant Angel had married me for revenge. There was no time to think of the ramifications of that, I had to tell Kaiden.

I hurried to the bedroom to get the phone he had hid in my bag. I eyed out the bathroom but then decided to go out into the grounds where no one would be able to hear what I had to tell him.

It was too important.

Trying to act as normal as possible I shoved the phone into my pocket and headed downstairs.

I made it out into the garden without being spotted and I went to the most remote place I knew to call my brother. It also ended up being the place I had married Angel. The pond.

I called Kaiden.

“Hi,” he got out before I blurted out what I had discovered.

“He knows.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” He sounded tired.

“Angel knows,” I hissed, trying not to speak too loud for fear someone would overhear. “He went through mom’s journals, the same journals where she talked about Andrew Vincent and falling in love…and having a baby…everything.”

“He went through her journals?” he echoed what I told him.

My heart was racing and then I sobbed, suddenly. Feeling like my heart was splitting apart.

“Kira,” he said.

I put my hand to my mouth so smother another sob. All the emotion was hitting me once and I was overwhelmed and heartbroken.

“Kira,” Kaiden soothed. “We’ll figure it out. I promise.”

Despite my brother’s words I felt so alone and no idea where to go from here.

I put my hand to my chest. “What am I going to do?” Another sob tore loose as I tried to stop the flow of shocked emotion.

There had always been someone to steer my life. When I was young it had been my parents and then it had been Angel, I had never been in a situation when I had been responsible for taking charge of my own life. And now I had no choice. I had to decide my future for myself.

“You aren’t not alone in this Kira, I’m in this with you.”

I let out trembling breath trying to reign in the hurt I felt at the betrayal.

“What do I do Kaiden?” I sniffled.

“First thing, you need to get out of there,” he ordered.

I was hesitant to leave, and I didn’t know why. Why would I want to stay with a man who had deceived me? All the while I had been falling in love with him. My stomach turned.

“This place is like Fort Knox. How am I supposed to leave without anyone seeing me?”

It was difficult to think of logic when my emotions were heightened.

I could hear him packing stuff in the background. “There is a way. When the security changes shift, you’ll have your chance. Don’t leave with anything else other than your handbag and leave your other phone otherwise he can track you through that. Anything else and he might be suspicious. Do you hear me Kira?”

“Yes,” I whispered, feeling dizzy. I put my hand out to the tree to stop my world from spinning.

Was this what a panic attack felt like? I inhaled sharply.

“Kira?” My brother’s voice reached me.

“I just need a minute. Just a minute.”

I closed my eyes and held the breath in my lungs, trying to count to ten. There was no time for me to lose my shit, I had to keep things together. Then I exhaled and repeated the action a couple of more times before I was sure I had staved off the panic.

“Okay,” I said when I put the phone back to my hear. “Where do I meet you if I get out of there?”

“Meet me at Claire’s.”

I nodded. It wouldn’t be the first place Kaiden would look for me but I had no confidence that I would be able to leave without someone trying to stop me.

It took me a few minutes to get myself together before I pocketed the phone started the walk back to the house.

Just as I reached the pathway that led to the fountain in the front of the main door I stopped when Angel exited the house.

Our eyes locked and he stopped.

His was foremost in my mind as our eyes held. Could he see my hurt? I swallowed.

He waited and I hesitated.

James said something in his ear and he nodded before he closed the distance between us. His features held nothing of his deceit.

He briefly kissed me on the mouth and it took everything I had not to pull away. Was his affection a way of reeling me in closer so I was unable to see the true reason behind his actions?

“I haven’t seen much of you today,” he said and I tried my best to appear as normal as possible, not showing the turmoil I was struggling through.

“I’ve been busy.”

He studied me. “You’re upset.” It was a statement.

I clearly wasn’t doing a great job and hiding my true feelings. I let out a sigh.

“What did your father do this time?” he asked.

I frowned. He thought my father had upset me. It was easier to go with that then try come up with another lie so I went with it.

“Nothing more than his usual annoying self,” I lied, hoping he wouldn’t be able to tell that I was lying.

Usually he could read me well, I didn’t know what I would say if he didn’t believe me. I wasn’t ready to confront him about what I had discovered. All I really wanted at that moment was to retreat, lick my wounds and figure out my next move.

His hand reached for mine and touched it gently. I lowered my gaze to where is fingers touched mine in a loose hold, and my heart squeezed in my chest. I wanted to allow the sadness and heartache to wash over me but I held it back for fear I would shatter into a million pieces.

His finger lifted my chin to raise my face upward and his lips covered mine.

I knew nothing about the road ahead, I only knew that I couldn’t stay where I was. Not for a minute longer, otherwise my mother’s fate would be mine.

I didn’t believe for a moment this was actually going to work. After Angel had left with James I had gone back into the house to wait until seven when security changed. Just before the time I grabbed my bag and headed downstairs.

I checked my watch. It was exactly seven, I hurried into the garage. There was no Jack to ask questions. I hurried to the car Jack usually used. My nerves were all over the place and my hands shook as I got into the car and tried to figure out how to start the car. Luckily, Jack had left the keys in the vehicle.

To ease my shaky hand I took a breath hand exhaled, giving myself a pep talk that I could do this.

I didn’t consider what I would do if this didn’t work, if I did I would falter and I had to keep my head to get out now while I had the chance.

When the car started I felt a moment of relief. I was closer to getting out but I still had to make it through the security at the gate. I’d only ever entered and exited the estate with a bodyguard and a driver. Would they allow me to leave without either of those?

There was only one way to find out. I found the remote for the garage and opened the door. Nervously, I eased the car out. I wasn’t a confident driver and I found driving at night even more nerve wracking but I breathed through my fear, taking it slow.

I could do this. I had to do this. There was no other choice.

If I took too long then the small opening I had would close and it would be more difficult to get out of here.

I drove the car to the end of the property and slowed when I reached the big iron gates. There was only one man standing guard.

He walked over to the window to talk to me and I fumbled to find the button to lower my window.

“Mrs Knox,” he greeted stiffly. My stomach tightened.

“Hi there,” I murmured sweetly, trying my best to look at ease driving myself without a bodyguard in sight.

“Have a good evening,” he said as he gave a brief nod, stepping back. Then the gates began to open slowly and I waited.

It was working. I felt almost giddy but kept my composure as I closed the window and waited for the gates to open before I left the property.

Looking in the rearview mirror, I couldn’t stop smiling as I saw the gates disappear into the distance. Now I had to find the quickest way to Claire’s to meet Kaiden.

The moment was bittersweet. I had escaped without incident but the hurt unfolding in my chest made it difficult to breathe. I loved a man who had used me for revenge, when I had believed he had done it for me. It was hard to accept but I had the facts to prove it. This wasn’t a hunch, it was the truth and it was difficult to process it.

There had been a few times when I had started to believe or hope that I was reaching the part of him that might just be able to love me but I had clearly been kidding myself. I had mistaken something else entirely for what I had thought was him starting to feel something for me.

I had been such a fool even though Angel had warned me not to fall for him. Then I had a sobering thought. Is that why he had told me that? Was it because he had entered into our marriage under false pretenses? It was possible and there was no way to be sure.

I tried to stay just below the speed limit to ensure I didn’t draw any unwanted attention, the quicker I got to Claire’s the better.

When I arrived at Claire’s house she came out to greet me with a hug.

I fought the emotion that made it difficult to say anything.

“It’s okay darling,” she murmured and I trembled.

“Kaiden said he will be here soon,” she assured me as she led me into the house.

I wasn’t sure what Kaiden had told or and what he hadn’t. She made me some tea and gave me some biscuits, chocolate chip. My favorite. It transported me back to when I was a child, when things were less complicated.

Feeling jittering I couldn’t sit still for long and preferred to pace the kitchen while watching every minute tick by on the clock hanging on the wall.

“Where is he?” I frowned. He would have been here by now and the fact that he wasn’t was increasing my stress level.

“He will be here, Kira. He probably had to take care of something.”

I didn’t like it one bit, not one bit. Kaiden was punctual and rarely late for anything especially something so important. It was difficult not to allow my imagination to run wild with every possible scenario. None of them good.

By now Angel would probably know I was missing, that skyrocketed my agitation. My eyes stayed on the window that overlooked the front driveway.

The phone Kaiden gave me rang and the sound made me jump. I rushed over to it to see a number I didn’t know. For a moment I hesitated before I answered it.

“Kira.”

It was Kaiden.

“Where have you been?” I asked, still relieved that he had called. My stress level was through the roof and I was on the verge of another panic attack.

“Meet me at the park down the street,” he instructed, not answering my question. “Angel knows you left without your bodyguard and is already starting to look for you. You have to leave Claire’s.”

My heart hammered in my chest and my hand shook. “How?”

“Go. Now.” His voice stern.

“Okay.” I faltered and ended the call.

I grabbed my bag. “I’ve got to go. I’ll call you when I get a chance.”

“Be safe,” Claire hugged me.

“I will.” I hugged her a little closer.

When I pulled up by the park I only had to wait for a few minutes before Kaiden pulled up beside me in a car.

He embraced me briefly before bundling me into the car.

“Where are we going?” That was the first and most important question.

“A friend has a place we can use. It’s only until we figure out our next move.”

I didn’t want to think of the path ahead, I was still finding it hard to handle all the revelations I had uncovered in the last couple of days.

He drove in silence, checking the rear view mirror constantly.

“Why were you late?”

He gave me a side glance. “I had a surprise visit from Angel.”

I was stunned.

“He wasn’t happy that dad had upset you. And wanted me to relay a message to him to tread carefully.”

I looked ahead watching the street lights pass by us. “I saw him after our phone call. I was upset. He assumed it was over dad.” I shrugged.

“When he was there he got a call from the security at the house to let him know that you had left without a driver and a bodyguard. He knew immediately something was up and left.”

“It was easier than I had expected.”

I was relieved to have been able to leave without a big confrontation between Angel. My heart was broken, the last thing I wanted was to face the man who had crushed it.

“Nothing from this point on will be easy Kira. Are you ready for that?”

I glanced at my brother. “I have to be. I don’t have a choice.”

It wasn’t my actions that had led me to take drastic measures. It had been Angel’s. I had entered into a marriage under the pretense of safety only to find out he had married me for revenge. It still cut into my chest like a knife every time I thought about Angel’s betrayal.

It made me think back to every time he had stood by me when I had been alone and it made me question why he had done any of it.

But it didn’t matter now. All that mattered was his deception now.

He had been my first lover and I had fallen for him hard.

It was a difficult lesson to learn but I was not going to make that mistake again.

When we arrived at a cabin in the woods which was an hour outside the city I was mentally and physically exhausted.

“Are you hungry?” he asked going through the contents of the fridge.

I shook my head. I had no appetite.

“Get some sleep. We can talk in the morning,” Kaiden said.

I nodded even though I was sure I wouldn’t be able to sleep. How could I after finding out how I had been betrayed in such a brutal manner?

In the room Kaiden showed me to I sat down on the bed and stared at my wedding ring and engagement ring with a heavy heart. I slid the rings off and put them on the small side table beside the bed.

My marriage was over.