♪♪ Aren't you something to admire?

'Cos your shine is something like a mirror

And I can't help but notice

You reflect in this heart of mine. ♪♪

ᴺᴼᵂ ᴾᴸᴬᵞᴵᴺᴳ[Mirrors] - [Justin Timberlake]

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You. Cannot. Tell. Petra.

The stern tones of Ronnie and Hermione rang in Esmé's head, drowning out the sounds all around her. Her co-workers' voices bidding her goodbye wafted through one ear and out the other.

She's been through a lot. This news will devastate her.

Esmé jerked backwards and her eyes widened in shock at the loud horn that penetrated her thoughts. She recognized the marble white Ford Fiesta parked in front of her and wondered how long it had been there.

Kian wound down the window of the passenger's side and bent his head to get an unobstructed view of Esmé. "Are you not getting in?" he asked her with his eyebrows drawn together in concern.

"Right." Esmé chuckled dryly with a slack expression and opened the door.

"Stressful day at work?" Kian asked her while she got into the car, noticing her gaunt appearance and vacant stare.

Esmé nodded in response and with a tone that lacked vitality, she said, "Yeah, busy day."

The dismissal of the topic was there, plain and clear. Kian understood she didn't want to talk about it, and he got where she was coming from. For someone who knew a lot about not wanting to talk about something, he respected her answer and didn't push further.

The moment the engine of the car picked up, Esmé slacked further into her seat thankful Kian didn't make a force out of it. During the ride, she drifted back to the thoughts that plagued her mind. Fragments of her conversation with Ronnie and Hermione the previous day played in her head like a track on repeat. She felt they placed a heavyweight on her shoulder because of what she had seen and was told and there was also an additional one for how she had to handle the information she held.

It's not your secret to tell.

A part of her got their point and intention, but that didn't mean she liked how she felt knowing about it. Her chest felt heavy at the thought of Petra finding out through her, especially after the last time.

Esmé had avoided Petra's calls all day with the pretence that she was extra busy. With the inner conflict she was having through the day, she wasn't sure how she would pick up the call and act natural.

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Kian glanced at Esmé while he drove. The down-turned expression on her face was one he hardly ever saw. This made him more concerned, so as much as he respected her decision, he didn't see letting her just go into the house with a long face as the right thing.

He understood getting her mind off whatever had her so down would do the trick, and he thought of the one thing that might just work perfectly.

Esmé didn't steer when he turned off the ignition, which further fueled Kian's reasoning to help. He alighted from the car and went to the house to get Archie.

It was Archie barking that jerked Esmé out of her trance. Her heart raced at the sudden flow of adrenaline. She turned to her side, wondering when they got home to meet the seat by her side empty.

"Kian?" she called out to him, taking deep breaths to calm herself down as she stepped out of the car.

"Over here!" Kian responded from his spot behind the car by Archie's side, wearing his dog collar.

"What are you doing?" Esmé approaching them once she got her breathing to a normal pace and crouched down to an over-excited Archie who was busy wagging his tail while his tongue came up to lick her face.

Esmé chuckled in response, running her hands through Archie's hair to pet him. "Hey, there young man."

The sound of Esmé's chuckle let Kian know he made the right choice. It may not have been a full-blown smile or have brought her back to herself, but it was the first step. It was only after Esmé looked away from Archie to him he remembered he had left her question unanswered.

"Right. I thought a pleasant walk with Archie, enjoying the cool night breeze, could help you clear your head. And then I remembered there was going to be a mini dog concert type of thing in the park. I used to take Archie there, but I haven't in a while. So I thought I could help get your mind of things and take Archie to enjoy himself. You know, kill two birds with one stone," Kian explained.

Esmé stared at him with a dazed look. "Oh, that's quite thoughtful of you."

Kian opened his mouth to respond, but the wind swallowed his reply up as an eager Archie flew past Esmé towards the park dragging Kian who was holding on to his dog chain along.

A little whiff of Esmé's startled laughter flowed through the wind to Kian's ear, making him chuckle. Archie continued, not slowing down. The humming vibration of the floor from the speakers alerted them of their proximity to the park. The bright lights that illuminated the place were the next giveaway.

They positioned a stage at the centre of the park right in front of the rows of seats to accommodate the owners of the dogs that came. They placed different games set aside for the dogs at different corners of the park, with attractive decorations to lure the excitement of the dogs.

Once they reached the park, Kian took control of the reins with his laboured breath. Kian hurriedly directed Archie to register for a game that was about to start by the side of the stage before taking time to calm himself down.

Esmé got to Kian just the moment he was done, breathing heavily from trying to catch up with them. "That was insane! What was that for?"

Kian chuckled and led them to take a seat where they could get a perfect view of Archie. "I guess we were wasting his time by talking too much."

"Oh, really?"

"In all fairness to him, we would have missed this game if he didn't run as he did."

"Smart boy," Esmé said, smiling. Not missing the game was a good excuse, but she also knew that Kian had intentionally not stopped Archie from running. The adrenaline rush was definitely a splendid start of getting to unwind.

"Welcome ladies and gentlemen to another fabulous round of Hay Bale Racing! I hope everyone is excited to see their dogs race." The MC stood on the stage and people cheered at his statement along with the dogs barking. "And I daresay, win!"

Another round of cheers broke out as the MC blew the whistle and the dogs began to sprint. Esmé moved to the edge of her seat and her gaze went intently, watching Arche run along with the other dogs and hopping over hays. He moved fast, crossing past the first dog in his way with a dangerous speed.

Drawing in the energy from everyone around her, Esmé's heartbeat raced with an unknown excitement. "Go on Archie!" Esmé screamed at the top of her lungs along with other people who were cheering their dogs on.

As the dogs moved near to the finish line, the shouts of people increased in anticipation of who the winning dog would be. Closer and closer to the finish line and it felt like time slowed down, but the pace of their heartbeat picked up.

A piercing scream from Esmé startled Kian just as Archie crossed the finish line first. Esmé turned to Kian with a glint in her eyes. "He won! He actually won!" She jumped up and down in excitement. Her heartbeat pulsing quicker than ever.

Although she had screamed, a smile warmed its way to his lips. It was absolutely nothing like the scream of the previous day. The grin present on her face caused a nice soothing feeling to grow in Kian at being able to achieve that.

"Come on, let's go meet our champion." Kian nudged her towards the finish line where Archie stood barking excitedly and wagging his tails in pride as the other dogs circle around him.

Kian and Esmé stood side by side watching Archie while he interacted with the other dogs. Esmé smiled brightly at the view and realized that she felt lighter than she had been throughout the day. She turned slightly to Kian. "Thank you," she whispered, dragging Kian's attention away from the dogs.

"For what?" Kian asked while his eyebrows squeezed together, feigning oblivion.

Esmé chuckled and shook her head. "You really want to play that card, huh?"

Kian shrugged with a teasing smile playing at his lips. "I do not know, what you're talking about."

She threw her back laughing and opened her mouth to respond just as Archie whizzed towards them straight for Kian. Esmé turned sharply to see Kian stumble and trip backwards with Archie's sudden weight.

Esmé moved to grab his hand and stop his fall, but tripped on her own feet and stumbled down with him. Gasps from the crowd followed their movement to the ground.

Kian winced as Esmé's weight crashed down on him, and his back hit the floor.

Esmé's eyes bulged out of their sockets at Kian's pain. "Oh my goodness, I'm so sorry." She made a sharp movement to get off him and put extra pressure on the wrong part of his body, making him wince even further. Esmé stiffened at this, not wanting to cause him any more pain whispering repeated apologies.

"Maybe you should just hold on and stay still." Kian groaned out with his eyes closed tightly shut.

"Are... Are you okay?" Esmé carefully asked him, her eyes squinted in curiosity. Her breaths went in quick and shallow and her face tightened up for the pain she knew he was feeling.

After an excruciating minute, Kian opened his eyes to see Esmé's frozen state and chuckled slightly. "You can relax. It's just a minor strain." He lifted his lips a little to reassure her.

Esmé released a breath she didn't realize she was holding and drifted him. She stood up and then helped him up.

"You should really leave the saving to, you know, the doctor here." Kian smirked at her attempt to help him once he was up.

Esmé gasped. "You're making a joke right now?! You scared me for a second there! Are you sure you're okay?" she asked and put pressure on his shoulders with her hand. Her eyes searched his body, frantically for any injuries.

Kian's eyes twinkled with mischief, and he held her hands to stop their movement. A warm feeling rose in his chest at the amount of concern he saw on her face. He held her eyes with a serious look with a bemused smile on his face. "I'm fine, okay?"

Esmé's heart skipped a beat at the brief smile on his face. A smile of her own would have popped on her lips if she didn't think he was deceiving her. "I'm being se..."

"Kian?" A feeble feminine voice called out.

Kian's hold on Esmé's hand froze along with the rest of his body. He dropped Esmé's hand slowly while her brows drew together, watching him in confusion. They both turned to the source of the voice. Kian more stiflingly than she did.

Esmé squinted her eyes as she watched the lady standing before them. Her cupid's bow lips lifted to a full-blown smile at the sight of Kian and her ocean blue cat-like eyes lowered timidly while her hands tucked in a bit of her chocolate brown silky hair behind her ears. With Kian's frozen state by her side, she could only wonder who the lady was.

"K... Kristin?"

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Oop. 😮

Namaste peeps! How are you guys doing?

Secrets, secrets, secrets. What's your take on that? Do you think it's not Esmé's secret to tell or should she just tell Petra to get herself out of trouble?

And the bomb!! Look who decided to pay us a visit? Kristin. I wonder why she has come now. 🤔

That aside, I wouldn't mind you guys sharing what you know about Kristin from the book or your theories about her before we finally unveil the real mystery behind KRISTIN.

I hope you enjoyed the chapter! What did you think of it though? Your beautiful thoughts can be dropped in the comment section right there! 💭👉

Till Next time!💕