<If you never heal from what hurt you, you'll bleed on people who love you>

*SLIGHTLY UNEDITED!😭*

|Kian|

Friday, September 17, 2021

HANGOVERS ARE bitches.

"Damn," I groaned, reaching out with a hand for the warm body of my wife. To nuzzle at her neck and rant about how stupid I was to have imbibed on too much alcohol last night.

Empty air licked at my searching fingers, the heart-breaking recollections of the past few days smacking me with full force.

Kincade, Jadesola's father, had killed my mother the day before my birthday.

"Fuck, fuck fuck!" Darting upright, the sheets fell to my waist as I rubbed a palm across my face, an ache pounding furiously in my head. Just like the pang that had racked my chest when Father had revealed that soul-shattering knowledge to me.

I hadn't believed it then, but when I'd seen Kincade's pictures and done more background research on him, I'd finally embraced the bitter truth. That bastard, the black psycho, had murdered my mom in cold blood. And as if fate had decided that my life wasn't ruined enough, I'd fallen in love with his daughter. I'd betrayed my mom woefully.

Fuck, why me? Just why? Was I cursed to never have a happy-ending?

Falling back to the sheets, an exhausted sigh escaped me, my tongue too wooden and dry to curse anymore. Beams of the sun peeked through the closed windows, irritating my eyes. It was afternoon and I'd been knocked out for hours.

Again, Jadesola's annoyed voice echoed within the confines of my head: Not even a text and when you came back, you didn't even ask about me or your child!

Because of Kincade, I'd been the monster who'd treated his pregnant wife horribly. Abandoned her for two good days without checking up on her because I'd cried at my mother's grave, wishing I could kill myself as well. Went off to the club to drink myself to stupor while gathering courage to inform Jadesola I was divorcing her. Then came back home, ignored her birthday presents and let her weep despite all my promises and vows.

You're a bastard, Kian. A huge, motherfucking son of a bitch.

Another pang resonated in my chest, making it difficult to breathe. How the fuck was I going to continue living if I divorced Jadesola? I was clueless, the very thought searing my soul.

Where was she, by the way? It was unusual for her to be up this early, especially since she became pregnant with our baby. Unless she was in the kitchen, unable to bear my cold, silent presence.

With the hangover blinding my vision, I couldn't yell her name out loud nor could I find the will to stand up and face her yet. I dreaded seeing her expression as I wrecked our marriage to pieces. Dreaded seeing her break down, honey eyes flashing, screaming and yelling at me.

Stuck in my head, I stayed in that position for minutes, losing track of time. Until my phone rang out loud. I ignored it, hoping that whoever was calling would quit. Nope, it rang non-stop, an ear-splitting noise that worsened my situation.

"Fuckers," grunting, I jerked the sheets off my lower body whilst clutching my throbbing head. As I rolled off the bed, a whitish stain on the brown, silky fabric caught my eyes. Dried cum.

I glanced down at my limp cock, flakes of cum stuck on the crown of my penis. Fuck, I must have slept with Jadesola last night. But I couldn't remember the details, just a vague memory of me pulling her into my arms and the rest, a drunken blur.

God, my eyes flared wide in horror, I hoped I hadn't forced myself on her whilst furious.

The insistent blaring of the ringtone jarred me out of my thoughts.

"Jeez, tone it down!" Glowering at the device that laid on the vanity, I padded across the room to answer.

Private number flashed on the screen before I swiped across.

"Hello?" I growled into the phone, mad at having to pick up.

"Is this Mr. Fields?" Urgency was tinged in the man's deep, familiar voice.

"Yes?!"

"It's Kincade."

I froze, eyes flared wide in shock. What the hell?

It was my mother's killer. That devious, murderous bastard. My hands shook, furious. No wonder his voice had sounded familiar. As familiar as the maniacal laughter that invaded my dreams every night, transforming them into nightmares.

He continued, "Your silence tells me you remember me. Good. Now, the truth is not always what it seems and if you need to know who really killed your mother, meet me at the abandoned warehouse on the outskirts of town. Come alone."

The line went off.

"You bastard!" I roared loudly, flinging my phone away. It hit the wall opposite me, striking down with a dull thud, smashed.

All my exhaustion was snuffed out, bouts of fury charging my veins, hatred that I had cultivated for years filling the dark chambers of my heart with renewed force.

How dare that bastard have the audacity to call and ask for a meet-up? To tell me more lies? And how the fuck had he even gotten my number?

Oh, this fucking nigga was playing games with me.

"Fuck, Kian, you need to stay sane. Stay calm. Think!" I tore at my hair, chest heaving rapidly as I paced around the room.

This phone call meant he had to have escaped, there was no other way. Only God knew how but that fucking psychopath had fled from jail. He was free again, roaming about and seeking who he would sink his grubby teeth into.

"Not on my fucking watch, Kincade. Never on my fucking watch." I knotted my hands into fists, vengeance swarming over my entire body. "You wants to meet up, yeah? Fine."

Blinded by revenge, I didn't think too much. Didn't think if it was a set-up or if I should inform the police of a missing inmate. No, every inch of me was riveted on the justice my dead mother had been denied. I was going to meet him and finally rid this world of the pest. I didn't even give two fucks about whatever information he ached to divulge to me. That murderer could carry whatever truth brimming in him, to the fucking grave and kiss my ass while at it.

With frightening haste, I brushed my teeth, took a very quick shower and shimmied into any clothes I could grab my hands on, uncaring of how I appeared. Then I searched for my car keys on the vanity. The damn keys were missing.

Infuriated, I checked the nightstand. As I ran my eyes across the brown surface, they fell on a folded paper on which Jadesola's ring was placed. Wait, why was her ring here and not on her finger?

A sick feeling pooled in my guts as I reached out for the paper. With shaky hands, I ripped the tear-stained letter open.

Dear Kian,

It is with a heavy heart that I write to you. I saw the pictures in your study so I understand now. I understand why you left me hanging and I don't exactly fault you for it. If anything, I'm sorry for the hideous crime that man committed.

While I love you, I can't live with someone who hates me. I can't do that. And I know that when you are awake, you might think you forced me to have sex with you. You didn't. We made love, for the last time, I guess and you made it beautiful.

Thank you Kian. Thank you for showing me that true love still exists. Living with you was a pleasant memory, still is and I will continue loving you even though I know you don't.

When you drop the divorce papers, please send someone else to give it to me. I cannot bear to look at you again.

Love, Jadesola.

P.s: I took the Bugatti Divo's car keys. Musa, my old driver, will return the car this morning.

Numb, I let the paper flutter to the ground, my soul and heart shattered. She had left me before I could. That was good, wasn't it?

It wasn't. Not with the way I wanted to roar. Punching and hitting someone as I screamed at the injustice of it all.

Jadesola had made things easier for us, but the ache in my chest didn't recede. It grew in a thousand folds. Anger, sorrow and revenge, seething and boiling within my skin.

I refused to think too much about her desertion, more focused on her father. It was that bastard's fault. That snake. That fucking coward. Now, I was certain why fate had brought us together. Even bullying Olayinka wasn't weird again. We were all connected, the thorny lines of chaos wounding us in its piercing lines.

Sucking in a deep breath, I swerved on my feet and headed towards the safe in my study. I pulled it open, ignoring the documents and valuables manning its steel confines and stashed the black, shiny metal of destruction inside my pocket. I'd never needed it. Except right this moment, it seemed I would be using it a lot more often. Starting from today.

I grabbed another car key and stalked out. Once I entered the living room, my eyes zeroed in on the contract and ultrasound image on the table.

Overlooking the file, I lifted up the picture, crestfallen. I couldn't make out head or tail of the image that glared at me, but the black and white photograph was a miniature copy of Jadesola and I. An innocent baby who would never know the love of both parents at the same time. Annoyed at that fact, I tucked it inside the back pocket of my jeans and stormed out.

The jeep was fast, zooming past speed limits as I drove, a wildfire razing the stone that my heart. Within thirty minutes, I killed the engine, halting before the dilapidated building.

The anger that creeped through me as I alighted from the car didn't allow my sixth sense to observe my surroundings. I was too enraged.

Charging past the entrance, I yelled, venom laced in my ferocious tone, "Where are you?! You fucking shit."

"Here."

Clad in the orange uniform meant for prisoners, Kincade's huge frame rested against the wall. His arms were crossed, that goddamn Great Stave tattoo I'd glimpsed in Sasha's house, inked around the width of his right, bulging biceps. Solemn, he stared at me, features older and brutal than I remembered.

Fuck, he and Jadesola were carbon copies of each other. How had I never realized?

"You have grown into a fine, young man, I see." His lips twisted in a tiny smile, the scar near his right eye crinkling with that action.

How I ached to shoot that smile off his ugly-ass face.

Yanking out the black metal from my waistband, I pointed the gun at his face, snarling, "Give me one good reason why I shouldn't blow your fucking head off right now."

"Son," he started, shaking his bald head and raising both hands in surrender. "You–"

"Don't son me, you bastard!" The thunderous rage in my voice had him staggering backwards, the cold, deadly weapon I gripped set to target. "Why should I believe what you said on the phone? Give me one damn reason why!"

A feminine voice cut in, "Because he's innocent. Drop the gun, Kian."

Tilting my head to the side, gun still pinned on Kincade's orange form, should he make any funny move, I bellowed, "What the fuck are you doing here, Katharina?"

A/N: TEEHEE. The quality of this chap is watered down, I know, I'm sorry. Dw, the next will be better.😁 I was rushing to update 'cos I'm moving to a new apartment (in my same building SIGH)🫣 and I didn't want to leave you guys hanging.

As I wrote this chap, I kept on asking myself, ANITA WHO ASKED YOU TO ADD MYSTERY INSIDE THIS BOOK, BECAUSE ALL THE RESEARCH I HAVE TO DO FOR THE NEXT CHAP IS O FOR OVERWHELMING. SIGH.

The Great Stave tattoo on Kincade's arms, I mentioned it twice in the book, yk.

Love,
Nita.