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f o r t e

[It.] : (f) Loud.

THE SILENCE THAT ensued was suffocating in every way. I couldn't even begin to describe the range of emotions that flitted across Kaden's face over the next few seconds. There was disbelief, shock, confusion; along with other stronger emotions, like hurt and pure fury, as well as a fleeting second of utter relief. Parker and Nolan were dead quiet but I could feel their sharp gazes on me.

"You're – " Kaden's voice was strangled, his normally articulate behaviour shattered to bits. He stared at me so intently, searchingly, as though he was trying to recall me from the deepest recesses of his mind. " – you're the girl?"

I shoved all worries aside and focused on him instead, how I never thought an opportunity like this would ever become a reality. I was finally, finally introducing myself to Kaden Bretton. It was sheer exhilarating and nerve-wracking all at once.

Nodding, I flashed a hesitant but warm smile. "Hello, Kaden."

The brief emotion of happiness that flickered in his eyes was so quick I almost missed it. But I caught it and it was real. And then it was gone and his expression was cold once more.

"She's the same Isla I mentioned before," came Parker's voice, measured but smooth as usual. "My mum and I lived with her Dad and her for years, remember?"

Kaden didn't reply. It didn't seem to matter to him that Parker had told him about me in the past. Instead, he got to his feet and took a deliberate step closer to me. His posture was so stiff and intimidating that I faltered. I had just begun to glance away when his fingers shot out to grasp my arm. But if I had adored his touch previously, relished in the warmth of his skin on mine, his was the kind of harsh, unrelenting warmth now, his grip almost vice-like.

When I met his eyes, his gaze was unreadable. Ironic how he now had his sight back and he was far more elusive than he had been when he was blind.

"I need a word with you," he said, his voice void of all emotion. "In private," he added coldly, when Parker and Nolan made to stand.

Nolan immediately sat back down but Parker hesitated, staring at Kaden warily.

I shot my brother a reassuring smile. "I'll be fine."

He didn't look very convinced, which was completely understandable. Kaden was in an unidentifiable mood at the moment and we could hardly predict his next move. But before I could reassure Parker further, Kaden was already pulling me towards the door. Ever the gentleman, he held the door open for me to step through, before stepping out himself and letting the door swing shut behind us.

Perhaps it was the purposeful, utterly intimidating way he carried himself, because no one seemed inclined to follow or approach us – not even Jeanette or Brent, who stared at us with wide eyes and gaping mouths as we headed past the lobby and towards the balcony which I had been just several minutes ago.

The street below was still busy, the constant sounds from cars rushing by like the kind of background music that was grating to the ears. Kaden still hadn't let go of my arm but his grip had loosened slightly, so I pulled back, unsure of how to behave in front of him.

Because what now? What was he thinking? I stared at him doubtfully as he turned to shut the door firmly behind us and decided it was best that I apologise for the way I'd left him months ago.

"Listen," I began, carefully, and he went rigid, his back still facing me. "I think I really owe you an – "

But the words froze on my tongue when he spun round quickly and closed the gap between us. A shiver glossed down my spine and my eyes fluttered shut almost instinctively as he pressed his lips to mine, effectively obliterating any remnant thought or rationality I had in my mind. He brought his hands up my face, threading his fingers through my hair and angling my head so he could deepen the kiss.

And as his tongue swept past my lips and delved hot and passionately into my mouth, I found myself responding to him. I met his kisses with equal fervour, which caused him to growl low in his throat and yank me flush against him. I didn't fight it, didn't fight him, because it was pointless and I had missed him so damned much. His lips were familiar and foreign all at once – familiar in the way he tasted, like soft mint and something delightful; but foreign in the way he was kissing me.

He had never kissed me like this before – it was frantic and desperate, but not the kind of devastation he'd kissed me with the last time. Instead, it was desperate in the kind of agonising yearning that made my chest tighten painfully, like he'd missed me just as much as I had missed him and was no longer sane because he'd missed me so much. I let out a shaky whimper in response to his feverish kisses, which was perhaps not the best thing to do because he suddenly froze against my lips.

And then he was wrenching away from me as though my touch scorched him. I almost stumbled but he quickly grasped me by the elbows and steadied me. But the moment I found my footing, he immediately took his hands away, taking several steps back. A furious look glossed his features; the deadliest, calmest sort of angry I'd ever seen him.

"I can't fucking believe you," he hissed, his green eyes flashing heatedly. "Who the hell do you think you are to come into my life and leave whenever you feel like it?"

I faltered for a brief moment, trying to find the right words to remedy the hurt he felt without giving away the full story. But I had clearly waited a moment too long, because his eyes narrowed in anger.

"Why did you leave me?"

Because your mother made me. Because if I didn't, then Parker and my family would've gotten hurt.

"I'm honestly sorry I left," I told him instead, and met his gaze frankly. "I didn't want to hurt you and I'm sorry I did."

"You didn't want to hurt me? You lied to me from the first moment you stepped through the doors of my house and fed me bullshit about actually loving me. And I actually bought it because I was, according to you, too stupid to believe that there were scumbag liars in this fucked-up world," he paused, fixing me with a cold glare that sucked the air out of my lungs as I recalled what I said perfectly.

Sudden tears pricked the back of my eyelids. It was far too late for regrets but I had been wishing so much for him to forget all the lies that I had said. Apparently, he hadn't and the thought of that was utterly heart-breaking.

"Kaden – "

"I begged you to stay," he let out a bitter laugh and shook his head. "I fucking begged you to stay, and I have never begged anyone in my entire life. I could've given you the world if you asked for it, if only you stayed."

His words struck a chord in my memory and I could remember it loud and clear. He was willing to give me anything. Just love me and don't leave me, he'd said, in one of his most powerful statements that made a shudder rip through me the first time I heard it. Never leave me. The memory of it now left an aching, tired hole in my gut.

Taking a deep breath, I blinked away the tears that came to my eyes. "I am sorry – "

"No, you're fucking not," he said in a low, vehement tone.

Something in the way he said it made my heart race, and not in a good way. Because I'd seen Kaden kind and warm, but I'd never seen him cold and vengeful before. He stepped towards the door, pulling it open. He threw one final glance over his shoulder before letting the door swing shut behind him.

"Not yet anyway."

▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬

"This is some serious bullshit," was Parker's greeting to me that evening. He'd come over unannounced late in the night, and I was midway through Pulp Fiction when I heard the doorbell ring incessantly.

Grumbling under my breath, I crossed the living room at an abysmally slow pace and opened the door for him. I ignored his greeting, even though I had a faint inkling of what he was referring to, and leaned against the doorframe instead.

"Someday, I won't be at home and you're going to be standing there ringing the doorbell like a bloody fool."

He frowned. "Are you drinking?"

I stared at the wineglass in my hand and widened my eyes innocently at him. "I think so."

"Why are you drinking?" he sounded disapproving but his eyes seemed fixated on the tiny amount of liquid left in the glass. Besides, he couldn't tell me not to drink and he knew it, because when I turned eighteen, he was the first one to take me out for a drink.

So I simply smirked. "You want some, don't you?"

"Give me the whole damn bottle," he muttered, shoving his way into the apartment. He made a beeline for the sofa, kicking his shoes off and yanking out his tie before settling down, lying horizontally with his head propped against the leather arm of the chair.

Obviously, he wasn't in a good mood, but then neither was I. I was just a lot less frustrated than he was, and far more guilty about the whole thing altogether.

After closing the door, I headed to the kitchen to get Parker a new wineglass. Taking the wine bottle and the two glasses, I went back to the living room and set them down on the coffee table in front of us.

"Had a long day?" I asked sympathetically, pouring him a generous amount of wine and handing him the glass.

Parker sat up and took the glass from me. The smile on his face was almost sardonic. "Thanks to Kaden," he muttered. He glanced briefly at the movie playing on the television and his eyebrows rose. "I never knew you liked black comedy. I thought you were into romcoms – you never watched anything but those."

I smiled wistfully. There was a time when I did watch romantic comedies almost exclusively. But over the years, that had changed, as had many other things.

"It's an acquired taste," I said, gesturing to the television. "I still do watch romcoms and Sleepless in Seattle will always be my favourite movie, but – you know, romcoms have a tendency to make you believe that happy endings exist, when in reality," my voice trailed off and I stifled a sigh, "they don't."

"I think I like you better when you're optimistic," he mused wryly.

"I like me better when I'm optimistic too. Unfortunately, I can't always be that way." Settling down onto the armchair adjacent to the sofa, I hitched my legs up over the armrest and leaned back on the other side of it. Then I glanced over at Parker, who still looked rather tired. "I'm sorry I put a strain on your friendship with Kaden. I didn't mean to, you know, it's just so cliché when a girl comes between friends and wears out their friendship. I just didn't think I'd actually do something like that."

"That cliché only works when the friends are in love with the girl. And since the thought of being in love with you makes me nauseous – no offence, princess – "

"None taken."

" – and Nolan being in love with you makes me even more nauseous, I don't think the cliché applies to us. No, this strain on our friendship's a result of Kaden being kind of an arse, and Nolan and I haven't exactly been the most supportive people either."

"Yes, but I made that happen." The guilt I felt towards the three of them was always going to be there. It hadn't faded all these months and certainly not now. I inhaled deeply and pushed myself up, fixing a bright smile on my face. "But I'm going to fix that. I think I'll accept the job offer. It'll make things a lot less ugly, I think."

Parker's forehead creased. I knew that he was thinking about what Kaden had said earlier that day. After Kaden had left me at the balcony, he'd stormed back to Parker and demanded that I work for him at his company instead.

"She's going to be my personal assistant."

I had barely managed to catch the last of Kaden's words by the time I had hurried back to the room. The room was still empty save for the four of us and I knew that we were attracting a lot of attention from the other employees outside.

"But you've never had personal assistants," Nolan had piped up, rolling his eyes when Kaden shot him an icy look.

"Anyone in their right mind would accept this job offer," Kaden had said flatly. I knew that he had seen me in his peripheral vision, but he continued talking to Parker and Nolan as if I wasn't there at all. "A far better salary than what she's getting here, one of the highest positions in the company and a fantastic resume because of it."

Parker hadn't look convinced at all. In fact, he seemed rather peeved, especially when his gaze landed on me. "That's not the point. The point is – you don't force people to work for you unless they want to. Isla didn't even agree to it. "

"That's because it's not a choice," Kaden had returned cryptically, before turning towards the exit. On the way out, he had paused in front of me, lowering his head and speaking in a register only I could hear. "Don't try me. You wouldn't like to see what happens when you fight fire with fire."

Then he had left, leaving a trail of destruction in his wake. To say Parker was aggravated would be an understatement. He was utterly exasperated; Nolan was mystified.

None of us had a clue as to what Kaden was thinking or why he had acted this way. It seemed like he'd transformed a hundred and eighty degrees to someone completely antagonistic and manipulative. Parker and Nolan had spent the rest of the day trying to convince Kaden otherwise, but clearly it hadn't worked.

"It's just an empty threat," Parker said now, his voice breaking me out of the memories I was having. His jaw was set firm with determination. "What's the worst Kade can do if I refuse to let you go? Ruin my company's reputation? File a lawsuit against me?"

I didn't know. I didn't want to think that Kaden was capable of things like these, but why did it seem so similar to what his mother had threatened me with months ago? Why were the Brettons so quick to fixate upon the people I feared for and loved the most?

"If you're worried about me – don't be," Parker continued gently. "I think it's pretty clear what Kade's trying to do. He'd do anything to keep you near him because he's afraid that if he lets you go once more, he'd never find you again. He's just doing it in his own fucked up way, adding his overbearing, irrational behaviour into the mix. He's not thinking straight. You should just let him cool down, Isla. He'll be fine after awhile."

"Or," I offered lightly, "I could just agree to what he wants me to do."

There was a beat of startled silence. And then Parker was frowning worriedly. "Isla – "

"I'm not acquiescing. I'm not doing this because he wants me to. I'm doing this to fix things, especially yours and Nolan's friendship with him. I know it's not the wisest way but it's the least I could do, especially after all the terrible things I said to him."

Even now, all the lies I had said rang perfectly clear in my head and I winced as I recalled them.

I'm a poor girl who would do anything for money. Even if it means playing with the heartstrings of a billionaire who's too stupid to believe that there are scumbag liars in this fucked-up world.

I have never loved you. Not then, not now, not ever.

These words sent a painful stab through my heart. And I couldn't even begin to fathom how much more painful they must've been to Kaden, who truly seemed to believe every word I said from the moment I stepped into that room and played Evangeline.

In that aspect, he was perfectly warranted to feel the way he felt now – angry, bitter about it, even if he wasn't exactly handling those emotions in a proper way. I could only wonder if he had it in him to forgive me. And if he didn't, this job offer could be the only way I could make it up to him.

I related all these to Parker, who listened with a sombre silence and a calculative look on his face. But unlike Kaden, I could always tell what my brother was thinking and I knew he didn't buy what I said. Not completely, anyway.

And so it came as no surprise when he let out a sigh at length and leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. His eyes surveyed me with a faint intrigue that almost bordered on amusement.

"Are you sure you're just guilty, Isla?" He asked simply. "Or is there another reason to it altogether?"

Rolling my eyes, I turned back to face the television, blocking out his knowing laugh that followed in the wake of my silence and knowing far too well that the truth was something so terribly difficult to say.

Of course there's another reason. I'm still in love with him. And if working for him allows me another day with him, then I'd gladly take that and more.