Page 80 of Runaway Hearts: Seduced by Danger

I exhale in relief. The last thing I want is to have this conversation while I’m caged in a car. I break off a piece of the pastry and pop it into my mouth.

Maybe I need to be bad.

Selfish.

And take what I desire for once.

We drive in comfortable silence, the passing scenery and Kai’s presence washing away my anxieties. The farther we get from my old life, the lighter I feel.

And that’s a revelation.

Chapter 16

Confessions

The car hums steadily along the open road, the rhythmic thud of tires against pavement filling the air. Sunlight dances through the leaves of passing trees, casting shifting patterns of light and shadow across the car’s interior. And an invasive thought pops into my head, like a call for redemption. “What’s in Vancouver?”

He nods and lets out a deep sigh. Are we on a need-to-know basis?

“Information I need.”

“What kind?”

Anguish twists Kai’s features. His lost kitten look jabs my gut.

The following silence is heavy, dangling between us like a pendulum poised to fall. I glance at the rearview mirror, half expecting the reflection of my life before this moment to stare back at me, but all I see are empty roads and doubts stretching to the horizon.

“Did you kill someone you shouldn’t have?”

Who am I now to speak of murder in a neutral tone?

“No.” The mood in the car shifts as Kai grins, his eyes taking on a strange, interested glow. “Two years ago, my father brought a girl from Japan for me. A potential wife.”

Imported for him? Mmkay.

“It was a total clash, didn’t work.” Kai chuckles. “But it made me question my parents’ history. My mother always told me they married out of love. You know, the typical romance tale. I gobbled it up like the night swallows the day.”

“Was it a lie?” I ask, failing to mask my keen interest.

“Yes. It was fucking bullshit. The way she looked at him, the way she touched him, the sad veil in her eyes when he asked for her… It all should’ve been a warning sign, but I was too young to realize.”

The plot thickens. Marianne, what!

I hold my breath, fascinated by Kai’s story, hanging onto every word as if I were listening to a gripping true crime podcast about a notorious criminal. Ooh... I am.

An arranged marriage built on lies. What else has he been deceived about?

“So, you think your father forced her into the marriage?”

“I know he did.”

Plot twist! Oh, Kai...

My heart rate picks up. This isn’t the direction I expected the conversation to go. But it’s morbidly interesting.

“How can you be so sure?” I ask.

“I found letters. Love letters she wrote to another man.”

---