Page 43 of Revenge

“Well, I promise to be extra nice tonight. How about I give you your gift now?” His words lifted my spirits.

Kai slid his hands from my hips, skimming across my bottom before falling away. Did he do that by accident or on purpose? Heat flared through me at his actions. As he stepped back and I glanced around, I noticed he’d danced us into the shadows, away from the others.

I held my breath as I watched him dip his hand into his jacket and pull out a small velvet box.

I can honestly say a thrill of pleasure ran through me. Was that what I thought it was? When he opened it, I realised I’d drank way too much booze.

Kai pulled out a solid gold necklace and even though it wasn’t a diamond ring, it was stunning and just what I had always wanted. It was a slim tasteful chain with my name on it. It was like the one Carrie wore on Sex and the City; a TV show I liked to watch. During those friendlier days, Kai had watched it with me and had taken the piss out of it, calling it typical Hollywood shite.

He must have remembered I’d said I liked it. So, Kai did still care about me, he had to? Or why would he have been so incredibly thoughtful?

And at that moment, I knew exactly what I wanted for my birthday.

Time seemed to stand still and I glanced up nervously into Kai’s face, he was watching me with a hooded expression. As he lowered his head, my lips parted—was he going to kiss me?

“Happy birthday, princess.” And he did kiss me…

On the fucking forehead!

The Present

Evenafterthat, I’d convinced myself he wanted me. And yet it had all been in my head; thatfuckingencounter with Kai where I thought he felt something more for me was horseshit. It had come straight out of one too many Bacardi and cokes and I hated myself for thinking there was anything in it.

And that hardness I’d felt had been hisfucking gun. He’d secured his weapon at his hip as the usual shoulder holster didn’t allow his tux to lay flat. I had gotten it wrong. So,fuckingwrong, it’s untrue. I wouldneverallow myself to be that idiot girl again.

I had felt like such adelusionalmoron.

And then I had gone on to make an evenbiggerfool of myself later that night when I’d waited in his bed completely fucking naked!

He had been so angry. Kai yelled at me and told me to get dressed. I remember him saying how his father had told him I’d been toying with male staff members. Walking around scantily dressed and behaving like a tease.

My mouth had literallydroppedopen in shock. Kai said that if I acted like a slut, people would treat me like one. I screamed at him and told him it was all lies. Then I had told him what Gerard had done that night of New Year’s Eve and why I had been so upset when I’d run into him. Kai said he didn’t know what I was talking about and that he didn’t remember seeing me that night.

It was during that horrible argument that I wondered if he knew what his father was doing and condoned it.

Kai had well and truly burst my bubble. I’d left his room wrapped in a sheet, shame burning through me.

I had then bumped into my mother and Gerard on the landing, he had arrived back from Ireland around the time the party ended. I remember he’d had hold of her arm and was dragging her towards their bedroom. He must have been told about my mother’s flirty behaviour and they were fighting about it. I remember I had been upset by her tear-stained face, but it was nothing I hadn’t seen before.

As I thought back to the morning after during breakfast, something had been off. Suki was quiet and not herself, but I just put that down to the medication at the time.

It was only now when I thought about it, through that drunken haze that I believe Suki could have suffered at Gerard’s hands that night and yet I had done nothing about it.

If anything, I was worse than Kai.

We had never spoken about it and I knew that now I was back. I needed to bring it up. Whatever had gone on between my mother and Gerard that night, altered the course of their relationship and it had never been the same again.

And now the fucker was dead and I may never know, would never get my revenge for what he had put me through as a teenager.

Closure wouldnevercome if you didn’t battle your demons. But how could I do that and move on when Gerard didn’t exist anymore?

The thought of punishing his son instead, had suddenly lost its appeal.

They say revenge is a dish best served cold, but I realised, I no longer had the pallet for it.

I just wanted out; for both my mother and meandmy friend.

And on that note; where thefuckwas Anton?

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