Page 198 of Doubts & Fears

“How the fuck do you guys expect me to help her when not a goddamn one of you is being truthful? I thought we agreed to take it slow?”

Alek mumbled something under his breath, his eyes downcast and his shoulders tense. Meanwhile, Ivan’s expression shifted, morphing into one of profound disappointment in himself.

As Marcel’s best mate, he bore the weight of his words, etched with a mix of regret and introspection. In the silence that followed, the three of us grappled with the consequences of our actions.

“What I’d really like to know is how she is that comfortable talking with Sebastian about those kinds of things?”

“She may or may not have had a full week of edging, courtesy of Sebastian,” Ivan offered, and Alek slapped the back of his head. “Fuckface, he asked.” Ivan smacked him back.

“Will the two of you cut it out?” I bellowed, getting pissed at both of them.

“Wow, secrets all around,” Marcel exclaimed. “I’m not sure what to say to that. I suppose it makes sense why she canceled her appointments with me.”

“Marcel,” Alek said gruffly.

The emotional landscape shifted, and a soft sigh escaped Marcel. “It’s all good, Alek. I’ll call you back later. I need to talk to her directly.” A firmness in his voice, an unmistakable concern, took precedence as he turned his attention to Kinsley.

However, before he could hang up, Alek yelled, startling us all. “You will letushandle this.” His voice rang out, filled with a depth of emotion none of us had seen in a long time.

“Look, we may not have gone about this using the agreed-upon protocols. And clearly, we may have missed some things, but Ivan is completely in love with her. Nik is damn near in tears about someone whipping her, and I…I…hell, she’s got a fucking choke hold on me.”

Alek took a deep breath before continuing. That undercurrent of responsibility he felt for Kinsley simmered beneath the surface as he tried to remain calm.

“Marcel, she hasn’t been forced once, and none of us intend to make her do anything she doesn’t want to. We’ve taken things slow with her, explained everything, and we aren’t pushing her. We’ve kept things basic in all ways at this point.”

“I hear you, and while I believe your intentions are good, it doesn’t negate the fact that you know better. Hidden trauma will always come back and bite you in the ass. You, of all people, know that.” Marcel’s voice held a note of warning, and coupled with how intricately he knew each of us, they came from a good place.

In that moment, the shared history of our childhood and the unspoken understanding of what we’d been through as a group colored the conversation. Marcel reminding Alek of his own experiences with unresolved trauma hit home. The words took on a whole new meaning.

Marcel spoke once more. “Something you wouldn’t know is that our last session before this latest break was fucking raw. She admitted some things and said things. She’s used her fucking safeword with me twice now. Twice, gentlemen.” He paused and cleared his throat. “I won’t get into specifics of what triggered her, but it’s real.” His voice carried a solemn note. “I’m going to caution you. Don’t push her about the scars.”

The significance of his statement resonated deeply. “Fuck.” He gave a harsh laugh, as if he’d put two and two together in his head about something. It was as if the puzzle pieces had finally fallen into place, and he’d connected the dots. “By chance, were any of you aware they released her grandfather?”

“What, when?” Ivan looked at me and Alek.

“I’ll send you the article. If the three of you didn’t have your heads so far up your asses with her, maybe you would’ve seen it.”

“Fuck,” Alek said, breathing out, his fingers laced behind his head.

“I’m going to give you guys a few days, a week at the most. We need to sit down with her and have a conversation about her grandfather. It’s time. He’ll sure as fuck be coming for her now.”

The realization hit us all at once. He was right. Her secretive past, her connection to Mikhail Romanov—the man wouldn’t stop until he found her. We exchanged glances, each of us piecing together the reality with newfound clarity.

“Thank you, Marcel,” Alek said.

“We have an appointment on the books already. For the day after tomorrow. I need her story first, before we mention him. I’ll let you guys handle this initial issue, but Romanov is mine to tackle. Will one of you be home for the potential fallout?” he asked.

“I will,” Ivan said, assuring him.

“I’m going to let you go now,” he said, hanging up.

The three of us sat in stunned silence. Her grandfather was free. Until this point, we’d chosen to ignore the significance, banking on him being locked away forever. What the fuck happened? One thing was for sure, this wasn’t something any of us wanted.

“Nik, you need to go back to her. You can’t leave her crying. She probably thinks you’re pissed.”

“Yeah, she hates that shit, especially with you. We can talk tomorrow,” Ivan said, hurt filling his eyes.

Fuck, he was right. My mind raced, emotions swirling inside my chest as I stood to leave. I hugged them both and stepped out into the hall, my thoughts a chaotic storm. There was confusion, anger, and the disbelief that someone could be that cruel. To a child, no less.

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