Page 42 of Claiming His Wife
THE NEXT MORNING AS KALILAH PREPARED FOR WORK, she heard a knock on her door and opened it to find Kaiya waiting. She waved her in before returning to her wardrobe. Last night had been difficult. After her discussion with Jon, she’d come to bed and thought over everything that had happened that day. She could still see the look on Finn’s face when she’d taken Jon’s hand.
“How are you feeling this morning?”
“Like I’m stuck between a rock and a hard place.”
Kaiya quirked her eyebrows at that.
“You do know that you don’t have to choose either of them right. You and I can stay here and be hot single girls for the rest of our lives.” Her sister began to twerk, and Kalilah couldn’t help but smile.
“You are so silly. I spoke to Jonathan about the things that Finn said and he denied it.”
“Did you ask him to see his ticket?”
“No, he said he drove into the country.”
“What about his passport? It should have the border entry stamp?”
“I thought of that, but I didn’t want it to seem like I didn’t trust him?”
Kaiya snorted at her words.
“Still hiding your head in the sand?”
The bitter accusation drew bitter bile to her throat and annoyed her completely. The calm she had maintained all morning broke, and she erupted.
“Do you think this is easy for me?”
“Look, Kalilah...” Kaiya started to say but she was past being talked down to by people around her.
“No, you look, you’re always here with sage advice and I just want you to stop. I am not in the headspace to receive any judgement right now. I know that everything that has happened is my own fault. I don’t need you to remind me of that fact,” she pressed on with uncharacteristic vehemence.
“I wasn’t trying to judge you,” Kaiya tried to mollify her, “and I’m sorry you feel that way. I just want you to be happy because I know how you’re probably feeling right now. I was in love once. Well at least I thought I was. We were young, I was barely out of secondary school.”
Her anger drained away in the face of her sister’s sudden candor.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t know.”
“You couldn’t possibly have known. By the time we met, you’d already left.”
The elephant in the room she was hoping to ignore but couldn’t. Kalilah sighed.
“I’m sorry I wasn’t here for you.”
“No need to apologize, I understand why you needed to leave.”
“It still doesn’t make me feel any less guilty about leaving you behind. Come lay on my bed.”
After her sister laid down, she laid down next to her. Kalilah pressed on, “Tell me about this man who stole my little sister’s heart.”
Her sister was quiet for a little bit.
“It’s a long story. Are you sure you want to hear it since you have your own life to figure out?”
“I’m fine. I need the distraction.”
“His name was Tyler Landry and I met him four years ago. We met at one of those house parties I was always sneaking off to with Jalissa. Anyway, six months after we began dating, I found out I was pregnant…” Her sister’s voice faltered, but Kalilah remained silent.
By the time Kaiya was done with the tale, both sisters’ eyes were brimming with tears. She couldn’t believe everything her sister just told her. Her heart truly went out to her. She felt the guilt rising again. She should have been there when Kaiya needed her most. She knew then that she would never leave her behind again.
