Page 13 of Seventeen Years Ago

Fuck you. I’m nothing like him.

“If you thought that, I wouldn’t be here now,” I said firmly. “How about her husband, Finn? He isn’t from Tabiq.”

“I’m sure he will be involved in the background, but you know that anything more would be a conflict of interest,” he replied.

I nodded. I should’ve thought of that, but right now, I was just trying to come up with one answer I haven’t received yet. “Nothing about what Reesa said answers the first question I had for you. Why me? We both know a ton of people who would jump at an opportunity like this.”

“I can’t get into details, but these people have been through times that I wouldn’t want to wish on anyone. Even my mother faced difficulties that she’d hid from me. I need to know that whoever we bring into this endeavor wouldnevertake advantage of the Tabiqian people,” he said.

Even through the mirror, I could see a pain, a bitterness, that I hadn’t ever seen in him before. Whatever he’d learned about his mother obviously changed him, but also wounded him deeper than I thought he even admitted to himself.

There are things I don’t want to admit to myself either, but every time I look in the mirror, I can’t hide from the truth.

“Caydan, I’m not as innocent as you might think I am.”I know I'm not.

“Never called you innocent, but many other colleagues in our line of business have succumbed to greed. If that was you, then you wouldn’t have walked away from that deal I heard about in Chicago. You’d have handled it like your father and crumpled the guy's business until you could get it for pennies on the dollar.”

I knew exactly what deal he was talking about. Perfect property for a hotel I wanted to build there. The guy's restaurant was struggling, and it wouldn’t have taken much to finish it off. But he had slipped behind on bills because he had a five-year-old girl with a brain tumor. The first surgery emptied their savings account and they still had physical therapy to go through to teach her to walk again. Only a piece of shit would sit by and ignore the plight he was in.

“I heard an anonymous donor stepped in and covered all their medical expenses. You wouldn’t happen to know who that donor was, do you?” Caydan asked.

“As you said, it was anonymous. How would I know?” I replied.

Does this make me a reformed asshole? Can’t doing something good makeup for participating in something bad?I guess the only person who could answer that is the young woman I hurt.

She was the victim in this, not me. I was just my father's pawn. I pulled out my dark sunglasses and put them on. With the thoughts running through my head, I didn’t want Caydan or anyone else trying to read my emotions.

I might not have raped her, but I’m sure she never forgave me for what I did. I know I haven’t.

Allyson changed the subject by saying, “I really don’t want to listen to you two argue all the way back to the resort. Can you believe that Reesa and Aiza are both going to Zoey’s party? I’m looking forward to getting to know them both better. I’m glad Reesa invited Aiza to come too.”

I had a feeling Aiza felt otherwise but I wasn’t about to let them know she and I had talked about it. But what I hadn’t mentioned to Aiza was that I was also going to be an unwilling participant Sunday.

I wanted to see her again, even though I knew it was a bad idea. Yet there was something about her that drew me to her.Good thing it’s not reciprocated, because I have a feeling that she doesn’t like me one bit.There were a lot of people who I’d rubbed the wrong way, but I wished I knew what I’d said or done to Aiza to make her feel that way. Maybe I’ll find out at the anniversary party.

Hell, I don’t even know if I’m staying.

I had to give this a lot of thought. If I stayed, it was telling the president that I was seriously considering taking her offer. It all sounded good except for one thing. It was in Tabiq. The one place that will hate me, maybe put me in jail, if they ever learnt about my past.

I got to get the hell out of here before I break and tell the truth myself.

When we arrived back at the resort I headed right to my suite and laid down on the couch. Tomorrow, I needed to tell Caydan that I was not accepting the offer. He might be disappointed, but it wasn’t not like this project won’t move forward. It will just be with someone other than me.

I closed my eyes and instantly, Aiza’s beautiful face filled my mind.What is it about you? I visualized her as though she was right in front of me. There was no doubt that she was beautiful, even though she hid it with her hair tucked up in some bun on the top of her head and her glasses.

Her eyes. There was something about her eyes that I couldn’t let go.Fuck!I sat upright as I realized why.It’s you. You’re...the one.

I needed to see her, to tell her how sorry I was for what had happened between us. But how do I bring up the subject when I didn’t even know if she recognized me? The last thing I wanted to do was open old wounds that she may not want to recall.

Fuck.

I might not want to stay, but now I must. Not for Caydan. Not for myself. But I needed to be there for Aiza. I needed to know that she was okay.

That she doesn’t hate me as much as I do.

Physically, she looked fine, but I knew that that what one couldn’t see was the most painful.

I promise you Aiza. I’ll make this right.

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