“No matter what, you’ll never see him for what he really is, will you?” Why couldn’t she see how perfect everything could be? How could he have such a poisonous hold over her? “Well, I’m not asking any more. For your own good, I’m telling you. Stay away from him.”
“Or what?” she asked quietly.
Slipping a hand into the inside pocket of my bespoke Saville Row suit, I pulled out a USB stick and threw it on her bed.
“What is it?” she asked.
“It’s the cctv footage of Kieran beating me in the hospital car park. An edited version of that violent thug nearly beating to death a well-respected member of the legal community.”
“Any jury in the world would understand his reaction after what you’d done,” she replied, still starring at the memory stick.
“What have I done? There’s not a shred of evidence tying me to the accident. I was an old friend coming to visit you in hospital when I was jumped by your jealous, violent boyfriend,” I replied, perhaps a tad smugly.
“You can’t do this,” she whispered.
“Well, that rather depends on you, doesn’t it? I can tell you from experience that he’ll be convicted and will mostly likely face a prison sentence. He’ll lose his boxing license, his title, and his livelihood. It will destroy his life. But if you leave him, then he can keep his career. All I want is you.”
“I’m pregnant,” she protested. “You can’t make me do this. Not when we’re having a child together.”
“I won’t lie. I was devastated when I found out. That baby was supposed to be mine. But I will raise it as my own. It will never take over the family business, but I won’t make you get rid of it. In time, we’ll have our own children and all of this unpleasantness will be a distant memory,” I said magnanimously.
“Please don’t make me do this,” she pleaded, one last time.
“It’s done, Marie. You have tonight to end things with him. Tomorrow, I want you in my office at twelve o’clock sharp. Bring a bag, because you’ll be living with me from now on until our engagement is formerly announced and we can be married. You should say goodbye to your family for a while as well. After their involvement in this meaningless relationship of yours, I think that a little detachment is called for.”
“You’re a monster.”
“No, sweetheart, I’m your guardian angel. You just can’t see me for the devil who blinds you,” I replied before letting myself out.
Sinking my hands into the pockets of my tailored trousers, I took the elevator to the basement and whistled a little tune as I strolled back towards my Aston Martin. Now that everything was coming up roses, I felt lighter than air.
Chapter Thirty-One
Marie
Light was streaming through the partially closed curtains, but I struggled to open my eyes. I couldn’t ever remember crying as much as I had last night, and my eyes were puffy and swollen. I held it together as long as I possibly could with Luca there, but as soon as I could plead tiredness and escape to bed, I sobbed into my pillow until sleep finally claimed me.
Kieran’s body spooned me from behind. His huge, tanned hand spread protectively across my belly. There would never be a child who was more loved that this one. If protecting it was the last thing I ever did, Alastair would never lay a finger on our baby. I just needed to find a way to protect the man I loved while I was at it. Last night had been my moment of weakness. With the dawn came strength and resolve. This giant of a man, with a heart bigger than anyone I’d ever met, had chosen me. He would defend and guard the baby and me with his life. I would offer him no less.
“What you thinkin’ on so hard there, Irish?” he asked me sleepily.
“Alastair came to see me yesterday,” I admitted softly.
“The fuck he did!” Kieran replied, now fully awake. “I fuckin’ told Luca I wanted him by your side from the minute I was gone to the minute I got back.”
“It isn’t his fault. He went next door to take a call from work, and Alastair slipped in. Kier, he has footage of you beating him up. Unless I leave you and agree to move in with him and bring the baby up as his, he’s going to press charges for assault and release it to the police.”
Kieran reacted in the last way I ever expected. He threw his head back and laughed.
“That man is fucking delusional if he thinks that’s ever happening,” he said.
“Kieran, this is serious! He could end your career. You could go to prison for this!” I was horrified that he wasn’t taking this seriously.
“Do you trust me?” he asked, rubbing slow circles across my abdomen.
“Of course I trust you.”
“Then stop worrying and leave this to me.”
“Kieran, whatever you’re planning, I don’t want you going to prison. It’s not worth it. Maybe if I just took off for a bit and showed him that we were apart from each other, without actually going to him, that would be enough.”
“Yeah, that’s not happening, baby. Not ever. A couple of years in prison to know that my family is protected is a sacrifice I’d make, but trust me when I say it won’t come to that.” He looked so resolved and powerful that it was hard not to trust that he knew what he was doing. A scratching at the door caught my attention.
“What’s that?” I asked, pulling the sheet higher up my body.
“A neglected member of our family wanting some attention I’d guess.” He jumped out of bed to open the door. The minute he did, Dris came bounding in and made a pathetic attempt to jump on the bed. Kieran scooped him up with his big hands and dumped him in my lap.
“I’ve only been gone a few days. How’d you get so big? Huh, baby, how’d you get so big?” I cooed, tickling my gorgeous puppy as he covered my face in sloppy wet kisses.
“Ma’s probably been feeding him like she used to feed me,” he said, rubbing Driscoll’s belly.
“Well, I’m afraid I burn water, so you might be running back to your mum for a few meals yet,” I warned him.
“If my boy is half the size I am, he’s going to need good nutrition and a shit ton of food,” he replied. “Lucky for you, Ma raised me right and I’m a god in the kitchen, so expect to be nice and fat by the time the baby comes.” He bent down to kiss where his hands had been.
“I’m sure you’ll still find me attractive if I completely ballooned up. A guy isn’t even supposed to see his girl without makeup for at least a year,” I replied.
“Believe me, Irish, when I tell you that there is nothing sexier in the world than watching you eat food I cooked and knowing that I’m not only taking care of you, but in my own small way, I’m feeding our son,” he said gruffly, and I melted into him just a little more.
“God, I hope she has your accent,” I said with a sigh. I could listen to that deep, delicious Irish brogue of his for hours.
“He, baby,” he corrected.
“Why are you so certain we’re having a boy?” I twisted around to see his face.
“Have you seen the size of me?” he asked. “There’s no way I could father something feminine and delicate. I’m telling you, it’s a boy.”
“It’s pointless to argue with you about how your size has absolutely nothing to do with the sex of the baby, isn’t it?” I closed my eyes as he slowly kissed a path from my collarbone to my jaw.
“Trust me, Irish,” he replied. “I’ve got this.”
***
At five minutes to midday, I stood at the imposing doors of Alastair’s legal practice.
“I think I’m going to be sick,” I admitted. “What if he calls the police? If they arrest you for causing trouble at the office, on top of the assault charges, they’re going to send you to prison for sure.”
“I’m not going to cause any trouble. And if he calls the police, we’ll deal with it. Now let’s get this over with so we can go home. The sooner I get you back to bed, the better,” Kieran told me.
He seemed like he didn’t have a care in the world. Either he knew something I didn’t, o
r he gave a convincing act. I let him usher me into reception, already regretting that I hadn’t listened to my gut and come alone.
“Hi. My name is Marie Kelly. I’m here to see Alastair Baxter-Hall,” I said to the receptionist with as much calm as I could muster.
“Of course, Miss Kelly. Mr Baxter-Hall is expecting you. Please let me show you to his office,” she replied politely.
Everything about this place screamed power and prestige, and I felt like I was suffocating with every step closer to him. If the receptionist was surprised that I was not unaccompanied, she didn’t show it. She knocked on a mahogany door at the end of a long hallway and waited.
“Come in,” boomed Alastair’s voice.
“Miss Kelly to see you, sir,” she said.
“Send her in,” he replied, and she held the door open for us to pass before shutting it gently behind her.
“What in the hell is he doing here? And where is your bag?” Alastair barked the second the door closed.
“I see my warning to keep away from my girl didn’t hold much faith,” Kieran said to him, but Alastair didn’t take his eyes off me. He shook his head, like he was bitterly disappointed.
“I should have known better than to give you a chance to come of your own free will. I knew what a hold he had over you,” he said to me.
“You should have done it properly the first time,” Kieran told him. “Because over my dead body is the only way of getting to my girl.”
“I hoped it wouldn’t come to this, but I’m pressing charges. You’re going to need a father for that baby when he’s in prison, and I intend to be it,” Alastair said.
I stared at him with my mouth open in shock. How could he be this delusional? If he had Kieran arrested, I would hate him until the day he died.
“I can see why you fell in love with her,” Kieran said to him. “She’s so easy to love. Her choosing me wasn’t just a leap of faith. It was a fuckin’ miracle. Her love is a gift, but it don’t mean anything if she doesn’t give it freely. No matter how much you want to, you can’t force her to fall in love with you. I count my blessings every day I wake up knowing that she picked me. And I know, I’ve always known, that I’m nowhere near good enough for her. I can’t give her the fancy shit you’d be able to, and I’m never gonna have a big law firm or some fancy degree from some fancy law school. But I love her. I will love her until the day I die, and I will always put her happiness before my own and never, ever, put her in harm’s way. Can you say the same?”
“You talk a good talk, Mr Doherty, but the truth is that if you were putting her happiness before your own, you’d have walked away long ago and let her have a life you couldn’t dream of giving her,” Alastair rebutted.
“Can you say the same?” Kieran persisted.
“Of course I can,” Alastair fired back angrily.
“Then, explain how you could drive a car into the back of my bike, knowing there was a chance she’d ride on it with me,” Kieran asked, and we all fell silent.
“You left me no other choice,” Alastair said to me. “No matter what I did, you were never going to be mine as long as he was around. I had no choice…,” he said, trailing off as he contemplated how far he’d gone.
“You have to let me go now, Alastair. I’ve made my choice. It’s over,” I said, willing him to put an end to this craziness so we could get on with our lives.
“It’s not over, Marie. You’ll see. Once this goes public,” he said, pulling out another USB drive and waving it around, “you and everyone else will understand what he’s really like. When he’s gone, we can start all over again. You never really got to know me the first time, but now with the baby coming, you could give up work and we could spend some time together. Maybe go on a holiday somewhere hot.”
He was getting more and more frantic as he illustrated all of the ways life would be better, and my blood ran cold as reality set in. There was never going to be any getting away from this. He was never going to stop.
The door opened sharply and in walked an older gentleman, who was holding a mobile phone.
“I’ve heard enough, Mr Doherty. I agree to your terms,” he said to Kieran.
“Dad, what are you doing here?” Alastair asked the older gentlemen. “You’re just in time to meet Marie.”
He moved towards me with his arm wide, like he was really going to introduce me to his father. I took a step back and wrapped my arm around my stomach protectively.
“Wait… what do you mean you agree to his terms?” Alastair said as his father’s words sank in.
“Mr Doherty came to me yesterday with a rather outlandish story. There were elements of it that rang true—your behaviour towards his girlfriend and the suggestion of stalking. On its own I would, perhaps have believed that history was repeating itself. But then he accused you orchestrating a bike accident, the result of which put two people in hospital. At that point, I suggested that he leave my office. But he insisted on laying out his proposition, that if he could get you to admit to the accident, that I would see to it that you were sectioned, so that you could get proper help,” Alastair’s dad explained.
“He’s lying, Dad. Whatever he said, he’s lying,” Alastair protested. He was pulling manically on his hair as he paced backwards and forwards.
“I heard you, son. Mr Doherty telephoned me before he came in here. I heard everything,” he replied sadly. “I blame myself for allowing it to get this far. When I think of all the families I paid off, the people I bribed to make your little indiscretions go away, I’m horrified. I always knew that you were highly strung, that you let your crushes become infatuations. But you’re a bloody good lawyer. You’re in line to take over the business when I’m gone. I… I never dreamt I was helping to cover up a mental illness. That you could become violent.”
“I’m not ill, Dad. Why would you think I was ill? Things have never been more clear. Those other girls weren’t real. Like you said, they were just infatuations. I’m in love with Marie. She’s going to be the perfect wife for me. Just like Mum was for you,” Alastair protested.
“Is that what you think?” his dad said. It was like he’d aged in the few minutes he’d been in the room. I guess shock did that to people, but I couldn’t quite bring myself to feel sorry for him. Alastair was sick. From what I’d heard, the signs of his mental illness had been apparent for a while. And, instead of supporting his son and getting him the help he needed, he’d brushed everything under the carpet and covered it up to avoid any embarrassment.
“Alastair, my marriage to your mother was an arrangement. I was getting older and I needed an heir. She was a beautiful young woman who wanted to marry a man with money. She upheld her end of the bargain, and when she’d had enough of motherhood, we reached an amicable financial settlement, and I hired suitable nannies to raise you until you could join me here.”
I looked at Alastair’s broken face, and I felt a great swell of pity. His whole life, he’d never been loved, never been wanted, except as a pawn in the family dynasty.
“I thought she died,” he whispered.
“Why would you think that?” his dad asked.
“I don’t remember her and you never talked about her. I thought you loved her and she died, and that’s why you never talk about her or why there aren’t any pictures, because the memories are too painful,” he replied.
“Oh, son, what have I done?” his dad said to himself. Walking over to Alastair, he hugged him, and Alastair sank into his embrace. His Dad looked stilted and awkward, and I cried inside for the messed-up kid who needed more hugs than his useless father could ever hope to make up for now.
After an uncomfortable few seconds, his dad patted him on the back, looking embarrassed and unsure of himself.
“It’s time to go, son. I’ll share out your cases with the other associates until you’re well enough to come back.”
Alastair just nodded. Everything he’d done was for his father’s approval. To live the life he thought his f
ather had. To realise that everything he thought he wanted was a lie, had devastated him. Alastair desperately needed help. If it was the only decent thing his dad would ever do, I prayed he got it for him.
As they walked out of the office, his dad turned to Kieran.
“I assume you’ll drop this complaint with the police about my son’s involvement with the accident now that I’m ensuring that he’ll get the help he needs? If the media gets wind of this, the damage it will cause to the reputation of this firm will be immeasurable.”
“You assume wrong,” Kieran replied. “I won’t go to the press with this, like we agreed, but I’ll do everything in my power to make the police press charges. I owe it to Tommy and his family. I owe it to my girl.” The finality in his voice made it clear that there was no arguing with him. I rubbed my baby, this time for comfort. I had trusted him, and he hadn’t let me down. He’d done the right thing, the honourable thing, this man that would be the father of my child.
Alastair’s father nodded sadly, understanding Kieran’s resolve, before leaving with his son.
Kieran held out his hand to me, his strong, capable hand. I took it, and everything was right with the world.
“Come on, Irish,” he said, lifting our joined hands to kiss the back of mine. “Let’s go home.”
Chapter Thirty-Two
Kieran
I will remember January tenth for the rest of my life. It was the day that Tommy woke up.
For ten days, every one of us guys took it in turns to stay by his side while he endured test after test, all of them designed to figure out what worked and what didn’t. Considering that Tommy was still only a probationary firefighter, I was surprised to see so many firefighters stopping by to check in on him.
On the final day of assessments, we all found ourselves waiting outside for Mary and John to deliver the news, whatever it may be.
Despite her protests, I persuaded Irish to stay at home with Dris. Hours of waiting on a hard, plastic hospital chair wasn’t good for her or the baby. Em didn’t even get the opportunity to try one out. As soon as he sat down, Con hauled her into his lap, settled her body in close, and spread a huge hand possessively across her abdomen. In between kisses, he peppered her with dozens of questions. Was she hungry, was she thirsty, was she comfortable, was she warm enough? Em answered every question with different variations of “I’m fine” and a gentle smile.
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