"Madame Essix...Madame Essix...I assure you, this is a mistake. Your doctor is wrong. Our girl is a virgin"
I vaguely heard Molina, My stepmom speak to Bridgette, Kincade's mother as I quietly collected my discarded panties on the floor.
My hand shook. Tears I didn't want to shed blurred my vision. I didn't let it. Cry them a fucking river like it ever solved anything.
"She's a virgin!" Molina argued with Mrs Essex.
Nuhuh! Definitely not, I almost told Molina. I had a feeling that they would figure it out eventually. That virgina of mine was screwed to pieces last night, I had the soreness to prove it.
"Not according to Dr Mafeni, and he is a renowned gynecologist in the country, Mrs Hatchet! Hear me, there's hell to pay if you and CEO Charles doesn't do something to convince me otherwise!" Bridgette yelled.
"Say something, Nicolette! This is a misunderstanding, is it not?" Stepmother asked me.
"And interrupted t-this reverting d-debate...how could I?"
"Speak!" Bridgette commanded.
I didn't bother with my shoes. I simply grabbed the door handle and walked out. I didn't say a word. What was there to say?
Hey, Bridgette! I fucked your son last night? I found him sinfully hot and so, I practically jumped him but in my defense, I didn't think he would turn out to be a backstabbing little bitch just like his mother.
I didn't say a word.
I didn't feel the floor under my feet. I just moved, one foot in front of the other, until my hand found the cold knob of my bedroom door.
I pushed it open and stumbled inside.
Eva Belle was there, waiting. Her face, usually so calm, fell apart when she saw me.
"Noah? My God, what happened?"
Interim CEO Charles approved for a creepy man to shove his hand up my pussy looking for something I lost last night...and oh, we finally agreed that we hated each other!
I couldn't say the words. If I said them out loud, it would make it real. I just shook my head instead.
I walked to the center of the room, my whole body tight like a wire.
"Noah"
"I need you to find something," I said, my voice flat. "A loophole. A clause. Anything. I need to know what I have to do to get out from under my father's thumb. To take what's mine. The company. All of it. Right now."
Eva Belle was quiet for too long. And Eva Belle is never quiet when there was something to be said. She's like the godmother of fix it if there was anything to fix.
"What happened?" She asked at last when she saw I was being evasive.
"Nothing much. Family reunion...you know, hair braiding and finger painting. Now, about m-my company?"
"Noah talk to me"
"You were right!" I yelled, spinning to face her. The sound was from my bare soul. And it came with teary eyes too. "Is that what you want to hear, Eva Belle? That you were right? That I was a f-fool to go to him? That it was a t-trap? That they set me up?. Well, they did!" I took a deep breath. "Kincade Essex set me up, Belly"
I wiped the tears that fell down my face.
"Am I going to lose my chance to find my mother's killer because I fell for a set up?! Am I going to lose everything?"
Eva Belle's eyes were sad. "Oh Noah."
"There has to be a way out of this contract. A way to rid myself of my Dad and Kincade ...and every other person who's favorite hobby is hurt the motherless stuttering heiress" I said with so much sadness, it brought more tears to my eyes.
"It's going to be okay" Eva Belle whispered.
I lost it instantly.
"No, it's not, Belly. So, stop treating me like I'm some fragile thing that will break. Tell me the truth about my situation"
"There's no way out of the contract with Kincade, Nicolette!" Eva Belle yelled to snap me out of it.
I watched her wide eyed.
"I know because I have been trying for the past three years to get you out of it, Noah! I have poured through every document. Hired lawyers on my allowances in secret. I have checked everything! Truthfully,When your grandmother willed you the company, there were stipulations," she said, her voice soft. "One of them is that your father runs it until you are married to Kincade Essex...then he runs it on your behalf. You want the cold truth? No one expected a twenty one year old girl with speech issues to run a multi billion dollar company...not your dad....not your bitch of a grandmother. That is the truth!"
The final door slammed shut. There was no way out.
They say when it rains, it pours, right? I think the damn dam broke. This is my rock bottom.
It is just like that scene in Dark blush where Rose Callen hits rock bottom after the motorcycle gang tracked her down. But if I was Rose Callen in this instance, then where is my Wayne Darhk. Where is my knight in furious armor!
Because Kincade Essex is no Wayne Darkh...he is more like Damien Noelle, the wide-eyed villain with the bitchy mother.
The sad part? My body missed him. Every part of me yearn to have him hold me again.
"I'm sorry, Noah... I'm really sorry. You have to marry him if you want control of Avalon group"
I grabbed the vase on the table and I flung it at the wall in anger and it shattered on impact.
I barely finished talking when the door to my bedroom swung open, smacking against the wall.
My father stood there eye bloodshot and angry.
"Who did you sleep with?" His voice was low, like it was vibrating from his soul.
I looked at him with all the hatred in the world, with all the crushed hopes and dreams and I forced out his name. "Kincade"
A man wasn't far behind from my father.
He was lean, all sharp angles and tense muscle. A horrible, jagged scar cut through his eyebrow and down his cheek. A permanent scowl was etched on his face. He wasn't just rough-looking; he was ugly.
And he looked at me like I was a bug he couldn't wait to squash.
"Who are y-you? Another creepy doctor?" I asked him.
He didn't even blink. His eyes scanned the room before landing back on me.
"My name is Kincade Essex," he said. "I didn't sleep with you "
I blinked.
This… this wasn't right. This wasn't the man from last night. This wasn't the man with the hazelnut colored eyes and the touch that felt like fire.
My mouth opened, but no sound came out. I finally found my voice, it came out a whisper.
"You…" I shook my head, pointing a trembling finger at him. "You are n-not my Kincade."