Perfectly Imperfect(93)
“Couldn’t.”
I give him a small nod but wait for him to say more. He doesn’t ease his hold on my body, almost as if he’s afraid I’m going to bolt if he does.
“I tried, baby. God, I tried to tell you, but you have to understand that I had given my word to Mia that she could trust me with something this big long before we ever started our relationship.”
“How could you have tried, Kane? You avoided talking about your relationship any time that I asked. I gave you the trust you asked for. I even spoke to her myself. I can’t see how hard it was to just tell me.”
“Maybe I can answer that.” I jump in his arms when the female voice intrudes into our moment.
My eyes round and his own beg me silently to hear her out. To listen to what they both have to say. My stomach heaves violently when Mia walks into the room.
I feel seconds away from hyperventilating when she walks the rest of the way from the doorway to where Kane is still holding me. My skin flushing hot and cold so rapidly that it’s making me ill.
Her dark blond hair is pulled back into a sloppy mess of a bun, and her tired face is still gorgeous in its natural beauty. Her green eyes imploring as she stops just a few feet from us. I allow myself to look down and that sick seed of dread bursts inside me until I feel like it’s going to explode from my mouth.
Her clothes are baggy and more for comfort than anything else. Black leggings, boots, and a simple tee shirt. But it’s the shirt, wrinkled and loose everywhere except where it stretches tight against her swollen belly, which holds my attention.
“I wish we could have finally met under more pleasant circumstances, but it’s still lovely to finally meet the woman who makes Kane so happy.”
I mutely gape at her, not trusting my own body and its turmoil. I’m more worried that I’m about to throw up over all of us in some grossly accurate depiction of The Exorcist.
“Do you want to sit?” Kane asks, his raspy voice rumbling from his chest, and I finally look away from Mia and into his vulnerable eyes.
“No.” I gulp.
“Where do I start?” Mia asks, and I know she isn’t talking to me. How the heck would I know where to start; I’m having a hard enough time just trying to remember how to breathe.
“Just start from the beginning, Mees. You know you can trust her with all of it.”
I don’t take my eyes from his, the wretchedness making my already violent nerves spiral widely. He doesn’t just look torn. He looks like just the thought of hearing what she has to say is going to tear him up a lot more than it will me. How is that even possible?
“Okay,” she says softly, and I see her move to sit on the couch.
Movement on the other end of the couch tells me that Kole hasn’t left either. I don’t look away from Kane because I know that whatever is said now, what is between us and trying to salvage it is more important than who is witnessing it. Plus, it’s probably not as if Kole is unaware. Right?
“Kane and I had just wrapped on a film that we had been working on together. I’m sure you know the movie, even though it isn’t important, but it was a big deal because we hadn’t worked together for almost five years. Like the First Time was a fun movie for us, but it was more like a reunion because it was the first time that Kole had also been cast with us. This time, Kole beat Kane for the lead, which was pretty hilarious.”
Kole lets out a low burst of hilarity at the memory, but Kane just keeps searching my eyes. His troubled gaze darkening with each word that Mia speaks.
“The wrap party was pretty wild. Not indecent or anything, but the liquor was flowing and I’m pretty sure there wasn’t a single sober person in the house. The whole Masters family was there, even though Christian and Becca left before things got crazy. I don’t remember where Kole went, but by the time I realized I had too much to drink, I was past the point of rational thought.”
Oh, God. I’m really going to be sick. My eyes widen, and Kane’s fill with helpless sympathy as trepidation overcomes me.
“It’s funny what you remember when faced with something traumatic. To me, each moment is burned into my brain, but even with the violent end to my night, I don’t regret it.”
Her words register, and I pull back in confusion. I finally look from Kane and meet her sad eyes, her hand rubbing absentmindedly against her abdomen.
“He acted like he didn’t even remember,” she continues, almost to herself. I see Kole’s body tighten, and he looks over at her in shock. “I didn’t know what to do, but I knew that Kane would protect me and help me through it. Regardless of how much it killed him.”
“What?” I gasp. Does she mean? No. There is no way the Kane I know is capable of something like that.
She wipes her eyes and looks from the spot she had been blindly staring into and locks eyes with me. A sad, vulnerable smile lifts her lips, almost like an apology before she speaks the words.
“A month after that night, I sat on the floor and cried as Kane held me. The trust of that night held in his hand as he looked at the positive pregnancy test. It was then that I begged him and selfishly took his promise of silence, using it to help me find a way to come to terms with my new future.”
“What the f*ck,” Kole harshly whispers.
I look from Mia and back to Kane. The pain is still present, but a fire of rage starts to build behind it.