Paint Me Saved ✓ Book 1

13. Shift in perspective

Zemira

"Is this what you need?" Kiera asked, strapping my baggage in place, but I knew she wasn't talking about packing. Her stare made me drop my gaze at my suitcases.

"No. You know what I needed was..." The statement dried up in my mouth.

How was I supposed to tell a woman struggling with her own identity that my own was collapsing as well. 

My dream of a marriage - a content life with Tag - would remain a dream. So when the wants of my life disappeared along with Tag, I focused on the needs. Securing my company in these tremulous times was my only remaining aspiration.

"What is it? Tell me." Kiera probed me to divulge further. Her smile diminished and so did the color of her tanned skin.

I shrugged, my mouth flinching in response. "What I need from you is help in packing, not chatting."

"Fine. Keep your secrets." Kiera rolled her eyes and tossed me a look. "But at least tell me how he was the first time?"

There wasn't much I hid from Kiera. For her, my life was an open book, the pages of which she loved flipping through.

Had we been gabbing about our lives over brunch, I would have narrated everything. That night that reduced Leo and me to nothing more than tangled limbs and freed souls, or the after when we silently drowned in each other's eyes till sleep took over.

A younger version of me had the option of dreaming but my grown-up version had a mission to accomplish. Gulping water to ease my dry mouth, I pointed at my clothes.

"Grrr, why am I helping you for free?" Kiera muttered under her breath, annoyed at my non-disclosure.

"Because you love me and want me to be happy."

I dropped beside her on my bed, holding onto her tight. My bedroom held so many of our happy memories right from the time we were kids, to grown up who talked about boys was also the same room where Kiera first told me about her sexuality.

Today, this room stood a testament to how I tried hiding what I felt. A part of me tried convincing me I was doing it right, that my business needed this. Another scared part of me felt guilty, that I was betraying Tag by moving into a man's apartment.

"That's always been my problem, Goldilocks," Kiera huffed, tossing more clothes into the suitcase. "I think I should stop playing your mother."

"Don't even try." I pouted dramatically before helping her with the task.

By mid-morning, my belongings were all packed. Kiera drove me after I lost a debate with her regarding the question of whether I required a bodyguard.

I picked up my phone, clicking open the news app. The week since Leo's declaration had passed in a blur. Having spent the entire week avoiding the gossip, I decided it was time to check up.

"Don't read that." Kiera snatched the phone and tossed it into the back of the car.

"Hey..." I turned to her, unbuckling my seatbelt while she parked in the designated spot for Leo's visitors. "How bad could it be?"

Kiera's silence answered.

The rest of the drive, Kiera told me about how her father was pissing her off by forcing her to sign up for deals she didn't agree to. Her only solace was her husband Jake who always looked out for her. Sadly, while Jake loved her, poor Kiera could only treat him as a friend.

When we parked in the basement of Leo's apartment, Kiera pulled out her phone and texted someone. I sat inside, watching the rows of luxury cars around me, depicting the status of the residents who would live here.