Consilium (Lawyer Kylo Ren x Reader)

Chapter 11

Your POV:

You gripped the counter as Orson's frame retreated, frozen to the spot. Why did he still have such a hold on you? You were safe - weren't you? At least for now?

You didn't know anymore, body trembling and heart thundering as you tried to pick yourself up and finish your shift, going back on autopilot.

Wipe the counters.

Organize silverware.

Neatly stack menus.

Clock out.

Text Kylo.

It was the same routine as always, and you secretly thanked your lucky stars that Ren still insisted on taking you to work and picking you up, even though you could comfortably use public transportation to get to your shift and back. Right now you needed his comforting presence.

As you picked up your things from the back locker, you racked your brains, trying to remember who Orson had mentioned was his lawyer. You couldn't remember, too focused on the awful return of feeling small and stuck.

You stepped out, taking a deep breath, hoping to clear your head. You hadn't cried, not yet, but you felt as if the second you spilled everything to Kylo the waterworks would be inevitable.

You hated the way Orson could come back into your life like this, threaten you and shove you back into the headspace you'd fought so hard to crawl out of. You had known it wouldn't be that easy, but you'd hoped. God, you'd hoped.

You bit the inside of your cheek, doing your best to hold back the torrent of emotions that threatened to burst through. You didn't want to give him the satisfaction, not here, out in the open and vulnerable.

Not that he'd know anyway. Though for some reason you felt as if he would be able to. As if he was just driving home, imagining you crumpling in shame and regret, already planning your way back to him.

But you wouldn't. You were stronger than when you had left him, had assessed everything through new eyes, and found him woefully lacking. Never again would you let yourself go back to someone like Orson.

You were rediscovering your worth, finding out what it felt like to be listened to and liked. It was different and exciting, even if it was confusing and scary and uncertain.

You weren't about to place all of your hopes and dreams on Kylo Ren of course, but he was teaching you about what it felt like to be seen, even if he didn't know he was. Just thinking about him was already lifting some of your anxiety.

You wrapped your arms around yourself, taking another steeling breath as you recognized Ren's car turning into the parking lot. You felt the tension in your body fighting for an emotional release.

Time to tell Ren about your unwelcome reunion.

***

Kylo's POV:

Kylo's hands tightened on the steering wheel as soon as you mentioned his name, spine stiffening and eyes narrowing. "He what?"

"He showed up... at work. Bragging about some hotshot lawyer," you continued, blinking rapidly. Kylo kept his gaze on the road, not wanting you to think his anger was directed at you in any way.

Kylo listened as you went on with your story, silently fuming at what he was hearing. He knew you weren't telling him the whole of it, sure that you were hiding away the worst of it - the tears that you tried to hide were proof enough.

Orson Krennic didn't just show up to flaunt his new lawyer, he made sure to make his trip worth his while. Who knows what ugly things he had said? Kylo felt the anger bubbling within him just thinking about it. If he had touched you-