Designing Abigail Kilton's Dress - #1 The Wedding Dress

Chapter 40 - The Thief of Life

"You can do this, Kayleigh. Just breathe. Relax."

Kayleigh talked to her reflection for a solid five minutes before reaching for her brush and running it through her wet hair again for the third time. She applied her eyeliner with trembling fingers. She inhaled and exhaled methodically and finally, she dropped her hands to her sides and cursed. There was no getting it right, so in the end, she smudged it a bit with her fingers and succeeded in obtaining a casual smoky look.

All sorts of emotions were running through her, and she couldn't figure out which one made her feel like she'd been run over several times by a large tractor.

Kay fixed her flowery blouse, tucked it into her jeans and grabbed her bag off the bed. "Time to go," she said bracingly. But before she could step out of the bedroom, her phone rang and the name on the screen did not make her feel better.

She had been ignoring Jack Monroe's texts all day, but all that did was increase her guilt and trigger her anxiety even further.

"Hello," she answered, setting her palm on her fluttering stomach. Breathing wasn't working anymore.

"Hello. Can we talk?" He said the words slowly, gently. Kayleigh could hear the surprise in his tone and realised he wasn't really expecting her to answer.

She expected worse. She deserved worse. She deserved accusations, questions that made her bleed internally, or complete silence that obliterated her. Why was he even calling her? Why did this man even bother with her?

Because he didn't know.

"Actually, I was just heading out..." she started, but then she stopped mid-sentence. This wasn't right. She exhaled deliberately, pressing her palm further over her diaphragm. "Yes, of course, we can talk."

"Thank you," Jack said sounding relieved. "I know you're still angry at me-"

"I'm not angry at you," Kayleigh interrupted quickly. She couldn't bear to have him blame himself when it was all on her. Images from the day before, the thrill that engulfed her when she was in Marcus Burrow's arms, made her sick with guilt. Guilt that ate away at her joy. Joy that she didn't deserve.

"You're not?"

"No," she confirmed realising he needed more than that. "Jack, I'm tired of people acting like I'm a child who doesn't know how to take care of herself, and you were the only one who treated me as an adult. So, when I found out you had people following me, I was disappointed. I was upset and to be honest, it wasn't the best timing either. But I wasn't angry at you. I'm sorry, I took it all out on you."

A tense silence followed her confession, but she didn't say anything else. She waited patiently for Jack to answer.

"I don't think you're a child, Kay," he said finally. "You know that."

"I know." Of course, she knew. "But at that moment, I felt like the one person who believed in me... didn't anymore."

"Believe. Present tense. And I'm not the only person who believes in you. Do you really think Abigail Kilton would trust you with her wedding dress, her whole wedding theme actually, if she didn't believe in you? Your brother believes in you too. That's why he's so protective. Your parents believe in you, otherwise, they would never have supported you this far."

Kayleigh plopped herself onto her bed. The more he spoke, the worse she felt. He was right. Every word he said made sense. And there she was, betraying the lot of them.

"Saturday was a wake-up call," she said out of nowhere. "I have never felt more out of place. I was so scared, Jack."

Another long pause. She could practically see him rubbing his forehead, biting his lips as he always did when thinking.

"I'm sorry," he said finally. "I should have told you about the tail. You were right. It must have been scary when you realised, but trust me, I paid a high price for my mistake when the boys told me they lost you miles away from your neighbourhood. I thought I'd go crazy when you didn't answer your phone."

There was no mistaking the suspicion in his tone.

"Marcus didn't want to disclose my address in case they were paparazzi," she replied just for the sake of saying something. It wasn't a lie, she told herself. But that didn't make her feel better either.

"Marcus is very clever."

Her heart hovered. It didn't know whether to go faster or stop altogether.

"It was my responsibility to make sure you got home safe, Kayleigh," Jack went on. Once again, his tone wasn't accusing. He merely wanted her to understand. "You went to the club with me. I'm not using it as an excuse, I should have told you. But I want to make it clear that that's the reason I had you followed. Not because I think you can't handle yourself or because I don't trust you. It was for my own peace of mind."

You shouldn't trust me, she almost blurted out. But instead, she found herself saying, "I should have come back with you. I was scared and I was upset with all the lies that night. I don't belong here."

"Stop saying that," he protested. "You belong here and that is why there's so much fuss about you. You'll get used to it. You'll grow into your talent, and you'll own this city one day soon. You have it all, Kayleigh. You just need the confidence to go with it."

His words reminded her of what Abigail once said about Marcus not looking the part. Maybe they both didn't belong here, no matter how talented they were.

Kayleigh checked her watch. She needed to leave or she'd be late for her rendezvous with Marcus. Oh my goodness, what was she doing?

"Jack, I really have to go," she said finally, not knowing what to say.

A few more seconds passed. Maybe Jack didn't know what else to say either.

"So, uh... what now?"

His question caught her off guard. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, I now understand that you're not angry with me. But, quite frankly, you don't sound too happy with me either. Do you want to see me again or not?"

Kayleigh couldn't believe it. Did this brilliant man still want anything to do with her after the way she behaved this weekend?

He doesn't know half of it, stupid, a nasty voice repeated in her head.

"Do you?" she asked hesitantly into the phone.

His smooth chuckle warmed her heart like liquid caramel. "I will always want to see you, Kayleigh Moore."

"Okay," she whispered. "I'll call you?"

"I'll be waiting," Jack replied without missing a beat. And then he hung up.

She imagined him smiling at her, winking, giving her that look that could mass murder all the girls in the city and beyond.

Kayleigh looked at her reflection again.

What the hell are you doing? she muttered to the lost-looking girl who looked nothing like the talented city woman Jack Monroe was talking about.

👜👒👗

We're nearly at the end guys. How are you liking the story so far?

Who do you think Kayleigh should go for at this point?