The Devil's Web | Sequel

The Flowers

Jail? He's been in jail for four years? For some reason, that makes more sense to me than him hiding in Italy then coming back here to monitor my every move.

He sat me down to explain everything to me, along with Nasius and Vanessa, that I couldn't bare to look at for a split second. I feel betrayed by them, they saw me struggling, barely surviving my days while sinking deeper and deeper into my misery, and they didn't bother telling me I've been crying for nothing, worse, I've been crying over a lie. I don't understand how they were able to fake everything for so long, they were toying around like people's lives weren't at stake.

He told me that the psycho person set him up and reported him to the police for fraud, I'm assuming that happened when he realised Kingston was alive, it must've been his way of getting revenge for being lied to.

After that,the police realized Kingston is the man that was supposed to be dead, and faking his death could have resulted in him staying in jail for longer than four years, especially when the police kept getting more and more fake information from the psycho. Luckily Kingston's father has connections everywhere, mostly in police departments and hospitals so he was able calm the situation down and explain what was actually happening, they managed to get the police on their side so now, after I tell the kids their father is actually alive, the police will be guarding the house...great.

All because he tangled everyone in his web of lies, I don't care if it was to protect us, there had to be other ways, he just never thinks like a reasonable person.

I rub my eyes tiredly and stare at the three traitors across from me, each looking at me with regret in their eyes.

"So the police is going to be here? And Nancy wasn't a random nanny Nasius found at the park? You hired her to keep an eye out for me when Nasius and Vanessa told you how much I'm struggling?"All he does is nods, looking away in shame.

A little too late for that.

"Why would you hire someone to be close to me when these two already were?"

"They weren't with you 24/7, Nancy stayed here six out or seven nights and made sure you were eating and drinking enough, she also told me you were popping pills a few times a day."

Nasius and Vanessa's heads snap in my direction and Vanessa leans forward , making intense eye contact with me.

"Oh my God, it's true, her eyes look blank again, was that why you were so freaked out all day today? And those hallucinations you were having for the past four days were because of the pills?"

I offer her a loose nod and she sighs loudly, a look of disappointment plastered on her face"You shouldn't have done that, those pills are extremely dangerous."

I force a smile, crossing my arms.

"Well my husband died in my arms and that image haunted me in my dreams so I had to do something about it, didn't I?"

They look away again, typical.

"You drove me to near insanity, you could have went to the police as soon as it started happening, but you decided to do it the hard way."

"I didn't have any other choices, I did the best I could to protect you and our kids, I had to stay hidden."

"Then why did you send me flowers with a note that said you're coming back?"His jaw suddenly clenches and he stands up, knocking the chair on the floor, it falls with a loud thump and the three of us flinch in surprise.

"What?! When the hell was that?!"

"Not long ago,why?"

"What kind of flowers were they? Who delivered them?"

"Uhmmmm...I don't remember, the medication is giving me brain fog, they were my favourite flowers, I threw them in the trash and they disappeared after that, I don't know where, why?"

His hands form into fists and he starts looking out the windows, that are absolutely always cracked open with no blinds on them, it was Nancy's suggestions and at that depressing time of my life, even if she suggested no windows and locks on the door, I would have agreed.

"Why are all these windows bare and open?"He rushes and starts closing them one by one.

"We have bigger things to discuss and worry about, Kingston, what's the big deal about the windows?" Nasius asks, standing up.

"The big deal is that I didn't send any flowers here, neither did you two  because we agreed on keeping all this a secret until it's safe enough to return and my father definitely didn't since he was against me returning this year, take a guess who could have sent them?"

A lump forms in my throat and I swallow it down, feeling another rush of heat washing over me, the same one that woke me up an hour ago.

I shift in my seat and grab onto the collar of my top, pulling it down a bit.

Oh God, another panic attack.

"So you're saying whatever idiot is after you, sent Adelaine flowers and knows where she lives? That means you weren't as sneaky as you thought you were, you genius."Vanessa adds with an eyeroll.

He knows where I live, which means he knows we have two kids, he knows how much they mean to us and if he decides to attack he's going to go after the kids.

I inhale loudly and panic when the air doesn't hit my lungs. The three of them turn around to look at me and my eyes land on Kingston's, a desperate cry escaping my lips.

"K–Kingston, I can't breath—"I choke on my words and he rushes to my side, taking my face in his hands.

"Duchess? What's wrong?! Are you having another panic attack?"I respond with a nod and he pulls me in his embrace,his arms wrapping around my waist. I hate to admit how much better I feel when he's holding me, it's not supposed to go like that.

"Do you want to go upstairs? I'll take you to the bathroom and help you calm down."

"The kids will see you."

He sighs and pulls away, placing his finger under my chin and lifting my head up to look at him.

"Can I kiss your tears away then? I promise I'll avoid the lips if you don't want me to kiss you like that yet."He asks, plastering comforting smile on his lips to ease the tension. I can see it in his eyes that he's worried about me, no smile can cover that.

He leans in and plants a gentle kiss on my cheek, then another one on the corner of my eye, catching the tear that was beginning to slide down my cheek. He just kept going, his soft lips touching every inch of my face besides my lips.

We were so caught up in the moment that we forgot about Nasius and Vanessa being in the room, Nasius's low grunt brought us back to reality, and Kingston's kisses stopped, he pulled away and tucked a strand of hair behind my ear, the brush of his fingers against my skin sending another jolt of electricity through my body.

"I keep failing you and disappointing you, but I'm working on becoming better for you, even if you don't see it as that, I promise you, I'm going to be here from now on to wipe all the tears away, I'm going to fix all the issues I caused with my reckless thinking, you don't have to be afraid, nobody is going to hurt you or our kids, do you trust me on that?"