HER

Part Thirty

Asa

Well, here we were. At the Preston family mansion.
Once again it was a night filled with forced smiles, and I was over it.

It was hard enough keeping up with industry parties for networking reasons. But now I had the added chore of socializing as Kieran Preston's wife.
I was now a full-time socialite it seems.
It was exhausting.
I needed someone to talk to. I needed my best friend.
I missed Yemi so much.

We haven't been able to spend much time together the past few weeks, apart from the few minutes of rushed phone calls.
She was in the middle of an ongoing case that has been keeping her busy.
She was probably more stressed out than I was.
She does not need the added burden of my problems for now.
I'll just have to pull through it all myself for now.

To make it all worse, just earlier I had spotted Hailey at the far side of the room.
She was standing with Eva and an older couple I believed to be her parents.

Kieran was nowhere to be found, and I was all alone with Darren because Sierra had gone off with Sierra immediately after we got here.

"So What's the deal between you two?"Darren asked out of nowhere.
"Who?"I asked confused.
"You and your husband?"
Uh?

"Nothing's 'going on' between us, we're just married," I said with a dismissive laugh, which made his eyebrows hike up.

Yes, I was fully aware of how dumb that sounded.
It didn't make any sense.
But I didn't know what to say to him.
I do not even know what was going on between Kieran and me.
Our relationship dynamic was so weird.
I couldn't even say what we were to each other or what to label our relationship.
I wish I could just be free and happy with him.
If I could just do that, everything would be so much easier for me.
But I couldn't let my guard down with him, I couldn't just let go of all he's done to me just like that.
I know I told him I wouldn't fight him anymore, but I couldn't just give in just like that.
Doing that was letting him win. And that wasn't going to happen.
I couldn't let myself love him.
Because I know if I allow myself to fall into his arms, I'll lose myself forever.
I'll never want to leave. Even if he does something unforgivable in the future...I know he will, I'll always try to excuse his actions.
I was still trying to hold on to the hope that I'll be able to get free of him and this marriage someday.

"We are ok Darren, I promise. Nothing is going on"
"No you're not ok" he laughed, but he didn't sound amused in the least.
"But I'll stop prying" he added "Just know we'll be here for you...whenever"

He was so sweet.
I loved him so much.
"Yeah I know, thanks," I said with a smile of gratitude.

Just then, I spotted Kieran at the entrance with a Tall light-skinned dude.
I was staring at them, hoping to catch Kieran's attention when they both finally turned in my direction.

At that moment, my world came crashing down on me.
It felt like I was going to faint.
It was him...
What the fuck was he doing here?...
"Are you ok?"Darren asked dragging my attention to him.
He was staring at me with a concerned look.
"Yeah, I'm ok, why?"I asked with a sharp intake of breath
"You just looked out of it for a second there, is all"
"It's nothing, I'm ok" I reassured him.
"My dress is just a wee bit too tight I think, can't wait to get home so I can cut myself out of it" I added with a forced laugh, just to reassure him that I was ok

When I wasn't.
It felt like my whole world was crashing down on me.
I felt sick.
How could he be here?

***

Kieran
Christopher and I have been business partners for the past two years.
He lives in LA but comes to new york now and then.

He had a nightclub he was running.
But it was almost going under when I met him more than two years ago.
He was introduced to me by one of the managers at my friends in LA.
Christopher had an idea to develop his nightclub into a chain of exclusive nightspots.

Everyone knows they can never be too many nightclubs in LA.

He had this grand plan and I was convinced, So I took a risk and invested.
It couldn't hurt.
Making money requires taking risks.

And it did pay off because we've been planning to open the 5th location in a month.

He decided to come and spend some time in New York.
And here he was.
He wasn't able to make it to the wedding, so he was eager to be here.
I guess this was his way of making up for it.

"Come, Christopher, let me introduce you to my wife".