Her Home, His Heart | ✓

☆*✿EIGHTEEN (18)❀*★

♪♪ When you can't wait any longer

But there's no end in sight

When you need to find the strength

It's your faith that makes you stronger

The only way we get there is one step at a time. ♪♪

ᴺᴼᵂ ᴾᴸᴬᵞᴵᴺᴳ[One step at a time] - [Jordin Sparks]  

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Drowning one's sorrow with alcohol was what Kian referred to as a hare-brained idea since the sorrows swam back the next day with a bucket load of headache.

Yet, there he was, seated on a leather bar stool across the neat row of drinks behind the bartender with shot glasses of vodka lined up in front of him. The brassy load of craic conversations blared by his side as they competed with the rock music that blasted through the overhead speakers.

He downed his fourth glass of vodka, thumping the glass onto the top of the bar. His head swirled the image of scenes from the hospital and his reaction to it. Kian shook his head vigorously to ward off the images.

"Blast it!" he grumbled as he took hold of another glass. He was taking the drink to not think of the whole thing, and yet that was the one thing that was plaguing his mind.

"What the dickens! Kian Lincoln drowning his sorrows away in a bar? Who would have thought?" A peal of throaty laughter resounded right behind Kian.

Kian groaned and his fist tightened while he turned to face Ronnie, who wriggled his eyebrows in amusement at the sight in front of him.

Kian narrowed his eyes at him and scrunched up his face. He turned back to his drinks and said, "Bug off, Ronnie."

"You've bruised me, mate." Ronnie tapped his chest to buttress his point before he squeezed himself into an available seat next to Kian, calling the attention of the bartender to order his own drink. He downed half the cup of mild ale in one go that gained Kian's attention.

Kian squinted at Ronnie with a careful look of displease at his presence. "What sorrow are you pretending to drown then?" he asked.

"I lost the Kshatriya case and now a 5-year-old child is going to have to go through the unbearable system called foster care thanks to my incompetence," Ronnie grumbled.

Kian turned fully to face Ronnie and noticed the vacant eyes he had previously hidden behind the earlier grin along with his prominent hunched shoulders. Kian sighed, remembering how much the case meant to him.

"What happened?" His tone was calmer.

"My client lied to me, and then the defendant found evidence. You know the rest. I stood in court looking like a bloody fool. So much for being the most skilled at the job."

"Hey! I'm sure you did your best despite the fallback and you're going to make sure Ananya gets taken into the most suitable home."

"Yeah, well. It does not make the dent on my reputation any less of a dent."

Kian nodded and sighed. He rose his glass to Ronnie. "Well, here's drowning our sorrows!" Ronnie clicked his glass against Kian's shot glass and drank a bit out of it.

Kian took his time to order another set of vodka shots after drinking the last one. After his order arrived and he grabbed hold of the first drink, he felt the intense gaze of Ronnie on him and groaned, dropping his glass. He turned to narrow his eyes at Ronnie.