Chapter 22: Back to Haunt Me

CHASE

Kiana wore a striking red gown that flowed to the floor. Her hair was styled loose and free, perfectly framing her face as it always did, just the way I secretly preferred.

It was another dull business event, but Kiana always made these affairs much more tolerable.

Unfortunately, I couldn’t ogle my date all evening. This event aimed to promote the business, and it presented a valuable opportunity for networking.

I spotted a familiar friend from a distance. Feeling the urge to introduce Kiana to him, I walked us over, her hand firmly secured on my arm.

“Fancy seeing you here,” I said, catching his attention. “Jackson, this is Kiana, my girlfriend. Jackson is a business associate as well as a longtime friend.”

Jackson turned to Kiana, his hand reaching out to greet her, but he froze, and his complexion immediately paled.

I sensed Kiana tense, which was strange. They stared at one another for a brief moment—one that could easily have been overlooked.

“It’s lovely to meet you, Jackson. Chase, I’m thirsty. Meet you at the bar?” Kiana said before walking away rather hastily, not waiting for my answer.

~That was strange.~

Did they know each other?

David Clark, Joanna’s father, approached. “Chase, I was hoping to find you.”

Jackson patted my shoulder. “It seems you two have things to discuss, and I need to find my son. See you around, Chase.”

He took off just as quickly as Kiana had, leaving before I could question his out-of-character behavior.

“I hear you’ve broken up with my daughter.” David’s smile was more of a grimace.

“That’s old news, Clark. And it’s none of your business.” I grabbed a glass of champagne from a passing waiter and took a gulp, bracing myself for the impending lecture.

“You’ve hurt my daughter, Winters. She’s an innocent woman. I won’t let this go.” He had the guts to threaten me. I had to give him that.

No matter what Joanna did, she was always his perfect little princess. It was clear how she’d become so spoiled, greedy, and self-centered.

“Do you remember my new investor, the one you vouched for?” he asked, looking at me pointedly.

“How could I forget? I caught your daughter getting a bit too friendly with him. Seems she has a thing for older men now. Some might say it’s daddy issues, but who am I to judge?” I said, managing to keep my voice calm.

His eyes narrowed, and his knuckles turned white from gripping his champagne glass. He sputtered in anger but didn’t seem to know how to reply.

I laughed heartily, then raised my glass before draining it. “I should get going. I need to find my date.”

~And ask her about the awkward encounter with Jackson.~

KIANA

I downed my second glass of champagne after finding a cozy little spot by the bar.

It was him.

~It was really him!~

I knew I hadn’t imagined seeing Jackson at the charity ball a few weeks ago. But the fact that he and Chase knew one another just proved how small the world really was.

“You’re still lingering,” a whiny voice said beside me.

“What do you want, Joanna?” I sighed, trying to capture the bartender’s attention.

“You know he’s only using you to get back at me, right? He wants to hurt me. Make me jealous. But soon he’ll come back to me.

“I know Chase better than you ever will, so you might as well leave now. You can’t let your imagination run wild in fantasy land for too long.” She smirked, tapping her claws against the wooden bar.

“Get a life, Joanna,” I groaned.

Joanna’s words couldn’t hurt me; they barely even tickled the surface of pain. I’d endured more than she could ever inflict, and what she didn’t realize was that I was only playing a part.

“Excuse me!” she scoffed. “Do you know who I—” she began, only I didn’t let her finish.

I didn’t have the patience for her whining, and she was at the bottom of my list of worries right now. I had much bigger things to concern myself with than a spoiled rich girl who was angry because she didn’t get her way.

“You are a petulant child, Joanna, incapable of taking no for an answer. A girl who leeches off her father and any other man with deep enough pockets that will give her the time of day.”

I faced her, looking her dead in the eye as her mouth dropped open in astonishment.

“I know people like you. You throw tantrums when things don’t go the way you want them to and spew verbal diarrhea at anyone who stands in the way of what you want.

“At the moment, I am that obstacle. And it will stay that way because I have no intention of going anywhere.

“Even if I dropped off the face of the earth, Chase would never take you back. Not after your betrayal. He deserves so much better than you, and probably better than me too.”

Considering how much Chase was paying me, the least I could do was give him his money’s worth by making Joanna believe that we were truly together.

He really did deserve better.

“How dare you!” she seethed. In her eyes, Chase was merely a prize in a game that she had lost.

“Please, go drown your self-inflicted sorrows until your beady eyes find a new silver-spooned boy for you to prey on.”

I felt proud of myself as she stormed away like the whirlwind of a child she was.

I released a sigh of relief, feeling a little better being able to get that off my chest.

I settled back in my seat to wait for Chase. I wasn’t ready to face Jackson right now, even if I wanted to. But that didn’t eliminate the problem…

What was I going to do about him?

I was attempting to get the bartender’s attention once again when a cold hand clamped down on my arm, pulling me around so fast that my purse slipped off my shoulder and hit the floor with a thud.

“Rose Monroe. I didn’t expect to see you here.”

CHASE

I finally managed to extricate myself from another round of pointless small talk so I could look for Kiana. I headed toward the bar, but she wasn’t there…

I spotted her purse on the floor and picked it up.

~Where could she be?~

No woman would just leave her purse. I knew that much.

My eyes scanned the room in search of her.

Something didn’t feel right.

KIANA

~Holy shit! Why is Cooper here?~

“Been a while, Rose.” His voice, absent for years, shattered my calm exterior.

Aside from my father, there was no one I feared more than him.

My breath hitched, my body froze in terror, and my throat felt as if someone had shoved a spoonful of salt down it. I wanted to run to Chase, but my legs wouldn’t cooperate.

Before I could react, Cooper yanked me forward by my arm, pulling me through the crowd. I wanted to scream for help, but fear had stolen my voice.

He dragged me into a secluded hallway and pushed me against the wall—hard. I cried out in pain and instinctively raised my hands to shield myself. Not that it would do any good.

His hand slammed against the wall next to me, trapping me in place. He had me cornered, exactly where he wanted me, his body and the wall my prison. Escape wasn’t an option—and he knew it.

“Are you going to tell me where you’ve been for the past four years?” he growled, gripping my chin and forcing me to look at him.

I was immediately transported back to that particular night four years ago—a night I had worked so hard to forget.

Tears threatened to spill from my eyes, but I held them back. Blinking would be like opening a floodgate, and I couldn’t afford to break down now.

I despised the control he had over me after so much time had passed. The way he made me feel like fragile glass, ready to shatter at the slightest touch.

I tried to speak, but all that came out was a feeble whimper. “No,” I managed to say.

He laughed, his hand sliding down to rest on my hip. His body pressed against mine, pushing me further into the wall. He reveled in his power over me—something that clearly hadn’t changed.

I felt like I was being smothered. I kept my hands up, trying to maintain some semblance of personal space.

“Why are you here with ~him~?” he hissed.

Was he talking about Chase?

“Trying to make me jealous, are you? If you want me to take you back, just say so, sweetheart. We never officially broke up. And as far as I’m concerned, you still belong to me,” he said, gripping my hip tighter.

“I never belonged to you,” I whimpered pathetically.

He chuckled as his other hand—cold and rough—brushed against my arm, moving toward my collarbone. He traced my scar with his thumb—~the scar he gave me~—and smiled, proud of his handiwork.

~Disgusting.~

All I wanted to do was forget about that part of my life. So why wouldn’t he let me move on? I closed my eyes, praying this was just another nightmare.

~But it wasn’t.~

His fingers dug into my dress, making me wince. I closed my eyes as he leaned in closer, his breath hot on my face. His words were a blur—drowned out by the pounding in my ears.

And then the memories I had tried so hard to bury came rushing back…

~Memories of being thrown against the cabinet…~

~The haunting sound of glass breaking…~

~My cries for help, muffled by the ringing in my ears…~

~The sharp pain and warm wetness spreading across my collarbone where a shard of glass had cut me…~

~Then there was the sound of fabric tearing…~

“Kiana.” A pair of strong hands shook me gently—snapping me back to reality.

I jumped, finding myself face-to-face with Chase.

He looked genuinely concerned as his hand brushed against my cold skin, wiping away a tear. I flinched, and he immediately pulled back.