Keir doesn’t say anything, and that’s how I know he’s beyond pissed. He’s furious. But dammit, so am I.
He turns on his heel and walks away, leaving me to trail behind him while I question every single one of my life choices. How the hell did this happen? This night started out so well. We were happy. We were having fun.
Then James came along and ruined my life.
Again.
CHAPTER FORTY-ONE
KEIRAN
I went to bed angry.
I woke up angry.
I even had fitful, angry dreams in between.
Now it’s the middle of the morning and I’m sitting at my desk, still fucking angry.
What was Ella thinking? Did she really think she could keep her past a secret forever? And how could I have been so stupid?
All the red flags I ignored along the way are blindingly bright in hindsight. It was all about the money for her—but of course it was. I wanted to believe she was different than all the others, but she turned out to be just like them.
I pick up the phone on my desk and then hang it back up again. I should have her thrown out of my apartment. It would only take one phone call and she’d be gone by the time I got back up there.
I can’t seem to make myself do it, though. Not yet. Not until I can look into her eyes again and ask why she lied.
Her answer won’t change anything, even if she can convince me to believe her. Still, I need to hear the words—the lie—again. I need to hear it straight from her pretty lips.
The phone rings from under my hand, startling me as I fumble to answer.
Kinsley’s voice mocks me from across the line. “Good morning, Keiran. How have you been holding up?”
She’s literally the last person I want to hear from right now. Or ever again, for that matter. “Why are you calling me, Kinsley?”
“What? I can’t check up on my favorite ex-husband?”
I grip the edge of my desk with my free hand as a wave of anger and frustration threatens to overwhelm me. Jesus, I really can’t do this today.
I hate to give her even the slightest courtesy after what she’s put me and Isla through, but I’m willing to be polite if it’ll put an end to this damn call. “Please, Kinsley—I’m tired of fighting. Just tell me what you want.”
She sighs, no doubt disappointed her fun is over for now. “That whiny tone of yours almost makes me feel sorry for you, Keir. Almost.”
I don’t even bother replying. I’m not looking for her sympathy. I just want her out of my life.
“It seems like you might be having a bad day,” she continues. “I hate to break it to you, but it’s about to get worse.”
“For fuck’s sake, just tell me.” So much for keeping my mouth shut and waiting. But Jesus, I can only listen to her for so long before I start to lose my mind. “Whatever it is, just tell me. It can’t be money, since there’s no way in hell you snorted and drank your way through that seventy-five million already.”
“No, it isn’t your money I’m after today. It’s our daughter.”
Hearing her mention Isla sends my blood pressure skyrocketing. “What about our daughter? And just a heads-up—you should choose your words carefully.”
She has lost touch with reality if she thinks I’m going to let her spend five minutes with Isla, supervised or not.
“Thanks for that warning, darling, but it won’t be necessary. You see, this is just a courtesy call to let you know my lawyers will be requesting a new custody hearing.”
“What?”
“I’ll be applying for full custody.”
“What? No. You can’t have full custody.” I’m almost yelling now, but I don’t care. “I don’t know what kind of shit you’re trying to pull, but you’ve already waived your rights. You’ll be lucky if I ever let you see Isla again after this.”
“Ah, but you see, that’s where you’re mistaken. I never signed anything to waive my parental rights. I even had my lawyers double-check the paperwork, just to be sure.”
I feel like I’ve been punched in the gut, but I’m not going down without a fight. I don’t know what Kinsley’s end goal is, but I know for sure she doesn’t want to be a mother.
“Why do you even want her?” I ask, getting straight to the point. “You and I both know this is a bunch of bullshit, so just go ahead and tell me why you’re really calling.”
“No bullshit, I’m afraid. But after seeing that little home movie you and your nanny made together, I simply can’t handle the thought of my daughter being exposed to that kind of filth. I’m going to ask the court for an emergency order, and I fully expect them to grant it.”
My chest feels tight and the corner of my desk is digging into my palm from gripping it so tightly for so long. “You can’t do this, Kinsley. I won’t let you take Isla.”
It’s laughable that Kinsley is trying to lecture me about what I’m exposing our daughter to whenever she’s partying the night away with felons and druggies, but it’s my word against hers at this point. And unfortunately, thanks to that fucking sex tape leak, she has high resolution video evidence to use against me.
“I can do it, though,” she says. “We’re filing the paperwork today. As I said, this is just a courtesy call.”
“Fuck your courtesy,” I snap, unable to hold back any longer. “You can request whatever you want from the court, but I’ll fight you every step of the way. You won’t win. You won’t.”
It takes a second for me to realize she’s already hung up. I slam the phone down and scrub a hand over my face. This isn’t a fight I want to have, but she isn’t giving me a choice.
I’m not sure I can win this fight, though, and that scares the hell out of me. Losing means I’ll lose the most precious part of my life.
My whole world.
My daughter.
I spend the next couple of hours pacing in front of the window, anxiety ripping me to pieces. I’ve been receiving updates every thirty minutes from my team of lawyers, but the day is almost over and they haven’t been able to tell me anything new since Kinsley filed her request for an emergency custody hearing.
I know who the judge is. And I’m not above throwing money around to get what I want, but all the money in the world doesn’t do me any good on such short notice.
My stomach is in my throat as I step off the elevator into the foyer of my apartment. I want to go find Isla and hug her tight, but there’s something else I have to do first.
Something I should have done last night. Something I probably should have done a long time ago, if I’m being honest.
I just deluded myself into thinking that maybe, just maybe, things would work out between Ella and me. But it’s time to end the charade.
I set my briefcase down next to the sofa and walk straight back to Ella’s room. It takes half a minute for me to muster the willpower to actually knock on her door. In the intervening moments, I feel like a reticent child.
No matter what I may say out loud, a large part of me simply does not want to do have this life-altering conversation. I wish like anything that I could just ignore Ella’s lies and Kinsley’s threats.