Chapter 4

The next morning, Kieran showed up at the office again.

His face was sallow, his eyes shot through with red.

“Mari, let's talk.”

He backed me straight into the break room.

“There's nothing to talk about.”

“Daisy's pregnant. Shouldn't you be home taking care of her instead of coming here?”

That clearly caught him off guard.

“She came to see you?”

“She did.” I looked right at him. “Congratulations. You're about to be a father.”

His whole face changed, and he scrambled to explain.

“It's not what you think! There's really nothing between us!”

“That night I blacked out drunk, I……”

“Enough!” I cut him off sharply.

“Kieran, you don't owe me a report.”

“Whatever's going on between the two of you has nothing to do with me.”

I turned to walk out, and he grabbed me from behind, hard.

“Mari, just trust me this once!”

“You're the only one in my heart! You're the only one I love!”

His arms clamped around me so tight I couldn't breathe.

I fought with everything I had and couldn't break free.

“Let go of me!”

“No!”

His voice cracked. “Mari, don't go, I'm begging you, all right?”

We were still struggling when the break room door swung open.

Liam stood in the doorway.

The moment he took in the scene, his face went cold.

Kieran saw who it was too, and instead of letting go, he only crushed me tighter.

“Mr. Gilbert.” My face was burning red as I fought him.

Liam walked in with long strides.

He fixed his eyes on Kieran.

“Mr. James, this is a workplace.”

His voice wasn't loud, but there was a chill in it.

“I'll ask you to watch yourself.”

Only then did Kieran grudgingly let go.

He glared at Liam, venom in his eyes.

“This is a private matter between me and Mari. It's got nothing to do with you, does it?”

Liam gave him a cold glance.

“Marilyn works for me. During work hours, everything that happens to her is my business.”

He turned to me. “Come to my office.”

I followed Liam out of the break room, Kieran's stare crawling up my back the whole way.

Once we were inside the office, Liam closed the door behind us.

“Sit.”

I sat down across the desk, a little uneasy.

“I'm sorry, Mr. Gilbert. I've caused you trouble again.”

He filled a cup with warm water and passed it to me.

“Your wrist okay?”

I looked down. A red mark had been pressed into my wrist.

“It's fine. It'll fade in a bit.”

He pulled open a drawer, dug out a tube of ointment, and tossed it on the desk.

“Put some on.”

Looking at the ointment on the desk, something twisted uncomfortably in me.

“Mr. Gilbert, what Kieran did just now……”

I opened my mouth, not knowing how to explain.

“I trust you.” Liam cut in.

I raised my head.

“I know you wouldn't get tangled up with someone that shady.”

He paused, then went on.

“Besides, the man's a piece of trash.”

I couldn't hold it in and laughed out loud, and a lot of the tightness in my chest eased.

“Thank you, Liam.”

It was the first time I'd called him by his name.

He blinked, and the corner of his mouth curved up.

“Don't mention it.”

Kieran didn't show his face again the whole afternoon.

Right before I clocked out, my phone buzzed with a text.

Somehow he'd managed to add me back as a contact.

“Mari, I laid it all out with Daisy. There's no way I'm claiming that baby.”

“Give me some time. I'll get this whole thing cleaned up, I promise. Just wait for me.”

Reading those two lines, all I felt was a cold prickle down my back.

A man who could throw away his own flesh and blood that easily. What wouldn't he do?

I didn't send back so much as a punctuation mark. I just deleted the thread.

When I walked out of the building, Liam's car was parked at the curb.

The window rolled down.

“Get in. I'll drive you.”

I hesitated.

“There's no need. The subway station's right up ahead.”

“Get in.” There was more weight in his voice this time.

So I pulled open the passenger door and got in.

Soft music played inside the car.

Neither of us said a word the whole way.

When we reached the entrance to my complex, I unbuckled my seatbelt.

“Thanks for the ride. See you tomorrow.”

“Marilyn.” He called out to me all of a sudden.

“What is it?”

“Stay away from Kieran from now on.”

His face was dead serious.

“That man has no limits. He's dangerous.”