Capítulo 9: CHAPTER 9
KIERAN
My life just got fucked.
I had been waiting for Mr. Hall, the CEO of the company I would be partnering with, when I got the biggest shock of my life.
Mr. Hall was one of the wealthiest, biggest reputable businessman in the whole of United Kingdom, and a part of me had been nervous about meeting him formally.
This dinner was a formality, an avenue for the partnering companies to meet, to interact outside the emails.
It was the last step to take before we began to work together.
But when I heard his voice and turned around, the person that stood beside Mr. Hall, with a limp smile on her face, was the person I least expected to meet her.
Edwina.
My ex wife.
My mind blanked as I took her in, vaguely listening to Mr. Hall as he introduced her as his daughter, and the person I would be working directly with.
Fuck.
Edwina was the daughter of Mr. Hall.
All those years I was married to her, and I had not a single idea who her father was.
The realisation made me ashamed. Embarrassed. I had been so terrible, so indifferent to her. I knew nothing about the woman standing before me, despite the fact that we were married for half a decade.
What kind of husband was I?
I resisted the urge to run my hands through my hair as the realisation smacked me in the chest.
How could I have been so terrible?
Forcing my face into a neutral calm, I turned my attention to the people standing before me.
Edwina was staring at me with barely concealed surprise, her jaw almost slack as she took me in.
I shook my head to disperse the fog that was enveloping my senses, clearing my throat before I turned back to her father.
"Hello, Mr. Hall. It is my absolute pleasure to be introduced to your daughter," I managed to keep my voice steady as I shook the elderly man's hand.
I extended my hand to Edwina. Her face was blank, not even a trace of the limpid smile she had on earlier.
Had I imagined the surprise on her face earlier?
"Hello, Edwina. It's nice to see you…again," I said, trying to see if my words would have any effect on her.
Edwina looked me right in the eye as she shook my hand back, her grip surprisingly firm.
"Pleasure to meet you, Mr. White," her words were delivered with a brisk, sharp voice that was devoid of any emotion.
Her gaze, still trained on me, revealed nothing about how she was felt, meeting me again like this.
Edwina wasn't as shaken as I was.
Mr. Hall smiled at me, and we made small talk as we stood together. Only half of my attention was on the conversation though.
The other half was on Edwina, who looked so beautiful, so exquisite, that it was hard to tear my eyes away from her.
My hands twitched as I fought the urge to pull her to me, to envelope her body in mine.
Standing so close to her was unbearable, not when she looked so distant, so aloof, as she glanced around.
I was about to excuse myself to give her some space when her eyes lit up.
I cursed. A wide smile stretched across her face as she took in whoever it was that made her smile like that, and it was as though I was staring at the sun.
The smile transformed her entire body, highlighting her beauty. Her eyes sparkled with joy and she didn't even spare me a glance as she turned to her father.
"Excuse me, father. Orion is here," she said and gently extricated her arm from her father's elbow before walking away.
I traced her movement with my gaze, my eyes tracking each step she took. When she stopped before a blond, handsome man, hot white jealousy erupted in my chest.
Edwina left me standing here with no acknowledgement, no words, not even a single glance, and went to talk to another man.
I watched as the man —Orion, as she called him— lifted her delicate fingers to his lips. My hands fisted at my sides, and I had the sudden urge to bash that man's head into the wall.
Saying a vague goodbye to Edwina's father, I made my way to the drinks section.
This dinner wasn't just for meeting Mr. Hall alone. Powerful people dined right before me.
I was supposed to be out there, networking, strengthening alliances and forming new ones.
But I wasn't there. No. I stayed at the drinks section, downing glass after glass of champagne, my gaze zeroed in on Edwina.
She looked so relaxed, so at home with Orion, that I could not help but think they were together.
They suited each other, of course. Orion was an absolute gentleman, and from the look on his face, it was obvious that he was absolutely smitten with Edwina.
He engaged her with conversations that made her laugh, and my chest tightened with pain.
I should be the one standing there with her.
Was Orion the man she was in love with five years ago? The man she was so happy to leave me for?
I tilted my head back and took another large gulp of champagne.
She was describing something to Orion, her hands making animated gestures as she spoke. Edwina was like a magnet.
Her appeal, her allure had men gravitating towards her slowly, but she was oblivious to it. The only person she had eye for was Orion, and I cursed at how different she wasfrom the woman who has greeted me earlier.
With Orion, she transformed into a laughing, talking beauty, and the ache in my chest multiplied.
As I watched Edwina laugh with Orion, a pang struck my chest. Had I ever made her happy like that?
A voice at the back of my head started to whisper to me.
'Are you just going to let her go, then? You are seeing your ex wife, who you haven't laid eyes on for years, and you just want to stand here and burn with jealousy all night?
Go to her. Try to make a conversation. You are Kieran White, for fuck's sake. Don't just stand here like a lovesick fool.'
The voice in my head was right. If I was going to be working directly with Edwina, I might as well try to make small talk with her.
Chugging down two more glasses of champagne, I made my way to Edwina.
Orion saw me first, and his gaze hardened lightly when he saw that I was heading in their direction.
I paid him no heed as I touched Edwina's shoulder lightly, drawing her attention to me.
"Edwina."
She turned to look at me coolly.
"How can I help you, Kieran?" she said in the brisk, sharp voice she used me with earlier during our introduction
"We need to talk."
She eyed me, turning fully to face me before she spoke.
"I'm all ears."
I glanced at Orion, who was staring at me with anger. I smiled, a cruel bitter thing.
He was clearly aggravated at my interruption.
"We need to talk. Alone," I said as I turned back to Edwina, placing enough emphasis on the last word that she knew I wasn't going to say whatever I wanted to in the presence of her…whoever Orion was to her.
"Very well. Do you mind fetching me a drink, Please?" she turned to Orion, and I hated how warm her words were.
Orion took her hands and led her few feet away. I watched as the exchanged few words, and the man nodded as he left.
"What do you want, Kieran?" Edwina asked without wasting time as she came back to stand before me.
What did I want?
I had no idea.
Standing before her, having her full attention at last, I realized that I had no idea of what to say.
"I just…you know. We…you…I didn't expect to see you again," I managed to say.
Immediately the words left my lips, I knew I had made a terrible mistake.
Edwina stiffened, her body going rigid and tense as she took in my words.
"You don't need to worry about my return, Kieran. I assure you that you're and will always remain, a business partner. Whatever it is you're thinking, I definitely didn't come back here for that.
Now, if you'll excuse me, I'll take my leave."
She glared at me as she walked away, and I ran my hands through my hair.
Fuck.
Fuck!
I drank my way through the rest of the party, my heart aching at how indifferent, how cold Edwina was.
She had left the party immediately, saying goodbye to her father before leaving with Orion.
I wanted to run after her to apologize, to let her know that she misunderstood my words.
But I didn't. I stayed and drank, ignoring the people I was supposed to be networking with.
The dinner was coming to an end when I left, my chest still tight from the confrontation I had with my ex wife.
I was drunk as hell, and it took me a few tries before I finally managed to unlock the door.
Sleep. I needed to sleep. Thinking about Edwina in a drunk state wasn't ideal.
I needed to…a familiar heady scent wafted through my nose, scrambling my thoughts.
I raised my head to see Amelia walking down the stairs, her luscious body wrapped in a dress that did little to cover her body.
She smiled when she saw me.
"Home so soon?"
"Where are you going?" i asked, my eyes narrowing at how dressed up she was.
"Just…you know. I've been bored at home, so I decided to take myself out for a treat."
I scoffed.
"You are bored? Don't bullshit me, Amelia. I told you to come with me to the dinner party and you refused. Now you have the guts to tell me you're bored?
Where the hell are you going?" i said, my voice slurring at the end.
Amelia eyes widened when she noticed how drunk I was.
"You're drunk. Be a good boy and go to sleep," she smirked as she started to walk past me.
I gripped her wrist.
"Don't test the limit of my patience, Amelia. Where are you going to, dressed that way?"
She snatched her wrist out of my grip.
"It's none of your business," she snapped, rolling her eyes at me as she walked out.
I stood there for a while, watching the door even after she was long gone.
Amelia was lying to me.
I wondered how my times she had deceived me, lied to me. I wondered what I was still doing with her.
Maybe put
ting up with Amelia was my self imposed punishment for being a terrible husband to Edwina.
Maybe Edwina coming back into my life years after our divorce was the greatest punishment the universe decided to award me.
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