Without a goodbye, he leaves me completely alone with my thoughts.
Something incredibly dangerous to do.
Chapter Fifteen
PIKE
“Pick up, pick up, pick up,” I mumble as my leg bounces while sitting on a park bench.
“Hello?” Killian answers.
“Thank fuck,” I breathe into the mobile.
“Pike, what’s going on? Everything okay?”
“No,” I say as I stand and start to pace. “Nothing is okay.”
“Isn’t it Thanksgiving over there?”
I pause and look up. That must be why the park is so empty. I completely forgot.
“Yeah, I guess it is.”
“Uh, are you not with Cora right now?”
“No. I’m in a park fucking freaking out.”
“Okay, deep, calming breaths. What’s going on?”
I pause my pacing and take a deep breath. After I let it out, I say, “I punched Arlo in the face.”
“Arlo, who is Ar—wait . . . the head teacher at your school?”
“Yes.”
“Why the fuck would you do that?”
“Because I’ve lost the plot.” I push my hand through my hair.
“Is he pressing charges?”
I start pacing again. “I have no fucking clue. He swung at me too, but fuck, the last thing I need is for the school to find out about the altercation and fire me. You know Pa would catch wind of it. And that PI—I saw his car parked outside where the fight broke out. There were windows in the back where we were. He could’ve been in the bushes for all I know.”
“Are you fucking kidding me?” Killian yells. “Jesus Christ, Pike. What happened?”
I sit down on the bench and say, “Cora.”
“What about her?”
“He was attacking her. I couldn’t sit back and let him do that.”
“Like physically?” Killian asks, his tone becoming angry.
“No, verbally. He didn’t know about our marriage. Keiko spilled the beans yesterday, Arlo lost his shit, I didn’t like how he was talking to her, and I let him know it.”
“So, you were the knight in shining armor, then?”
“No, it wasn’t my intention, I just—fuck, I blacked out and next thing I know, we’re being pulled off each other. We both walked away with gashes on our faces.”
“For fuck’s sake,” Killian says. “If this gets out, Pa is going to roast us.”
“I know.” I squeeze my eyes shut. “But, fuck, Killian, you should’ve seen her face. Completely devastated. I fucking lost it.”
He’s silent, and then he says, “Because you like her.”
“I do,” I answer honestly. “I fucking like her a great deal, and no matter how hard I try, I know the sentiment will never be returned. She has a troubled past and it affects her everyday life. I just—I think I should step down from the foundation.”
“What?” Killian roars. “No. No fucking way are you doing that. Do you hear me? If you step down, then Pa takes over.”
“Then maybe—I don’t know. Maybe I just marry Iris, get it over with. Because what the hell am I really doing over here? I’m just fucking everything up.”
“Do you really think she’s not going to go for it, that you won’t be able to get her to England?”
I shake my head. “I really don’t think I will. I thought I was making some headway, until she humiliated me in front of everyone at the party.”
“What did she do?”
“Gave me one of those dissolvable swimsuits. I had no clue. I ended up showing my bare arse to my colleagues.”
Killian chuckles.
“It wasn’t fucking funny.”
“Pike, that’s quite funny.”
“It’s not,” I shoot back. “And do you know why it’s not fucking funny? Because she knows how much I’m still trying to impress them, to fit in. That didn’t fucking help. And on top of that, I was—hell, my pride was wounded, because for a moment, I thought we were becoming more, when in reality, she was just making me think that we were.”
“I think that’s what you’re more upset about.”
“Yeah, I know,” I say, smoothing my hand over my jaw. “I don’t think I can do much more of this.” I pause. “I think I’m going to return to the apartment and tell her I’m out.”
“Don’t,” Killian says.
“Pa is right, I should just be with fucking Iris.” The more I say it out loud, the more it pains me to actually consider it.