Why Him?

CHAPTER 16

Gideon POV

“W-what? How did you know?” I asked him back. He then showed me our house CCTV footage. He wasn’t lying. There’s a man on a bike following me from behind.

But something is off here. He only followed me until I got to the gate of my house. He didn’t get in or steal anything from us. What is his real intention?

“How can you be this clumsy? Who is this man? Why is he following you?” Dad asked me. I was stoned at my place. I also had no idea why I was being followed.

“Where is this man right now? Let me talk to him.” I asked dad. I had to ask him myself and uncover his true intention. Dad got up from his chair. “That wouldn’t be necessary. He’s dead. I already got rid of him because he refused to speak up.” Dad said casually, then wiping a stain of blood from his gun with a small piece of cloth. Sometimes I am still amazed by him. How could he be so calm after taking other people's lives?

“What kind of trouble did you cause this time?” Dad asked me accusingly. “I am not making any trouble, dad. The last time I was getting involved in a fight was in Uncle Damian’s club.” I clamped my mouth after saying that. Damn it. The words just slipped out. Me and my big mouth.

Dad’s eyes narrowed at me. “What did you say? What happened?” he asked me again. Dad had no idea about the mess that I created that night. Uncle Damian already handled them well.

“Nothing to worry about. Uncle Damian already taken care of it.” I said, avoiding his eyes. Dad took a step closer towards me until he stood in front of me.

“Is this because of that woman? Kiara?” He guessed, and it was spot on. “Her ex was trying to force her, and I couldn’t stay still.” I finally tell him. Dad pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration.

“I know that she was bad news from the very beginning.” He said venomously. My anger suddenly rose up.“Are you trying to blame her for this? How can you be so sure that the man followed me because of Kiara?” I said in a stern tone. I just can’t understand why he dislikes Kiara that much.

“Well, I don’t trust her. I never trusted anyone other than our family. For all I know, she could be a spy that was sent by one of our enemies.” Dad said, jabbing his index finger at my chest.

“Don’t judge her, dad. You don’t know her at all!” I replied, gritting my teeth. 

“Do you think you know her then?” he asked me back with a challenging tone. I went speechless after that. Dad was right. I’d only known her for a few days.

“I suggest you stay away from her,” Dad told me with a cold tone. No. Kiara is not that kind of woman. I know where she works, and she looked like a normal person. I don’t think she knew one of our enemies.

Moreover, she looked completely harmless. We just started this wonderful thing between us, and I am not going to stop right now.

I turned around to leave his office. This is not a discussion. No matter what I say, he would still think poorly of Kiara. “I’m sorry, dad. But I can’t do that. I am still going to see her whenever I want.” I said, then closed the door behind me.    

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Kiara POV

I combed my hair and decided to make an extra effort to iron it straight today. After I had a dream about Gideon last night, I was wide awake and unable to sleep. I felt guilty for tricking him and also sad because I would tell him the truth today. This might be the last time we met.

I groaned after seeing my face in the mirror. The dark circle under my eyes were so annoying, and not even the most expensive foundation could hide them. I finally gave up after trying to fix my lack of sleep face for an hour. I grabbed my bag and did a final check. I already packed a sweater for tonight, as Gideon told me last night.

“Good morning, dad,” I said, kissing the side of his cheek as I joined him at the dining table. He looked up from his phone, studying my appearance. “You’re wearing jeans to the office?” he asked, looking confused.

I looked down at my outfit and replied to him. “Uh, yeah? I just wanted to wear something casual for today. I won’t be having a meeting today anyway.” I replied, taking a sip of my coffee. Dad stared back at me.

“This outfit won’t do. Nolan invited us over dinner tonight at Uncle Richard’s place. You need to put on something nice.” Dad told me, and I choked on my coffee.

“W-wait, what? Tonight?” I said, wiping the coffee on my chin with the napkin. “You heard me. It’s seven o clock. Don’t be late.” Dad said, picking up his suit from the chair.

“No, I can’t come tonight… I had a plan.” I told him. He buttoned his suit and stared back at me. “Just cancel it… That simple.” Dad said in a final tone.

“But dad… You tell me before you’ll give me some time to think about the marriage. I am still not saying yes to this.” I argued with him. Hoping that he would let me pass this time. “Kiara, this is just dinner.” He said, putting both hands over my shoulders.

Okay. He might be taken this invitation lightly, but I can’t. I don’t want to have dinner with Nolan. I hated that guy. I knew that he must’ve had some kind of sick plan behind this.

“We should be going right now,” Dad added after seeing me went speechless.

“Are you coming with me or not?” Dad asked me again. I should tell Gideon about this.

“No, you can go first. I am going to change my clothes first.” I then told him. He nodded in agreement and kissed my forehead. “Okay, then… See you at the office.” he then said, picking up his briefcase from the floor and went out of the house.

The moment dad left. I picked up my car key and decided to go to Gideon’s place.

****************

I stopped my car and sneaked into his house. I nearly got a mini heart attack when I saw his mom watering the plant in the garden. “Kiara?” she called me.

Damn it. She saw me. I straightened up and fixed my hair. “Hi, Mrs. Barlowe….So nice to see you again.” I said awkwardly. She looked confused but still smiled at me.

“You came early? Did Gideon know you were coming?” She asked me, putting down the water jug. “Oh no, I came here to surprise him. Is he awake yet?” I said in reply. Mrs. Barlowe shook her head.

“No, he usually wakes up late. But I think he would be happy if you try to wake him up.” She winked at me with a knowing look. Oh wow. I never met a parent as open-minded as her.

“Oh no, I don’t think Mr. Barlowe would let me do that. Maybe I should just be going.” I said, blushing, then turned around to leave.

“He’s not here…” she then told me. “I’m sorry?” I asked her back as I turned my head, not sure that I heard her correctly.

She tugged a strand of hair behind her ear. “My husband is out to meet his friend. He would not be back home until late at night.” Mrs. Barlowe told me. I somehow felt relieved after hearing that.

“Come here, dear. I’ll take you to his room.” She grabbed my hand, and I let her guide me in. We took the stairs because Gideon’s room is on the second floor.

“Thanks, Mrs. Barlowe,” I said to her in front of the door. “Oh please, just call me Fallon.” She then sighed deeply. “I have to tell you that he’s not in a good mood. I think he just had a little fight with his dad last night.” She told me.

“I think I can handle this.” I took her hands and smiled at her assuringly. “I am sure you can, dear.” She said in return. She then left me after that.

I took a deep breath as my hand reached for the doorknob. I slowly pushed the door open and tiptoed in.

The room was pitch black, with only small lighting from the sunlight peeking through the thick curtain. I couldn’t see clearly inside the room. I slowly walked towards the window and opened the curtain. Then I saw him.

He was still sleeping soundly. I carefully got into the bed and touched his face. I wasn’t expecting him to suddenly pin me down under him. He placed his hand over my throat as if he wanted to choke me.

“Hey, Gideon... It's just me!” I squealed. It took him a moment before he loosened his grip on my neck. “Kiara? s**t, I’m sorry. What are you doing here?” He asked, knitting his eyebrows at me.

“I came here to see you,” I said in reply. My heart is thumping wildly against my ribcage. His lips curved a smile at me. “Well, this is a nice surprise.” He then said.

He touched my face gently. “You looked beautiful today. What did you do to your hair?” he asked. I loved the way he always made me feel adored. He was distracting me. For a moment, I forgot the purpose of coming here.

“Gideon, we need to talk.” I then told him. “Sure…We can talk,” he said, pausing for a while. The way he looked at me was so intense. I felt drowned in his eyes. He always had this effect on me.

“But after this.” He dipped down and took my lips greedily, resuming our hot make-out session last night at the car.