Get Down On Your Knees And Beg, Ex-Husband

Marry Me

**Nia's Point of View**

Khiron looked taken aback at first.

But I didn't give him the chance to talk.

"If there's something you're after, you better know right now that I'm done with men like you," I continued, my voice getting louder, not caring that we were in a public space or that people might be staring. "I want nothing to do with this. With you. With whatever game you're playing."

"Niamh, I'm not..."

"I've had enough of everything," I cut him off again, my hands balling into fists at my sides. "I just want peace. That's all I came here for. Peace. A fresh start. A chance to figure out who I am without someone constantly manipulating me or controlling me or using me for whatever they need."

His face had gone carefully blank now, that dangerous calm settling over his features that I'd only seen glimpses of before.

But I was too far gone to care. Too angry. Too tired. Too done with all of it.

"If you want to expose me, then just do it already," I spat out, my voice cracking slightly.

"Stop using it to drag me out on your fancy dates every single day. Stop showing up at my hotel. Stop calling me. Stop pretending like this is anything other than what it really is."

"And what is it really?" His voice was quiet.

"A power play. A game. Some rich guy's idea of entertainment. I barely even want these dates. I don't want the flowers or the dinners or the museums or any of it. I just want to be left alone."

“But you won't let me say no! Because every time I try to set a boundary, you find a way around it. Every time I try to keep my distance, you somehow end up right there anyway. And I'm so f*****g tired of it."

My chest was heaving now, my breathing coming too fast.

"You're just like him," I repeated, my voice dropping lower.

“Charming and persistent and always getting your way no matter what anyone else wants. Always pushing and pushing until the other person just gives up and goes along with it because it's easier than fighting."

“Maybe you don't see it, but you are. And I can't do this again. I won't do this again."

I took a deep breath, trying to steady myself, trying to regain some semblance of control.

"So thank you for the dinners and the tours and whatever else you thought you were doing. But I'm done. We're done. Don't call me again. Don't show up at my hotel. Don't... just don't."

I turned and walked away before he could respond, before I could see whatever expression was on his face, before I could second guess myself and take any of it back.

My legs felt shaky as I navigated through the aquarium, looking for anywhere I could go to be alone. I found the restroom pushed through the door, grateful to find it empty.

The moment the door closed behind me, I braced my hands against the sink and stared at my reflection in the mirror.

What had I done?

The question echoed in my head.

Why did I explode like that? Why did I yell at him? In public, no less, like some unhinged person who couldn't control their emotions.

I'd basically just challenged him to expose me. I'd told him to do the one thing I'd been terrified of since the moment he'd recognized me at the airport.

What if he actually did it?

What if he was already making calls right now, talking to the police, giving them my location, my real name, everything they'd need to track me down?

I started pacing the small space between the sinks and the stalls, my mind racing through every possible scenario, each one worse than the last.

I could see the headlines already.

"Woman Sought in Hotel Attack."

"Wealthy Heiress Accused of Assault."

My face plastered across every news site, every social media platform.

I'd go to prison. Or at the very least, I'd be dragged through a legal nightmare that would make the divorce look like nothing.

And Caspian and Isla would definitely love this. He'd finally have proof that I was the one who attacked him. He could play the victim, could use it to salvage his reputation somehow.

"f**k," I whispered to my reflection. "f**k, f**k, fuck."

Should I go back out there and beg him? Tell him it was all a joke? That I wasn't serious? That I didn't mean any of it?

I could apologize. Make up some excuse about stress or jet lag or adjustment difficulties. Laugh it off like it was nothing.

Maybe if I was convincing enough, he'd let it go. Maybe he'd find it amusing rather than insulting.

But even as I thought it, I knew how pathetic that sounded. How desperate.

I stopped pacing and looked at myself in the mirror again.

My eyes were red. My face was flushed. I looked exactly like someone who'd just had a breakdown in a public aquarium.

"Get it together," I told my reflection firmly.

I couldn't keep doing this. I couldn't keep letting fear dictate every decision I made and I certainly couldn't keep bending myself into shapes that made other people comfortable while I slowly disappeared.

That's what I'd done with Caspian. For five years.

And where had it gotten me?

Divorced. Humiliated and running from my own life.

No. I wouldn't take this nonsense from Khiron anymore. I wouldn't let him manipulate me with his charm and his money and his convenient ownership of half of London.

I'd go back out there. I'd apologize for being rude, because despite everything, I had been rude. You didn't yell at people in public spaces, no matter how justified you felt.

But I would also be clear. I'd tell him politely but definitively that I wasn't interested in continuing whatever this was between us.

And then tomorrow, first thing in the morning, I'd check out of his hotel. I'd find somewhere else to stay, somewhere he didn't own. I'd block his number. I'd disappear into this massive city and hope I never saw his face again.

With that plan somewhat solidified in my mind, I pushed open the restroom door and made my way back through the aquarium, following the path we'd taken earlier.

My heart was pounding, my palms were sweating, but I kept my face as calm as I could manage.

Khiron was still standing in the ocean tunnel where I'd left him, his back to me, hands in his pockets and looking up at the sharks swimming overhead.

He didn't turn around when I approached, even though I knew he must have heard my footsteps.

I stopped a few feet away from him, close enough to talk but far enough to maintain some distance.

"Khiron," I started. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have yelled at you like that. It was uncalled for and..."

“There's no need for that.”

He turned around then, and whatever else I was going to say died in my throat.

His expression was serious. Intense. Like he'd made some kind of decision while I was gone.

I opened my mouth again, trying to remember the rest of my apology, trying to find the words that would let me leave here with some dignity intact.

But before I could say anything at all, he spoke first.

"Marry me.”