Chapter 1: What I Came Home To
Kiera's POV
I came home early because I missed him.
God, how embarrassing that is to admit now.
I'd left the charity gala forty minutes into the cocktail hour, smiled my way through the goodbyes, told the ladies I had a headache, which was technically true, just not from the kind I was thinking of. I wanted my husband, to feel his hands on me, his mouth on mine.
Four years of marriage and I was still that stupid.
The house was quiet when the car dropped me. No staff, no whispers from the kitchen and then I saw her.
Ashley. Denise's sister. She was lounging on the couch in the sitting room like she owned the place, which, technically, she did, since the Kingsley fortune was as much hers as Denise.
"Kiera," she purred, taking a slow sip of her wine. "Back so soon?"
Her voice was smooth, like she'd been waiting for this moment. I didn't trust her, I never had.
"Where's Denise?" My voice was sharp.
"Oh, he's occupied." She smirked and took another sip of the wine. "You should go find him. I think you'll enjoy the show."
My blood ran cold.
What the hell was she talking about?
I walked toward the stairs, my mind racing for reasons I didn't want to examine.
I could hear sounds as I walked.
My heart pounded as I walked down the hall, my heels clicking against the tile. The door to our bedroom was slightly ajar, and I pushed it open without thinking and I saw it.
Denise was naked.
His body oily with sweat, his hands gripping the hips of the woman under him, as he f****d her from behind. The room smelled like s*x and perfume, and the sight of it made my stomach twists.
I looked at the woman under him, then I recognized her.
It was Sabrina, my Best friend.
Her head thrown back in pleasure, her dark hair spread across the sheets like an offering. She was moaning, her voice high, her fingers digging into the mattress as Denise pounded into her.
The scream tore out of me before I could stop it. They froze, denise was still buried inside her, Sabrina eyes flying open as she realized what was happening.
"Kiera, it's not..." Denise stammered, finally pulling out. He scrambled for his pants, but it was too late.
"Not what?!" My voice was cracked. "You're f*****g my best friend in our bed and you're going to tell me it's not what it looks like?!"
"Kiera, listen to me." His voice was cold. "This marriage was over before it even started. We were just too stubborn to admit it."
My breath froze.
"You cold bastard." My voice was rough. "You don't even have shame."
"I want a divorce." His voice was flat.
"You're not going to explain what I just walked in on," I said slowly. "You're not going to at least apologize..."
"Because I don't want to." He had the audacity to almost shrug. "Isn't that obvious, you need to stop being dramatic."
I wan dramatic.
Four years since the wedding, the miscarriage I went through alone, the dinners I hosted, of being his wife and Now I was dramatic.
I grabbed the nearest thing my hand could reach, which was a glass wine off the nightstand. "You think I'm being dramatic?!" I screamed. "I'll show you dramatic!"
I threw the glass at him and he ducked, the glass missed by two inches and shattered against the wall, and a shard caught his cheekbone.
"What the.." Denise voice was rough. "Kiera, you're crazy..."
"Crazy?" I was already picking up the second glass and I threw that one too. It hit the mirror above the dresser. "This crazy enough for you?"
I grabbed the wine bottle. Denise was moving toward me, arms out. "Okay, Kiera, you need to put the bottle down."
"Four years," My voice was shaking. "Four years, Denise and you're not even sorry. You're standing there like I walked in on something I'm supposed to be embarrassed about..."
My voice tightened and I hated it, hated the tears that were coming because I did not want to cry in front of them. "In our bedroom..."
I smashed the wine bottle and it exploded in a mess of red color and glass. Sabrina screamed and pulled the sheet up higher.
Denise grabbed my wrists. "You need to stop!"
I wrenched free and slapped him, the sound echoing. "Don't you dare touch me!"
"You're not okay!" He spat, stumbling back, his cheek red from my slap.
I wasn't listening, I grabbed the lamp and drew that too. Denise grabbed my wrists again, this time, it was hard. "Enough," his voice rose. "You need to leave. Now." His voice was cold. "The maid will have your things ready. You're not welcome here anymore."
"Oh, I'm not welcome?" My voice was shaky. "I'm the one who needs to leave?"
I twisted my hand free and stormed towards the door. "You're both going to regret this."
I slammed the door behind me, the sound echoing through the mansion like a gunshot.
Ashley was at the bottom of the stairs.
I stopped on the last step, she met my eyes and didn't look away.
"You knew," I said.
"Of I knew," She said plainly. "They've been together for months."
"You knew, and you let me walk in on that." My voice was shaking with rage.
"Someone had to end this pathetic thing you called a marriage." Her voice was calm. "Denise was too much of a coward to do it himself
My hands tightened into fists. "You b***h!"
"No, Kiera." She smirked. "I'm the smart one. You were always too blind to see what was right in front of you. Denise never loved you. He only tolerated you, and now he's free."
I stepped closer. "This isn't over."
"What are you going to do, Kiera? Cry? Scream? Throw another tantrum?" Her eyes went up and down my body. "You're nothing without this family and now you're less than nothing."
"You're going to regret this," I said quietly.
"I don't think I will," she smiled.