Chapter 5 The Red headed Vixen {Kieran}

Life is a blur when all you’ve worked for, every brick you’ve built, every rule you broke amounts to nothing.

I wasn’t one to lose. It wasn’t in my DNA or so I thought. But lately, life has been a petty little bitch, cackling in my face has it strips me down piece by piece

“Honey, Mother wants us to come for dinner at the cabin tonight,” Valentina's honeyed yet hoarse voice drifted into the bedroom as she glided past me in her champagne night robe that reeked of alcohol.

My jaw tightened. Seven in the morning and my beloved wife was already drowning in bottles again.

From the mirror in front of me, I watched her collapse gracelessly onto her side of her bed, pulled out a drawer and brought out her pack of cigarettes. A lighter sparked.

“If you won’t be sober tonight, I won’t accompany you. Send my regards,” I said flatly, adjusting the cuff of my shirt as though her existence wasn’t already wrinkling tge air.

I picked up my briefcase from the antique stool and turned away from the reflection that mocked me. The version of my life that no one else saw. The rot under the polish.

My wonderful life. The picture of wealth, fake and power took a slight tilt and it tipped and shattered into pieces.

“Hypocrite,”

I heard her whisper coarsely. Her voice raw and clouded with smoke. I paused at the doorway, hand on knob, back rigid.

No lies there.

I shut the door behind me, letting the world follow me into the silence like a curse.

While Valentina drowned her agony and sorrows with numerous of intoxicants, I buried myself in work. Seemed it was at my lowest, I was at my most dangerously, brutally productive.

Helios Dynamics had just outbid Vortex.co, my oldest nemesis for two multi–billion–dollar contracts. We’d expanded into three more countries in a month, driving growth like in drought stricken soil, like fertilizer to barren land. Communities thrived on reach. Shareholders worshipped my name.

All this achievements stopped the world from taking a nosedive into the ruins of my family. All that couldn’t compare to another great ruin. The one I stumbled into two weeks ago. With blazing red curls, electric blue eyes and a body I couldn’t get off my mind even after two fucking weeks.

That night.

The club Derrick and Jaun dragged me into. The night I broke my own rules.

My childhood friends. This trio had been through the lowest and highest moment. We don’t only stick out of loyalty and similar oddities but because we each are caught in a web of despair and misery.

Their only difference is not being married and being responsible for ruining the life of another. Of Valentina.

I’ve always loved her but Valentina never wanted the life of a married woman. She wasn't made to be a wife. She wasn’t one to be tied down by the shackles of marriage no matter how golden the chains, how lavish the world I offered. Love alone couldn’t hold her.

And then that night came.

The night I spotted that red haired princess.

I lost every shred of control I had. She piqued my interest at first. Everything about her screamed wealth, class and elegance. She didn’t belong to a club outside town. Truthfully, neither did we but no media could manage to find us here so it was a perfect hideout.

Sitting back in my chair at the office, I was starting to realize it was hers too. I watched her smartly turn the ugly chance of her getting drugged around when I was just about to stop her from falling for the dumb trick.

She was seductive without trying and not in any way calculated like the other girls that have tried their luck.

It wasn’t after that wild night that I came to the conclusion that she was a hidden gem that was tired of being hidden.

My first surprise was how unfazed she was when she got into my car and I took her to a condo I owned, a penthouse. Then my next was when I found out she was a virgin. A girl that hot…was untouched.

She was addictive, from her smell, to her skin, to her taste. Every principle I kept was thrown out of the window and I shamelessly requested that she stayed for a little while longer.

The greatest shocker came when I reached out across the sheets and found emptiness. She was gone.

“Mr. Ferrara,” Lydia’s voice broke me out of my trance. I spun my chair away from the glass balcony, leveling my gaze on her. My new PA stood just behind, but something about her was off.

I wasn’t one to coddle people but Helios Dynamics thrived because I maintained a good relationship with my employees. There was a balance, firm but fair, strict but never cruel. Employees stayed loyal because I didn’t make them feel disposable but still, the woman standing there already looked like she was ready to bolt and escape.

Odd. She’d been sharp, almost smug when she aced my questions confidently earlier.

Now her hands were folded in front of her skirt, her eyes stuck on the marble tiles as though they were the most interesting thing in the room.

I let her be, flicking my pen toward Lydia. “Go on.”

Lydia nodded and pulled open her IPad.

“Miss Grant has being briefed on the board materials and, under my supervision, prepared the room. She has your schedule for the day memorized and if you need anything, she’ll handle it. I’ll continue coordinating your external communications.”

I heard her but at the same time I wasn't listening. My focus kept returning to Miss Grant. She didn’t carry her earlier excitement. What had happened during her half an hour shopping spree with Lydia?

And why the fuck did I feel the need to have her eyes on me again? I wanted her to say something, anything with that voice of hers that lingered in my head since we met. What was wrong with me?

Those brown eyes lifted for a fraction of a second, and I found myself wishing they were blue.

I was losing it.

“Thank you Lydia,” I said sharply, pulling myself back into control. “You’re dismissed. I’ll take it from here.”

She dipped her head and walked out, leaving Miss Grant frozen like ice.

I stared for too long. And the longer I looked, the more I compared. Which was weird because her hair wasn’t red, her eyes weren’t blue and her clothes? They weren’t fashionable, they were anything but expensive.

Yet, her height, that regal posture, the curve of her frame…..

The resemblance was maddening.

Get a grip. Kieran!

I put down my pen and leaned back in my seat. “Miss Grant,” I called sharply to get her attention. When she looked up at her, I swore something was pulled tight in my chest. Her eyes glistened but she tilted her chin defiantly.

There she was.

“Yes, sir?” Her voice was firm and steady but carried a note that was all too familiar.

My eyes narrowed. I studied her with a stillness that made lesser men fold but She held my gaze stubbornly.

“Do you have a sister,” the question left me out of nowhere. “Or a twin?”

Her eyes flared wide. She opened and closed her mouth like a fish in water for a few seconds before settling for a shake of her head.

I shot her a look of warning. She forced a small smile. “No, sir.”

I gave a single nod. “Come closer,”

She blinked. “Sir?”

I shot her another look. She muttered a sorry and walked forward. She took three paces and began to falter in her steps. Something was wrong. Her balance wavered. My head tilted in confusion.

The folder in her hand slipped, scattering across the floor. Her face contorted in pain before her knee buckled.

Shit.

I bolted out of my seat, covered the distance between us with long strides just in time to catch her fall.

She was out cold.

Her body went limp. Panic settled deep in my gut but I remained in control. I cradled her head and gently tapped on her cheek. “Miss Grant,” I called loudly, she didn’t budge.

Seeing her up close sparked a shard of memory. My eyes squinted in recognition. The freckles on her face are scattered around just like…….her. The more I stared, the more I couldn’t shake it off.

Now is not the time!

I sprung into action, gathered her in my arms bridal style and left the office. Lydia shot up her seat, eyes wide.

“Tell Brad to get the car ready before I get there!” I barked off orders.

She jolted into action, fingers flying across her phone as the elevator swallowed me whole.

Immediately the door opened, I ran out. The car pulled up. Brad leapt out, swinging the rear door open.

I felt something drop and looked down. A lock of black hair laid at my feet. It was a wig

My heart palpitated.

Her head locked against my chest, lighter now, strands of fiery red spilling free beneath the disguise.

My breath seized.

It was her.