The Heart That's Meant to Love You

Chapter 63: Breakup

Naomi could barely breathe, but she would gladly give up her air for another kiss.

Her mother had lied. Kisses weren't harmful or hateful. At least, that kiss hadn't been. Kieran's kiss had been everything that Naomi had dreamed about since her childhood. Her first kiss, and Naomi didn't regret a moment of it.

But she thought the words too soon.

Kieran's chuckle started small, a brief sound that Naomi might have misheard. But then it escalated, until it rolled into full-on laughter.

Afraid what she might see but determined to face it head-on, Naomi opened her eyes. The scene before her unfolded like nothing she had expected. A beautiful dream turned into a nightmare, and it began with a single sentence.

"I'm sorry, I couldn't hold back the laughter anymore."

Naomi didn't know why, or how, or when, but Kieran's voice had changed. It's tone no longer held concern and a gentle nature. Now, he sounded like a newborn villain, presenting a well-crafted monologue before the first shot from their deadliest weapon.

"What?" was all that Naomi could push past the lump forming in her throat.

Kieran set his camera down on the table beside all the other gadgets. "You're very gullible, Little Rich Girl."

Was he really the man who had just kissed her? Naomi had never seen such an expression on his face before. Nor did she ever want to see it again. If she could reverse time, she would, just to relive the last moments of Kieran's affection.

But she couldn't do that.

Whiplash set in like a migraine, working its way through Naomi's veins but not managing to kill the thrill and excitement she felt when Kieran kissed her.

"What's wrong with you?" For the first time in front of him, Naomi knew she sounded small and timid. Pitiful.

"What's wrong with you?" Kieran threw back. "Do you have no stick-to-it-iveness? Going back on your rules, principles, and words so soon?"

Get it together, Naomi. Something's wrong. You need to figure out what it is. Naomi swallowed, if only to ground herself to reality. "What about you? You've said things contrary to how you're acting right now."

"I was always lying." Kieran lifted his eyes, and in them Naomi saw nothing but darkness. His lips ticked up into a smirk so evil she wondered at its origin. "So, only one of us has gone back on our standards here."

"I was always lying."

The words hit Naomi like a ton of bricks right to the center of her chest. Always? Even in the times she had felt the most sincerity from him? Even when they had conversed as friends? When he had protected her without telling her? Naomi doubted, but she didn't dare bring it up.

Instead, she posed a logical question. "Why have you been lying to me all this time? What do you gain from it?"

In the series of give-and-take, Kieran must have gotten something from it. If not, he would have walked away long ago. Naomi knew the game better than most. She understood the dealings of negotiation.

"Not everyone can cover their own debts. Sometimes we need a little... extra help."

Through Naomi's mind flashed an offer she made to Kieran on a moonlit evening. An envelope containing her own savings. Had that been a plan of his?

"You didn't steal my money. I offered it to you."

"Did you? Or did I weasel it out of you?"

Naomi clamped her lips together, unwilling to admit she had just asked herself the same question.

Fine. Say he had been lying. That left a giant hole in the story. A hole that Naomi intended to get to the bottom of.

"Then why did you protect me? Why did you..." Naomi looked down to her hands. "Why did you kiss me?"

"Fun!" The laugh returned, Kieran's arms thrusting outward as if to ask why not. "I wanted to see how far I could lead the naive little rich girl astray. How far would she follow a liar like me?"

"Then why are you stopping with a kiss?"

Briefly, a look of remorse or regret passed over Kieran's face. So briefly that Naomi almost missed it. But then the mask returned, and with it the smirk he had been holding.

"Sweetheart, don't for a second think that you're my one and only. I have better options. Better kissers, for sure."

The words stung. Burned. But, try as she might, Naomi couldn't force herself to be angry or hate him. She had brought this on herself, in some aspects. Kieran had always warned her that she was too naive. This was simply a confirmation of that.

"I won't believe you," Naomi decided.

"It doesn't matter if you believe it, that's the truth."

Naomi shook her head. "I don't think it is, though."

On cue, as if it had been planned, the front door opened. A whiny female voice sailed through the air.

"Kieran, love! I'm here!"

What came next pained Naomi more than any words that Kieran might have said to her. Words, she could doubt. Actions remained ingrained in her memories for eternity.

Things like the way Kieran smiled at the model waltzing in. The way he pulled her into his arms when she arrived. The way he dropped a long, lingering kiss to her lips.

That hurt the worst, piercing Naomi to the quick and grabbing a hold of her heart like a vise. Kieran's final warning only sealed the agony inside of Naomi.

He looked up, his eyes meeting hers as though they belonged like that. "Don't you get it? You and I, we're over. Go back to your perfect little life."

If Naomi thought arguing any further would have helped the situation, she would have stayed. But the spikes stabbing her heart wouldn't let her witness any more. Her instincts begged her to run away.

Naomi rose from the chair, padding toward the back room. "I'll get changed and leave, then."

"Keep the dress. Consider it a farewell gift."

His tone bristled Naomi's last shreds of pride. She lifted her chin, head held high to stop the tears from falling. If he wanted her out of his life, she would do it. But only for his sake.

"It isn't mine to take. I'll leave it behind."

Then, without waiting for another word or warning, Naomi fled. Because what else was she supposed to do when her world came crashing down?