A Billionaire in Shining Suit (TBB 4)

Every Gory Detail

Chapter 32 - Every Gory Detail

KARINA HART

The moment "I killed him" escaped his lips, Kari froze in his arms.

Suddenly everything made sense.

The moment he had shot Stan he had went back to the moment he had killed his father.

Kari knew that Zach wouldn't have killed him without any intention. And even if he had killed the guy, there must've been a reason.

Unlike Zach, Stanley loved to kill. He'd come home caked in blood and tell her about it in detail. She didn't want to know but he'd make her. She'd puke her guts out later

Zach had been carrying the burden of his father's death on his shoulders.

He needed a therapist but he couldn't just say hey I killed two men and now I'm having nightmares.

As much as he wanted to keep his monsters in the closet, she needed to get that out.

Kari turned around to face him and placed her head on his chest. His heart beat so fast that Kari knew he was scared as hell. She continued to hold him until it slowed and his arms wound around her.

"Tell me how?"

"Kari-"

She rested her chin on her hands, placed on his chest and gave him her puppy dog eyes.

"Don't look at me like that." He groaned.

She pouted.

"Fine." He tapped on her nose.

"Where do I start?"

"From the beginning." She replied

"You want everything?"

"Every gory detail." She nodded.

"Okay." Reluctantly, he sifted his fingers through her hair and sighed" I grew up with my father. I knew my mom because she'd come meet me once a year as per the court orders. I didn't know the whole story at first. I thought dad was just a bitter man until mom told me everything."

"She left him when I was just three. Mom just wanted affection and that man was so in love with his work that he never gave mom the time of his day.

"When mom petitioned for divorce, my dad hired the best of lawyers and took away everything she loved including me."

"Dad loved mom in his own way but he had kept her caged and she was suffocating here. She had to leave without me because dad had started torturing her after the divorce. So much that she had to get a restraining order against him."

"He made her leave the country. A year later she found George and was happily married already.

"Now Jack didn't know about that at all. By the time he came to know that Cass was married, I was ten.

After that dad turned bitter. He left his business to rot and found solace in alcohol and gambling. So much that he lost years worth of money he'd earned by his own hard work was wasted away in a few months."

"When the neighbors tried to call child service, he sobered up. He was sober for a whole year. He worked and married Lily."

"Lily?"

"Lily was my step mom. Now she's somewhere I don't know where exactly though."

"A year later, my dad went back to his ways. But he had no money and he piled up a big debt. He got abusive. He would hit Lily. I stepped in between and he'd hit me. I couldn't see her getting all bruised. She was young. In her mid twenties."

"One day I came home and she was unconscious. She was pretty banged up. So I took her to the hospital. I asked for some money from mom and helped her run. I was thirteen at that time.

"For the next five years it was just me and him. That's how I got those scars. He had a way with the cane. He didn't even remember what he did the day before. He went completely insane."

"What happened next?"

"I was twenty and I just came home to see Jack drunk and he was pissed for some reason. He grabbed the cane and started beating me.

Suddenly Paul came in out of nowhere. A woman was with him . Paul runs a motorcycle club. And my dad owed him money. One hell lot of money. He had been delaying the pay and it had been over three months and Jack still hadn't paid the debt.

When Paul threatened Jack, he went berserk. He grabbed the girl by the elbow and held her with his arm around her neck. Jack had managed to grab the gun from the girl and held it to her temple.

In that moment my whole life flashed in front of my eyes. Him abusing Lily, me, Cass. I just couldn't take it. I felt my responsibility to protect people from him. I didn't know what to do.

A moment of calm came over me as I walked over to Paul who's back was to me. I grabbed the gun from Paul's waistband and shot my father in the head. "

Kari gasped.

"That moment I didn't even know how to shoot. I didn't even think if it would hit the woman. All I know was that he needed to be stopped. I couldn't take any more of it, Kari. I couldn't see him being anything other than a monster." 

How could one simple man have such a complicated life? He was the single most sweet man that she'd ever came across. No doubt the man had killed somebody but it was defense. And Zach still carried the guilt.

"I guess Paul took you and raised you as his own."

Zach nodded, "He did. He'd seen me there standing bruised and bloodied. He pitied me and I hated it. He took the gun from my hand and said 'This is not you son.' He raised me to be a better man. Helped me stand on my own. Half of what I am today is because of him but we can't be seen associating in public since I've got a lot of media on my ass. And he wants my name clean."

Kari pushed herself up and pressed a kiss to his lips.

"You my dear, are the best. Just remember that no matter what I will never leave you."

"You don't hate me?"

"I love you, you silly man. You'll need a bit of counseling for the nightmares and the PTSD but I'll be by your side the whole time."

"You mean it?"

"I mean it. Get this through your thick head, I'm not leaving you and you can't make me."

Kari saw in that moment, the effect her words had on him. He'd been holding his breath and it had left him in a whoosh when she assured she was staying. The man loved her and it was in his eyes that she could see his love for her. And she loved him as  much, if not more.

Zach sighed. In a quick motion he flipped her on her back and loomed over her.

Offering her a smile he bent down and kissed her softly as he murmured "I love you." against her lips.

She'd always love him for he was her billionaire, maybe not in a shining armor but definitely in a shining, pressed, crisp suit.

********

The End.

I mean there's an epilogue... but this ends Karina and Zachary's love story.

Hope you all enjoyed it.

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- Nami