"What we had is over, Dawn. You don't have to do this anymore. You're free to go."
I traced the glass separating us with my fingers, looking into his green eyes and whispered to the phone, "So you want to know why I'm still here?"
He just stare...
"Well." She made a face, shoving both pale hands into the pockets of her lacy dress. "Nice to see you, Dawn." To Adrian, she gave a curt nod. Before I began, she cut across me, "I can take from here."
"It's okay. She's quiet-" Adrian frowned when Keira wrapped a hand around my wrist and pulled me towards her table. Adrian didn't follow me. Instead, he made his way towards one of the tables at the left. I couldn't deny feeling bad for him. But his actions were the reasons behind his reputation. People changed but other people not necessarily believed so.
"I think you should just tell him to mind his own business." There was an unmistakable resentment in her voice. I knew from the way she looked at me now that she realized that I had been, for want of a better word, low-key dating Adrian, before Silas. "He clearly needs to realize that not everyone is unfaithful like him," she added.
There it was. Keira didn't like Adrian being around me because of her own feelings towards him. He had cheated on Keira once with Megan. And now that Adrian was willing to take care of me, Keira doubted that there weren't any possibilities of him trying to make a pass at me. I couldn't tell her that Silas himself insisted that his brother kept an eye on me.
"I needed a ride to the brunch and the feds wouldn't leave me alone," I lied partially. It was Silas who assured that I could feel safe around Adrian. Whatever he had said, I had had time to think over the Winter and had come to the conclusion that if Adrian wanted to expose Adrian, he could've done it without harming Silas. Then again, there were his words- I tried, Dawn. But she did unexplainable things.
"Well, did Silas say anything about the baby shower? I went to ask him if it was okay for me to throw one. He said that you'd know the best."
We sat in the right corner, Henry Winters, Keira's father across from us and some other colleagues sitting on the same table.
"I have no problem. But shouldn't it be in the last month or something?" I took a sip of the mango juice when the server offered me one before marching away to the next table. "And, no, Silas hadn't told me anything."
"I was actually looking for a theme already," Keira explained before anxiously asking, "Did something happen between you and Silas?"
"I'll tell you later." My response was curt. I didn't want to discuss my fight with Silas in front of a table full of people. Moreover, I didn't want to discuss it at all.
"But-"
"Not now, Keira," I sighed, digging into some food.
"You missed some cliches this week," Keira started, slipping into the gory details of who did what, who married who, who fucked who, who had an abortion, who lost a tooth this week. The gossip wasn't that bad. It made me feel almost normal like I hadn't killed a man a few months ago.
"And what about Megan?" I asked over another glass of juice.
"Charity works. Nothing interesting," Keira said while I stared across the room. Megan sat with Adrian, talking animatedly. I sometimes wondered if she really knew what we were planning, if Adrian actually told her.
"Why are you thinking about her anyway? You should be enjoying your life now. Isn't pregnancy all about glowing and feeling the nature?" asked Keira.
"My ass. I feel uglier than Trump's tweets," I snorted. "Did you hear about the last trial?"
"Yes, I heard about the Michael Clare theory. Do you think it's true?"
"There has been some talk on that subject since the last trial," interrupted one of the older chief executives, much to my dismay. "Although, I think it's ridiculous. If he was Michael, people would have seen him already. Michael is one ancient soul."
"Well, that's not saying much, seeing as Silas is still very young," I observed comically, knowing Silas was one old soul, ancient or not.
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Adrian and I met Silas after the breakfast just before 11 o'clock. Hoping for some further exploration, I didn't beat around the bush in explaining the Clare situation. Everyone was talking about this now: the papers, the ordinary people, the media. Some even said that they had seen Michael and there were resemblances.
"But they were obviously lying to make themselves seem more important, weren't they?" Adrian stated.
"Well, nobody except his right-hand man saw him face to face for years, so..." I stole a quick glance at Silas who was still deep in some thought.
"What do you think?" He spoke finally, his green eyes boring through me.
"I think, it's ridiculous," I snapped before Adrian could interject. It wasn't until ten minutes had passed when I was finally left alone with Silas.
"Why are you forcing him on me?" I wanted to know as soon as Adrian was out of sight.
"I am just trying to keep you safe. He knows what Megan's going to do," Silas muttered, trying to get a hold of my hand but I pushed him away.
"I don't trust him," I scowled. "Yes, I want him to confess, Silas. But, your brother can be Megan's bug. He can do the exact opposite of keeping me safe!"
"He will do no such thing!" Silas's eyebrows came together as he halted, breathless, his face flushed.
"And why do you think so?" I pinched my lips together in annoyance.
"You know that. I told you before. He always had genuine feelings for you," he murmured, as though it was some sort of weapon.
"Silas!" I was reproachful. "He's your brother. I don't think you're making a mistake by giving him a chance but I think that telling him to be my bodyguard is a mistake."
The man monitoring us from the far left behind the computer desk cleared his throat. I lowered my voice, "Why him?"
"I can not tell you how dangerous the present situation is. You had been attacked twice in two months. Can't you see? You tell me not to worry but I do. You're my wife, Dawn." A pause. "You are the mother of my child." He looked at me now, hoping for some realization from my side. I knew what he was saying. He meant it but if that was the only problem, he could've hired anyone. Why Adrian? "Don't you realize," he added in a low mutter, "If Megan attacks again, Adrian will know how to..."
"How does that work out with Megan? Didn't Megan realize already that Adrian was saving me?" I pointed out. "There will be a time he will not help us. Can't you see? He's just trying to gain our trust, Silas."
"If that's the case, he has already gained it, Dawn," Silas said, his voice calm, his eyes honest as he stared at me. I stared back, trying to fight, struggle, make him see that I wanted what was best for us. He gave me a slight smile before reaching out to take my hand. "It's okay, Dawn. Someday, you'll understand."
