Hostage

Final Chapter

Kimberly's POV

Seven months later

"Welcome to Paradise hotel and suites, would you like a roo-" Melody, the hotel receptionist started, her voice drying off when she looked up to meet my gaze. "Oh," She paused. "Mrs.Monroe." She added. "Would you like your usual room or perhaps would you be interested in trying out a new suite new today?" She asked, her voice chirpy. I couldn't tell if it was pretense or if this was how she always sounded since she was literally like this every time I dropped by the hotel.

She always sounded happy.

"I'll take the usual room, please." I offered her a small smile, tucking a few strands of hair behind my ears when she turned away to get the keycard from the hanger.

"Room 444." She told me as she set the key down in front of me. "Please do enjoy your stay. Don't hesitate to ring me up should you have any problems." She told me and I clicked my tongue as I picked the key up and then bit down on my lower lip.

"Thank you." I told her and then made for the elevator.

She said the same thing every single night when I came here but I never ended up having the need to fix anything. Jason was doing an excellent job running the hotel.

I drew in a deep breath as I stopped in front of the elevator and then pushed the open button, pursing my lip when the doors slid open. I walked in and then pressed the button leading to the fifteenth floor. I took a step back and then shut my eyes, reminding myself that today could either turn out to be a really good day, or a disaster like the previous times.

Most times, I had ended up all alone, in the hotel room, drowning my disappointments in expensive liquor until I finally fell asleep.

About four months ago, Jason Monroe had reached out to me.

He had matured a lot and he no longer acted the rude, immature kid who had run his mouth at me during the Monroe family dinner. He had asked to take me out to dinner and he had a lot of questions to ask concerning my welfare. And after dinner, he had brought me here, to Paradise hotel, and he had introduced me as Keenan's wife to the staff and hotel management.
He told me that a lot of their memories had been made in the hotel.

It was one of the reasons I had chosen this place.

That, and because thanks to Jason's generosity, I didn't have to pay whenever I spent the night.

Seven months ago, when I walked out on Keenan, I had made the biggest mistake of my life.

I was hurt, and I had acted on impulse but soon afterwards, I had come to realize that Keenan wasn't the bad guy.

I had realized that after I went through the contents of the envelope Izzy had left behind for me.

A few days after I left, Roxi had found me. And even though I had been really reluctant to listen to anything she had to say back then, she had told me the whole story and she had given me Izzy's envelope.

It was true that Keenan had made mistakes. It was true that he had made decisions he shouldn't have.
But I had realized that it must have been hard for him too. I had realized that he had probably been suffering as much as I had. I realized that what Keenan needed was somebody to stay.

And I had turned my back on him.

I had felt like shit afterwards.

And I had visited the mansion but he wasn't there. The house I had once called mine was empty and dark. There had been no sign of him, or Paul, or even Phoebe.