My dad grabs me by the arm, giving me a violent shake. “He’s just trying to make money off of you while you’re worth a fucking cent.”
I resist when he starts to pull me back toward the restaurant. “Let me go!”
“You are probably spreading your fucking legs for any man that walks by. I might as well be earning a little while you fuck every guy you see.”
A frisson of shock and anger shiver down my spine. “Dad, no! Don’t touch me.”
My dad sneers. “I wish you would say that a little more instead of whoring around town.”
I swallow. If he had any actual idea of what I got up to, I would be scared. But I think that my father is just spinning stories to suit his own narrative.
He’s done it my whole damn life.
I switch tactics. “OWW!” I scream. “You’re hurting me! Help!”
Down the block, I see a couple of police officers turn their heads. My dad sees them at the same time as I do.
His expression goes black but he lets go of my arm. My flesh is mottled around where he gripped me; I already know that it will darken with bruises soon.
“Get back in there, Kaia,” my dad says.
I shake my head. “No. No way.”
“You’ll regret this. If you ever want to see your mom or your childhood home again, do what I say,” he grits out.
My eyes fill with tears, but I just shake my head. “No.”
With that, I turn and run away, sucking in haphazard breaths.
Calum
When I see Kaia’s face at the top of the escalator, I let out a breath I didn’t know I’d been holding. She comes into view, stunning me with her simple clingy black dress and black heels.
I wasn’t sure she would come, to be honest. She seemed pretty upset when I dropped her off at her house a couple of nights ago. But here she is, looking up with wide eyes at the enormous light sculpture above our heads. It looks like a great, white jellyfish, its inner light pulsing gently. Against the dark windows surrounding Kaia, it seems like it could be alive.
She takes a step off of the escalator, her eyes pinning me in place. “Where are we?”
I smirk at her a little, holding out my arm for her to take. “Bergdorf Goodman’s started a private shopping experience. I thought you would enjoy taking advantage of it.”
I start ushering her into the showroom, which is an airy space the size of a normal person’s house. It is made up of a runway in the middle, a lounge to the left, and a changing area to the right.
Her eyebrows arch as I guide her to the lounge area. A chicly dressed young woman walks over from the other side of the space. “Hello. I’m Anna. Welcome to the Gallery,” she says, bowing her head.
My lips twitch. I glance down at Kaia, noticing for the first time that she seems unusually quiet. “Hi, Anna. I’m Calum. This is Kaia.”
“Please, arrange yourselves comfortably,” Anna says. Her tone is the perfect combination of a businesslike brusqueness and an easy comfort.
I put a hand on Kaia’s back and push her toward a couch, sitting down beside her.
“Can I get you anything? Veuve Cliquot? Fine whisky?”
Kaia’s mouth hardens into a straight line. I suck in a breath. “Champagne for both of us.”
“Right away,” Anna says, hurting off.
I look at Kaia. “You’re being oddly quiet.”
She turns those killer hazel eyes on me like a spotlight. “I’m sorry,” she says, shrugging delicately. “I have a lot on my mind.”
