Chapter 4

Konnor's gaze shifted from Jeremiah to me, and his intimidating aura melted away as soon as he looked at me.

"Jocelynn, he didn't give you any trouble, did he?" Konnor asked.

I shook my head. "No, Konnor. We were just talking."

"Just talking?" Konnor snorted, giving Jeremiah a hard look. "Didn't I tell you to keep your distance from her?"

Jeremiah's lips thinned, but he didn't say a word.

"Go to your room. You're grounded for a month. Maybe some time alone will help you think about your dumb decisions," Konnor said, his voice brooking no argument.

"Dad!" Jeremiah shot back, his voice tight with frustration. "Why are you always siding with her? Is it really just because of what happened twenty years ago? Did you forget how the Roman family treated me back then?"

"Enough!" Konnor snapped. "That debt is mine, not yours. What you did today didn't just embarrass the Langley family. You turned your back on people who've helped us!"

"I haven't forgotten," Konnor said, his gaze darkening. "But that's a separate matter. I'll make sure you get justice for what you've been through. Still, the Langley family owes the Romans, and we can't just walk away from that."

He turned back to me, his voice softening again. "Jocelynn, don't worry. As long as I'm here, no one will ever hurt you."

Jeremiah stared at me, his resentment and bitterness so intense it felt like I could almost reach out and touch it.

In the end, he didn't say a word. He just turned and stormed off.

Now it was just Konnor and me in the living room.

He motioned for me to sit down and poured me a cup of hot tea himself.

Konnor asked gently, "Did that scare you?"

I wrapped my hands around the cup and shook my head. "I'm fine, really."

"Jeremiah's been spoiled rotten by me. He never knows when to stop," Konnor sighed. "Don't let it get to you. I'll handle everything with the Roman family."

"Konnor," I said, meeting his eyes, "did my dad really ask you to look after me just because you saved his life all those years ago?"

Konnor's fingers stilled on the prayer beads.

He looked at me, his eyes so deep it felt like he could see straight into my soul, right to the secrets I kept hidden.

After a while, he asked quietly, "Did your father ever tell you anything else?"

"He didn't really say much," I replied, dropping my gaze. "Just that if anything ever happened to the Roman family, I should come find you. He said you'd take care of me for life."

"That's only right." Konnor nodded. "It's a debt I owe your family."

But I couldn't shake the feeling that there was more to it than that.

Sure, saving someone's life was a big deal, but for someone like Konnor, sitting at the top of the power pyramid, personal debts didn't really mean much.

He was almost overly generous to me and the Roman family.

It was like he was trying to make up for something.

"Konnor, I want to know the truth," I said, setting my cup down, my voice steady. "Jeremiah won't just let this go. He'll dig into it for sure. I don't want to keep living in your shadow, clueless about everything."

Konnor fell silent.

Outside, inky darkness pressed against the windows, and the room was so quiet I could hear both our breaths.

After a long moment, he let out a tired sigh.

"Sometimes, it's better not to know," Konnor said quietly.

"But I'm already caught up in all of this," I replied, locking eyes with him. "I don't want to stand here, clueless about why I'm even part of it."

Konnor's gaze lingered on my face for a long, long time.

In his eyes, I saw admiration, a touch of tenderness, and a sadness I couldn't quite understand.

"You're just like her," he said out of the blue.

"Who?" I asked.

"Your mother, Adalyn," he replied.

My heart gave a sudden jolt.

My mom passed away when I was really young. I can't even picture her face anymore.

"Did you... know my mom?" I asked, my voice trembling with disbelief.

"More than just knowing her," Konnor said, a distant, gentle nostalgia flickering in his eyes. "We were childhood sweethearts."

They were childhood sweethearts?

Those four words hit me like a thunderbolt, blasting through my mind.

Everyone in our world knew my parents' marriage was just a business arrangement. There was no real affection between them.

My dad never once mentioned that my mom and Konnor had a past together.

"My mom never said a word about it," I said, my voice coming out dry.

"Of course she wouldn't," Konnor let out a bitter laugh, his eyes clouding over. "I was the one who hurt her back then."

He didn't say anything more about the past, just sank into a silence that seemed to stretch on forever.

I didn't push him.

Some old memories are like death by a thousand cuts, for those still alive, every time you dig them up, it's just another slice.

"Is that the real reason you're helping me? Is it all because of my mom?" I asked, my voice barely above a whisper, still reeling from the revelation.