Chapter 8 Burned To Ashes

• KIARA’S POV
• The next morning, I woke up to the sounds of chatter outside my room. One of the voices belonged to Risha and the other must have been Cami.
• “Damn! My brother has turned into a lovesick puppy! Do you know what he did yesterday night?” Risha’s agitated voice sounded.
• “Take a deep breath and tell me exactly what happened?” Cami’s sweet and soothing voice sounded.
• “He…that fool… called up ‘Zinnia Apparels and got twelve dresses delivered overnight. No rewards for guessing for whom it is!”
• “That is because Kiara doesn’t have any clothes to wear…”
• “You don’t understand, Cami. My brother hates shopping. He didn’t buy a dress for me even after I bugged him for ages. He hasn’t even marked her but look at him… He has changed so much… I am afraid I will lose my brother to that scheming b****!”
• My heart fluttered at her statement. I had this uncontrollable urge to check out the dresses. My feet got entangled in the blanket and I almost fell while getting out of the bed. Kevin must have covered me up after I slept off last night.
• Throwing the blanket on the bed, I sauntered to the large, teak wardrobe. The door opened at a single tug to reveal an array of dresses.
• Each one of them looked stunning. Running my fingers over the clothes, I noticed a note stuck on the door of the wardrobe.
• ‘Kiara, hope you like these dresses.
• With Love,
• Kevin…’
• It was just a tiny note but it made my heart started racing as if it wanted to jump out of my chest.
• I was still gazing at the dresses when I sensed his presence. Out of the corner of my eyes, I saw him leaning against the wall near the entrance.
• I took out the dresses one by one and dropped them to the floor. Kevin kept watching me but he didn’t try to stop me.
• Rummaging through the drawers, I found a lighter. I locked my eyes with him as I flared up the lighter. My lips spread in a weak smile as I dropped it on the colorful heap of clothes.
• Horror, fear, and anger flashed through his eyes. He grabbed my arms and pushed me against the wall. My heart pounded in anticipation as I waited for him to vent out his frustration.
• He placed his hand on my right cheek and whispered, “It is my mistake. I should have asked you what you like to wear.”
• What the hell was wrong with this man? I had just destroyed the dresses he brought for me with love. Rather than getting angry, he was apologizing.
• I was so stunned that I couldn’t respond. What he did next shocked me further. He thrust a black credit card into my hand saying, “Use this to buy whatever you like.”
• He leaned in to place a gentle kiss on my forehead before rushing to the bathroom. I watched quietly as he used a hose to spray water over the lapping flames.
• The next week was a real struggle for me. He kept trying to get closer at every opportunity he got. He almost managed to kiss me four to five times. If I had gotten swayed even slightly, he would have been dead by now.
• I tried everything I could to make Kevin angry. I insulted him, his sister, Cami, tried to be cheeky, and destroyed several artifacts.
• It seemed to not affect him in any way. He sure had the patience of Buddha. He would either laugh it off or apologize instead of me. The only time I saw him getting angry was when I insulted his mother.
• He was about to lash out at me but mom stopped him. The pain and hurt I saw in her eyes tore me apart. These tiny squabbles were leading me nowhere. I had to do something drastic.
• I got the perfect opportunity when I saw the envelope for the ‘Steel Plant Auction.’ As expected, it had all the details for the bid.
• I sneaked into Risha’s room while she was away and found out the contact details of the competitors of Gilkins Enterprises.
• The next day, when Kevin and his father returned from the office they looked pale. Father threw the briefcase on the couch and trotted upstairs to his room without speaking a single word.
• “Why is dad in such a sour mood?” Risha asked, turning her attention to Kevin.
• My heart twisted with guilt when I saw Kevin’s forlorn expression. He licked his lips and ran his hand through his hair. “We lost the Steel Project.”
• “How is that possible? You both worked so hard for it! We haven’t lost a single bid in the past ten years…” Mom said in a worried tone as she walked in with a tray of tea.
• He let out a long deep sigh and said, “Someone must have leaked the bid price.”
• “That is impossible, Kevin. All the important staff members are from our pack. They can’t betray their Alpha.”
• Kevin just nodded and trudged to his room. I followed close behind him. It was showtime. He was sure to keep his distance from me after this.
• The moment he entered the room, he started rummaging through his files and drawers.
• “Looking for something,” I said, waving the envelope in from of him.
• His eyes squinted as he took the envelope from me. “Where did you find this?”
• “Ah…that… I found it on the study table.” I said shrugging.
• “Did you show this to anyone else?”
• “No…”
• “Hmm… I wonder how the manager of Lengrade Corporation found out about our bid price. We lost to him by a hundred dollars.”
• It didn’t seem like he suspected me from his tone. Exhaling deeply, I blurted out, “I mailed it to him.”
• “Sorry… what?”
• I pretended to be all flustered and ranted, “Of course, I didn’t mean that. How could I possibly know the name of your competitors? How would I find their email id… I… I just…” I let my voice break and looked at him with a guilty expression.
• Hurt flashed in his eyes. Shaking his head, he muttered, “You couldn’t possibly do that… you are my mate…”
• I shrugged my shoulders indignantly and said, “Why can’t I? A million dollars is a huge amount… anyone can be swayed by it…”
• His eyes turned red with fury. The veins on his forehead popped and his jaws clenched. I winced as he gripped me by my shoulders. He kept looking into my eyes for a while. Then, he pushed me away and stormed out of the room.
• A long, suffering sigh escaped my mouth as I sat on the bed. It was good that he didn’t kick me out of the mansion immediately. One task was accomplished. He would probably not even talk to me for a few days.
• Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep! My phone rang with a shrill tune.
• “You are really useless, aren’t you? It has been a week and you have still not found out what the pack’s secret is!” I flinched as Ariana’s blaring voice sounded through the phone.
• “I have searched through all the files and papers in the mansion. I don’t think there is anything in here…”
• “Why do you have to search? Can’t you just ask Kevin? After all, he is your mate…” There was a long pause before she continued in a cold tone, “Don’t tell me you are up to your old tricks again…”
• My heart skipped a beat when I heard this. I couldn’t let her suspect me. “I wouldn’t dare… I just didn’t get the opportunity to broach this topic… It is quite weird to start talking about the pack’s secret and safety abruptly…”
• I hadn’t even completed my explanation when the phone went dead. God knew what she was planning to do now…