Chapter Eighty-Eight: The Things We Never Told Her

The moment Chloe and Kian stepped into Blackwood Hall, something shifted.

No one said anything. No one had to.

Because in families like this, silence has texture.

And right then, every Redgrave in the house felt it change.

Mikael looked up from his drink and muttered, "Well, damn."

Lorence raised an eyebrow, immediately suspicious.

Damian didn't say anything, but his smirk gave him away.

But Samuel—he stood.

He didn't frown. Didn't smile either. He simply said,

"Kian. Come with me."

Kian nodded. His fingers brushed Chloe's hand, then followed her father into the study.

The room smelled the same—cedar, old paper, leather and memory.

Samuel walked ahead, slow but sure. He didn't turn when he spoke.

"She doesn't know what happened that night, does she?"

Kian's throat closed for half a second. Then:

"No, sir. She doesn't."

Samuel finally faced him.

"Good. Don't tell her."

Kian blinked but didn't argue.

Samuel's jaw tightened. There was a long pause before he said—softer than Kian expected,

"She ran. I know that. And you followed. That road… thirty minutes after…"

He stopped. The weight between them did not.

"I should've kept her close," Samuel murmured. "Should've stopped her before she packed that bag. Maybe then you wouldn't have—"

Kian's voice cut in, gentle but firm.

"It wasn't your fault. And it was never hers."

A breath passed. Then another.

"She doesn't know I still limp sometimes when it rains," Kian continued. "Or that there's a scar across my ribs from that night."

He looked away.

"And I don't want her to. Not yet."

Samuel studied him.

"Because you think she'll blame herself."

"Because she will," Kian answered.

"And because she's just finding her way back to me. If I give her that truth too soon… it might break everything we've started building again."

Samuel didn't reply. He just nodded once—slowly, knowingly.

And then, with a voice lined in quiet grief:

"Then we protect her. Just a little longer."

Kian nodded.

"Yes, sir."

Samuel's gaze shifted, just slightly.

"You still look at her like you did back then."

Kian tilted his head. "How's that?"

"Like she's the answer to a question you didn't know you were asking."

A faint smile.

"And you serve her like she's a royal queen."

Kian's voice was almost a whisper.

"She is."