The Kiss

Kieran's POV

After dinner, Meadows and I were heading back. I could tell she still wasn't entirely over the whole breakup conversation, but honestly, I'd done my part. If she wasn't ready to move on, that was her problem, not mine.

We were just a few steps from the car when I saw her.

Deborah.

The source of my pain—and the only one who could fix it.

She stepped out of the red car looking every bit as stunning as I remembered. I couldn't look away. She hadn't seen me yet. She stood by the car, unaware, until a man stepped out from the driver's side.

Suddenly, everything came rushing back like a tidal wave.

The betrayal. The loss.

It hit me like a reopened wound I thought had long healed.

People say heartbreak is common, a rite of passage or whatever, but what Debbie and I had—or what I thought we had—wasn't just a fling. It was real. At least, it was to me.

I tore my eyes away from her like the sight of her burned. That horrible, hollow feeling was back. And I hated it.

I wanted her to feel it too. To feel even a fraction of what I was going through. I wanted her to feel the sting of being replaced, forgotten... discarded.

And in that storm of emotion, I acted. Without thinking.

My hand found Meadow's waist.

My lips crushed onto hers.

I didn't hold back—because I knew Deborah was watching now.

That made me deepen the kiss.

I felt Meadow trying to push me off, but it wasn't enough. Not against me.

My lips moved rough against hers, as if I was pouring all my anger, all my hurt into it. I gripped her tighter.

Then I felt her squirm.

That was when I finally pulled away.

Her hand slapped across my face—loud enough to echo in the empty parking lot. She was panting, trying to catch her breath.

Honestly, I don't know why women bother slapping men. What's the point?

"Would you care to explain the meaning of that, Mr. Sullivan?" she snapped.

The anger in her eyes was blazing.

I glanced at her lips—they were slightly swollen.

"I'm... sorry." That was all I could manage.

"What?!" she asked, as if she'd misheard.

"Let's just go." I muttered, opening the car door.

She scoffed and bit her lip, clearly trying to hold herself back.

"Neither of us is leaving until I get an explanation. I think I deserve that much."

My mind was spinning. How do you even explain a kiss you didn't plan?

Sure, people kiss when they're in love. But love had nothing to do with us.

So I said the dumbest thing ever.

"I just felt like it, okay?"

Fuck.

Why the hell did I say that?

Her eyes widened, and her voice turned sharp.

"Do I look like some kind of toy to you, Mr. Sullivan? Something you pick up and use when it pleases you?"

"I said I'm sorry, okay?" I snapped. My patience was draining.

She was blowing it way out of proportion.

"This isn't ending with a simple apology. I—"

That was it. I'd had enough.

"Look, Meadows. It's just a kiss. Why are you being so hysterical about it?"

She looked at me like I'd lost my mind.

Maybe I had. But I didn't like how she acted like kissing me was some horrific crime.

She opened her mouth, but I cut her off.

"Don't act all conservative with me, okay? Either way, you're going to be my wife soon. Might as well speed things up."

I meant every word.

"I'm not some transaction gadget, okay? I'm human. And I have rights."

I chuckled. She was so naive.

"Yeah, you're human. But you're also the condition your father and mine agreed upon in a business deal. A deal far more important than your so-called rights. So don't get ahead of yourself or expect to be treated like some queen."

The moment I said it, I regretted it.

I watched a tear trail down her cheek, then another. I wanted to say something, anything, but she turned and walked away before I could.

---

Meadow's POV

Kieran's words hit harder than any slap. I wasn't in a good headspace to begin with, and what he said completely shattered me.

But... he was right.

This engagement had nothing to do with me. My opinion never mattered. I was just a bargaining chip in their grand business plan.

Still, for him to kiss me like that... like he had every right... and then remind me of my place? It was humiliating.

I was meant to be the calm, well-behaved, submissive wife. The kind that lives in silence with a man she'll never love.

Classic rich family nonsense.

Tears blurred my vision, falling freely now.

Outside, it was pouring rain. I called my driver, but he said it would take time.

I couldn't stay in that building a second longer.

Clutching my bag over my head to shield myself, I ran into the rain. But just a few steps in, my heel snapped.

Of course.

I bent to pick it up, struggling with the buckle, when I suddenly felt something block the rain above me.

I looked up.

Caleb.

---

Narrator's POV

Kieran sat still in the car, the silence pressing in on him.

He opened the glove compartment and took out a small perfume box—the gift he had planned to give Meadow.

Why did things always go wrong just when he was trying to make them right?

He sighed deeply, grabbed an umbrella, and stepped out into the rain.

There was still a chance to save this night.

But then he stopped.

Ahead of him, under the soft glow of the streetlight, was Meadow... and another man.

The guy stood beside her, his hand gently wrapped around her waist, shielding her with an umbrella. They walked away together, and Kieran didn't care where they were going.

His jaw clenched. His grip tightened around the umbrella.

Then his phone buzzed.

He glanced down at the screen.

Unknown Number: "We need to talk… It's about Meadow."