CHAPTER SEVEN
The Ties That Still Bleed
Kiera hadn't planned to go out that morning.
After everything that had happened with Vivienne—the shouting, the threats, the way Leo had cried until sleep claimed him—Kiera felt wrung out. Like a cloth twisted too tightly, close to tearing. She told Kade she needed a few hours to herself. He didn't question it. He only nodded and told her to take the car.
That, more than anything, made her chest ache.
The café on the corner of Fifth and Maple was small and quiet, tucked between
a bookstore and a flower shop. It smelled of roasted coffee beans and cinnamon, warm and familiar. It was neutral ground—far enough from the penthouse, far enough from memories she wasn't ready to unpack.
Elara was already there.
Kiera spotted her immediately.
Her sister sat near the window, sunlight catching in her honey-brown hair, her posture straight, confident. She looked… well. Healthy. Whole. A stark contrast to the tight knot of nerves sitting in Kiera's stomach.
Elara looked up—and froze.
"Kiera?"
Kiera swallowed and nodded. "Hi."
Elara was on her feet in seconds, crossing the space between them and pulling her into a hug before Kiera could react.
"Oh my God," Elara whispered. "I missed you."
Kiera stiffened at first, then slowly relaxed into the embrace. She hadn't realized how much she needed it until her throat burned.
"I missed you too," she admitted.
They sat down across from each other, the weight of months of silence hanging thick between them. Elara studied her face, her eyes softening.
"You look thinner," Elara said gently. "Are you eating?"
Kiera smiled faintly. "I am. Don't worry."
But Elara's gaze lingered on the faint discoloration near her cheekbone. The bruise was almost gone, but sisters noticed things like that.
"Kiera," Elara said slowly. "What happened?"
Kiera's fingers tightened around her cup. "It's nothing. Old stuff."
Elara frowned. "Old stuff doesn't usually leave marks."
Kiera looked away, out the window, at people passing by with lives that didn't involve walking on emotional landmines.
"I left," she said quietly.
Elara blinked. "Left?"
"The house. Dad. Mom." She took a breath. "Everything."
Elara's shoulders sagged. "Why didn't you tell me?"
"I didn't know how," Kiera replied honestly. "And I didn't think you'd come with me."
That one hurt.
Elara looked down at her hands. "I would have tried."
Kiera didn't respond. Trying had never been enough in that house.
"So where are you now?" Elara asked after a moment. "What's going on in your life?"
Kiera hesitated.
She thought of the penthouse, of Leo's small hand gripping hers, of Kade's quiet intensity and the way his voice turned dangerous when someone threatened her.
"I work as a nanny and personal assistant," she said carefully. "In New York."
Elara's eyes widened. "A nanny? For who?"
"A… businessman."
That wasn't a lie. Not exactly.
"And you're okay?" Elara pressed. "You're safe?"
Kiera nodded slowly. "Safer than I've ever been."
Elara exhaled shakily. "I worried about you. Every night. You just disappeared."
"I had to," Kiera said softly. "If I stayed, I would've broken."
Elara reached across the table and took her hand. "You don't have to carry everything alone anymore."
Kiera almost laughed at that. Almost.
"Do you remember when we were kids," Elara continued, "and we used to hide in the closet when Dad started yelling?"
Kiera's chest tightened. "I remember."
"I always thought," Elara said quietly, "that if I stayed quiet, if I behaved, things would get better."
"They didn't," Kiera said.
"No," Elara admitted. "They didn't."
They sat in silence for a moment, sharing memories without words.
Then Elara spoke again. "Mom told me something. After you left."
Kiera stiffened. "What?"
"She said you were ungrateful. That you ran away because you wanted attention." Elara's jaw tightened. "I didn't believe her."
Kiera swallowed the familiar ache. "She also said I wasn't his."
Elara froze. "You know?"
"Yes."
Elara's eyes filled with tears. "I'm so sorry. I should've told you earlier. I found out years ago."
Years.
The word landed heavily.
"You knew," Kiera whispered.
Elara nodded, tears spilling now. "I didn't know how to tell you without destroying you. And Mom… she made it clear I wasn't to say anything."
Kiera pulled her hand away gently. Not in anger. In self-preservation.
"That secret already destroyed me," she said. "Just later than it destroyed you."
"I never stopped loving you," Elara said desperately. "Even when I didn't protect you the way I should have."
Kiera looked at her sister—the guilt in her eyes, the sincerity trembling in her voice.
"I know," Kiera said finally. "But loving someone and standing up for them aren't always the same thing."
Elara nodded, accepting the truth of it.
After a while, Elara smiled weakly. "So… this businessman. Does he treat you well?"
Kiera's heart skipped. "He's… complicated."
Elara raised an eyebrow. "That sounds dangerous."
"It is," Kiera admitted.
"But you like him," Elara said softly.
Kiera didn't answer.
She didn't need to.
Elara leaned back in her chair. "You deserve something good, Kiera. For once."
Kiera looked down at her hands. "I'm afraid that if I reach for it, I'll ruin it."
"Or," Elara said gently, "you'll finally have something that doesn't break."
They hugged again before parting, the embrace gentler this time, but real.
As Kiera stepped back onto the street, her phone buzzed.
A message from Kade.
Are you okay?
She stared at the screen, her heart twisting painfully.
Yes, she typed back. I will be.
As she made her way back to the penthouse, Kiera realized something had shifted.
She had faced her past.
And it hadn't swallowed her whole.
But the future waiting for her—with Kade, with Leo, with a love still forbidden—felt far more terrifying.
Because this time, she had something to lose.