Chapter 40

Technically, she was free.

Cara thought as she drove home. Her family company was no longer in the hands of the Greenes, she had no obligation to them.

She didn't want to.

This was an opportunity. Nicholas had given her an opening, an opportunity. He had seen it, but she hadn't. She was too caught up on being angry with him for not informing her.

"I'm free."

Cara said the words, she tasted them in her mouth. You've always been free. A voice said in her mind.

If not for the fact that she was a pushover, obedient to a fault and she had let her parents push her around, she'd have never been made to marry Alexander. She could have stood up for herself and said no, but she went along with it, even when it was clear that wasn't what she wanted.

Well, she didn't want it.

Not anymore.

She thought as she took the elevator home. Her mind had been going in circles during the ride home. She didn't want to get married, that much she knew.

She didn't have to either, the company was now in the hands of Nicholas, he could do whatever the hell he wanted to do with it. Even though he claimed he got it for her, he could have given her a heads up. He made decisions without her, as if she was some stupid little girl who wasn't capable of handling her own problems.

She was a grown woman, she didn't need someone saving her, she could have saved herself all along.

She could have been smarter, sharper, forceful, but no, she had let herself be walked all over for years and that had finally come to an end.

She got into her apartment and searched for her laptop. She was leaving. She booked a flight to Hawaii, she'd be there for a while.

She went into her room and picked up her passport. Her flight was scheduled in the evening, she was lucky there was a flight to Hawaii.

She wasn't going to take anything, just to avoid drawing too much suspicion to herself.

She only took what she needed, her passport and her laptop and a few important documents.

She would need to withdraw as much cash as she could, in case her parents tried something as drastic as cutting her off. Even with that she had her own private accounts, she would have to move some money as fast as she could.

She was going to send them all an email when she had finally reached her destination.

Not before.

She was preparing to leave when Alexander barged in.

He looked angry at her.

Then he looked at her purse and raised his eyebrow.

"Where the fuck are you going?"

Cara shrugged.

"Hair appointment. The rehearsal dinner is tonight."

The lie came easily, too easily.

"Hmmm."

He said and he nodded.

"Where were you today?"

Cara forced a smile.

If he was asking her then he already knew where she was, no need to lie.

"I was with Nicholas."

"Nicholas?"

He asked as he clenched his jaw and Cara nodded.

"Yes. Saying goodbye. You don't have any problems with that do you?"

Alexander chuckled.

"So, you're telling me this is your idea of a goodbye?"

He said as he opened his phone and started showing her pictures of her and Nicholas kissing outside the front door.

He looked pissed off.

"We got a little carried away. Sorry about that."

She said as she shifted uneasily, trying very hard to play it cool.

How did he follow her?

Why did he follow her?

How did he even know they were there.

Alexander sighed.

"You need to stop all this shenanigans. You need to. Our wedding is close, the elections are close, all this drama isn't good for my family. Our families."

He said and Cara nodded.

"I know. I just wanted to say goodbye."

"Were you following me?"

She asked and Alexander shrugged.

"I need to keep tabs on you. So you won't keep making mistakes like this."

"I'm sorry Alex."

"I truly am."

She added and then pretended to look at the watch on her hand.

"Oh! Look at the time! I have to go."

She said as she started hurrying out of her living room. Alexander pulled her back towards him.

"I hope for your sake and your family's sake that you won't do anything stupid."

He searched her eyes for some clue or evidence that she was gong to do something and then released his hold on her when he found nothing.

"I'll lock up."

He said as she walked towards the door.

She turned around and smiled.

"Thanks."

He had lied when he told her that he was the one who took the pictures, he wasn't. Someone had taken them and sent them to him, someone else knew about Nicholas and Cara. Someone other than them.

His first suspect was Jean, although he had thought that after threatening her she would be less inclined to try such but perhaps he was wrong. He would start with her.

He was going to have to pay her off, buy her silence so she wouldn't find a reason to go to the press and sell the information to the highest bidder. He hoped it wasn't too late when he reached her.

He was still deep in thoughts when he noticed something shiny on the kitchen countertop.

What is that?

He asked himself. He walked towards it and his eyes widened as he realized what it was.

With shaky hands, he brought out his phone and started dialing Cara. Her number was unreachable.

"Fuck!"

Cara loved the wind in her hair, she loved the way she felt when she got to the airport and most specifically she loved how her hand felt without the giant rock that had been sitting there for ages. She had taken it off in a spur of the moment thing and left, Alexander had not noticed it when she was with him, but the minute he started calling her she knew that he already knew. Maybe she shouldn't have dropped it somewhere so visible.

Even if he knew that she had left, he wouldn't know where she was going, at least she could be confident in that.