Chained Princess

Chapter 2: A Missing Piece

K I A R A ‘ S P. O. V

"I still can't believe you're marrying my brother."

Tessa sighed dreamily, flopping back onto the bed. "I know right, tell me about it." Snorting, I grabbed a handful of popcorn and shoved it into my mouth.

I heard a small cry and quickly glanced to my right. Anastasia was sleeping in the crib a mere foot away from us, and she rolled over, her face contorting slightly.

Holding my breath, I waited a minute for her to settle and then sighed in relief as she fell back to sleep. Reaching for the remote, I turned down the volume on the tv.

"Wow, you're such a mum now." I rolled my eyes, continuing to stare at the tv. "I can't believe this. You're a mother, I'm a fiancé...soon to be wife. How did that happen?"

"Yes, how did that happen? I would like to know exactly how you and my brother first hooked up, and why it was kept a secret from me?"

"First of all, keeping it a secret was a mutual decision from the both of us because we both agreed that we were purely just hooking up." I gave her a look. "It all started at that Halloween party you threw when your parents were out of town. We were seventeen, and you were still trying to get over Tristan. I got drunk, really drunk. I thought I was sleeping in your room but it turns out I was in Kalen's room instead. He came in and found me in his bed."

I sat up straight, my eyes almost hugging out of my head. "Are you saying my brother took advantage of you?"

"What? God no, he found me in his bed, I apparently tried to seduce him and then threw up all over his lap. He changed me into his clothes and I passed out."

"So that's how it all started? Aw, it's kind of romantic." My love stories were anything but.

Aaron and Tristan both used me at first, but I guess Alessi and I had a cute first meet story. I was his waitress, he was relentless customer. As I watched Tessa continue her story on, I noted the dreamy look in his eyes. The way her eyes sparkled with love and I didn't know if I would ever have that again.

"Then we started hanging out together, talking whenever you weren't there. One day, I came over wanting to talk to you but you were out with Sawyer. Kalen was the only one home and..."

"You hooked up." She nodded shyly.

"He was the only guy whoever meant anything. I didn't know s*x could be like that, I didn't know f*****g could be making love as well, until I met him."

"Wow, that's beautiful. I'm glad my brother popped the question, you two deserve each other. Just keep the talk about your s*x lives to a minimal, in fact, make that nothing."

She laughed, and I smiled in reminiscence. The last time we were like this in my bedroom, laughing and sharing gossip was back in high school.

"What about you and Alessi? I mean, I didn't even know you were dating anyone. After Aaron I assumed..."

"Me too. I thought I would live life as a nun and just be a mother for the rest of my life. I was focused, you know? I was focused on Anastasia and my job, but then he just walked in and I don't know...I guess it was his pursuit of me. I must have said no a hundred times but he never gave up. I don't know a single guy who would keep asking but he did and I said yes and then rest is history."

"He looks like he's in love with you." She blurted out. "Do you love him?" The guilt settled in, creating a larger knot inside my stomach.

"I don't even know what love is anymore, in a romantic sense. I guess Aaron destroyed any trust I had in relationships and certainty in my own feelings. He destroyed my emotionally, but Alessi is good. He's amazing with Stasia.

"Is she attached to him?" Tessa looked worried, hell I was terrified of that.

I was scared of scarring her for life, of her turning into that girl who can't have stable relationships because of her mother's own tumultuous love life.

"I don't think so, not yet. She likes him though, which is good."

"What happens if you break up?" How could I answer that?

"I don't know." I breathed out. In realisation, I quickly turned and looked at her.

A knock loudly sounded on the door, setting Anastasia off screaming. I got up and opened the door, before making my way over to my little girl.

"Sorry." My mum offered an apologetic smile too.

"It's fine," I rocked Stasia back to sleep, and then placed her into the crib. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing, I just came to see how you're doing?" I knew my mother had questions too, she was wondering the same thing everyone else was.

What the hell was I doing with Alessi?

"I'm good mum." The tone of voice sounded rather clipped, even though I didn't mean too.

"Alessi is watching the game with your father and brothers, he's getting on with them quite well." I didn't respond. "Anyways, I wanted to know if you had a dress for the ball?"

"The ball? What ball?" My mum looked over at Tessa.

"You haven't told her yet?"

"Told me what?"

Tessa sighed. "We're having a ball to celebrate the engagement and I know it probably sounds a little extreme but..."

"It's the first time one of my babies are getting married and to Tessa, who I practically consider a daughter already. We have to go all out, it's like both my children are getting married.

My lips quirked up. "Uh mum, that would be incest."

"No more of your smart ass comments." Tessa and I chuckled as she gave us a scolding glare. "So, a dress?"

"I didn't pack any attire suitable for a ball, so no."

"Great, now we get to go dress shopping. I'll book us an appointment at Couture." Blowing us both a kiss, she quickly left the room.

Stunned at what just happened, I slowly turned around to face Tessa. "She just tricked me, didn't she?"

Tessa nodded, blowing out a big breath. "And trust me, you will be there for hours."

I reached across the bed and grabbed the bottle of wine, refilling my glass to the brim. Tessa's stare was fixed on me like a hawk, meticulously watching my every move.

"What?" I blurted out.

"You're sad." She stated. Carefully, I brought my glass to my lips and shrugged.

"How could I possibly be sad? I'm the mother to the most gorgeous baby girl in the entire world, my best friend and brother are about to be married and my boyfriend looks like a s*x god."

She raised her finger and pointed at me. "But is he a s*x god? That's the real question."

"This is ridiculous, I am not sad." Her joking demeanour vanished, and she squeezed my hand.

"I'm being serious...you don't look like yourself. You look exhausted,"

"That's motherhood."

"And sad,"

"I have to go dress shopping with my mother."

"And heartbroken. You're still heartbroken over him." I had no excuse for that one. I had nothing to say. "It's been over two years now. Is it possible you're still in love with him?"

"Alessi is my future, Anastasia is my future. I have to focus on my future."

"Not if it's killing you. You won't ever be able to move one unless you face your past."

"Well that's just not an option, is it?" The thought of seeing Aaron again, broke my heart all over again.

Because I knew that the moment I did, I would fall for him all over again. I would forget about how much he hurt me, and the damaged state he had left me in. I would forget that I had kept his child from him, a child I would do anything to protect. Protecting Anastasia, meant never seeing Aaron again.

Tessa forced my gaze upwards. "But it is. Kiara, you can tell me anything. I promise I won't judge, but you need a friend and don't say you have Alessi because I know for a fact that he doesn't know anything. I do, I know the good parts, the bad parts, you can talk to me."

"I just don't feel complete anymore, I feel like there's this huge part of me that's missing. Alessi is kind and sweet but...I don't think that's what I want. Tess, I want to be dominated, I want to be someone's submissive but their equal at the same time. I want passion, and intensity and desire. I want to be f****d, and made love to, and have s*x that ignited my entire soul into flames. It's only ever been like that with one person, I'm scared it's only ever going to be like that with one person."

"You need Aaron."

"But I can't have him, because I also need love. Anastasia needs love, and if there's one thing that Aaron Black had proved he is incapable of...it's love."

"Maybe he's changed?" I snorted out a laugh.

"No, he hasn't. He never will change, that's the problem. He's a bachelor, always will be. I mean, he's literally New York's playboy. You want a one night stand, you go to Aaron Black." Grabbing my glass of wine, I took a huge swing. "That's what I did when Tristan left me. I wanted s*x, so I went to the one guy I knew wouldn't disappoint me."

"I went to Ghost last week, I saw him." Every hair on my body stood to its end and this overwhelming myriad of feelings hit me all at once. Tessa had seen Aaron, she had been there, the same place she had. To me, that was terrifying.

"How did he...look?"

"He's a s*x god, how do you think?" I laughed at her slight smirk. "And I mean actual s*x god, well taken from your heavy descriptions." I hit her with a large cushion. "Okay, okay he was fine."

"That's it?" It's not like I was expecting him to have turned into a shell of a man and he trudging around like a dome heart broken zombie, but fine?

"He looked just as he did two years ago, except now there's some sort of dark look in his eyes. Pain. I swear I saw it, but then he..." She trailed off.

"What?"

"Fuck." She cursed under her breath. "I didn't want to tell you this part."

"Why it's nothing I haven't heard before?" Sighing reluctantly, she snatched my wine and downed the entire glass.

"Then he took some girl off the dance floor and to his office. I'm assuming it was to..."

"Fuck." I finished for her, ignoring the pang of pain that coursed through my entire body. "Why were you stalking him anyway?"

"Well, I knew you were coming soon and I thought it was my duty as the best friend to scope out the ex. By the way, Tristan is doing good too. I followed him to some coffee house and I guess he can't be doing bad if he's ordering expensive lattes."

"Great, now all you need is Sawyer." I muttered sarcastically. "Oh wait..."

"We can go to his grave if you want, bring him some flowers or something." I finished my glass and gently set it on the table besides me.

"No thanks, I have put my past behind me right? And after your wedding, I'm gone anyways."

"Italy isn't your home Kiara, New York is. No matter how hard you run, the past will always catch up with you."

***

"You're family are...nice." Alessi commented the next morning. Anastasia let out some incoherent babble from her crib, causing me pick her up and spin around.

"What did they do now?" No-one called my family nice.

"Your brothers threatened to have me castrated if I ever hurt you and your father discreetly showed me the nine millimetre he has tucked away in his back pocket."

"Oh sugar, I'm so sorry." It had just dawned on me that my brothers and father had never officially met one of my boyfriends. Tristan, my father tried to kill, and Aaron, my father disowned me. I guess comparing them all, Alessi got it easy.

He laughed. "It's cool, to be honest I was expecting a little more how do you say...roughhounding."

I couldn't help but smile at his wrong English. "Yeah, that's the word." I didn't have it in me to correct him.

"This is nice though," His arms wrapped around my waist, drawing me in close. Anastasia stuffed herself between us, wanting more attention. "Does my little principessa want another hug?"

"What did you just say?" I drew back instinct.

Alessi narrowed his eyes at me in confusion and gestured to Stasia. "I just asked if she wanted a hug?"

"You called her princess. Why would you call her princess?"

"Bella, why are you crying?" I stilled, as I felt a large tear trail down my cheek. Then another followed, and another.

Shifting Anastasia, I quickly wiped them away.

"I'm not." The lie was so clear to see through, but Alessi ignored it anyway.

He took a step forward, causing me to take one back. "What's going on? Was it the nickname? Because I won't call her princess if you don't like it."

I visibly flinched, and looked up Alessi. Yet, he wasn't there. In his place was my past, in his place was the man I only saw in my dreams. He reached out, as though to touch me but his fingers avoided me and gently caressed Stasia's cheek instead.

"Princess." He murmured, his eyes focused solely on mine. I felt myself drowning, crumbling under his gaze and I knew the only thing I could do was run.

"I can't do this with you again!" I cried, shoving him backwards. Just like that, he vanished into thin air and I suddenly found mourning for him. Mourning the loss of his presence, his touch, his alluring voice, my nickname.

"Woah, Kiara it's okay." Alessi, I shoved Alessi. Because Aaron wasn't here, Aaron want real.

Anastasia let out a high pitched screech, bringing my straight back to reality. Stumbling backwards, I grabbed her diaper bag and walked across the room to open the door.

"Where are you going? Kiara!" Alessi approached me whilst I was still fumbling with the lock. Stasia wouldn't stop screaming and my head felt like it was about to explode. "Let me hold her." He went in to grab her, and I saw red.

"Don't!" His hands stilled mid air, and hurt flashed in his eyes. "Please, just don't." I yanked the door open and stormed out.

My mother's voice echoed from downstairs, and I quickly followed it to the kitchen. Kai and my dad were seated on the island, watching as my mum made pancakes.

At the sound of my footsteps, she glanced up. "Hey honey, aww why is my little grand baby crying?"

"I'll grab her." My dad said, taking her off my hands. I mouthed him a silent thank you and turned to leave.

"Where are you going Kiara? I made pancakes."

"I'm not hungry."

"Nonsense, you haven't eaten all morning." My mum clearly couldn't take a hint.

"I'm going for a walk, I just need to space."

"But honey..." My dad placed his hand on her arm, stopping her speaking. I took the opportunity and left.

New York was my home, I knew it like the back of my hand. I loved the smell that lingered in the air, the manic of downtown traffic, the peacefulness of Central Park. One of my favourite places though was an old style coffee shop a mile or two from the house.

Nothing had changed, from the same overflowing dustbin that exuded this disgusting smell from opposite the shop to the crooked neon sign hanging leisurely above it.

Yep, New York was pretty amazing.

What I loved the most about New York though, was the way you always ended up running into familiar faces.

"Kiara!" I heard him call my name. Turning around, I could do nothing as my past came crashing into my life again.

________________________________

A/N: Ahhh, who do you think it is???

What did you think about Kiara's little meltdown?