Operation Redemption

Shattered Expectations

It took my father three and a half minutes before he'd officially deemed me late for his very important dinner. The most important dinner, in his opinion, was where he would introduce my 'fiancée'. I hated the sound of that.

I was already, almost, twenty-three years old and should have no right to have a fiancée, but according to my dad, I was expected to do exactly that.

In just a week and three days, my entire life was assured to change, and all my father had worked for would also be safe. The moment the restaurant came into view, I drew in a sharp breath, feeling my stomach dip.

"Are you all right?" the driver asked from the front seat, and I looked up to find him watching me through the rear-view mirror.

I offered him a smile and said, "Yeah, I'm okay."

No, I wasn't. I was so far from okay, but what else could I do?

I reached out for the small clutch that had been placed on the seat beside me and grabbed the door handle. Stepping out onto the quiet sidewalk, I straightened my black pencil dress and brushed out any crinkles that had appeared on the way over.

A light wind caused goose bumps to pepper my exposed skin, but I ignored them and forced myself to walk to the entrance.

A security guard by the door looked me up and down as I approached him. If I wasn't mistaken, his gaze stopped at the dip in the V at my chest and lingered.

"Hi," I greeted with a wave, drawing his attention back to my face. "I have an appointment here," I continued as he moved his tall frame from in front of the door. "My last name is Bassey."

The guard nodded his head and opened the door for me, saying, "Your Father and other guests are waiting for you."

Other guests. Great, I already knew who one of those guests would be.

I walked into the restaurant, taking a brief second to let my eyes adjust to the dimly lit room. My father sat at the far side of the restaurant with his back towards me, while his body faced a dark-haired man who was turned towards me.

Killian Caine.

His gaze connected with mine from across the room and he tilted his head to the left. His smile widened before I forced myself to look away and take the first step forward.

He still had those same silver-blue eyes. It was a shade that was still peculiar to me even after all these years. A shade that made you feel like you were drowning when looking into them for too long. They appeared gray at first glance, but the more you looked, the more they appeared to be silver-blue.

It had been seven years since I'd seen him in person, and even then it hadn't been under the best circumstances.

Killian was my brother's best friend, so he and I grew up together. We weren't friends and most times he only came around when my brother was home for the holidays. But even then, there were plenty of times I would catch his silver-blue orbs trained on me.

My stomach dipped.

I continued walking to where they sat, only stopping once I reached the table.

"Natalia," my father greeted, extending a hand out to me with a smile that didn’t reach his deep brown eyes. My father was a tall man, with black hair, the same shade as mine. He looked to be a man in his early thirties when he was actually in his fifties. My mum used to say I was the exact copy of him. But I begged to differ. When my Dad saw a blank sheet, he saw it as something waiting to be filled with business plans and contract deals. When I looked at the same sheet, I saw it as something waiting to be filled with colors and artwork.

I never understood his business. And he didn't understand my dreams.

"You're late," he continued.

I smiled and placed my small clutch on the table before sitting down. Killian's gaze was still on me.

Ignoring him, I glanced around the table. My dad, Killian, and two other men sat there. Business partners of my father, I presumed.

I looked back at my Father. "Traffic," I said.

My Dad didn't respond, but the twitch of his jaw told me he wasn't too happy with my excuse.

"Anyway, you're here now," my father continued. "Killian, this is my daughter, Natalia. Natalia, Killian."

I slowly turned his way and found his eyes lingering on me for a moment longer than they should. I watched as his lips parted, his gaze piercing through my own. Seconds seemed to tick by as we stared at each other and for a minute.

‘’Nat,’’ he said in a baritone that traveled through my ears and landed in my stomach, twisting them even further. ''It's good to see you again."

I blinked, a rush of recognition flowing through me when I listened to his indifferent tone.

My tone was polite as I responded, hoping the small smile on my face wasn’t as fake as it felt. ‘’Likewise,’’

Killian looked as if he wanted to say more, but my Father cut in.

''Well, now that you two are acquainted. Let's get down to business."

I drew in a deep breath and looked over to the waitress who was approaching the table with a notepad in hand. She looked younger than me, with short blonde hair and blue eyes. I didn't miss the way her eyes ran over Killian before she looked up at him, offering him a charming smile.

I couldn't blame her. Killian looked like the type of man any woman would crave. I, however, knew exactly the kind of man he was.

I also knew that the man I remembered from seven years ago was not the same man sitting beside me.

"What would you like?" the waitress asked Killian, and I couldn't help the scoff that slipped out my lips. I rolled my eyes and placed the menu in my hand.

Killian shifted in his seat beside me and looked over to me.

"Did I do something wrong?" the waitress asked, sounding annoyed.

"Natalia,'' My Father snapped.

I ignored him. "We are all gathered here, he's not the only one, " I said, turning to her with a fake smile. "You don't need to act as if he's the only person at the table."

Killian chuckled, his soft laughter sending shivers down my spine as the waitress gaped at me.

"Order your food and stop acting ridiculous," my Father said.

''Fine," I responded, ignoring the waitress.

"The steak please," Killian said. One at a time we all said our orders. When she was done, I looked over at Killian as the waitress walked away with our orders. He still had that same indifferent smile, and there was still a hint of amusement in his gaze as he stared at me.

I wanted to ignore him, but it was as if I couldn't.

I knew his gaze was still on me.

My Father started talking to one of the business associates who had accompanied him to the dinner. I couldn't find myself to listen, though. My stomach churned with knots, and I was feeling dizzy.

"Are you all right?" Killian whispered.

My Father stopped mid-sentence and looked over at me before looking over to Killian.

"Everything all right?"

Killian looked over to my father and nodded his head. "Nat's looking a little pale," he said, glancing back over to me. ''Is everything alright?"

"I'm fine," Why was he acting like he cared? "I need to use the restroom." I stood up and grabbed my purse.

I avoided their gaze, walking away from the table as fast as I could. I pushed open the door to the ladies' restroom, sighing softly to myself as the cold air of the AC in the restaurant hit my face.

I turned around to check if anyone was in the bathroom with me before moving over to the sink.

I looked up to watch myself through the mirror in front of me. My father's words echoed through my mind as I stared at my reflection.

'In two weeks, you're going to be marrying Killian Caine.'

Marrying Killian Caine.

I drew in a sharp breath as I replayed those words through my mind.

How the hell was I going to marry Killian?

What made my Father think this would even be a good idea?

I didn't want to get married and to Killian of all people. The Killian I remembered was obnoxious. Cocky. Rude. And so not the kind of person I wanted to marry.

''f**k," I cursed under my breath, reaching up to brush my hand through my thick hair.

''That's an interesting word to hear in this very fancy place." I froze at the sound of his baritone.

My body instantly tensed as his warm breath fanned against the back of my neck, followed by the lingering scent of his expensive cologne.

I quickly whipped around. "What are you doing here?"

"I came to check on you."

"This is the lady's bathroom."

"No, it's not." He pointed to the door, and sure enough on the door was a sign with 'Gentlemen' written on it.

Damn it.

''I'm fine," I said, stepping away from him. I reached out for my purse on the counter, needing a way out of there as fast as I could. He was in front of me before I could take another step, effectively stopping me from going anywhere.

''Really? Because I don't think you are."

''Why do you care?" I hissed. "In case you forgot, we are not friends."

"Yes, but we will be married soon, Natalia," I ignored the way my stomach fluttered at how he called my name. There was a fondness to it like we'd known each other for a while.

''I'm doing this for business and nothing more, Killian. There will be no friendship and marriage will be for the sake of keeping it. And nothing more." I sighed. "Why did you even agree to this?"

"Because I needed a wife, and your father needed a business partner." He shrugged like the whole matter was something casual. Insignificant. Something that could be solved with a quick solution.

"You don't care who you marry?"

"You sound like marrying me is a bad thing Nat, should I be concerned?"

''Don't call me Nat," I snapped.

"Nat," Killian stepped forward, and my breath caught in my throat. "We both know it is a marriage out of necessity and nothing else, so stop acting as if we're going to fall in love."

"It would be bad if we did," I scoffed.

Killian stared down at me with those eyes that could suck the breath right out of my throat. My breathing hitched when they lingered on my lips for a moment before coming back to meet my gaze.

He took another step forward, closing whatever distance was between us. His chest brushed against the front of mine, and my skin prickled in response.

Killian lowered his head until our faces were only inches apart, and his breath fanned against my parted lips.

My heart was slamming wildly in my chest as I waited, anticipating his next move. Killian moved his face to the right side of my head and pressed his nose against the skin just under my ear.

The simple action caused chills to run down my spine, and it had me holding my breath. What was he doing?

''You smell the same," he said softly into my ear. ''Cherries and vanilla."

Killian stepped back. His head was tilted to the side as he studied me with something unfamiliar flashing through his gaze. I couldn't bring myself to say anything, and I refused to ask him what he meant by smelling the same.

''Let's go back," Killian finally said. "And think of this arrangement as a contract and deal. Nothing more."

He spun around and walked out of the bathroom.

If only I knew what I'd gotten myself into by agreeing to the proposal in the first place. I would have walked away. Walked away and never looked back. But I didn't. I was young, naïve, and stupid. A girl who didn't want to lose the affection of her father just yet, so I accepted his proposal.

But it was all a lie.

Killian and I were not in love. We were not married. We were not in a relationship. We were a business deal.

A business deal that lasted for four good years.

We did well coming this far If I was being honest, and the only time we had slept together after that night was on the wedding night. The next day, I woke up in bed alone.

And he didn't try to make contact with me, even when we both lived in the same building.

So much for trying to keep things civil. The first two months had been awkward, but it had been okay.

I did my thing, and he did his. But then the months went by, and months turned into a whole year. And then two. And in the third year, I lost Eva to a car accident. One that had been orchestrated by one of Lorenzo Moretti's men.