MARRY YOUR KILLER
Chapter Fifty-Nine: The Promise
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The old Watson house was cold when Keifer arrived.
He hadn't been here since his father died. Since the bullet that had been meant for him. Since the night Yuri saved his life. The garden was overgrown. The windows were dark. The walls were bare. The house where he had grown up, the house where his mother had left, the house where his father had become something cold and distant.
Ava von Ashberge was waiting in the study.
She was sitting in his father's chair. Her hair was blonde, her eyes were blue, her dress was white. She looked like a painting. She looked like nothing. She stood when he walked in. Her smile was perfect. Her hands were empty.
"Keifer," she said. "I've heard so much about you."
He walked to the window. His back was to her. His hands were in his pockets.
"I'm sure you have."
She walked to him. She stood beside him. Her reflection was in the glass. Her face was smooth. Her eyes were bright.
"Your mother told me about your wife. About Jay. About what happened."
He didn't answer.
"I'm sorry," Ava said. "I know what it's like to lose someone. To have someone leave. To have someone choose to walk away."
Keifer looked at her. Her face was close. Her eyes were steady.
"You don't know anything about her," he said.
She didn't flinch. "No. I don't. But I know about you. I know about your family. I know about the war. I know about the money. I know about the people who are trying to destroy you."
He turned to face her. "And you want to marry me anyway."
She smiled. It was a small thing. A careful thing. "I want to survive. My family is old. My family is powerful. But my family is dying. My father is sick. My brothers are gone. There's no one left to protect us. No one left to fight for us."
She stepped closer. Her face was inches from his. "You need money. I need protection. We can help each other."
Keifer looked at her. At the woman who was offering him a way out. At the woman who was offering him a future. At the woman who was not Jay.
"I loved her," he said. His voice was low. "I loved her and she left."
Ava's face softened. Just for a moment. "I know."
He walked to the desk. He sat in his father's chair. He looked at the room where his father had planned. Where his father had lied. Where his father had tried to kill him.
"Your mother said you would agree," Ava said. "She said you would see reason. She said you would do what was best for your family."
Keifer looked at her. "My family is gone. My father is dead. My wife is gone. My brothers are children. There's nothing left."
Ava walked to the desk. She sat across from him. Her hands were folded. Her face was calm.
"There's you," she said. "There's what you can build. There's what you can become. Your father was weak. Your father was scared. He hid behind money and power and fear. You don't have to be him. You can be something else. Something better."
Keifer stared at her. "You don't know me."
She smiled. "I want to."
---
The house was quiet when his mother arrived.
She walked into the study. She looked at Keifer. At Ava. At the space between them.
"You've decided," Serina said.
Keifer stood up. His face was calm. His hands were steady. "I'll marry her."
His mother's face didn't change. "Good."
Ava stood. She walked to Keifer. She took his hand. Her fingers were cold. Her grip was light.
"We'll announce it tomorrow," Ava said. "The engagement. The wedding. The future."
Keifer looked at her hand in his. At the ring that wasn't there. At the ring that was on his desk. At the ring that Jay had left behind.
"Tomorrow," he said.
---
The night came.
Keifer stood in the garden of the old house. The same garden where he had played as a child. The same garden where his mother had left. The same garden where his father had become something cold.
Ava was inside with his mother. Planning. Waiting. Preparing. She was good at that. She was good at everything. She was perfect. She was nothing.
His phone buzzed. Percy's name flashed on the screen.
"Where are you?" Percy asked. His voice was tight. "We've been looking for you. Aries is worried. Ci N is—"
Keifer looked at the sky. The stars were out. The moon was bright. The garden was quiet.
"I'm at the old house," Keifer said.
Percy was quiet for a moment. "Why?"
Keifer didn't answer.
Percy's voice was low. "Keifer. What's going on?"
Keifer looked at the house. At the lights in the window. At the woman who was waiting.
"I'm getting married," Keifer said.
The line was silent. Then Percy's voice came through. Hard. Cold. "What?"
"My mother found someone. Ava von Ashberge. Her family is old. Powerful. Rich. She needs protection. I need money. It's a good match."
Percy's voice was rising. "You're married. You're married to Jay. You love Jay. She—"
"Jay left." Keifer's voice was empty. "She walked out the door. She didn't look back. She didn't explain. She didn't fight. She left."
Percy was silent.
"So I'm moving on," Keifer said. "I'm doing what's best for my family. For my brothers. For the people who are still here."
Percy's voice was quiet. "You're not moving on. You're giving up."
Keifer looked at the ring in his hand. The ring Jay had left behind. The ring he had been holding for days.
"Maybe," he said. "Maybe I am."
---
Percy was at the old house in twenty minutes.
He walked through the garden, his face pale, his hands shaking. Aries was behind him. Ci N was behind them.
Keifer was sitting on the steps. The ring was in his hand. His face was calm. His eyes were empty.
Percy stood in front of him. "You're not doing this."
Keifer looked up. "I'm doing this."
Percy grabbed his arm. His grip was tight. "She left because she had to. She left because someone threatened you. She left because she was trying to save your life."
Keifer's face didn't change. "How do you know?"
Percy's face was white. "Because I know her. Because she took a bullet for you. Because she almost died for you. Because she loves you. And she would never leave unless someone made her."
Keifer stood up. His face was close to Percy's. "Then why didn't she tell me? Why didn't she fight? Why didn't she—"
"Because she was trying to save you." Percy's voice cracked. "Because she was trying to keep you alive. Because she loves you more than she loves herself."
Keifer pulled away. His hands were shaking. "She's gone. She left. She walked out the door and she didn't look back."
Aries stepped forward. Their face was calm. Their eyes were steady. "Then go find her. Go find her and bring her back. Go find her and ask her why. Go find her and fight for her. The way she fought for you."
Keifer looked at them. At the ring in his hand. At the house behind him. At the woman who was waiting.
"I can't," he said. "I made a promise."
---
Ava was at the door.
She was wearing white. Her hair was loose. Her face was calm. She looked at Percy. At Aries. At Ci N. At the man she was going to marry.
"Keifer," she said. "Your mother is waiting."
Percy stepped in front of her. His face was hard. "He's not marrying you."
Ava's face didn't change. "He made a promise."
"He made a promise to Jay. He made a promise to love her. To protect her. To stay with her. He's not breaking that promise for you."
Ava looked at Keifer. Her eyes were steady. "Is that true?"
Keifer looked at the ring in his hand. At the gold. At the circle that meant everything. At the woman who had put it on his finger. The woman who had taken it off. The woman who had put it back on. The woman who had left it on his desk.
"Yes," he said. "I made a promise."
Ava nodded. She walked to him. She stood in front of him. Her face was close. Her eyes were bright.
"Then keep it," she said.
She walked away. The door closed behind her.
---
Serina was at the window.
She watched her son stand in the garden, the ring in his hand, his friends around him. She watched Ava walk away. She watched the life she had planned for him disappear.
She picked up her phone. She dialed a number she knew by heart.
"He's not going to marry her," Serina said.
The voice on the other end was cold. "Then we move to the next plan."
Serina's hand tightened on the phone. "You promised me you wouldn't hurt him."
The voice laughed. "I promised you I would keep him alive. I didn't promise anything else."
The line went dead.
Serina looked at her son in the garden. At the man he had become. At the woman who had broken his heart. At the woman who had saved his life.
She walked away from the window. She didn't look back.
---
Keifer stood in the garden, the ring in his hand, his friends around him.
Percy put his hand on his shoulder. "We're going to find her. We're going to bring her back. We're going to fix this."
Keifer looked at the ring. At the gold. At the circle that meant everything.
"She left to save me," Keifer said.
Percy nodded. "She left to save you."
Keifer looked at the sky. The stars were out. The moon was bright. Somewhere in the city, Jay was alone. Somewhere in the city, Jay was waiting.
"Then let's go find her," Keifer said. "Let's go bring her home."
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END OF CHAPTER FIFTY-NINE