~ Killian ~
Killian never knew the true meaning of the phrase ‘dressed to kill’ until tonight. When he saw Audrey walking out of her room in that red silk dress, his breath was caught in his throat. It was a simple dress, but it hugged her curves in all the right places. Killian couldn’t stop staring and Caspian shook his head as his eyes went wild with excitement.
“So, what do you think?” she said, smiling sheepishly. Her two friends were walking behind her and they looked like proud parents.
“Goddamn,” Caspian muttered and clapped his hands. Then he leaned closer so only Audrey and Killian could hear and said, “If only your friends aren’t here, this dress would’ve been torn off in a second,”
“Cas,” she glared at him. “Behave,”
“I’ll try my best,”
~ Audrey ~When Audrey saw Killian disappearing into the corner with Cara, her breath was caught in her throat. She saw the way Cara was looking at him. She didn’t miss how her hand grabbed Killian’s and he let her. She felt a pang in her chest, though she didn't know what it was.Am I angry? Or worse, am I… jealous?Audrey knew she had no right to be jealous. Killian was not hers. Sure, the three of them were inseparable ever since the trip to Bermuda, but that didn’t mean anything. They were just having fun. Like Caspian said, it was no strings attached and no emotions.No heartbreaks.Audrey didn’t like the feeling of tightness in her chest. She tried
~ Audrey ~“I’m sorry I’m making you guys leave the party,” Audrey said lowly as the limo pulled up in front of her apartment building. It was not even midnight yet, and she felt bad that her little breakdown episode ruined everyone’s night.Well, not everyone. Liv and Mikey were still somewhere in the club. Probably chasing after poor Tom Holland.They didn’t talk much throughout the entire car ride and the two brothers just watched Audrey intently. Caspian was thinking hard about those girls and what they might have said to Audrey. Meanwhile, Killian felt ticked off that Audrey refused to let him touch her, but she was completely fine towards Caspian. He wondered if he did something wrong, but Audrey wasn’t giving anything away.“Audrey—” Killian started to speak, but Audrey cut him off quickly.
~ Audrey ~When Audrey opened her eyes next, she saw the warm sunlight streaming through her window. Her hands reached around the bed, but she caught nothing but air. She remembered falling asleep with Caspian and Killian next to her, but now her bed was empty. She was butt naked, absolutely sore, and the sheets were a mess, so last night couldn’t possibly be a dream.Where did they go?Audrey groaned as she pulled herself off the bed. With her entire body sore and tired, getting up from bed was an exercise on its own. She walked over to the closet and grabbed the first sweater she saw before draping it lazily over her body. She noticed the marks on her skin and it reminded her again that last night was, in fact, real.Walking out of her room, Audrey rubbed her pounding head with her hand and promised herself she would never touch another glass of champagne. H
- - - - - ONE MONTH LATER - - - - -~ Killian ~Killian was smiling as he was finishing up today’s paperwork in the office. It was a rare occurrence because doing the paperwork wasn’t a task that he would enjoy. Everyone in the office thought it was weird, but no one dared to ask. Even Caspian thought his brother was going over the cuckoo’s nest. Last week, for instance, the company suffered a huge loss due to a failed investment in Hong Kong, but Killian only shrugged. He didn’t yell at anyone or throw a phone across the room like he did before. He simply said, “Meh, there’ll be better days,”Killian knew something was off about him, but he didn’t know what or why. For the past month, he felt a lot less stressed and a lot happier in general. When Caspian would tease him and say maybe Audrey had some
- - - - - ONE MONTH LATER - - - - -~ Caspian ~Caspian was never a fan of the annual Thanksgiving dinner at the Vanderbilt house. He always thought it was a stupid and archaic event. His family wasn’t like most families where they’d sit around the table, thank the Lord for the provision, and maybe watch the game when it was on. No. Thanksgiving at the Vanderbilt house was more like an internal family meeting where everyone had to be on their best behavior and talk about this year’s achievement.“So, I heard a lot of buzz about the club you two are managing downtown,” His mother said in a cheerful tone. “People are saying great things about it,”“Well, if the people said it then it must be true,” Caspian replied.“How are the projections at the company overall?” H
~ Audrey ~With her hands cuffed and her legs tied to the bedpost, Audrey could barely squirm. She looked at Caspian’s deep blue eyes, and his face wasn’t giving anything away. Audrey let out a gulp. Her body shuddered as Caspian stroked along her thigh with the flogger.“Remember, you can say the word whenever you need to,” he said lowly.When I need to?* SMACK! *Caspian whipped the flogger on her thigh and Audrey’s body was lit on fire. She let out a yelp and she tried closing her legs together, but it was impossible. Caspian ran the flogger gently on the spot it once hit and Audrey felt the stinging pain.* SMACK! *Without warning, Caspian whipped the flogger again and Audrey screamed. The sound of the flogger was
~ Audrey ~“I love the holidays this year,” Olivia beamed. “It’s one of my favorite Christmases, if not my favorite Christmas ever!”“Me too,” Mikey chimed in. “Oh girl, you two should’ve come with me to Italy. It was beautiful out there,”“No, I’m sure Audrey’s got plenty ofbeautifulthingsto do in the city,” Liv answered and nudged Audrey’s elbow playfully.“Shut up,” Audrey glared at her friends, who were grinning mischievously.It was the first Sunday of the New Year and the three best friends were enjoying their routine Sunday brunch. Liv was telling Audrey of her Christmas trip with her family to Martinique, and Mikey was telling them of his adventures in Italy. Meanwhile, Audrey didn’t have to say much and her friends alread
~ Audrey ~When Saturday night finally arrived, Audrey got all dolled up, wearing her favorite McQueen strapless black dress and black Jimmy Choos. She knew this was an important night for her dad, and she needed to make a good impression. The way she dressed spoke volumes. It said that she meant business, and she was ready to take the world by storm.Audrey arrived at her dad’s townhouse with a date walking by her side. Audrey was feeling confident about her choice. She was talking and working around the room, greeting all the VIP guests her dad had invited. Everyone she came in contact with had something good to say about her, and it fueled her confidence even more. But when she appeared in front of her dad, however, he didn’t look one bit impressed.“You think you’re being funny?” her dad whispered lowly so that no one could hear them. “
- - - - - THREE YEARS LATER - - - - - ~ Killian ~ “Alright baby, it’s your first day, are you excited?” “Yes!” Grace squealed in excitement. She was wearing her favorite dress and her hair tied up in a ponytail. She also got her pink backpack and Princess lunchbox with her. Today was her first day in kindergarten. Audrey and Killian were dropping her off in front of the school. Some other kids were crying because they didn’t want their parents to leave them with a bunch of adult strangers, but not Gracie. She was fearless, like her mother. “We’ll be back in a few hours to pick you up,” Killian said and kissed the top of Grace’s head. “Listen to your teachers, be nice to your friends, and have fun,” Audrey added. “Yes, I will!” Grace exclaimed and waved her hands. “Bye, mommy. Bye, daddy!” “Bye, baby. We’ll see you again soon,” Audrey and Killian waved back as Grace raced to the doors. Her teachers were greeting her and she greeted them back politely. “I can’t believe she’s i
- - - - - ALTERNATE ENDING - - - - - ~ Caspian ~ “Daddy, daddy!” Caspian opened his eyes to see Grace looking straight at him. Her little hands that were the size of ravioli were resting on his face. She was tapping him lightly, wanting to wake him up. “Mmhm,” Caspian groaned and turned around. He was teasing Grace on purpose. “Daddy, wake up!” she protested. Taking after his daddy, Grace was a persistent girl. She climbed up the bed and climbed on top of Caspian’s body. He was laughing to himself as Grace struggled and got on top of him. “Daddy!” she exclaimed happily as she sat on Caspian’s chest. “Hey, good morning, you,” Caspian chuckled and opened his eyes in defeat. “Good morning, daddy,” Grace was laughing triumphantly and hugging his neck. “Did mommy send you to wake me up?” “Uh-huh,” she giggled. She had her mom’s smile and that made Caspian smile. “Where is she?” he asked. Grace pointed to the floor, meaning downstairs. “Alright, let’s go get her,” Caspian got
~ Audrey ~ “Sweetheart, you’re making all my dreams come true,” Killian’s words made Audrey’s heart swell. Her eyes softened and glazed over. Her hand reached for his face and her thumb caressed his skin. Their eyes were locked onto each other and she stared at Killian as if her life depended on it. “I love you so much, Kill,” she whispered. Killian leaned down and kissed her in response. His kiss was so tender and deep, Audrey couldn’t help the tear falling from her eyes. She was so incredibly happy. And he was too. She could feel it. “I love you too. So, so much more,” he whispered back. Killian pulled her into his chest and Audrey tightened her grip around his neck. She wanted to feel more of him, so she linked her legs around his waist too. Killian held her entire body up with ease and he carried her up to their room. He laid her down gently on the bed, and he stared at her eyes for a moment as he hovered above her body. Audrey was seeing her entire world in Killian’s pier
- - - - - Six Months Later - - - - - ~ Audrey ~ “Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you. Happy birthday dear Gracie, happy birthday to you!” The whole room was singing and cheering for baby Grace’s first birthday. She had no clue what was happening though. She was sitting on her chair with a pink dress on, staring at everyone in front of her. Her biggest fans in the world were in the room, her mommy, daddy, grandpa Max, grandpa John, and grandma Anna. Even uncle Mikey, Uncle Sebastian, Auntie Liv, and Uncle Benji were there too. Audrey and Killian invited their closest friends and family to attend an intimate weekend celebration for Grace’s first birthday party. They wanted it to be extra special, so instead of doing a house party at their home in Brooklyn or at the Vanderbilt mansion, they decided to have it in Bermuda, the place that inspired her namesake. The Vanderbilt villa was big enough to house everyone. And out in the garden, Audrey, Mikey, Liv, and Benji had dec
- - - - - Six Months Later - - - - - ~ Audrey ~ Audrey was staring in front of her laptop for the longest time. A word document page full of words was staring back at her. She thought for a moment before her hand reached for the keyboards again. And just as she was about to start typing, she heard a loud cry coming from the next room. Audrey immediately knew what that cry meant. After listening to her baby’s cries for six months, Audrey could tell what she needed just by the way she cried. Getting up to her feet, Audrey quickly went to the nursery. She opened the door to see Killian and Virginia, their postpartum doula, picking up baby Grace from her crib. Yes, following their busy schedules, Killian and Audrey thought it’d be a great idea to have a doula live in their home and help with the baby. Virginia was a highly experienced postpartum doula in her mid fifties. She had great insights and support on infant feeding, infant soothing, and coping skills for new parents. She also
- - - - - One Month Later - - - - - ~ Killian ~ Killian lay in bed that night staring at the ceiling. Not being able to sleep was a normal thing for him, but there was another reason why he couldn’t sleep tonight. Tomorrow was a big day for him and Audrey. It was the day where their baby girl would come into the world. Audrey decided that she wanted to do a homebirth. They didn’t have the best memories the last time they were in a hospital. And Audrey felt most relaxed and comfortable being at home. Dr. Shepherd, who was closely monitoring Audrey and the baby, agreed that home birth would be a viable option. So they set on a date, got all the equipment ready, hired a midwife-nurse, and set aside a hospital transport just in case. Tomorrow was the D-day and Killian was too nervous to sleep. He kept checking the clock to see if the hour hand had moved. Audrey seemed like she was nervous too. It was about eleven-thirty at night and she was usually asleep by now. But tonight, she wasn
- - - - - Two Weeks Later - - - - -~ Audrey ~“Good afternoon, Mrs. Vanderbilt,” the receptionist greeted Audrey politely. It had been a whole month since people started calling her by this name and she still got giddy every time she heard it.“Hi, is Killian done with his meeting?” Audrey was biting her lip to stop herself from smiling too much.“Yes, he’s in his office. Would you like me to call him for you?”“No, don’t call him. I’ll come up and see him,” she said quickly and winked. “It’s a surprise,”The receptionist nodded her head and opened the door to the private elevator leading up to Killian’s office. Since he started working as the head of both the Vanderbilt and Huntington corporations, Killian would divid
- - - - - Two Weeks Later - - - - -~ Killian ~ Two weeks had gone by so fast. Before they knew it, it was already the last night of Killian and Audrey’s honeymoon. Sure, being in Bermuda was great, but Killian enjoyed spending uninterrupted quality time with Audrey the most. He couldn’t care less of what they were doing as long as they did it together. And they did everything together, from exploring around the island to trying out the local food, and visiting historical sites that she liked so much.The days went by so fast, but the nights were a bit more troubling for Killian. Ever since the accident, Killian had been having trouble sleeping. Every time he closed his eyes, he was back at the steering wheel again. He’d try to drive away to safety, but the end result was always the same.Letting out a deep sigh, Killian opened hi
- - - - - Two Weeks Later - - - - - ~ Audrey ~ “Welcome back to Bermuda, Mr. and Mrs. Vanderbilt,” Benji greeted Audrey and Killian with his signature toothy smile. “Thanks, Benji,” Audrey replied. She hadn’t seen Benji, the Vanderbilt’s personal tour guide, since their last visit to Grace Bay two years ago. “It’s been so long since your last visit. Congratulations on the wedding,” he said as he took their luggage and put it in the trunk of the car. “And I am sorry to hear about Mr. Caspian. I cry when I see the newspaper,” “Thank you, Benji. I appreciate it,” Killian replied. Though Benji’s English wasn’t particularly great, Audrey could see the sincerity in his eyes. He must be sad to hear about Caspian’s passing. Whenever he visited Bermuda, Caspian always treated him very well. Benji only wor