THE FORGOTTEN HEIRESS

Letting him believe she had opened up to Shawn will keep him off her trail for a while until he finds out, otherwise, she won’t be able to enjoy her freedom from his pestering. But until then, she had to maintain her claims.

Looking at the self-satisfied smile at the corners of Kathleen’s mouth, and the slight tilt of her head, Steffan suddenly remembered her picture with Shawn in the news that was still trending even after two weeks of its release and couldn’t help but shudder at the thought that they were back together.

He couldn’t keep it to himself and the curiosity was almost killing him. "Are you and President Hudson now back together?"

"What has our getting back together got to do with you?"

A cold chilly voice that could freeze even the warmest of hearts sounded from behind Steffan.

Steffan almost jumped out of his skin when he turned around to see Shawn glaring at him with eyes as dark as the night.

How did Shawn get here all of a sudden? He had not heard the sound of a car and he was sure he hadn’t seen any of Shawn’s cars parked in the car park when he came earlier.

He had arrived much earlier and had been on the lookout for Kathleen so his eyes had taken note of every car that arrived in the school parking lot that morning.

He didn’t know how much of their conversation Shawn had heard, but from the look on his face, it seemed he heard most of it.

"What... are you... doing here?" He stammered.

Although they’ve been best friends for so many years, the person glaring at him was more like a total stranger than a friend.

"I came for my wife and children," Shawn declared, his eyes trained on Kathleen as he replied coldly to Steffan’s question.

"Your wife and children?"

"Mm-hmm. Do you have a problem with that?" Shawn looked domineeringly at Steffan. He couldn’t help but take note of the guilt and fear on Steffan’s face.

If he didn’t know him well, he would have believed he was deliberately inciting Kathleen to never get back with him.

"Or should I believe that she is your unrequited lover?"

Boom! Something exploded somewhere in Steffan’s mind and cold beads of sweat suddenly spread all over his body and tickled down his back as he stared at Shawn in shock.

How did he find out? He was sure he hadn’t discussed his feelings for Kathleen with anyone except that day in Shawn’s office. But even then, he didn’t give a name.

Did he really find out or was he just making a wild guess? He mustered enough courage to look up at Shawn and what he saw left him nonplussed.

The smirk at the corners of Shawn’s mouth was proof enough that he had found out.

Kathleen on the other hand was not finding it easy too. How much of their conversation has he heard? And how long has he been waiting. Did he see the children? Especially Elvis. She was dying for answers but didn’t know how to put those questions to him.

She watched in a daze as Shawn approached her. Each step he took towards her was like a piece of metal rod being heaped upon her heart. The weight was becoming more unbearable as he got closer.

Stopping directly in her front, Shawn leaned in and Kathleen’s heart almost exploded.

His familiar jasmine scent tickled her already taunt nerves and she couldn’t get out of the spell it wove around her.

She was momentarily immobilized as she waited in suspense for what Shawn wanted to do.

"Can we go now?" Shawn unexpectedly said very close to her ears in a voice only the two of them could hear.

His voice carried a hint of seduction, and even though she knew she shouldn’t be affected by it, his husky voice was so disarming that she found it difficult to resist.

His arms that shot out and snaked around her waist, drawing her closer to him, brought her back to earth.

When Shawn felt her resistance, he whispered again in her ears, "don’t you want to get rid of him? You had better play along."

Her lips curled in disdain. The truth was that she wanted to get rid of both of them, but for now she had to take them down one after the other, so she relaxed reasonably, allowing Shawn to guide her to his car.

"I can’t leave with you... in your car," Kathleen quickly protested and made to wriggle out of Shawn’s arms.

Shawn held on tighter, his face indifferent and devoid of emotion. One could not discern what he was thinking as he said, "I’m not taking you in, either."

"Then what are you doing? Don’t think you can take advantage of me, you scumbug," Kathleen warned through gritted teeth.

"Relax, I have no such plans. He will leave soon," Shawn said, gesturing with his chin in Steffan’s direction. "... then you can go back in your car."

He made her believe he was doing it for her but in reality, he wanted to keep her around so that he can get answers for the questions bothering his mind.

From the side, Steffan observed their intimate interaction with a bitter smile. Obviously, she didn’t have any resistance towards Shawn.

Why then was she playing hard to get the moment she returned to the country. If only she had willingly returned to her husband’s side, he wouldn’t have been entangled in this mess today and on the verge of completely losing a friendship of over thirty years.

But it was already too late for a retreat.

For the first time he felt a sickening feeling at the depth of his stomach. And somewhere else, was an indescribable emotion bordering on hatred as his eyes focused on Shawn’s head tightly pressed against Kathleen’s face.

They’ve got to be kidding him. Were they really going to kiss while he stood watching their shameless display of love?