Page 27 of The Laird's Dark Obsession

Kira’s heart pounded at his strength. Even in the pain he was in, he was still a Laird. He was going to be their strength even when he had to fake it.

When they crossed the threshold of the infirmary, healers were surrounding them and taking over supporting Hunter while they got him to a cot. She felt the weight of his body lift from her shoulders and she could feel her body lunge after him, wanting to be with him.

She stayed nearby, within arm’s reach of him, as the healers removed his sash and blouse. Kira’s knees felt weak at the sight of the blood. The wound looked deep, penetrating the muscular curve of his shoulder. And blood covered his back, the wound bleeding endlessly.

She stared at his face to look away from the gore. His eyes were distant and his expression composed, but she could see the paleness of his cheeks. He was hurting and weak, but he wouldnever falter in the face of his people. Kira couldn’t imagine the strength it took to sit there so poised while people cleaned and prodded at such a terrible wound.

He had fought for her while like this.

He was bleeding for her.

Something monumental shifted inside of Kira. It was like she could see Hunter clearly for the first time. He wasn’t a villain—he was strong, determined, and forever doing what he believed was right. Even if it meant he bled for someone he truly hated.

Kira didn’t think she would ever fully submit to a marriage that she was forced into, something in her spirit simply wouldn’t allow it. But she knew then that even if their marriage was built upon a bedrock of hate, it wouldn’t be a prison sentence. Edine had been right—Hunter would take care of her because she was his, and he was loyal to a fault. She was witnessing that with her very own eyes at that exact moment.

Kira stood dutifully by his bedside the entire time his wound was cleaned, stitched, and bandaged. Once it was done, he ordered the servants away, though the healers told him that he should rest there for at least a couple of hours to let his body recuperate from the blood loss. He reluctantly lay back on the cot, ushering them away with a wave of his hand.

“Why are ye still here?” he asked, the question clearly pointed at Kira.

There was no banter to be had, not for Kira right then. She wanted the truth to be laid out in the open finally. Taking a seat on a small stool next to his cot, she folded her hands into her lap. “I had to make sure ye’re alright.”

“Well, ye’ve seen that now.”

His words weren’t dismissive or cold, but imploring. She studied his warm hazel eyes as she finally held tight to her courage and spoke. “Ye saved my life, M’Laird. And I believe the best way to repay that kindness is with a level of compliance. I will marry ye, without any further protest.”

They were holding eye contact, both desperate to see the reactions to those words. “I see now that ye truly are doing what ye believe to be best for yer people. And I ken ye’ll continue to do so, even when marriage makes me one of those people.”

She took a deep breath before continuing, her heart pounding painfully in her chest. It was like she had finally taken the lid off her bottled-up thoughts and emotions and there was no putting it back on. While she was being vulnerable, she was going to get it all out.

“With this, however, I cannae lie and say it’s totally selfless. I hope that now ye will start to see me for who I am. That I’m no longer someone who stands by and watches people as they burn. I’m… I’m trying to be stronger, to no longer live in fear and passive complicity. I’ll step in to be true to my beliefs and heart. I swear it.”

There was no decoding the expression on Hunter’s face right then. He looked pained but she couldn’t tell if it was from his physical condition, annoyance, or something else. “What do ye mean that ye lived in fear?”

His voice was quiet and even. She wasn’t used to him being so gentle with her, at least not anymore. Kira stared down at her hands, wringing them together nervously. There were so many wounds that she carried silently for all that time, and it felt… conflicting to tell him. Part of her worried he would view it as an excuse or lies, but she would never know what he thought until she finally came out with it.

“My faither is nae just a cruel man in politics and business. He is at home as well,” she began, her voice hardly above a squeak. “He wouldn’t ever hit me for discipline, as he said he wouldn’t decrease the value of his assets…” Her throat ran dry and tears pressed against the backs of her eyes. “But he had his ways of inspiring obedience. Whether it was isolation, meals withheld… Or his favorite punishment, locking me in a wardrobe for hours, sometimes days.”

Kira picked at the skin around her finger nails. “I was terrified of him, of what he was capable of. Yer faither was a business partner, a friend, and my faither killed and burned him for it. I was terrified of what would happen to me if I stepped in, especially when I kenned the price to pay for so much as speaking out of turn at supper when visiting friends and family.”

She shook her head but still didn’t look up from her hands. “I ken now that silence was selfish and cowardly. I should havedone something,anythingbut just stand there. And I’ll repent for my lack of action my entire life, and whatever awaits me beyond.”

The silence was thick and long and painful. She had never spoken aloud about the night of Hunter’s parents’ murder, it felt wrong and sinful to do so. But he had to know. It was the insurmountable wall between them that would always be there, but they had to at least address it.

“Is that why ye dinnae run away today? Because ye fear yer faither?”

Kira scoffed and wiped tears from her eyes before they could fall. “Even if I had decided to run, I would never return to my faither. I’d rather live on the street as a beggar than return to Fairbairn Keep.”

“Then why did ye stay?”

At last, she peered at him and her breath caught in her throat. The emotion etched into his features, the gleam in his eyes… It was like looking at the Hunter she used to know. The one that let her borrow books from the Galbraith library behind her father’s back, who lent her his cloak for warmth when they ventured too long in the snow—the one she had fallen in love with all over again each time she visited.

“Do ye believe me? Of what I’ve said?” she asked.

“That does nae answer my question, Kira.”

“Answer mine first,” she said, adamant.

Hunter sighed and rubbed at his eyes. “I dinnae ken anymore. Maybe. But I dinnae.”