I smoothed my dress down my body, surveying Hero's disheveled appearance.

He really was hot when I caught him off guard. Especially when he flaunted his just-fucked hair, though we hadn't actually done that. 

"How are you feeling?" I asked. 

"How else could I feel after doing that to you?" Hero breathed, caressing my cheek. "You set me on fire, baby." 

I shook my head. 

"No, not that. Diedre. I can't imagine how you feel after kicking her out of your life." 

Hero huffed. "I had to. She was threatening our relationship." 

I sighed. "Be honest. I know you didn't want to do that." 

He rolled his eyes. 

"Can we not do this? I was used to her being a part of my life in a big way and now she's not. What more do you want from me?" 

I forced myself to quit talking. I knew he was only lashing out like this because he was hurt in so many ways.

She was his grandmother, yes, but she was also the woman that seduced him as a minor. 

She was disgusting and evil and didn't need to be in his life. 

"Do you think you'll ever see her again?" I asked, despite his irritation. 

He rolled his eyes. 

"I've made it clear I don't want to see her again, Kristina. She is my grandmother so I can't force her to stay away from Dorinda."

Oh that was right. He had a habit lately of visiting her. I still wondered if she had more going on than she was willing to admit.

"Do you promise you won't see her unless absolutely necessary?" I begged.

Hero took ahold of my face gently in his hands. 

"Kristina, I already said I wouldn't see her. I promise, okay?" 

Before I could reply, a harsh knock sounded on the door.  I jumped, causing Hero to steady me. 

"Kristina?" A familiar voice called. "Is that you?"

It was Josephine. Crap. 

"U-um," I quickly stuttered, "I'll be out in a minute!" 

She giggled from the other side. 

"Oh, okay! Someone said they saw you go this way. Come out. I want to talk to you!" 

I glanced at Hero waiting for his response. He rolled his eyes, ushering me away. 

"Go on," he whispered. "I won't be far behind." 

With one last kiss, I washed my hands in the sink, as if to make Jo think I actually had been using the bathroom. When I exited, she was grinning. 

She eyed suspiciously. 

"What?" I shrugged. 

She snorted. "Well... your hair..." 

I instantly patted the messy bundle that had formed. Shoot. He and I really hadn't been that careful. 

Josephine didn't attempt to aid me; she stood back, quite enjoying my embarrassment.

It angered me.

Why was she smiling like she knew?

"I know Hero is in there." She stated. "Did you two-? In there?" 

I couldn't help myself. I flushed. 

"Yes!" I hissed. "Please don't say anything!" 

Josephine laughed. "I won't. I swear. I just can't believe you couldn't wait." 

I folded my arms. 

"You should be talking. I bet Niall can't keep his hands off you."

At her silence, I raised both my eyebrows. 

Really?

"Not yet." Josephine whispered, wrapping her arms around herself. "That's not why we're together. We don't need to, but he's willing to wait until I'm ready." 

This made me think. Would Hero have been willing to wait? 

"So, you needed to talk?" I urged. "Shouldn't you preparing to go on your honeymoon?"

Jo shook her head.

"I can't. Not when I know you're due for a wedding." 

She and I began to recede down the hall, back into the busy ballroom. A mellow song was now playing. 

"I know." I gulped. "I can't believe it. I never thought it was something he could do, but now that it's happened-" 

Josephine smirked. "When's the date?" 

I pressed my lips in a thin line. 

"I want to take it slow. We don't want to rush into it." 

She nodded. "I see." 

As we looked across the room, we saw Niall carrying a piece of cake on a plate.

Man that boy could eat. 

I sighed.

"Can we go back to the dining hall? All this noise is getting to me." 

Once we'd managed to escape and had much better light, I felt my headache lessen. I leaned against a nearby table, resting a hand against my forehead. 

"Kristina!" 

I opened my eyes at Jo's worried tone.

"What?" 

"How did you get those red marks?" She said pointing down at my legs.
 
I gasped. I didn't have the faintest idea of how I'd got them. Hero hadn't hurt me. He would never hurt me. She had to know that. 

As realization hit me, I glanced down my dress at the many other red spots littered across my body.

They were perfectly placed, right where they could be exposed. 

Oh. Hero hadn't been biting at my skin. 

Were these actually hickeys?

Not anymore.

They were purple bruises now.

"I think we were a bit rough." I admitted, not seeing much sense in lying. 

Josephine went silent. I didn't blame her. She didn't have much experience with these kinds of thing.

Heck, I didn't. I was still being roped into Hero's complicated world. 

In the next few moments, someone bursted into the hall, blowing out a heavy breath. Looking up, I was shocked to see Cole.

Oh no. I hadn't seen him all night. Why now? 

He looked as normal as ever in a black suit and well-groomed hair. He stared back in shock, obviously not prepared to see me. 

He was about to speak, but stopped mid-sentence. If I didn't know better, he was looking at the bruises on my legs. 

"Hi," Josephine began, recognizing him, "you're Cole, the buildings corporate leader, right?" 

He cleared his throat. 

"Um, yeah. I'm so glad to welcome you to the family..." he trailed off, still staring at my skin. 

"Kristina... are you okay? I didn't see you at all this evening." 

I faked a smile. "Of course I am. I'm excited actually. I'm engaged now." 

Cole's eyes trailed down my hand. 

"I don't see a ring?"

I groaned at this. Now I had to get used to wearing a piece of jewelry on my finger. 

"Hero has it. I'm glad to see you came." 

Cole didn't bother answering. He left without sparing us another look.

Josephine gave me a confused expression, but I ignored it. 

"I should find Hero and my family." I said. "They'll be wondering where I am."

Hope you all enjoyed this chapter ❤❤

Please remember to vote and comment what you think