Page 81 of Falling for the Billionaire Best Man

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KAISEN

Iwalked into Dorie’s suite and closed the door behind me, the soft click of the latch echoing in the quiet room. I wasn’t sure why I was there.

No, that wasn’t entirely true.

I had to be there.

She crashed into me in the casino and didn’t bother to stop. I followed her to her room, and she never once looked my way. I could tell she was upset. Like really upset.

I got it because I felt the same way.

I was on my way back to my room to sulk, to drown in my own thoughts when she barreled into me. It seemed like fate. I followed her without even thinking about it. I just had to get to her. To be in her space. In her orbit.

She walked away from me, like she couldn’t stand to be breathing the same air as I was. It was killing me. I didn’t understand what happened. We had been close and then suddenly she couldn’t be near me.

She was standing by the window, her back to me as she stared at the lights. “What are you doing here?” she asked. “I don’t want to talk to you. We have to do this wedding and that’s that.”

I didn’t answer. Instead, I crossed the room and sank into one of the plush chairs. My mind was a mess, a tangled web of emotions I couldn’t unravel. I didn’t know where to start.

“The interview,” I said.

“It’s not about the interview,” she sighed. “I mean, it is, but it’s not.”

“I need to explain,” I said.

“Kaisen, just go,” she whispered.

“My mom,” I blurted out the word. I could practically feel the wound opening. A wound I had cauterized a long time ago. But I had to reopen it and maybe this time I could let it heal properly.

“She was sick for a long time,” I said. “Cancer. It ate away at her, and there was nothing I could do to stop it. I watched her waste away, Dorie. I watched her die.” I paused, swallowing hard. “And then, right in the middle of all that, my dad—he had an affair. It came out during the worst time of my life, when I was already drowning in grief. He destroyed my mom, destroyed our family, and for what? A fling? A distraction?”

Dorie’s expression softened. She took a step toward me. “Kaisen, I’m so sorry. That’s⁠—”

I cut her off, shaking my head. “No, don’t. Don’t say it. Don’t tell me not everyone cheats, that not everyone is like him. Because I am. I’m like him, Dorie. I inherited his business mind, his cunning, his ability to shut off my emotions and hurt people. I don’t want to be that person. I don’t want to cause the kind of pain he caused my mom. That’s why I swore off falling in love. Not just marriage, not just having a family. All of it. I meant it when I said it in that interview. I meant it every time I told myself I’d never let anyone get close enough to hurt me.”

She opened her mouth to speak, but I kept going, the words tumbling out faster now, like a dam had burst. “But then there’s you. You’re different. I can’t shut it off around you, Dorie. I can’t shut you out. I lay awake at night thinking about you, wishing I could sleep for just a minute without dreaming about you. And that was before we slept together. Now? It’s an obsession. I’m completely, utterly at your mercy.”

Her eyes widened, and she took a step back, her hand flying to her chest. “Kaisen, I⁠—”

I stood, closing the distance between us. “I’ve never done this before,” I said, my voice low, urgent. “I’ve never let myself get to know someone like this. I used to dole out gifts like candy to appease people or to get them to want me. I throw money at the things I want. When they say everything is for sale, it’s true. But you? You’re not something I can buy. And I know that’s the wrong thing to say, but it’s the truth. You’re different. You’re⁠—”

“Carington and Associates,” she interrupted, her voice sharp and her glare sharper.

I froze, blinking at her. Those were not exactly the words I was looking for. I didn’t want pity, but maybe a little empathy. Or sympathy.

I’d take either.

“What?” I asked.

“Carington and Associates,” she repeated, her tone full of anger. “You are Carington and Associates.”

“What?”

“Do you know them?” she snapped.

I frowned, confused. “Of course I know them. It’s one of the brokerage firms I own. Why are you asking?”