His Word is His Bond

His Word Is His Bond

Austyn shifted his body if she offended you, I apologise on her behalf.' Deborah's hand hung mid-air.

'You're right,' he said. 'She's young and a bit of a hothead. She speaks her mind without thinking it through. I guess I'm partially responsible. She acts like this at home and I never correct her. So, if what she said back at the restaurant offended you, I would like to apologise on her behalf.'

His words had the force of a slap.

Deborah, stung by the affection in his voice, shot back. 'She's her own person. You shouldn't apologise when she's the one who did something wrong!

Austyn looked at her evenly. 'She's my wife. We are a team. Her business is my business.'

Deborah refused to acknowledge what he said.

She bit her lower lip. 'I was supposed to be your wife! Why did you marry her in the first place? Do you love her?'

Austyn didn't answer the question. 'There's something I've been meaning to ask you.'

"What?"

'How did you get back to Stamford?" He scrutinised her face. 'How did you happen to appear right in front of me outside the hospital?'

Deborah swayed on her feet.

She stared up at him in disbelief. 'Are you doubting me? Or accusing me of something?"

Austyn was unmoved. 'I would like to know the answer."

Deborah's eyes turned red. 'Fine! I escaped from the house two months ago, but I couldn't come back right away because I had no money. I had to take on odd jobs and dodge your father's men at the same time."

She let her tears fall. When I finally had enough money for a plane ticket, I realised I didn't know where you were. I couldn't show up at Cedarwood Mansion. Your father must still be living there. So I decided to go look for Jesse. At least the hospital would still be there. I didn't get to see him, but I saw Luca. I followed him. Then I saw you. There, that's the answer! Happy now?"

She was breathing rapidly.

Austyn heard her wheezing. 'Are you having another asthma attack? Where's your inhaler?'

He Word Is He Bond

She pushed his hand away. 'I'm fine!*

"Then you're...angry?' Austyn withdrew his hand 'I can apologise.'

"I'm not...' Deborah paused.

She waited for her breathing to return to normal

'I'm not angry at you,' she said. 'I'm angry at myself. If only I'd come back earlier, you wouldn't have married someone else, and we could still have a chance." She reached for his hand again.

Austyn stepped backwards.

She froze.

"You should get some rest. He turned towards the door. 'I need to go now.'

Deborah didn't want him to leave. 'Austyn!'

He looked at her.

There were tears in her eyes.

She held his hand.

A loud bang drew their attention.

Austyn turned his head.

Kira stood in the open doorway.

The door had been ajar.

A hard shove from her slammed it against the wall.

She was gnashing her teeth. 'Was I intruding? Oops, My bad! Please, carry on!'

Austyn's hand flew to his forehead.

That tone, that look...

He recognised the signs of an imminent hissy fit.

Austyn strode towards the door.

Kira had run off..

Austyn closed the door after him, leaving Deborah alone in the living room.

Kira cursed Austyn with the most vicious words she knew.

His Word is His Bond

'Scumbag! Jerk! Bastard!'

She kicked her legs as she walked and punched the air.

Austyn was so blatant.

He didn't even bother hiding it from her.

She was in the hallway, less than five metres away, while he was flirting with his old flame in the living room.

When she banged the door open, she saw them standing close together.

Deborah was holding his hand and made as if she was about to kiss him.

'Jerk!'

If she hadn't so rudely barged in, would they be getting naked right in the middle of the living room in broad daylight?

Kira wanted to scream and punch things.

At the top of the list would be the two-timer's obnoxious face!

She took it out on the wildflowers along the way as she stormed out of the apartment block.

Austyn followed the trail of dismembered petals and caught up with her.

He planted himself in her path. "The flowers are the property of the condo, you know. What 'you're doing is an act of vandalism." 'Here to lecture me again?' Kira shoved hard at his chest. 'Get lost!'

'What did you say?'

'I said, get lost! Scram! Shoo! Don't you understand English?' She was yelling now.

A vein in Austyn's forehead started throbbing. 'What's wrong with you? What are you getting.

so mad about? You saw it for yourself. There was nothing between me and Deborah."

'You were holding hands with her!' Kira stabbed a finger at his chest. "That was nothing? Then what counts as something? Sex?'

Austyn caught her wrist. 'We weren't holding hands. She was grabbing my hand. I didn't let

her."

"That's only because I came in! If I didn't, I bet your hands would be all over her!'

Austyn sighed, exasperated. 'Are you charging me with a crime I didn't commit? If you want to start pointing fingers, what about you?'

"What about me what?'

His Word is His Bond

"What about all the time you spent with Gideon? You went with him to a restaurant in the middle of the night. If I hadn't gotten there in time, he would have kissed you." Kira was stumped for a moment.

But she wasn't about to back down from this fight.

She had given in enough times in the past.

'Gideon's like a brother to me. I wouldn't have let him kiss me even if you didn't come in! I can take an oath and swear I no longer have feelings for him."

She crossed her arms. "What about you? Do you dare make the same oath about Deborah?'

'I don't believe in swearing oaths. My word is my bond."

'Ha!' Kira pointed a finger at him. 'So you're chickening out! I knew it. I knew you still have feelings for her!

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"I have feelings for her?' Austyn scowled.

'Of course you do!' Kira shouted,

'Are you out of your mind?"

'Don't deny it!' Kira stamped her feet. 'I have evidence! Just now at her house, she touched you several times. And you let her!"

Austyn opened his mouth but Kira didn't give him a chance to speak. 'And when I confronted her earlier today, you sided with her!"

She stabbed the finger at Austyn's chest. 'If that's not having feelings for her, what is?"

"This is your so-called evidence?' Austyn scoffed. 'It's a good thing you're not a lawyer. That kind of speculation is going to get you laughed out of court."

'I have more!"

'Oh?' Austyn made an inviting gesture with his right hand. 'Please, do

go on."

Kira's voice grew serious. 'Have you ever thought about why she'd chosen this time to return to Stamford? She's been gone for seven years. Then she just decides to look up her old lover on a whim? I don't buy it." That's just more speculation. I'm still waiting for your evidence.'

'Come on!' Kira wanted to yank her hair out. 'Even I can sense something is off. You're so much smarter than me. I don't believe the same thought hasn't crossed your mind. The whole thing just smells fishy."

Austyn looked straight at her. 'It did cross my mind. I asked her. She gave me the answer.

'Which is?'

'It's not a whim. She's been trying to get back to the country for a long time, but my father's men kept her under house arrest. She finally saw a chance to escape. When she returned to Stamford, she went to the hospital to look for Jesse. Then she happened to bump into me there."

Kira furrowed her brows.

That answer only led to more questions.

How did she escape?

Why did she go to the hospital to look for Jesse instead of coming straight to Austyn?

What were the odds that she just happened to see Austyn there?

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Kira pursed her lips. 'Do you believe her?'

'she has no reason to lie."Text content © .

Kira lowered her head.

Austyn seemed to trust Deborah a lot.

He accepted her story without a doubt, even though the story was full of holes.

Kira was glad she hadn't told him about the call she overheard.

He would just scold her for eavesdropping and dismiss her evidence as 'inadmissible.'

Kira picked at the seam of her pants.

She shouldn't feel upset.

It was as she expected, wasn't it?

When it came to anything related to Deborah, it was like the logical part of Austyn's brain just decided to go offline.

His unconditional trust would have been touching if the beneficiary wasn't Deborah.

Kira kicked a pebble on the ground."

Why couldn't he just take her side, just for once?

'Do you have any more evidence?' Austyn asked.

She raised her head, deciding to go out on a limb. 'What if I tell you, Deborah's return is not just for you. She has some other purpose in mind. Would you believe me?'

'You know what I want."

'Evidence, I know.' She rolled her eyes. 'I don't have any."

"Then how do you expect me to believe you? Is this based on gut feeling again?'

'Hey! Don't underestimate the power of a woman's intuition! There are studies that prove it's a product of evolution!'

'Since when do you read science magazines?'

"I read all kinds of books!

'Fine.' Austyn shrugged. 'Be that as it may, I've yet to hear of a court case where the verdict is based on intuition."

Kira gnashed her teeth.

She wanted to grab the stubborn man's shoulders and shake some sense into him.

'I do have evidencel 1-heard a call she received back at the restaurant. She mentioned your name, sounding all secretive. She said something about gaining your trust. She's definitely plotting something, I can feel it!'

Austyn stretched out a hand. 'Do you have a recording of the

'No.' She had been in too much of a hurry to use her phone.

'So it's hearsay, which is just another word for rumour."

Kira stomped her feet again, frustrated. 'Why can't you just believe me e once?!

'Kira.' Austyn stepped forward, closing the short distance between them.

The sudden move threw her. 'What?"

talk to

'You said you want to become a journalist. Then you know the importance of evidence. You can't publish a story filled with just intuition and speculation. Gather evidence, witnesses, hunt down documents. These are what a good journalist should do.' Kira was at a loss for words.

She knew he was right.