Free Hidden Truths (Violet Chain Book 2) by J Kahele Page B

tired. All I want to do is eat and go to bed, can you please give me a break here?”
    Why does he do that? Twist my curiosity around to make me feel guilty? Was it wrong to want to know who these men were? Who the names were on the envelopes that he kept in that secret box? He just stated that he had nothing to hide and now he was standing in front of me telling me he didn’t want to talk about it. God, he was so frustrating.
    “Fine.” I pushed past him and walked to the kitchen. I grabbed two plates and began shoveling the meat and potatoes onto them.
    Chain placed his hand on the counter. “So now you’re mad at me?”
    “Nope,” I retorted. I walked over to the table and placed his plate down.
    I felt his hands touch my shoulders and he rubbed them gently. “Violet, please don’t be like this.”
    I shrugged him off. “I’m not being like anything, you’re hungry and tired, I understand.” I wasn’t exactly mad, I was irritated. How could he make a statement like, ‘I have nothing to hide,’ then in the same breath say, ‘I don’t want to talk about it.’ We were supposed to be in a relationship, a trusting relationship, I thought. Yet he couldn’t trust me enough to reveal who these men were?
    I grabbed a wine bottle from the fridge, then walked to the table, pouring wine in the glasses.
    “Sean Michaels is my birth name,” Chain blurted out.
    His words stilled me. “What?”
    “Sean Michaels, that was my birth name.” I placed the wine bottle down and slowly slid into the chair.
    “Your name is not Chain Alexander?”
    “No, I mean yes. I legally changed it when I was eighteen.” Now that explained why the envelopes were addressed to Chain’s old office building.
    “Why would you change your name?”
    He shrugged his shoulders. “After my sister and mother died, I wanted a fresh start so I changed my name.”
    “So is Devin Michaels your father’s name? He sends you letters?”
    Chain brought a forkful of food to his mouth. “Yes and yes.”
    “Do you send him letters back?” I asked as I swirled my fork in my food.
    He grunted. “Violet, can we not talk about this anymore? I told you more than I wanted, can we just give it a rest for tonight?”
    I smiled. “Okay.” I really didn’t want to push him. I knew it was hard for him to talk about it, but it still didn’t make me stop wondering about why he was so angry at his father. Sure, he explained that he blamed his father for the accident, but Chain wasn’t a man who held grudges. I couldn’t see him going through life dismissing his father over an accident that, from what I gathered, wasn’t his father’s fault. There had to be more to it and even though I was not going to push him tonight, I definitely planned on finding out the real truth of why Chain refused to speak to his father.
    After dinner, Chain worked on his laptop while I cleaned up the dishes. The mall in Minneapolis had become a thorn in his side since the city revoked his building permits because he had changed the structure without giving them notice, namely the small palace he had built for the children to play in when they visited the mall. He had attorneys working day and night to get the permits and he was constantly looking over the blueprints, trying to figure out a way he could please the city and himself.
    I walked into the living room where he sat back on the couch, laptop in his lap, scanning the blueprints on his screen. I slid behind him and began massaging his neck.
    He closed his eyes, moaning softly. “That feels so good.”  I began to rub his shoulders and he leaned slightly forward, placing his laptop on the coffee table, then pulled me into his lap, placing a sweet kiss on my lips. “Have I told you how much I love you today?”
    I grinned as I stroked his cheek. “Yes, about ten times.”
    “Well now it’s eleven,” he responded as he patted my behind. I stood up. He rubbed his neck before standing and facing me. “I’m tired,