Drake had texted me the details of where we were to meet on the night, and I rolled my eyes at how expensive the place actually was. The restaurant was twenty minutes out of town and Ripper didn't mind driving, especially after the nights I had.

Even in his embrace, secured by his arms, nightmares plagued my mind. They woke me in thrashes and screams, often filling me with a fear that made me blind to Ripper and who he was.

So he drove today, dressed in a black turtleneck and jeans. His dirty blonde hair was still wild and curled, since I had stopped him from slicking it back. When I had asked him why he was dressing up, he had given me a serious look.

"Trust me sugar, it's not for your parents."

It was for me. I was just dressed in a fitted shirt, a pair of jeans and high heeled boots- trying to please them was something I would never do.

We hopped out of the car and made our way into the flashy looking restaurant, Ripper's arm wrapped tightly around my waist. Men and women stared as we walked in, and I wondered if it was because of how good looking Ripper was.

I smiled, remembering the first time I had met him. We had both stared- a lot.

"Reservation for Kane?"

The Concierge greeted us and took us to a table that already had three people sitting at it. For the love of God- they had brought the suitor. Ripper was already on edge as it was because of the nightmares I had, he didn't need my parents trying to set me up with someone else in front of him.

And there my parents were. Two domineering people with exquisite good looks and immaculate style- they were everything the world expected them to be. Smart, intelligent, beautiful .

Drake and Lila stood, as well as a blonde haired man near them.

"It has been so long Corin!" Drake exclaimed, coming forward and shaking hands with me. I'm not shitting you either- shaking hands is how we always greeted each other, when I got home from school, when I saw them after a month away, and it seems- after three years.

"Yes, it has been. This is Ripper, my boyfriend." I introduced the giant next to me with a smile, noticing the faltering of the other blonde man's expression. My parents hadn't told him about that.

Ripper nodded to each of them, face more cold than usual. Drake and Lila's bright grins dulled for a second, before they resumed their upbeat persona, gesturing for us to sit down.

"So, Ripper, that's an interesting name- how did you get it?" Lila asked, flagging down the waiter. I rolled my eyes and raised a brow, but Ripper beat me to answering.

"All club members, once passing prospect induction, get a name based on...certain acts. I'm the left hand of the club, you can assume the rest from there." His voice wasn't ashamed at all, rather, quite apathetic to what he was saying. I was used to what he did, and looking at the expressions on my parents faces, they weren't surprised- only the other blonde man was.

And he paled considerably.

Drake picked up from the silence and gestured to Blonde number two. "This is Warwick Joseph, a son of a business partner. He wanted to meet you tonight"

Warwick glanced at me with a smile, one that was slapped off his face when Ripper's arm came around my shoulders, and I knew from my spidey senses that Ripper was glaring at him.

Poor Warwick.

"Get to the point Drake. This is tiring and I didn't sleep well." I said, annoyance thinly coating my voice.

Lila and Drake frowned for a moment before settling into the people I knew them to be. Unaffected, coveting and cunning. Drake leaned forward, black curls falling into the front of his face as he gestured to Warwick.

"You know, Warwick doesn't even mind your problem" his voice was low and I strained to hear it. Confused, I replied. "What problem?"

Lila tutted, a patronizing expression on her face. "It's alright Corin, Warwick doesn't want kids anyway- he would prefer to just be happy with his wife."

I froze.

They couldn't be talking about that, not when I hadn't told Ripper.

Ripper's attention came to me, then moved to my parents, frowning. "What do you mean?"

My fists clenched under the table and I gritted my teeth, looking down at the table, too ashamed to look at Ripper. I hadn't told him. I had kept something so important from him and made him share everything about his life with me- simply because I was too insecure to tell him.

Would he hate me? Would he still want to be with me?

I was a hypocrite and a liar. A liar by omission.

Drake's face filled with glee, and he pounced on the opportunity to drive a wedge into our relationship. His face twisted with a pitiful glee, turning to Ripper.

"Didn't Corin tell you? When she was seventeen she had an accident on her motorbike, one where she was thrown onto a jagged rock on a beach, cutting into her stomach. The doctors saved her of course, but they couldn't repair the damage done to her womb. Corin's unable to have children."

There was a deafening silence.

Ripper turned to me, so slowly, and his eyes darkened on mine. "Is this true?"

I wanted to say no- wanted to say that they were all liars, but I couldn't. Not when I was the one who had lied.

"Yes. It's true."

Ripper's arm slackened from behind me, and he stood, pushing out his chair as his gaze avoided mine.

"Ripper?" My voice was broken, and shook with the effort it took not to cry. I shouldn't be the one crying, not when I was the hypocrite.

He shook his head and walked out of the restaurant, leaving me alone at the table.

"That's so sad. So sad Corin, but at least Warwick is here- he'll help you feel better."Lila murmured, gesturing for Warwick to move and sit beside me.

I flinched at his sudden closeness and fought the tears in my eyes, fought the bubble in my throat.

"Come on dear, don't be like that. Warwick only wants to help you" Drake soothed, voice like honey.

I had hurt the one person who loved me the most in the world. I steeled my spine and looked up to my parents, swallowing the sob growing in my throat.

"You don't get it do you? I will never date or marry this man as long as Ripper is still on this earth- and even if he isn't, I still will not do it. I love Ripper with every fibre of my soul, even if I didn't tell him about what you so helpfully did. I have had so much happen to me- and you both couldn't care less about what's been going on since I left. You both couldn't care less about my, Ripper's or even Warwick's feelings because you are so set on getting and becoming more than you already are."

I threw some money on the table, standing and giving my gobsmacked parents one last look. "I have a real family now, my biological father and so many other people who actually care about how I feel- and even if they don't, they try. Now that man, that man who was just here, has done more for me than you two have done for anyone in your entire lives. It is my fault, I admit, for not telling him something so important- but you had no right to do that. Don't ever contact me again, don't try to exert your power over my family and I in any way, or you'll find out just how much I learned on my own."

I walked out of the restaurant, head held high as I hurried out to find Ripper, but only found an empty parking spot.

On some levels, I deserved it. On other's I just got annoyed. I pulled out my phone to call my dad, when a phone call came.

"H-hello?"

There was a moment of quiet. "I'm coming to get you Cor, I'll be there soon. Be safe, stay warm."

Seamus. I hung up, crouching on the curb and letting my tears fall freely. Why did I keep it to myself? Why didn't I tell him?

Some insecure part of me thought he'd leave, that he wouldn't want me if I couldn't provide children- as primitive as it sounds.

He had told me everything about his life- things that he thought would have prompted me to leave.

I was a weak, weak woman.

I held back my sobs and put the back of my hand to my mouth, stomach tightening as I confined my cries. I wanted him to stay with me, I wanted him to continue loving me.

A car pulled up in front of me, and only then did I notice the sky had darkened. Seamus jumped out of the car and rushed towards me, pulling me into his warms.

I leaned into him, so grateful for my prospect- my son.

His hand smoothed over my head as he pressed his lips into my hair.

"It's okay Cor. It's okay."

But it wasn't.

It really wasn't.