"...the patriarchy is not a man.

It's a system that can be supported

by both men and women..."

etective Rowland's POV

I spent a lot of time compiling a case against Nickolas Bale and it was thrown out that fast! He didn't even spend the night in the cell. He was released and the Chief says that I need to back off.

I can't back off.

Nickolas Bale should serve as the poster boy for rich men who think they can get away with crime. That is still my ambition, to put him where he belongs.

"Detective, delivery." The whole room broke into mocking sounds as an officer placed a bouquet of pink roses in front of me.

"It can't be for me."

"It is." She insisted and showed me the card.

"Who are they from?" Fitz and another officer leaned over me as I opened the card.

Timmy!

I'm really flattered by your

obsession with me.

However, I'm afraid I'll have to turn you down.

You're not my type.

Nick.

"Now that is what I call balls of brass! This guy is not scared of you!" The officer with Fitz noted.

I glared at the pink roses. I don't think I have ever afforded to buy my wife this size of a bouquet. He is purposely provoking me. I grabbed them by the stem and slammed them repeatedly on the table, watching them break and the pink petals flying all over the place. I only stopped taking my rage out of them when I realized the room is silent and not because they are observing my rage but because there's a beautiful woman in tbe room.

Keira Burke takes great photographs but they don't do justice to her actual appearance. She's beautiful! She approaches me, accompanied by a man. It seems she has many of those around her.

"Detective Tim Rowland?" She asked me.

"Mrs Burke."

"I prefer Keira. Please." She frowned.

She's not wearing a wedding ring. This story is so obvious. A husband suffocating in his marriage and a wife suffocating in her marriage.

"Keira." I shook her hand. I glanced at the man next to her. "You are?"

"Nobody."

His stance, appearance and mannerism tells me he's probably military. I don't think I know him.

"Well, Keira..."

"We should talk." She looked around at the eyes paying attention to her. "Privately."

This should be interesting.

Keira's POV

My grandmother used to tell Keith and I that it is important to always do the right thing even if it goes beyond comfort levels.

One of the reasons I have never told people that Jason was beating me up is because I was worried about how people would look at me after that.

From a very early age, my mother exposed me to the limelight. I'm not shy. I'm reserved but not shy. Being a model from early on on childhood forced me into something beyond my comfort zone. I did it for her and it involved a lot of fake. I developed a bad habit to smile through anything. I learned to be detached from my feelings. I learned to act and unfortunately, those early life lessons have stick with me. It was easier to not say anything about Jason. I pulled it of for four years.

Now it's out in the open. Nick got involved and it's my fault he got arrested. When I found out from Bruce early in the morning, I insisted on coming back to the city. I don't just want to see Nick but I want to clarify a few things.

"You don't have to do it." Bruce spoke to me. He's sitting behind the steering wheel. "He has an iron clad team of lawyers. He will be fine."

"He's in this mess because of me. The least I can do is set the record straight. You can stay in the car."

"I'll come with you. I'm not fond of taking the back seat when my friends need me." I smiled at him. "Congratulations. You just made a new friend."

"Even when it does not work out with Nick, you'll still be my friend?"

"Yeah. I like you." He flashed his perfect teeth.

We made our way into the station. I stopped at the front desk. "Good morning. I'm looking for a detective... uh... his name is..." It has slipped my mind already. I have been having severe headaches. Ferrer said it will pass.

"Tim Rowland." Bruce told the officer at the reception.

"Straight down, take a right. You'll see his office." She instructed us.

We followed her direction and we walked into a scene with a man smashing a bouquet of pink roses against a table. Bruce held my elbow to draw me back. He looks furious! When he saw me, he stopped suddenly. "That's Timmy. But don't call him that." Bruce whispered.

I approached him, noticing how still the room is. They are all staring at me. What do they see? An abused woman or a homewrecker? What do they see when they are looking at me?

I blinked it away when I stopped in front of the detective. "Detective Tim Rowland?" I asked him.

"Mrs Burke."

"I prefer Keira. Please."

"Keira." He extended his hand. I shook it. His eyes shifted to Bruce. "You are?"

"Nobody." Bruce smiled fleetingly.

"Well, Keira..."

"We should talk." I looked around. "Privately."

"This way please. Mr Nobody can wait outside." He pointed to some chairs.

I took Bruce's wrist. "I prefer if he comes along."

He didn't question my preference. I have never been inside an interrogation room. I'm nervous and I'm afraid it's showing on my face. Bruce looks comfortable. The detective is sitting across from us. He has some files in his hands. "I'm surprised to see you. Do you know that that you are on the missing persons list?"

That is why they were staring at me.

"I became aware this morning. Who filed it?"

"Your husband."

"When?"

He showed me the report. It was filed the next day after he beat me up.

"Where have you been?"

"Out of town." I answered and passed the report back to him.

"Mrs Burke-"

"Keira." I insisted. "It's just Keira."

"Is that why you're not wearing a wedding ring? Problems in your marriage?"

"I'm not here to discuss my wedding ring but clarify some things. I wasn't missing. Jason filed that report out of malice. Did he tell you why he was filing it?"

"He said his wife was missing."

I reached into my bag. I got some wet tissues and slowly, I started wiping my face. I put on make up to conceal the bruising on my face. I took my time to clean it all off and I noticed how his expression changed.

"It's been 45 days since the last time Jason beat me up. This is by far the worst it's ever been. I remember waking up in Nick's arms after... that. I could not open my eyes because my face was too swollen. I couldn't speak. I felt nothing but pure pain. But I could Nick's warmth and I could hear his voice and he kept telling me it's going to okay Kei. Hang in there. It's going to be okay. You see detective, I wasn't missing. I would have been a Jane Doe in the morgue if Nick had not found me. After my husband beat me up, he wrapped me in the living room carpet and he out me in the trunk of his car. He was going to get rid of me because he thought I was dead. When Nick found me, he saved me and Jason couldn't stomach that so he told you that Nick kidnapped me. Jason lied to you."

"I'm sorry to hear that. It must have been traumatizing."

"It still is. I get nightmares all the time."

"I don't mean to be insensitive but if your story is true, why didn't you report any of this? Why wait 45 days to come here?"

"I have waited four years to come here." I told him. "I have endured Jason's violence for four years. You must be wondering why. It's because I was scared for my life. And it seems my dear was valid because in the end, his intention was to kill me."

"Why would he do these things to you? You seem like a good woman."

"I can't speak for him."

"Could it be that you are cheating on him and as your husband he wasn't happy about it?"

I sighed softly. I expected this. It is a world ran by men. Of course he would say something like this after saying he doesn't wish to be insensitive.

"Are you saying I earned this?" I asked him.

"Keira, that is not what I mean."

"That is what you mean! This is okay to you as long as it is earned, right? I have been kicked, slapped, spat on, punched, repeatedly raped by that man and when he files a report claiming assault you arrest a man but when I'm sitting here in front of you, I'm asked if I earned this?"

"Keira-"

"Cut the crap. Say what you want to say so that we are clear. Let's not pretend."

"You are having an affair with a married man who also happens to be abusive-"

"Nick is not abusive." I defended him.

He laid out pictures of Margaux. I reach d out for one with marks on her neck. "You are having an affair with a married man who happens to be abusive. How do I know Nick didn't beat you up like he does his wife? His little girl called 911 and reported that she was scared. Her father was hurting her mother. Mrs Bale came in the next day and filed the report. We took pictures of her neck. What we have here is simple. Your husband supposedly assaulted you because of this affair. On the other hand, maybe Nick assaulted him for questioning his relationship with you.Maybe Nick assaulted you because you were not ready to leave your husband. There are no records of you filing for separation or divorce. That is my take on this."

"Mrs Bale is not someone I would trust. She's someone with questionable character." Bruce spoke up. "I have known Nickolas Bale since we were children. He has never put his hands on a girl let alone a woman. I know he doesn't like playing hero but he can't refrain from coming to a woman's rescue. But all this information is pointless to a man hell bent on a personal vendetta. The Truth doesn't matter to you. You just want to hang Nick at all costs even if it means ignoring the crimes committed against this docile woman next to me. Now that you know the kind of man Jason Burke is, what is your next move?"

"It's all hearsay until I have proof."

"I have a witness. She's my neighbor. She has seen my husband's violence. Does that count for something?" I asked him in a flat voice.

"Tell her to come in so that I can talk to her."

"Here is another proof." I played a voicemail from my phone.

"You... you stupid bitch! Where are you hiding? Huh? When I get my hands on you, Keira I swear I'll make our last encounter child's play. You have an hour to call me back or when I find you, I'll break your back in half!"

"That is just yesterday's voicemail. There's a whole trail. I'm willing to let you have all of them. That is proof of how violent Jason Burke is. Detective Rowland, I'm not asking you to believe me. I didn't come here to earn your sympathy. I cake here to clear Nick's name. He hasn't done anything wrong. He's not this man his wife is making him out to be. That is not the Nick I know. If you practice justice, nothing will blind you'll from seeing who the villain is."

Bruce and I got up at the same time.

We excused ourselves. I kept my head down as we walked out. Now they are staring even more. When we got to the car, I buried my face in my hands. I felt Bruce's hand on my back. "Don't restrain yourself from expressing your pain."

"I can't even cry anymore. Did I earn this?" I pointed to my face.

"My mother is find of saying that the real character of a man is exposed when a woman antagonizes him and he remains calm. Jason is not a man. He's a spineless prick. You did not earn that but he will earn what is coming to him."

He started the car and for a moment, I tried to think of what it means. What is coming to him?