45

I picked up the cut-up pieces of strawberries and held them in the palm of my hand. I tightened my hold on Lizzie as I opened my hand to reveal the strawberries to her. She stared at them for a few seconds before grabbing a piece and shoving it in her mouth.

"She hates strawberries," Damon protested from the kitchen table.

I looked up at him as Lizzie grabbed more. "Maybe she just hates you."

He rolled his eyes, looking back at the other baby, who Caroline was holding as she sat across from him. I walked over, sitting the strawberries in front of Amelia, the other baby. I handed Lizzie off to Damon before walking to the sink and washing my hands. I dried them before walking back to the kitchen island.

I started cutting up the rest of the fruit. The door opened to the kitchen, and Kai walked through. I glanced at him before looking back at the knife in my hands. He returned the salutations Damon and Caroline offered before he walked over to me. He stopped at the end of the island.

"Usually, we at least look at each other."

"I did look at you."

"Mhm. For two seconds."

I stopped cutting and looked at him. "Better?"

He smiled. "Mhm."

I rolled my eyes and looked back down at the knife. He walked behind me. He put his hands on the counter as he rested his head on my shoulder. "When can we go," he whispered.

"A few minutes." He whined softly, only loud enough for me to hear. I put the knife down. "Never mind." I moved my hands to his, pulling them off the counter as he lifted his head. I looked at Caroline as Kai, and I walked toward the kitchen door. "I'll see you tomorrow morning."

"What about tonight," Damon asked.

I stopped, staring at him in confusion. "What?" He glanced at Caroline, then looked at me. The realization hit me. "Right. Just call me later." I felt Kai's grip on my hands loosen.

"Have fun," Caroline muttered.

Kai pulled me with him as we walked out of the house. "What's tonight," he asked after we were in his car.

I looked over at him. "Wedding stuff."

He stared at me, confused. "What?"

I grabbed his hand, putting it on my thigh, "Drive."

...

I walked toward the bed, where he was lying with his eyes closed. I climbed onto the bed, swinging my leg over his lap. I leaned down, kissing his neck. I slid my hands from his chest to his neck. He moaned softly, sliding his hands from my thighs to my hips.

I kissed up his jawline, stopping just below his ear. I lifted my head and looked down at him. He opened his eyes. There was a tired look in his eyes. His hair was still messy from just a few hours ago.

The feeling of his hands never leaving mine as we found our way from the car to his apartment ran through my mind. The call from Damon drew me out of the sleep I was in after. After that, I just decided to wash the sex off of me. Now, here we are.

"You're wearing clothes," he noted. His voice was filled with sleep.

"Mhm." I kissed him softly.

"Why are you wearing clothes?"

I laughed. "You love me, right?"

"More than anything."

I kissed him again. "And you would do anything for me?"

"Mhm."

I tilted my head, "You remember the wedding stuff I mentioned earlier?"

He hummed in response, his eyes floating to my lips. "What do you want, baby?"

"I want you to go to Stefan's bachelor party and make sure they follow Caroline's rules so that I don't have to."

He smiled, "Really?"

"Please." I kissed him again for a few seconds longer than before. "They're all going to be mind-numbingly drunk, even though they're not supposed to, and I don't want to deal with them. I'll do anything you want."

He stared at me as he thought. "You already told Damon I would?"

I smiled, "You said you love me."

"When?"

I kissed him again. "An hour. But I have to leave in a few minutes."

"And you're not ready."

"I'm getting ready at my house."

He groaned. "Why can't you just be here all the time?"

I stared at him. I pushed myself to sit up and stared down at him. "What?"

"You heard me." He raised up on his elbows and tilted his head to the side. "Move in with me."

The shock was stuck in my chest. "That's not funny."

"It's not a joke." He pushed against the bed to sit up. "You're always here with me, and we both hate it when you leave, so why don't you stay with me forever?"

I felt like I couldn't breathe. "You're insane." I moved off of him, standing a few feet from the bed. I turned to face him. "You've finally lost it, Parker. I never believed when anyone called you crazy, I defended you, in fact. But now I finally see it." I shook my head, laughing breathily as I turned away. "Move in together." I stopped at the door and turned to face him. "I'll see you later."

I turned away and walked out of the apartment. I walked slowly down to my car. I stopped, realizing I left my keys and my phone. I trudged back up to the apartment. I walked into the bedroom. I could hear the shower running. I grabbed my phone off the nightstand and put it in my back pocket. I started to grab my keys, but something in the cracked top drawer caught my attention.

I opened the drawer further. There was a small tray with his rings on it. There was one in particular that caught my eyes. A solid gold ring that looked exactly like a wedding band. I hesitated to grab it. Once I did, I couldn't put it back.

I inspected the ring closely. The inside of the band had small, engraved words. Forever ours. K+T. My heart sank, fearing what the letters stood for. Considering he has the ring; the K is for him. The T, however, makes me feel like I'm drowning.

What the hell happened while he was gone?

I slipped the ring into my front pocket before grabbing my keys and walking back out of the apartment.

I couldn't focus on the night, too distracted by the ring in my pocket. I didn't stop and change, I went straight to the Grill. I mindlessly watched Caroline, Bonnie, Jo, and Elena interact with each other. Luckily, they entertain themselves.

I glanced back at Elena in the backseat. She over drank and is now passed out. Caroline drank enough to get drunk even though she didn't want to. I parked and got out of the car. Based on how many cars were in the driveway, the bachelor party followed Caroline's rules. Which means they can pull the drunk girls out of my car.

I got out and walked to the house. I opened the door and walked in. Ric, Stefan, Damon, Enzo, and Kai were all seated in the living room, talking to each other. I walked into the living room. I grabbed the bottle of bourbon off the coffee table as I stared at Damon and Stefan.

"Go get them out of my car."

They both got up and walked out. I drank from the bottle as I walked toward the door. I heard footsteps follow me as I walked. I held the bottle against my chest as I stepped out of Damon's way. I could feel Kai standing next to me.

"What's wrong?"

I took a minute before looking at him. I shook my head, "You tell me."

He furrowed his brows, "What?"

I could feel the ring in my pocket. It felt like it was cutting me. I don't want to fight with him. I don't want to be mad at him. I just want answers. I'm scared to ask, and I'm scared to know. I shook my head. "Nothing." I glanced at Stefan before looking at Kai again. "I have to go, um..." I held the bottle out to him. "I'll see you tomorrow." I started to walk to my car.

"Evelyn, what's wrong?"

I looked at him as I opened the door to my car. "It's just been a really long week."

He started to walk closer. I got in my car and drove away. My mind was clouded by the possibilities of his life without me. I'm keeping him from whatever he has going on. But he came back to me. With a wedding ring with someone else's initials engraved into it. He had to know I would find it.

I reasoned with myself for the rest of the night as I talked myself down from running away from everything. I brought myself away from suspecting he's cheating or married. Why would he put me through that? He loves me. That's what he says. He wouldn't lie to me.

Kai Parker isn't a liar. He wouldn't tell me he loved me if he was married to another woman. He wouldn't ask me to move in with him if he was married to another woman. He's not married to another woman. Why would he be?

This ring doesn't mean anything. He probably just bought it and didn't realize it had an engraving or that it was even a wedding band. It's just a ring.