LOGIN“We did,” I snort out a laugh, bitter and broken because if I don’t laugh, I might cry like the desperate mate I’ve become. “We’ve gone back and forth for a good minute, it's time to move on. If I can accept you’re still in love with Audrey, this would go so much smoother.”“I can’t do that,” he snaps, his voice startling me but he adjusts it immediately. Mellowing into that softness he probably used for Audrey earlier. “Because I’m not, I told you, I’ve never been.”“Maybe that’s what you tell yourself to keep your integrity in my eyes, but for crying out loud, Kingston.” I sigh. “Open your eyes, you love her, people don’t do what you do for her for a friend, you have some unresolved feelings for her, but you’re not going to admit it because it’ll make you disloyal to me, and that’s not your image, is it?”“Aeliana.”“I get it now,” I shrug. “I mean a heads up would have been nice, but I’m fine. I won’t ask you to distance yourself from her again, and don’t say anything.” I warn, hea
AELIANAI’ve been screaming at Kingston for a very long time, and yet neither one of us has achieved the outcome we desire from this. He keeps insisting he did nothing wrong, he keeps making Audrey out to be innocent and just a friend, but that's not what I saw. Kingston needs to start being honest with himself, he's not as perfect as we make him out to be and that fucking hurts me because I never know when this side of him will show.I hold a hand up, shaking my head. “You know, if you are going to embarrass me, the least you can do is inform me beforehand because when you surprise me in public like that….” I sigh, tired of arguing.“I didn’t mean to do anything like that,” he says, for the hundredth time in the last five minutes. “You know I’d never do that, right?”Do I? No. What I do know is he loves her, and I do believe he loves me too, but she comes before me. They've spent years loving each other and getting close, but still, I expect some sort of loyalty. “You promised me yo
ROWANThe last person I expect to see when I arrive home is Noah, rolling a blunt with undisturbed precision. My heart skips a beat, prepared for the stress I’m about to endure from interacting with her. She appears focused on her blunt. I dare not disturb her, I keep moving slowly and purposefully, heading for the staircase, I don't think she notices me until I take my first step.“That’s rude,” I hear her say. “Come and say hello to me, Rowan.”Rowan. Not sidekick.I turn, my eyes meeting hers with a polite smile. “Good evening, Noah.”“Come sit,” she orders, taking a whiff of her cigarette. When I don’t move, she frowns, staring at me like she’s about to scold me for something I fear I may have done.I move cautiously, joining her on the far end of the two-seater. She doesn't speak, she stays watching me. “Going out?”“Staying the night,” she says, blowing smoke halos in the most effortless display I've ever seen.I take a quick glance at my watch, Noah is a night owl, so this surp
“You are not wrong about me,” I shake my head, not taking the fall for Kingston’s action. “We are friends, Noah, all of us are friends,” I tell her, gesturing around the table, including the woman I barely know but will likely be seeing more of. “I promise, ladies. You can trust me, but Noah—I just can’t believe my brother did that. There must be a good explanation for this, and you’re getting it, A.”Aeliana shakes her head, “Im tired, Damien. First that fucking creep touched me, and now…I hate my miserable life.”“You have a great life,” Noah says, grabbing her arms. Forcing her to face her. “I won’t let you lead a miserable one, you hear? I’ll kill that man if he thinks to hurt you again.”Okay, Noah doesn't exactly scare me, but the things she says are alarming, and the look in her eyes when she talks makes them land heavy, promising even.“Come on, I’ll drive you home, and he’s going to come up with an explanation. A damn good one or his face will meet my fist too.”She pauses, h
DAMIENAeliana’s friends are staring at me weirdly, I just asked a simple question. Noah points over my shoulder. “That’s why.”I turn slowly, my eyes landing on Aeliana kissing some guy in the middle of the dance floor.“Fuck no!” I scream, jumping over the booths to get to the dance floor. I’ve never moved this fast in my life, not even when my son was born.I pull the man away from her, the idiot stares at me, annoyed. “What the fuck do you think you’re doing?” He snaps. I don’t think twice, I do the brotherly thing and break his nose, my fist meeting his face before he can fully grasp what's happening. “Shit!” He groans, holding on to his nose.“Do you have any idea the hit you just put on your head?” I groan, kicking him between the legs this time. He appears to have been thinking with his dick, and not his head when he was kissing her.He groans, tumbling over, but someone catches him, holding him steady against their chest. “What is wrong with you man?” He winces, “Fuck, is tha
“Forget me.”She pauses, her eyes widening. “What?”“Forget you and I had something romantic. Could you do that? Because only after you’ve learned to move on will I be happy.”For a moment, she just stares, not at me but at nothing. Her eyes are blank, like she isn’t here, almost like she’s disassociated, but then she nods, smiling. “Yes, if that’s what you want then I’ll do it.”Easier said than done. I know first-hand how difficult it is, I know how long it took me to move on from Aeliana—forever. Because I’ll never move on from her. “It has to be something you want too.”“I’ll learn to want it,” she confidently says. “I don’t want to lose you entirely, I want us to end on good terms, King.”“Accept our breakup, Audrey,” I repeat, unconvinced by her words. “I’m Aeliana’s until the moon refuses to rise.”“It never will,” she says, her tone low.I nod. I want to be clear with her, even if I sound cruel this time. “Exactly. So please—”“I’ll do it,
Oh.I don’t think she realises how close she always is to having her limbs torn apart each time she talks to me. The image of that happening is calming, calming enough for me to overlook how badly I want to tear her throat out so she never speaks again. But that would make Kingston pity her—and I’m
“What did you say to my mother?” He demands, answering my question with one of his own. It appears he hasn’t learned learned his lesson on commanding me just yet. “Aeliana,” he repeats.“Nothing,” I say with an eyeroll.His expression remains the same, cold, unsatisfied, and half-entertaining. “Wha
We don’t speak the rest of the drive, and when we arrive, he steals her away to give a tour of my brother’s wife. Most of the guests are yet to arrive but Audrey is already here, she came in early to help set up for the party. She’s always been so thoughtful, and up until a few weeks ago, we all ap
KINGSTON The ride back home is silent, and cold. I keep stealing glances at Aeliana who is obviously playing a game on her phone with the volume on full blast. Before we left the party, my father told me to seal the bond with her, even it I don't have kids with her so fast. And in the case that







