Sorry this chapter came later than usual! I got quite busy. Also, I noticed two-three chapters back have chapter title errors. I’ve corrected them and my editor will fix it once she’s back. I hope no one got confused by them. Thank you so much for reading and don’t forget to shower the book with gems!
DEX. "You can turn now," Veronica says, and I prepare myself before I face her, and she cackles as she pulls at the ends of the shirt. "Hideous, isn’t it?" She’s in one of my loose black shirts, and it practically swallows her, reaching her mid-thighs. Christ, was she always that tiny? "That bad?" Her voice pulls me back to her, and I shake my head as I rise to my feet. "What? No. You look good. You look…" Beautiful. Breathtaking. Jaw-dropping. The most gorgeous girl I’ve ever seen in my entire life. "Nice." I smile. "You sure? Maybe I should change into one that’d cover these? They aren’t exactly nice to look at." She frowns, and my eyes go over her exposed skin before I finally realize what she means. Her bruises. Some almost faded, and others looking very fresh. She let herself endure all that. Jesus. I shake my head as I close the distance between us. "No. You don’t have to do that. They’re beautiful. They’re a part of you even if they’ll fade soon and you don’t have to hide
ARABELLA. "Where are you headed?" Ashley asks as I jog into the living room with my bag in hand. "Oh, let me rephrase that. Are you heading to Alexander’s?" I chuckle. "I see Sinclair told you." She nods and walks to me. "I guess you did the opposite of what you were going to do?" "He’s my boyfriend now, and he makes me so happy, Ash." I beam, and she smiles softly. "And before you even say that, no, I won’t regret this, and Alexander won’t hurt me. If he does, I know it wouldn’t be intentional, and we’ll make it through that phase when it comes." I state boldly. "I wasn’t going to say that." She chuckles. "And I don’t want you to be mad at Sinclair. He just doesn’t want you to get hurt." "And I won’t," I confirm, then sigh. "He’s changed, Ashley. I get how he felt the need to protect me over the years, but not now. He wasn’t even like this with Peter." "And that’s exactly why he’s changed. Remember when you promised Peter was a good guy and would never hurt you?" She reminds me
ARABELLA.I look back at Alex, and shock is written over his face as he murmurs the name again. "Sofia?""Alexander?" My head snaps in the other direction, and the girl has a smile on her face as she moves toward us. "Xander?" She repeats, and when she’s within a close distance, I note the green eyes Alex spoke about.He was right. Her eyes are stunning. And not just her eyes. She’s stunning. She’s in a short gown that crosses her mid-thighs, and her bob hair is well-dressed over her head. She moves with class and elegance, her short heels clicking loud against the ground and the smile never leaving her lips. I see what he meant when he said she’s almost like royalty."Hey! It’s really you." She smiles wider as she moves into his arms without an invitation, and Alex stands still, seeming to still be in astonishment."I– what are you doing here? How are you here?" Alex finally finds his words as he pulls away from her, and she says, "It’s kind of a long story, but I’ve been here for a w
CRAVE 30.ARABELLA."Hey." I lean away from the bike as Alex stands before me with a smile. "I’m sorry. Did I make you wait long?"I shake my head. "Not really." My eyes go behind him, and when I don’t see the bob-haired girl, I look back at him. "She left?""Yeah." He mutters as he steps closer to his bike. He grabs the helmet I dropped and extends it to me. "Let’s go."I want to ask him what happened, but I don’t say a word as Alex climbs on the bike while I gently get behind him. His body tenses as I grip his shirt– the way they haven’t in a very long time, and I swallow as I slowly loosen my hold."What are you doing?" Alex calls over his shoulder, and I arch a brow. "What?""Your hands." He looks down, and before I can tell what he’s doing, he grabs both my hands and locks them around his waist. "Should be there." He finishes before he fixes his helmet and leans forward as he starts the bike.I smile and drop my head on his back, and just before we move out of the bike; I catch a
ARABELLA.The rest of the semester quickly runs out, and things have been going extremely well between Alexander and I. Weeks pass by, and we no longer have to hide our relationship from my brother, and he’s been to my place several times, especially when Sinclair isn’t around. I’ve been trying to help him with his classes, though I don’t have full knowledge since they’re different from mine, and he tries. When we aren’t distracted by something else.Like we are right now."Ashley is downstairs." I moan as Alex pins me against my door, his hips rocking into mine, and I can feel how hard he is. He pushes his face from my neck to whisper into my ear. "I know. We’re studying, aren’t we?"There’s a smirk on his face as he pulls back to look at me, and the sound of my loud breathing fills the air as Alex’s hand travels down my chest. I gasp when he presses two fingers to the front of my Jean, my body squirming against the door."You’re so wet, Arabella." He whispers, his eyes not leaving mi
ALEXANDER. "What?" I stare, shocked, at Sofia, and she sniffs. "I’m pregnant. I found out about it last month, and I need your help." "Need my help with what, exactly?" I blurt out, still in shock that she’s pregnant. I guess she changed more than I thought. "You know what I need your help with, Alexander." She whispers, her eyes moving to my side. I turn to Arabella, and she nods before she steps away. When she’s away from hearing distance, I gaze back at Sofia. "How did that even happen?" "Joe." She starts, refusing to meet my eyes as she explains. "We crossed paths when he came to Florida two months ago, and it just sort of happened." "You just sort of fucked him?" I lift a brow, and she raises her head, her eyes angry as she sneers at me. "It was a moment of weakness, okay? And he was there. And I– I was drunk. I was barely focused, and he–" "I do not need the details, Sofia." I cut her off, and she sighs. "I came here to let him know about it, but he isn’t… he’s rejecting it
DEX. "So, what’s it like at your new place?" I ask Veronica as we stroll down the street with cups of ice cream in hand. She takes a spoonful of her chocolate one before she speaks. "I manage. It’s not exactly the luxury like yours." She meets my eyes and chuckles. "But I love it better than my last home, and once I get the next two months' payment, I should be able to move to a better apartment." "I still want you to consider my offer," I tell her, and she shakes her head. "No. I don’t want your money, Dex. That remains my answer, no matter how many times you ask." "Yeah, but it’s not like you won’t return it. I’m just lending it to you to make things easier. I know you need money for other stuff, Veronica. You can’t just dump every cash you get into your house." "I can take care of myself." She insists, and I sigh as I take a lick from my vanilla-flavored ice cream. Two weeks ago, Veronica moved out of her home, and we’ve been seeing each other often. Though I’ve offered my hel
ALEXANDER. Josie is standing by the door, and she stammers when she speaks. "I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to barge in. I didn’t know you had someone over. I’m so sorry." She apologizes, and I shake my head, signaling for her to leave. Thankfully, she catches onto the sign without me having to add words, and she nods. "I’ll come back later." She turns and bows to my Mom before she disappears through the door, and my chest drops shakily as I turn back to Mom. "Another one of your girls?" She arches a brow, and I scoff. "She’s my friend. From Florida, and you’d have known her if you paid any attention to me." "I’m not here to listen to your whines about me abandoning you, Alexander." She snaps. "I’m here to remind you the only reason I’m letting you stay here and do things your way is because I thought you’d be more responsible. Change and turn better, but if you find it hard to even do that, then I’d be left with no choice but to—" "But to what?" I cut in her words. "What will you do