LOGIN[Alma]"And you want me to believe you guys are not dating?" Sienna's voice sliced through the air.I turned toward her, and my eyes immediately dropped to her hand. Her fingers were clenched tightly beside her, her knuckles slightly tense. "With the way you were just blushing?""I already told you we aren't," I said, folding my hands neatly on my lap. I looked between them. "Why would I hide it from you if we were dating?""You did hide him from us at first.""She already apologized," Elara called out from where she was standing.Sienna rolled her eyes, and I couldn't help turning fully toward her.I reached for her hand and slowly squeezed it. She looked back at me, and for a second, something confusing flickered across her eyes before disappearing."Is there something you want to tell me?"Sienna's brow creased. I watched her swallow as her eyes darted toward Elara and then returned to me, but I didn't let her off the hook."I don't know, but I've been trying to read you for the pa
[Alma]"Is there something wrong with that?" Sienna asked, her eyes burning straight into mine.I shook my head, letting a small smile play on my lips, even though it didn't reach my eyes for even a second."It's fine. But I need to inform him first before sharing his home address.""Alma, we are not strangers," Sienna snapped. The moment she seemed to realize how sharp her words had sounded, she bit down on her lip and cleared her throat. "We are your friends," she added, her voice coming out slower this time.I opened my mouth to make her understand, but Elara quickly beat me to it."Sienna, that's someone's privacy. She needs to let him know first. Being her friend isn't enough reason for her to disclose something like that," Elara mumbled before shifting her gaze toward me. "You can talk to him about it. If he's fine with it, then we can come whenever it's convenient.""It has to be fine by him," Sienna mumbled, her voice barely above a whisper, but I caught the words.I stared at
[Alma]My brows pulled together.Wait... what?Yet?Did I just say yet?I swallowed, trying to swallow the invisible lump that seemed to have lodged itself in my throat as I stared back at Sienna.A smirk slowly curled across her lips. It was different from the smile she'd been wearing earlier. There was something behind this one that made me instantly uncomfortable."You mean you guys are nothing yet?" Sienna asked, and this time, something shined in her eyes. Excitement, maybe. "Is that what you mean?""We are not dating." I corrected myself, almost too quickly, trying to take back what I'd stupidly let slip.Sienna mumbled something under her breath, her hand folding into a fist on her lap.I glanced at Elara. Her eyes were still on Sienna, her lips curled downward. She looked like she was watching something I hadn't noticed."Is something wrong?" I asked Sienna.She coughed, shook her head, then looked back at me."Not really..." She paused, her eyes moving over my face. "I just..
[Alma]Why was my heart reacting like this just because I had said something about not being able to control who you fell for?I quickly pushed whatever that meant out of my head and turned my attention back to Elara."So what do you intend on doing?" I asked.Hurt flashed across Elara's face. Whatever she was trying to say seemed to get stuck somewhere suddenly, her lips parting without a word coming out. She swallowed hard, her eyes dropping for a moment before she finally managed to push the words out."I'm not sure. I'll have to kill the feelings..." She paused, her voice growing quieter. "Or just end what we have going on. That... That will be better."The way she said it made my heart ache for her. It was obvious she didn't want to let go, yet she was already trying to convince herself that walking away was the only way to keep herself from getting hurt.I reached out and held her hand, squeezing it tightly."Whatever you decide on," I said, tightening my hand around hers, "just
[Alma]"You both judged me for keeping something from you while you were hiding something like this from me too?""I had no idea either." Sienna immediately raised a hand, her palm facing me. "You're not even letting me talk. I just found out, and I was planning to tell you before all of this happened."I tilted my head slightly, studying her face.I searched her eyes, her expression, every little movement, trying to find even the slightest sign that she was lying to me.But her face remained completely neutral.I shifted my gaze to Elara.She shifted on her foot, biting down on her lower lip."I didn't mean to hide it from you girls." She gritted the words out, then turned toward Sienna. The same hardness coated her face, but she quickly masked it before shifting her attention back to me. "I just didn't know how to put it out. I mean, it's fucking irritating just to say it out loud. He's my stepbrother, remember?"I swallowed, my eyes burning into hers.No matter how much I wanted to
[Alma]"Something is up. And I know you too well not to know exactly when your heart is heavy," I said, studying the way she stood there, the uneasiness in her movements despite the small smile still sitting on her lips. "What's going on?" Elara flinched.It was so subtle that I probably wouldn't have noticed it if I hadn't been staring directly at her. Her shoulders jerked almost imperceptibly, and for a second, her eyes lost focus before she quickly looked at Sienna again.At that point, I could tell something was going on.There was something between the two of them that I wasn't being told, and the more I watched them, the more uncomfortable the feeling in my stomach became."You're not saying anything," I said, taking a step toward her. "Elara."She cleared her throat, the sound coming out dry and nervous, then looked at Sienna again.Why did she keep looking at Sienna?Elara finally turned toward me. Her lips parted, like she was about to explain herself, but before a single wo
[Alma]I bit down hard on my lips as I stared back at my reflection, before shifting my gaze to the closed door. I gulped, repeating the lies I was going to tell Grandma, if this had to do with where I was or why I had a different outfit on.I took another deep breath, smoothing my hand over my dr
[Zevyn]I don’t lose control. But something about this green-eyed woman...The way she looked at me— like she already knew exactly what I was capable of—I let her stand there.Let her think. Let her try to piece it together—why she was here, what I really wanted, what she’d just broken.She was s
[Alma] I gulped down, my eyes fixed on the closed door as if Mason would walk back in if I looked hard enough Walk back in and take back those words. "Tessy needs me." "Nothing is more important than making sure she's safe." "You’ve been terribly out of shape." The words echoed in my he
[Alma]I stood by the window longer than I should have, my fingers lightly gripping the edge of the curtain as my gaze drifted once again toward the dining table behind me.Everything was setToday wasn’t just our anniversary. It was also my birthday.My eyes lingered on the table, taking in every







