The Question Nobody Would Answer

By Monday morning, I had decided that Friday night had been perfectly normal.

Mostly.

The Blackwood estate was beautiful. Their parents had been welcoming, the food had been excellent, and Kian had spent most of the evening making me laugh.

There was nothing strange about any of that.

Except for one thing.

The way Richard Blackwood had looked at me.

I couldn’t stop thinking about it.

I’ve heard that name before.

I had replayed his words several times over the weekend, trying to remember whether my mother had ever mentioned the Blackwood family.

She hadn’t.

At least, I didn’t think she had.

“You’re doing it again.”

Mia’s voice pulled me back to reality.

I looked up from my coffee.

“Doing what?”

“Staring into space.”

“I was thinking.”

“About?”

I hesitated.

“Friday.”

Her eyes immediately lit up.

“I knew it.”

“Nothing happened.”

“That’s not what I asked.”

I sighed.

“I met their parents. We had dinner. Kian showed me around. Then he drove me home.”

Mia leaned closer.

“And?”

“And nothing.”

She narrowed her eyes.

“You’re terrible at lying.”

“I’m not lying.”

“Then why are you smiling?”

I touched my face.

“I am not.”

“You are.”

Before I could argue, someone pulled out the chair beside us.

Kian.

“Morning.”

Mia gave me a smug look.

I ignored her.

“Morning.”

Kian placed a coffee in front of me.

I stared at it.

“What’s this?”

“An apology.”

“For?”

“I may have forgotten to warn you that my family asks too many questions.”

I smiled.

“You noticed?”

“My mother likes you.”

“That’s a good thing.”

“It is.”

He looked at me for a moment.

“Very good thing.”

Something about his expression made my smile fade.

Before I could respond, Kael appeared.

He placed a folder on the table.

“Professor Bennett moved the presentation.”

Kian groaned.

“To when?”

“Thursday.”

“That’s tomorrow.”

“I know.”

Kian looked at me.

“You’re in his class too, right?”

“Yes.”

“Then we’re partners.”

I frowned.

“Since when?”

“Since Professor Bennett announced it.”

“I don’t remember that.”

“That’s because you were asleep.”

“I was not asleep.”

“You were definitely asleep.”

I looked at Kael.

“Was I asleep?”

He looked at me for a moment.

“No.”

I smiled triumphantly.

Kian sighed.

“My own brother.”

Kael ignored him.

“We’ll meet at the library after class.”

I nodded.

“Okay.”

Kael picked up his folder.

“Good.”

He walked away.

Kian followed, but not before leaning toward me.

“He’s starting to like you.”

I stared at him.

“What?”

He grinned.

“Nothing.”

Then he left.

Mia waited until they were gone.

“Okay.”

I looked at her.

“What?”

“There’s something going on.”

“No.”

“Yes.”

“They’re just being friendly.”

“Kael Blackwood doesn’t do friendly.”

I glanced across the café.

Kael was speaking to another student.

For some reason, he looked toward our table.

Our eyes met.

He looked away first.

I frowned.

Maybe Mia was right.

Maybe there really was something different about the way he treated me.

But I had no idea what it was.

⸻

The presentation took most of the afternoon.

Kian was surprisingly good at working under pressure.

Kael was even better.

I, on the other hand, spent most of the time trying to stop the twins from arguing over every tiny detail.

“You changed the entire second section.”

Kian pointed at the laptop.

“It was boring.”

“It was accurate.”

“Accurate doesn’t mean interesting.”

“It’s a university presentation, not entertainment.”

I looked between them.

“Do you two always argue like this?”

“Yes,” they answered simultaneously.

I laughed.

They looked at each other.

Then Kian smiled.

“See?”

Kael shook his head.

Despite myself, I smiled too.

For the first time, the three of us felt strangely comfortable together.

Then my phone buzzed.

I glanced at the screen.

Unknown Number.

I frowned.

A message appeared.

Do you still have your mother’s photograph?

My stomach dropped.

I read it again.

Kian noticed my expression.

“Everything okay?”

I quickly locked my phone.

“Yeah.”

Kael looked at me.

He didn’t seem convinced.

“Are you sure?”

“Yes.”

I forced a smile.

“It’s nothing.”

Neither twin said anything.

But I could tell they were watching me.

I slipped my phone into my bag.

The message shouldn’t have bothered me.

It was probably a prank.

Except nobody at Silver Moon knew about the photograph.

Nobody except me.

And my mother.

I tried to push the thought away.

Then another message appeared.

I didn’t need to open it to know I was going to regret doing so.

I looked anyway.

Your mother didn’t tell you everything.

My blood ran cold.

I stared at the screen.

For the first time since arriving at Silver Moon University, I wondered whether coming here had really been the fresh start I thought it was.

Or whether someone had been waiting for me to arrive.

Across the table, Kael was still watching me.

His expression had changed.

“Aria?”

I looked up.

“What?”

His eyes dropped briefly to my phone.

“Who is texting you?”

I hesitated.

Then I lied.

“No one.”

Kael’s expression hardened.

And for reasons I couldn’t explain, I suddenly had the feeling that he knew I was lying.