All Chapters of Living With the Boy Who Hated Me: Chapter 11 - Chapter 20

The peaceful mood in the kitchen lasted all of three minutes. The door swung open. Every conversation stopped. I turned automatically, still holding the bowl of pancake batter, and nearly forgot to breathe. Callum had finally decided to join us. He stood in the doorway looking like he'd just rolled out of bed. His dark hair was a mess, and he wore the same brown T-shirt from the night before with black track pants hanging low on his hips. Judging by the expression on his face, he clearly hadn't expected the kitchen to be packed. His eyes swept across the room. Me. Jamey. Tina. Alastair. Elliot. Then they landed on Jeanette. The stern look on his face softened ever so slightly. "You okay?" he asked, walking straight toward her. "You look a little pale." Anita forced a smile. "I'm fine." "You sure?" She nodded quickly. "I just ate the best pancakes I've had in forever. You should grab one before Elliot finishes everything." Elliot looked up from his plate. "I feel a

Aya’s POVAlastair stood in the open doorway, his chest rising and falling as though he had sprinted through the entire forest to find me.His gaze dropped to Callum’s hand wrapped around my wrist.The air inside the cabin turned painfully still.Callum released me immediately.The sudden absence of his touch should have brought relief, but instead, an unfamiliar coldness spread across my skin.“What is going on?” Alastair demanded.His voice was quiet.That was worse than shouting.Whenever my brother became truly angry, he stopped raising his voice. His fury settled into something controlled, sharp, and dangerous.Callum leaned back against the edge of the sofa, seemingly unaffected by the threatening figure in his doorway.“She was cleaning my hand.”“I wasn’t asking you.”Alastair’s eyes shifted toward me.“Aya.”I quickly stood, still holding the antiseptic-soaked cotton pad between my fingers.“He hurt his hand,” I explained. “I heard noises from the house, so I came to check if

Aya's POVA heavy silence settled over the driveway.The music from the backyard continued in the distance, but no one seemed interested in dancing anymore.Everyone's attention had shifted toward the man standing beside the black SUV.His expensive charcoal suit fit him perfectly, and despite the silver beginning to streak through his dark hair, there was something commanding about him.He carried himself like someone accustomed to being obeyed.His eyes never left me."...Eleanor?" he whispered again.My eyebrows pulled together."I'm sorry?"His expression changed almost instantly.The confusion disappeared, replaced by practiced composure.He cleared his throat."My apologies.""I mistook you for someone else."Behind him, Callum remained unusually quiet.For someone who constantly had a sarcastic remark ready, he hadn't spoken a single word since stepping out of the house.I glanced at him.His shoulders were tense.His hands were shoved into the pockets of his jeans.Something t

Aya's POVThe world seemed to stop.No one spoke.Not me.Not Alastair.Not even Callum.Richard's words lingered in the air, refusing to disappear."Your parents knew each other long before either of you were born.""What?" I whispered.Richard lowered his gaze for a moment before looking back at me."I never imagined I'd have to explain this."Callum frowned."What are you talking about?"Richard folded his hands together."When your mother worked here, Aya, she wasn't an employee for very long.""Then why was she here?""She accepted a summer position after finishing university. She wanted to earn enough money before starting her first full-time job."I blinked.My mother had never mentioned any of this.Not once."She quickly became close to everyone on the estate," Richard continued."The staff adored her. Linda still talks about her whenever your name comes up."That explained Linda's strange expression.But it didn't explain the photograph.Or why Richard had mistaken me for he

Aya's POVMy entire body froze.Someone was on the roof.The hooded figure below my window kept one finger pressed against their lips, silently pleading with me not to make a sound.My pulse thundered inside my ears.For one terrifying second, I couldn't move.Then...A slow, deliberate footstep echoed above my ceiling.Creak.Another.Creak.Someone really was up there.I instinctively backed away from the window.The hooded figure immediately shook their head.They pointed upward again before motioning for me to stay quiet.Who were they?A friend?Or another stranger trying to lure me outside?Nothing about tonight made sense anymore.I carefully reached for my phone on the bedside table.Just as my fingers wrapped around it, another sound came from the roof.A scraping noise.Like something heavy being dragged across the tiles.I looked toward the ceiling.The sound stopped.Silence swallowed the room.Then...Three slow knocks.Knock.Knock.Knock.Not on my door.On the roof dir