Pain grips the centre of my chest. It’s deep and affects every layer of my heart.
I thought if I admitted I still love him, the pain would lessen.
I thought wrong.
Will it always be like this? Chaotic and painful? Will I have to walk counting my steps?
One day, I’ll attend one of these parties and watch Aiden waltz inside with Silver hanging off his arm as his wife.
His fucking wife.
Acute nausea coats my throat and sticks my tongue to the roof of my mouth.
I won’t survive that. I can’t.
My thoughts rob my air again. I stop near one of the food tables to catch my breath. There’s another patio to my right. Will anyone notice if I hide out there for the rest of the evening?
Movement catches in my peripheral vision.
In the corner of the patio, a man and woman are shrouded in darkness as they talk in a hushed tone. I can’t hear them due to the music and the general chatter.
There goes my plan to hide out there.
I’m about to turn around when something else catches my attention.
The man speaks so low, it’s almost threatening. The girl shrinks back against the stone railing. The dim light catches in her… green hair?
I barge outside. “Kim?”
The man — Xander — slowly pushes back but not before giving her a harsh glare. “I mean it. Don’t fucking test me.”
And then he’s back inside.
Kim’s chest rises and falls so fast, I’m afraid she’ll have some sort of a heart attack. Her pupils are dilated as if she’s coming down from a high.
I rush to her and take her hands — shaking and sweating — in mine. “What happened? Are you okay? What did he do?”
“I’m fine.” Kim fakes a smile.
She needs to stop faking smiles when she’s this horrible at them.
“Kim!” I scold. “What the hell? You look on the verge of a breakdown.”
“It’s just Xander being Xander.” She waves her hand in dismissal and fixes the hem of her dark green dress. “I missed you.”
Her arms wrap around me. Even though I don’t want her to change the subject, I don’t pull away.
Kim takes shaky breaths and I realise how much she needs this hug. She’s a loner and I’m practically the only friend she has. Except for Kir, her family aren’t the affectionate type. I always feel like she needs human touch more than anything. She’s just not so good at expressing her needs.
“I’m here for you, Kim. You know that, right?”
She nods into my neck without saying anything.
When she finally steps back, a reluctant smile is plastered on her face. “How about you? Are you okay?”
I FaceTimed with Kim and told her all about Aiden’s engagement with Silver, my father, Knox, and Teal.
Every time she tried to ask me about my feelings considering Aiden’s engagement, I shut down and ended the conversation.
I knew she’d bring it up again when we met face-to-face.
“What are you doing here?” I try to deflect.
“Dad brought me. He’s all over fundraisers.” She pauses, narrowing her eyes. “You don’t get to change the subject.”
Brilliant. Here we go.
“King doesn’t see Silver as a woman. Cross my heart and hope to die.” Kim places a hand over her breast. “I would bet Kir’s life on it and you know I’d never do that unless I was sure.”
“They’re fucking engaged, Kim. They’re getting married.”
Every day, I wake up hoping last week’s revelation is a nasty nightmare, but I’m brought back to reality all too soon. The fall hurts, you know. It’s like crashing and burning at the same time with no way out.
“It could be something arranged by their parents.” Kim taps her chin like a detective. “Jonathan King and Sebastian Queens are childhood friends and have been allies for as long as I can remember.”
“Aiden isn’t the type who could be forced into doing anything.”
“This must’ve happened way before you came along, Ellie. King is the logical type, and if he thought marrying Silver would ensure his future and his relationship with his father, he would have agreed to it.”
“Then why did he keep me in the dark about it?”
“I don’t know. He’s the only one who can answer that.” She rubs my arm. “All I know is that King isn’t interested in Silver, and honestly, I think it’s the same for her.”
I raise an eyebrow. “So now you’re an expert on how Silver feels?”
“We were all raised together, remember? Silver and I were friends once upon a time.”
“Wait. What?”
“It was before my fall from grace.” She throws up a hand dismissively. “Anyway, she’s a bitch, but I don’t think Aiden is her endgame. Silver is the type of person who hides her real favourites so no one snatches them away. When we used to play together, she’d take out all her dolls except for her favourite, Anastasia. She hid it in a place I couldn’t find. I hate her, but thinking logically, if she really loves Aiden, she wouldn’t be all territorial about him in public. She would’ve made her moves in the background.”
Kim’s words bring back what Tara told me some time ago. She said Silver isn’t interested in Aiden but does her best so everyone knows he’s hers.
Tara also mentioned rumours has it that Silver has a secret boyfriend and is camouflaging him by using Aiden as a front.
If that’s the case, then Silver runs a lot deeper than I thought. What’s her endgame exactly?
Not that I care.
It’s not Silver who matters. It’s the fact that Aiden hid his engagement to her knowing full well how much his history with her bothered the living bejesus out of me.
“I really don’t want to do this, but I can talk to her if you like?” Kim asks with a careful tone.
“Thanks, but you don’t have to.” I drag her with me by the arm. “Come on, let’s find Knox.”
“And Teal!” she squeals. “I’m super excited to meet Knox’s twin sister. I’m sure she’s as fun as him.”
Since I told Kim about Knox having a twin, she’s been dying to get to know her.
“She’s special, yes, but she’s nothing like him,” I say.
We spend a few minutes parading between the tables.
The classical music stops. Tristan Rhodes clinks a fork against his glass of champagne, commanding the entire room’s attention.
The residual chatter comes to a screeching halt.
Kim and I freeze in place. Knox joins us, stuffing his face with scones.
He offers us one, then grins when neither of us accepts. “More for me.”
“Where’s Dad?” I ask.
Knox motions ahead. Sure enough, Dad stands in the front row, but he’s not alone.
Jonathan and Aiden King are beside him.
What…?
The urge to go and stand by his side overwhelms me. I should be beside my father just like Aiden is beside his.
A sense of calm falls over me when Teal inches closer to Dad. I can feel her determination all the way from over here.
Go, Teal.
“Ladies and Gentleman.” Tristan’s voice commands the entire hall. “We are honoured to have you here. Your donations for the orphans’ association are bound to save lives and offer hope for people without any.”
He goes on to talk about the association and the number of children they’re helping. I steal a glance at Aiden, but he appears completely engrossed in the speech. His poker face is strapped in place; his demeanour screams calm.
I can do that, too. I can act as if nothing happened.
Tristan raises a toast to the money raised tonight then continues, “I would like to take this chance to thank everyone who participated in the growth of the Rhodes Conglomerate. We have enormous plans for the future. For that, we have recruited two of the best companies as potential partners.”
Tristan tips his glass in Dad and Jonathan’s direction. “Mr King, Mr Steel. May the best one win.”
Everyone raises their glasses, Dad and Jonathan included.
The look in their eyes can only mean ‘Game on’.
Aiden spins around and his cloudy eyes meet mine. He doesn’t have to search for me as if he knew exactly where I stood. Even though his expression is unreadable, I’m almost sure that his thoughts match mine.
The real war has started.
Aiden
Past
I pace the length of the basement as far as the chains would let me.
They rattle behind me, their heavy clink is the only sound surrounding me in the looming darkness.
No idea if it’s night or day. Back home, I associated the dark with nighttime, but there doesn’t seem to be a sense of time in this place.
The red woman didn’t show up.
I’m never sure if she’ll hug me or hit me across the face, telling me to bring back her son.
There’s also the girl who looks like a doll — Elsa. It’s been a long time since she came by.