Page 74 of HER SISTER

"Mili?" I called out, noticing she wasn't in her office.

I looked over toward the balcony doors that Mili suddenly entered in from.

"Hi baby," she greeted me with her usual perfect smile as I sat the bags of food on the counter.

And even if I had so many questions about what I had just heard from Arielle and Damon, I only found myself remaining quiet.

It's like I had so much to say, and now I couldn't get a single word out.

I tensed slightly when Mili's warm arms slid around my waist from behind.

"You're quiet. Is everything okay?" Mili murmured as she hugged me to her body.

I nodded hesitantly as I stared down at the dark counters that had the bags of food on it.

Mili hummed, clearly confused by my lack of verbal response, "Something's wrong," she determined, suddenly guiding me to turn around to face her.

And as I managed to stand in front of her with her arms resting around my waist, I felt completely conflicted.

The last thing I wanted to do was accuse her of anything.

We've already had enough issues with trust in the past.

Mili's dark eyes carefully traced my face, "What is it?" she asked, clearly aware of my uneasiness.

I blinked a few times, looking away from her as I said, "I ran into Arielle and Damon."

Mili remained quiet for a few beats, and it was clear that she wanted me to continue.

"They um..." I trailed off in search of the right way to put this, rather than an accusation, "They said that Mya had told them that I needed some time after everything went down," I finished off, leaving Mili's name out of it.

But when my eyes suddenly drifted to her face, I felt something drop inside of me.

Maybe it was the way her lips were pursed slightly... Or the way her eyes looked away from mine.

It instantly made all my thoughts spiral.

"They said that Mya said she heard that from you," I added, hoping to see more of her reaction before jumping to conclusions.

But at this point, it was clear that she was involved in all this.

And that realization alone made my stomach twist, mostly in hurt but also in anger.

She knew how much this all meant to me, and it hurt that she denied it from me without my permission.

"I was trying to protect you," Mili suddenly said.

And I couldn't help but take a few steps away from her, forcing her arms to fall from my hips and rest back by her sides.

"Without my permission?" I questioned as I purposefully put space between us.

Mili sighed, "If it was up to you, I would've never gotten your permission," she said, and the statement alone managed to fuel my anger, easily pushing away the hurt I was previously feeling.

"Mya thinks that I needed time—that I'm upset or something, when all I want to do is talk to her, Milan," I said, hoping she could hear how wrong that statement sounded.

Mili nodded, "I know, I know—"

"Do you? Because you didn't even ask me or tell me," I pointed out, feeling my anger multiply by the passing second, "When did you tell her this?" I suddenly asked, hoping to get a timeframe of all this.

"I had talked to her after you started staying with me—"

"Wow, so you've been keeping this to yourself the entire time?" I questioned as I shook my head in disbelief, "I have been crying and upset over this for days, Milan!" I said, and I couldn't miss the raise in my voice.

And neither could Mili.

The air grew silent between us for a few beats as Mili held my eyes which were beginning to grow heavy with tears.

Yes, I was upset, but I was also angry—and it just all blurred into one emotion.

I just feel so overwhelmed.

"Don't walk away from me, Atiana," Mili's calm voice coated the quiet air as soon as I turned on my heel to leave.

Her tone was such a contrast against my previous one that it easily sent me for a loop.

How she was always so calm would forever be beyond me.

I scoffed slightly to myself, "Don't lie to me—" I suddenly turned around to face, "Oh wait, you already did that," I retorted, using her own words against her.

Mili shook her head at me, clearly displeased with my choice of words, "I was looking out for you," she tried to explain again.

But it felt like her explanation managed to make me feel worse.

I just wish she would've asked me first, or mentioned it to me before I could find out from someone else.

I would've rather heard all this from her, even if it was later down the line.

"But you know how much talking to her meant to me," I said, and I swear I couldn't force the anger in my voice away even if I tried.

Mili sighed, "Exactly, it meant too much to you."

I only shook my head, clearly not even knowing what that meant.

"You were in bed for days at a time—you barely ate, and the only time you got up was to shower," Mili explained as her eyes carefully held mine, "Once you finally got back to a good place, Mya reached out, and I wasn't so sure what she wanted to say and how easily her words could break you again."

"So you lied to her? You lied to me?" I questioned.

Mili let out a deep sigh, "Yes, and I would do it again if it meant protecting you emotionally and mentally," she said, and I couldn't help but shake my head.

"I get your intentions, Milan, but it's not about the intention.

It's about how your actions make other people feel, and I feel—" I suddenly looked away from her, feeling my tears grow more rapid in my eyes, "I feel like I miss my closest best friend—I feel like I've been so upset and anxious about whether she could forgive me, and this whole time you knew she tried to talk to me.

You could've soothed somewhat of my worries and you didn't."

Mili shook her head, "I could've—but you have to see that you were in a good place mentally and that it took you a while to get there. Another fall out with Mya and you could break down all over again," she pointed out.

I hummed sharply, "So I'm too fragile to make my own decisions?" I questioned sarcastically.

Mili gave me a narrowed look, "That's not at all what I just said—"

"That's how it felt. I mean, this is your explanation? That you were worried about me breaking down after one bad conversation with her?" I cut her short with a clear fire growing in my tone.

Mili pinched the bridge of her nose, "You're only grasping part of what I just said, Atiana. You're not even listening to me at this point," she said, and it was clear by her tight tone that she was beginning to grow irritated too.

Which was rare for her.

I lazily raised my brows, "No, I think I'm hearing you pretty well," I said sarcastically.

Mili's jaw tightened, "But you're not—you're choosing what you want to hear," she pointed out, allowing her tone to grow tighter.

I hummed coldly, "Kind of like you chose what you wanted me to hear and lied about the rest," I retorted.

"Atiana," Mili's tight voice warned.

But I only shook my head, "No because I don't get what I'm not hear—"

"I love you—" Mili cut me short, "—That's why I did it, and that's why I don't regret it."

The air grew eerily quiet between us as Mili looked between my eyes.

Suddenly, my anger faded.

Especially with what Mili had just said, which managed to coat the still air for seconds to come.

I couldn't be mad or upset with her because I love her too.

And now that I was pulled out of my own angry mindset, and able to see where she was coming from—I suddenly felt like a hypocrite.

Mostly because I probably would've done the same thing if I were in her shoes, especially if it meant protecting her.

I had been looking at it from just one angle.

"Milan—" I cut myself short when she walked away from me.

And I suddenly realized I hadn't said the three words back.

"Fuck," Mili whispered under her breath as she stressfully ran her hands through her hair.

I frowned at her distress, "It's okay, really, I—"

"No, it's not okay. It's..." Mili suddenly trailed off, shaking her head to herself as she headed towards the balcony.

And before I could possibly say anything else Mili said, "That's not how I wanted to tell you."

I frowned deeper as I followed her toward the tall doors, "It's okay, seriously Milan, I lo—" I suddenly drew in a deep breath as I stepped outside, "Oh my god," I finally breathed out in shock as I glanced around the balcony.

Which was decorated with lit candles placed on the glass table and Polaroid pictures of us scattered around them.

There was a large gift wrapped perfectly in matte pink wrapping paper and placed in one of the chairs while a card sat on it.

Ati—was written neatly on the red envelope with a cute heart on the end.

"I fucked it all up—days of preparation just down the drain," Mili said, clearly irritated as she leaned over the balcony, overlooking the busy city of LA.

A soft sigh fell from my lips, suddenly feeling bad for getting so upset over something that didn't even necessarily matter.

I mean, I wasn't about to end things with her over something like this—so what was arguing about it even going to do?

I just felt so upset—so angry... and hearing it from Arielle without a real explanation seriously blindsided me.

Mili sighed as soon as my arms suddenly slid around her warm body from behind.

"I love you too," I whispered as I nuzzled my face into her neck, "I love the way your lips curve up into a beautiful smile—I love how selfless and genuine you are—I love how good you are in the kitchen—I just... I love you, Milan. So much."

The air grew quiet for a few beats as Mili looked out at the city, clearly upset by how this all went down.

And I couldn't blame her, not after seeing how much work she put into it.

My heart suddenly sped up in my chest when Mili turned around to face me, and I couldn't help but frown at the troubled look coating her face.

"I just wanted it to be perfect for you, especially since this is your first—"

She cut herself short when I pulled her in for a soft kiss, which she easily reciprocated.

Her lips were warm and soft—and the brief kiss that we exchanged was so vulnerable and tender.

I hummed as her arms found their place around my waist, "Everything is perfect, and it can still be perfect," I assured her as we pulled back slightly to meet each other's stare.

Mili pursed her lips, "I just wanted it to go a certain way," she whispered.

I frowned, "This is still a beautiful moment. Besides, life is messy and far from perfect—it doesn't change your gesture, or how we choose to celebrate our newly expressed love," I said, hoping she understood that this all still meant a lot to me.

I mean, I never imagined someone ever treating me like this—not even with all the gifts, but instead, with love and care.

I couldn't ask for anything more as long as I had her.

Mili nodded with a soft sigh, "I love you," she whispered, looking into my eyes with such a vulnerable look that I wanted to cry.

"I love you too—so fucking much," I murmured back.

Mili pulled me in closer for a deep hug, easily nuzzling her head into my neck as her warm arms tightened around my waist.

"I want to give you the world," Mili whispered as she held me tighter to her warm body.

I smiled softly as I ran my hand up and down her covered back, "And I want to share it with you," I whispered back.

Mili hummed, "I'm sorry for lying to you," she said, and her tone was so soft and genuine. "I wasn't trying to hurt you," she added in a low whisper.

I nodded, "It's okay—I know you had good intentions. I'm sorry for how I reacted," I admitted, knowing I could've handled it better.

I just had a lot of emotion regarding the whole situation in general.

"I would've done the same if it meant protecting you," I whispered honestly as my hand continued to run up and down her back.

Mili pressed a soft kiss to my neck, "Still, I should've told you," she said, pressing another kiss to my neck, only higher up this time, "I won't lie to you about something like that again," she reassured me.

I hummed softly when she sucked down on a certain spot of my neck, "That means a lot to me," I whispered as she began trailing kisses up my neck toward my lips, "Thank you for trying to protect me," I added, knowing that her pure intentions shouldn't go unnoticed.

Mili hummed as she pressed a brief kiss to my lips, "Of course, I just wish it didn't come at the cost of lying to you," she murmured.

I only shook my head, "But it's okay, everything's good now," I assured her, easily earning a relieved sigh from her.

All of this is clearly a learning process, and it might always be that—neither of us are perfect.

Mili pulled back slightly, "Come on, I owe you a surprise," she said, referring to our bet that we made in Islamorada.

I smiled slightly, "You didn't have to—"

"I definitely did," Mili cut me short before I could decline her gesture, easily guiding me over to the decorated table.