Page 25

KATERINA

Aiden has been avoiding me. I admit, i deserve it. I did it to him, and this is karma. My heart has been palpitating all day, and it seems like it won’t calm down.

‘I told you he didn’t want you’.

No, no, no, no, not now please.

‘Why would he? You don’t have a heart, and you treat others like shit. The only person who ever loved you was me, princess.’

“Stop! You’re not real.”

My voice is barely a whisper as I run my hands through my hair, tugging at the strands at the nape of my neck.

‘I’m real, Katerina. You should’ve never turned your back on me.’

‘Look at you now.’

‘A fucking loser. No more career. A nobody. A nothing. A waste of space.’

I try to inhale, but my lungs refuse to cooperate. The more I breathe in, the more it feels like I’m suffocating. My ears ring. My heart is beating so fast it hurts. My vision blurs, and panic digs its claws into my chest.

“Kat, look at me.”

Aiden’s voice slices through the fear, distant at first, but the more he repeats my name, the more the fog lifts. “Angel Face. Take a deep breath for me, please. Tell me five things you can see.”

I try, but my throat feels too tight. It’s like I’m choking on nothing.

“Your black eyes,”

I whisper, my voice trembling. “My backpack. My Hello Kitty shorts. Your red shirt. My books.”

Aiden nods, his big palms cradling my cheeks. His touch is grounding. Real.

“Good, good. Four things you can touch.”

I lean into his hands, forcing air into my lungs.

“Your hands. My hair. Your shirt. My bed sheets.”

“You got this, baby. Tell me three things you can hear.”

I gulp, my vision blurry. Why is he here helping me? I thought he was ignoring me.

“Your voice. My breathing. The boys downstairs.”

He strokes my cheek, his thumbs moving in slow, steady circles.

“Okay, almost done. Two things you can smell.”

I inhale deeply, drowning in the familiar scent of his cologne.

“Your cologne… and my smelly self,”

I say with a broken smile. Aiden laughs, the sound easing my chest's last bit of tension.

“You don’t smell. What are you talking about?”

His grin fades as his fingers tighten slightly on my face.

“Last one. One thing you can taste.”

“My tears,”

I whisper, sniffling.

Aiden pulls back slightly, but his hands stay on me, steady and warm, as my heart calms down and my mind stops racing. “Uhm… thank you for helping me out right now. I appreciate it.”

His black eyes search mine, and for the first time tonight, I notice just how devastatingly handsome he is. He could be doing nothing, and I’d pay just to watch him exist. His shaggy black hair falls over his eyes, and without thinking, I reach out and push it back.

“Why have you been avoiding me?”

I ask, barely above a whisper. Aiden hesitates, his gaze flickering toward the window before landing back on me.

“I didn’t want you to tell me you regretted it. You didn’t say it the first time we kissed, but you avoided me, so I just didn’t want the same thing to happen.”

“So you avoided me instead?”

He nods. I nod back, understanding. “Well, I’m sorry I did that. It fucking sucks being ignored.”

Aiden chuckles as he sinks onto the bed next to me. “It does. But I’m sorry, too. I should’ve just talked to you.”

I place my hand over his, giving it a slight squeeze.

“Come, I’ll help you run a bath.”

I wince, hiding my face in my hand. “It’s embarrassing, but I can’t. Alina was supposed to help me, but I ruined it by walking away from her.”

Aiden frowns, confusion written all over his face.

“Why can’t you?”

I groan, too mortified to say it out loud. “Tell me.”

His voice is gentle, but his eyes pin me in place. I swallow, then mumble,

“Removing my clothes is impossible by myself, and I can’t scrub properly with one arm. So… I can’t.”

Aiden processes my words and then nods. Without hesitation, he pushes himself up from the floor.

“Let’s go.”

“Where? I ask, confused.

“I’m going to run a bath for you.”

I freeze. My heart jumps into my throat. “Is that okay with you? I should’ve asked—sorry.”

I nod, forcing myself to stay calm.

“It’s okay. Yeah. Totally fine.”

No, it’s not fine. He’s going to see me naked. Oh my god.

I don’t move as Aiden leads me into the bathroom, closes the door, and turns on the water. He adds Epsom salt, and his movements are so casual like this isn’t completely uncharted territory. He looks over his shoulder, his expression unreadable.

“Angel Face, it’s ready.”

His hands reach for my sling, and I nod. He undoes it carefully, then moves to my shirt. I hesitate, but eventually, I let him help me slip out of it, leaving me in just

my white lace bra. Aiden gulps as his dark eyes flicker down to my chest before he quickly kneels, his fingers resting on the waistband of my sweats. “Still good?”

I nod, barely breathing. Aiden bends down on his knees and pulls them down as he looks at me. I release a shaky breath, not breaking eye contact. I run my left hand through his hair, pulling at it as he looks at me with so much desire as if he would do anything for me. Having him on his knees in front of me makes my core tingle and a whole ass butterfly zoo in my stomach.

Don’t picture him in between your legs, Kat. No! I step out of my sweats, and my bra grazes his chest as he stands up. I can’t think when he is so close to me.

“I’ll undo your bra, and then you can take it off while I

turn around.”

I nod as Aiden steps closer, wrapping both arms around me. He undoes my bra with me in between his arms as I rest my head on his chest, surrounding myself with his scent. I close my eyes as I take a deep breath. His presence engulfs me, and just like that, Aiden invades my thoughts. I feel my bra loosen up, and my left arm lifts immediately to hold the front of the bra in place. “I’ll turn around so you can get in the tub,”

Aiden says, his voice hoarse.

When he tries to turn around, I wrap my left arm around his right wrist and turn him towards me. His eyes clash with mine, confused at why I stopped him. But I just remove my bra, letting it drop in front of Aidens feet. Aiden looks up at me and gulps as his gaze drops to my chest. I hook my left index finger through my panties and pull them down, letting them fall on the floor. I step out of them and closer to Aiden. Heat floods my body, my pulse hammering in my ears. Aiden’s eyes never leave mine, but the hunger in them is undeniable.

“You’re trying to kill me, aren’t you?”

A slow smile tugs at my lips.

“You know you’re the first guy that’s seen me naked in two years?”

His jaw clenches as his gaze caresses my body. “You bet your ass I’ll be the last, Goldie.”

The air crackles. I barely register him lifting me into the tub, his strong arms holding me like I weigh nothing. The hot water soothes my sore muscles, but nothing compares to the fire in my veins when Aiden crouches beside the tub and starts washing my hair.

His fingers move slowly, massaging my scalp, and I let myself sink into the sensation. His touch is too gentle and careful, making my heart ache.

“You’ve done this before,”

I murmur. He exhales through his nose.

“Sophia. When she was too weak from chemo.”

My heart twists. Neither of us speaks as Aiden rinses the shampoo from my hair, his fingertips trailing through the strands in a way that feels too intimate. After rinsing my hair, he wraps a towel around it and sits on the floor next to the tub, facing me. No one has ever taken care of me like this. I feel so nervous around him, and while he looks at me, I feel like I can do no wrong.

The air shifts, and my pulse races as Aiden’s eyes flick to my lips. I don’t move. Neither does he. His hand slides along my jaw, tilting my chin just enough before his lips crash into mine. I grab his shirt with my good hand, yanking him closer. His grip tightens in my hair as he deepens the kiss. It’s messy and desperate. Aiden groans against my mouth, his fingers skimming my bare skin everywhere but where I need him most. I pull back, panting. “Aiden—”

His forehead rests against mine, his breath uneven. “Yeah?”

He answers, his eyes full of want.

“This is—”

“Everything,”

he finishes, his voice rough. And God help me, I agree.