Page 34

Visha

I kissed him.

Was it impulsive? Yes. Do I regret it? Not yet.

The softness of his lips sends me into oblivion. I can’t get enough. I want more .

Aoi doesn’t move under me, he lays as still as a picture. So, I dare to slide my hand under his shirt and stroke his soft abs. Almost instantly, he violently shoves me away to get off the couch.

Fury and shock dance in the depth of his ocean eyes as he rubs his lips with the back of his sleeve. Slowly, I come to my senses and when the realization of what I just did settles in, I sink to my knees.

Aoi clutches his chest so tightly his knuckles turn white. “What the fuck was that? W-why did you do that?!”

Lethal poison drips from his tongue as he flees to put as much space between us as physically possible.

I open my mouth to apologize and explain myself. I have to tell him that I made a mistake, that I acted out of impulse. “Aoi-”

“Shut up. I don’t want to hear a word from you.” He holds his hand up, glaring, confused and furious.

“Aoi wait-” I cry, stumbling over my feet.

The bedroom door slams shut behind him, leaving only a thick silence and the remains of my stupidity. Scrambling across the room, I slump against the oak, begging him to open the door. All I can hear is the sound of rustling on his side of the door mixing with the sound of my sobs.

Minutes pass but they seem like an eternity as I knock endlessly on the door, more urgently with each hit, and it finally bursts open revealing a new expression on Aoi’s face.

Betrayal .

He looks down at me, full of disdain and hurt, holding my phone, unlocked in his palm. “What is this?”

“Huh?” I blink in disarray. “I don’t-”

“You don’t what?” he interrupts. “Tell me!”

I gape at the device, confused and terrified that he might have seen the text from Bellami. I didn’t save his contact on my phone though so I should be safe.

He shoves the screen in my face, frowning in hurt.

I sniffle, pushing down the dread sizzling under my skin. “I- I don’t know.”

“You lost your ability to read? Fine. I’ll read it for you then.” He holds the phone up and starts reading out loud. “ When are you telling Aoi about your brother? ”

The blood drains from my face at his voice breaking on the last word.

No. No. No .

This can’t be how he finds out! I never wanted things to go so wrong. If I tell him the truth now, he’ll hate me forever. He’s already disgusted with me kissing him. Now if he doesn’t throw me out for hiding the existence of my brother, I can consider myself lucky.

I attempt to breathe but it gets stuck in my throat. What do I do? Fuck, what do I do now?

“What do you mean?” I blurt, unable to find a good explanation.

“Don’t you dare lie to me. I know, okay? I know . So don’t lie to me,” he chokes on a sob, holding back tears.

“You- you know…how? How did you know?” I stammer, swallowing hard.

He shakes his head continuously, shutting his eyes and taking a step back as he does. I reach for his hand, but he yanks it away as though I’m deadly. In that instant, my heart shatters into a million pieces.

Distress flashes hot and cold in my body.

“I- I can explain- I didn’t mean to hide it. I swear, Aoi. Please, please believe me!” I beg, clinging to his legs.

He doesn’t look at me as he answers with a trembling voice. “Jason warned me about you having a brother. He told me! I should have listened to him. You lied to me! How could you? I wanted to ado-” He covers his face, wiping away his tears. “I should have known. Of, course it would end this way.”

“You wanted to what?” I ask, my eyes jumping from feature to feature as he trembles. “Aoi?”

“Tell me everything,” he orders, slamming his fist against the door. “Now!”

I’ve never seen Aoi so furious and hurt and since it’s all my fault, I obey. “Last night…I snuck out to go to a party with my friends. I went out for a breath of air and there he was.” I glance at his face and feel my blood run cold. “Please don’t look at me like that…”

“Continue,” he demands, clutching his chest.

So, I do.

“The man told me he was my brother, but I didn’t believe him at first! He then showed me a DNA test and…it was impossible to doubt him. You have to understand! What else was I supposed to do? I was going to tell you, I just wanted to find the right time!”

I watch him, scanning for reactions but nothing comes. The deep blue of his eyes dulls, as does his expression. It’s as though he couldn’t care less anymore.

“Aoi-”

He raises his hand, shutting me up. “You told Olivia but not me? Your biological brother reached out to you, yet you didn’t think of telling me ? Who am I to you? Do I mean so little to you?”

His face contorts as he shouts and cries, not letting me retort. Then as furtive and unexpected as a thunder bolt, he starts laughing and mumbling something under his breath.

“I should’ve known this would happen,” he sobs, wiping at his eyes, fighting so hard to hold his tears back but they trace a path down his cheeks. “Why am I crying? Why am I fucking crying? This isn’t even about me!”

He curses at himself over and over again, hiding his face from me as he crouches down on the ground and wails. I can’t watch him in such pain anymore. It’s too much for me to handle.

“I should have told you the moment I found out. This is all my fault, please don’t cry,” I murmur, blinking through the haze. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. Please don’t hate me.”

At that he raises his head, uncovering his face rosy and wet from the tears. His expression softens and he pulls me into a deep embrace, sniffling against my neck.

It takes me a second to realize what’s happening before I hug him back and break down in his arms. “I’m sorry. I’m really sorry, Aoi. I’m sorry, please don’t hate me.”

“No...” he breathes against my neck. “I could never hate you, Visha. I’m just hurt.”

And it’s my fault. If I had been honest from the start, none of this would have happened. I wouldn’t have caused him so much grief and pain. “I’m so sorry.”

“I’ll always love you. No matter what, you’ll always be my Visha.” He sniffles. “But you lied to me. You withheld the truth from me, feeding into my fear of losing you.”

“I’m sorry. I never meant to lie nor hide this. I just…I just wanted to find the right way to tell you.”

He shakes his head against my shoulder, holding me pressed against his heart. As though he just ran a marathon, his heart races against my ear. I nuzzle against him, relishing his touch. I want to stay like this forever, but life is cruel and reminds me that in barely a week I’m forced to leave. Leaving this life, this home, my friends and Aoi behind.

Inhaling his intoxicatingly sweet scent, I slowly pull away, needing to see his face. Aoi’s eyes are red and puffy from the waves of tears he shed because of me. He’s as beautiful as a meadow after a storm. Somehow, there isn’t a second when he’s not perfect.

I can’t believe I’m going to lose him.

“You should invite him for dinner,” he says casually, wiping the corner of his eye.

I angle my head in disbelief. “But why?”

“What do you mean why? He’s your brother for Christ’s sake. Shouldn’t you introduce me?” he chuckles as though everything’s fine. “I have to move past this. Staying mad and upset won’t change anything. You made a mistake by keeping this to yourself, but you didn’t mean to. I understand. I really do.”

Aoi was so furious just a second ago but now he’s alright? Then why is there such a heavy weight pushing down on my chest?

“I’ve only spoken to him once. I don’t really know him either,” I justify, not wanting Bellami to spoil the little time I have in paradise.

“Stop being a brat and text the man or I’ll do it.” He sniffles, wiping his face with his sleeve.

I sigh, unable to fight back. He ruffles my hair, pretending I never kissed him. Erasing my love for him and rewriting it into a mere forgotten dream.

This was a rollercoaster of emotions. I really thought I ruined everything for a second.

We get off the ground and dust our clothes off before he gives me back my phone and basically forces me to dial Bellami’s number. The phone rings for a while, and I pray he won’t answer but then-

Click.

“Missed me already?” a lazy, dark voice replies making my stomach lurch.

I want to throw the phone against the wall but instead I force my insults down. “No. Aoi wants to invite you over for dinner tonight.”

I glance around the room, searching for Aoi but he’s out of sight, so I express myself freely, lowering my voice in case he’s close. “You better fucking refuse, do you hear me? You don’t deserve to breathe the same air as him. Nobody wants to see your rat face. So go back to your lair of demons and leave us alone.”

“You little shit,” he curses, his tone sharper than a blade. “We have the same face, you smartass. If I’m a rat then what are you? Now pass me Aoi and don’t make me repeat myself.”

I cuss under my breath and call Aoi over who rushes to my side instantly. “He wants to talk to you.”

He gawks at me in confusion as surprised as I am that Bellami wants to talk to him. He reaches for the phone and with his angelic voice greets his interlocutor. “Hello? Yes, it’s me.”

He chuckles as I try to discern what they’re talking about. “That’s right. He told me about his rekindling with his biological brother so I couldn’t pass the opportunity to invite you to dinner.”

“What’s he saying?” I urge but he ushers me away like a fly.

Five minutes later he ends the call and comes back to me with a smile. “We’re having a guest tonight.”

Fucking hell.