Page 103 of Twisted (Never After)

“Your meeting with Darryn isn’t until next week,” he replies, sipping from his own mug of coffee. “That’s when I thought you’d be here.”

“Doesn’t matter. We’re leaving anyway. Cancel the meeting.” My gaze drifts from Ian to Aidan and Yasmin, now standing right in front of each other, emotion I’m choosing to ignore in both of their eyes.

Yasmin yawns into her hand, and I start to move, grabbing a cup of coffee, but then Aidan walks around the island and does it himself. My stomach cramps, flames exploding in my middle and scorching up my throat.

He grabs creamer from the fridge and mixes it into her cup before walking over to where she is and placing it in her hands.

I purse my lips, watching and waiting, curious to know if she’s going to speak up about him making it wrong. I knew her coffee preference by heart after the second day of living with her. He’s been with her for years and still doesn’t know.

She smiles as she takes it, looking down into the mug and saying a soft “thank you.” She doesn’t bring it to her lips.

“Why’d you come early?” Ian asks.

“Because I can.” I turn around and grab another mug, pouring a fresh cup of coffee before dropping two sugar cubes in the bottom and mixing it with a stirrer.

“Wait,” the boy’s voice cuts in. “We’releaving?”

Spinning back to face them, I walk over toward where Yasmin stands, briefly casting a quick glance to him. “Yes.”

I pull the mug full of heavy cream from her hands and place the new cup there instead before moving back to where I was and dropping it in the sink.

The boy frowns as he watches Yasmin take a sip, humming at the taste. His eyes flick down to where my wedding band sits and then over to the giant diamond on her finger.

He moves until he’s standing in front of her, shoving his hands into his pockets, his brown hair falling into his eyes.

“Princess, can we talk?”

I clench my fists to keep from reaching out and choking him to death.

She locks her stare on me, her mouth parting slightly and indecision weighing heavily in her features. And I see the yes in her gaze before it falls from her lips.

My teeth grind so forcefully, I feel a molar crack.

I pretend I don’t notice when they walk out the door, not looking back at me once.

Chapter35

Yasmin

Icould tell that Julian didn’t want me to go with Aidan, could see it in the way he was trying to act like he wasn’t paying attention. In the way that muscle in the side of his jaw twitched, the way it always does when he doesn’t say what he really wants to.

But it’s something I need to do regardless. One, because even though the way I feel about Aidan has shifted and changed, he’s still the first love I’ve ever held. He was still my best friend growing up. And my chest still hurts when I think about losing him.

And also, despite what Julian might think, if he doesn’t let me bandage the wounds with Aidan, he’ll never believe me when I say that I choose him. There will always be a doubt, niggling in the back of his mind, wondering if I would have gone back if only I had been given the chance.

That’s not healthy for either of us.

I follow Aidan through the small hallway on the right into a small bedroom with a full- size bed. He’s clearly made himself at home; there are clothes strewn over the back of the desk chair in the corner, and the bed is unmade and messy. A corkboard is hung up on the wall, things tacked to the front. Walking over, I peer at them, curious to see what he’s been up to here while he was ignoring me and my heart was breaking over all the things I had to tell him but couldn’t get through to say.

There’s nothing except a map and a few written notes. I lean in closer, taking a look at what they say.

Last night was fun, with a heart and the name Jeannie.

“That isn’t what it looks like,” Aidan says from behind me.

My hands slip into my back pockets as I spin around to face him, shaking my head. I believe him, but it wouldn’t matter if I didn’t. “It’s okay if it is.”

He’s on the other side of the bed, his hands on his hips and his brows drawn in. He sucks his bottom lip through his teeth before releasing it with a pop. “Because you love him?”