34 Haru

"Thanks, Jess, for letting me spend the night."

Standing there before me with a mug of coffee in her hands, Jess said, "No worries. I see you're ready to face the day, eh?"

"Yeah, I can't go on like this. It's just not healthy."

Jess eyed me curiously. "You mean your feelings for Aiden? Or something else?"

"I mean my feelings for Aiden. I've been thinking last night. This one-sided love has gone on for far too long and it has to stop. I'm going to confess my feelings to Aiden."

She nodded. "Indeed, it has. What are you going to do if he rejects you?"

I didn't miss the tremor in her voice, and knew she was worried about me.

I gave her a reassuring smile. "Don't worry. I've got everything planned. If he does reject me, which is probably a ninety percent probability, I'll move out. I was planning on doing that since the beginning of this year, anyway."

"I see. But I don't think Aiden will let you move out."

I raised my gaze to look at her. "He'll have to. We can't live together like everything is normal, after what's about to happen."

"There's still that other ten percent probability that he'll accept you, right?"

"I guess so."

Though, I doubt it.

I got up from my seat. "Anyway, I should get going. I need to get a few things from home before class this afternoon."

After retrieving my backpack, Jess walked me to the door. She said, "Tell me how it goes, okay?"

I nodded and then gave her a hug. "See you later."

"Good luck, Haru."

I chuckled. "Thanks."

It was an hour later when I arrived home. As expected, the place was quiet, since everyone had left for the day. But damn, I needed a shower. Wearing the same underwear for more than a day just didn't feel pleasant.

After leaving my backpack on the bed, I grabbed a towel and headed into the bathroom. I took my time showering, all the while thinking about Aiden and rehearsing in my mind what I was going to say to him when I confessed.

When I turned the shower off some ten minutes later, my skin was flushed hot. After wrapping the towel around my waist, I headed out the door. I was just about to go into my bedroom when a voice said, "Hey. Can we talk?"

I raised my gaze to see, in shocked surprise, the person I least expected standing there in the corridor, watching me.

How come Aiden is at home? And why isn't he wearing his work suit? Why isn't he at work?

I suddenly felt like I couldn't breathe, as heat rushed to my face and my mind was dazed at the mere sight of him, especially in those fitted jeans and casual T-shirt that made him look damn sexy.

Flicking my gaze away, I rushed into the room closest to me and shut the door. Fuck, but I just wasn't ready to face him yet. I had planned on confessing to him tonight…but not now. Now was way too early, especially for me and my heart to handle. I wasn't yet prepared, mentally and emotionally.

"Haru?" Aiden's voice came through from the other side of the door. "We need to talk."

Talk? I can't. Not yet. I'm not ready.

But of course, the words got stuck in my throat as my heart raced. It was then I realized I had shut myself in Reo's room. Shit!

I licked my lips and asked, my voice shaking, "You…you want to talk to me?"

"Yeah. Do you have a few minutes?"

I took a big breath then, working on calming myself down. So, he only wanted a few minutes of my time to talk, which meant he probably wanted to apologize for what had happened the other night.

Okay. I needed to calm down. I needed to think clearly. I'd just listen to what he had to say and then go to class after. Then tonight, I'd get him alone and confess.

Clearing my throat, I said, "Okay. But let me get ready first."

"Then I'll be in the dining room."

I waited until I was sure he was gone before I opened the door. Then I rushed into my own bedroom and found myself clothes. My hands were shaking like crazy as I pulled on my underwear, followed by a pair of jeans and then a T-shirt.

Hair still wet from the shower, I headed into the kitchen-dining-sitting room. I found Aiden sitting at the head of the table, his usual spot during dinner.

He gave me a slight smile. I tried to return one, but found I just couldn't.

"Hey," I said, and then took a seat farthest from him.

Aiden noticed and said, "Come closer." He pulled out a chair to his left, the one closest to him.

I reluctantly moved and took the indicated seat. The moment I was comfortable, Aiden reached out and tousled my wet hair and then moved to touch the side of my face.

I closed my eyes, basking in the warm gesture. And Aiden's smell, which was pleasant, lingered around me. I swallowed hard, aching to get closer, wanting so badly to touch him.

"Haru, I want to tell you something…something I've been hiding from you for a while now."

I blinked, confused. He wasn't going to apologize about the other night?

"What about the other night?" I raised my gaze to look at him. "You're not…?"

He frowned. "The other night? I'm not…what?"

Seeing the confused looks in his eyes, it dawned on me that what he wanted to talk about wasn't our intimate session. I shook my head and said, "No. It's nothing."

Then what the hell did he want to talk to me about?

"Haru, I'm in love with you," he said bluntly.

My head was numb and in a daze as those words came.

Ugh? What? Come again?

I blinked; tears started brewing in my eyes as my emotions ran wild.

Aiden must have understood my look of confusion because he said again, "I love you, Haru. I have been in love with you for two years now… Maybe more. I'm sorry. It must be disgusting, right? I'm your stepbrother and yet I have these sorts of feelings for you."