CHAPTER 18

Aurelia

His cologne wraps around me.

I feel something on my arm—the touch of feather light. My eyes peel open, to his finger tracing up my wrist, softly running over the deep purple bruise. Tingles erupt.

"You need to ice this."

I pull my hand away and into my lap, only responding with a nod. My body's reaction to him is so wrong. But it's difficult to think about it when he's next to me, because in the moment, everything feels so right.

He sighs, I feel him move away, and finally my lungs fill with oxygen. Taking another drink, I mumble, "Thank you."

"For what."

"For everything."

He lets out an amused breath, but it's obvious he's anything but.

I turn around to stare at him and say, "I'm sorry."

"Stop apologizing!" He runs a hand through his hair. "What were you thinking, Aurelia?" "I didn't-"

"Do you have any idea what could've happened if I hadn't shown up? What could he have done to you?"

Tears prick at the backs of my eyes. "I didn't know he followed me."

His eyes cut to mine. "What the hell were you doing outside at that hour? Why did you leave the house?"

"I had something I needed to take care of." "It couldn't wait?"

It couldn't. But I don't tell him that.

"I'm sorry, okay?"

"It's not that easy." He growls, his eyes growing angry. "You put yourself in danger today, in a harmful way. And for what? Do you ever think about the consequences of the things you do?"

"I didn't know."

"That's exactly my point." He sits down on the bed and says, "You don't stop to analyze things; you dive in head first like some child that needs her hand held all the time. That's not how real life works, Aurelia. You need to learn to stop acting like a naive little girl and grow the fuck up."

His words chaff my skin, and the condescending note in his voice strings me up tight. Hurt and humiliation churn inside me, and I can't help the question as it tumbles past my lips: "If you see me that way, then why did you kiss me before you left?"

His eyes narrow.

"Yeah," I say, "How do you explain that? It's so easy to ridicule me and call me names, but how do you explain your own actions? Pretty contradictory, if you ask me. You're not so damn perfect, Kane; in fact, most of the time, you're a fucking asshole!"

His jaw tightens.

"Why didn't you ever call?" I hate how pathetic I sound now and how desperately the soft words carry through the room: "You never tried to reach out. Never, not once. Why?"

He makes a rough sound in the back of his throat. "Because you were that easy to forget, Aurelia."

My head draws back instantly, as if he'd slapped me.

It doesn't faze him, though. "And that's the thing about you," he says, his eyes cold once again. "You don't see it. I never bothered to keep in contact.

with you because I didn't fucking want to. That goddamn kiss you're so hung up on meant nothing. Anyone with a single brain cell would be able to see it."

"And most of all," he says, shaking his head. "It was an accident. What exactly did you think? Did I kiss you because I wanted to have a relationship with you? Or because I liked you? You're my sister; nothing could ever come of it. Never. So why the hell won't you let it go?"

My voice is shaky. "You had no problem doing it even though you knew I was your sister."

He rises from the bed then, grabbing his suit coat as he walks by me, leaving the room and slamming the door shut behind him without another word.

***

He didn't come back till this morning.

And even then, he was stoic and wordless, and he waited for me to get dressed and follow him to his car. I don't know where he spent the rest of the night.

The small space is filled with so much tension on the drive back home. I don't linger once he pulls into the driveway, attempting to jump out of the car like my seat is on fire. He grabs my arm before I can.

He looks at me, his eyes carefully watching me as a beat passes, before dropping to my bruised wrist and saying, "Put ice on it."

And then he lets go.

I get out of the car without saying a word.

My father shoves the front door open like he's been waiting for my arrival.

His eyes are livid as I walk up the front steps. "You had one single instruction; keep my guest entertained!" He seethes, "And what did you do?"

My eyes widen at the animosity he directs at me. "Dad, I-"

"Daniel called." Emaine walks out of the front door, a sneer twisting the top of her lip. "You never fail to show your lack of ability to get anything right. He was very upset; he revoked all business affiliations with your father's company. Do you have any idea how long it took him to build that partnership?"

"It wasn't my fault, Dad,"

"It's never your fault, is it?" Emaine folds her arms, walking up behind her husband. "Always so useless."

"That's not true!" I growl, "He tried to-"

Her palm strikes me across the face. My head jerks to the side, my cheeks stinging. I feel tears burning the backs of my eyes.

Dad's jaw tickles as he eyes me, his gaze dropping to the package in my hand. He steps forward, ripping it out of my grip and smashing it to the ground.

I gasp, watching in horror as he tramples it under his foot.

"Get the hell out of my face." He shouts, "I don't want to see you at dinner; I don't want to see you at breakfast. Get out of my line of sight. And you."

Through my peripheral, I see Kane climb up the steps, his suit coat tucked in his arm and his hands in the pockets of his slacks. He looks bored by the whole thing, while I'm fighting desperately to keep it together. I turn away, shoving my way through the front door and up the stairs.

Once I'm in my room, my knees give out, and I sink to the floor. It's always the same sh*t in this house. I'm sick and tired of it. I'll never know what was in the package given to me. I rake my hands through my hair, the frustration reaching its peak inside me.

What secrets is she talking about? My eyes shift to my table, to the black mask resting idly on the surface.

There's only one way to find out.