My heart slams in my chest.

Thump.

Thump.

Thump.

Aunt abandoned us?

What is that supposed to mean?

Aunt didn’t abandon us. She saved me. She couldn’t have saved me if she abandoned me. Uncle must be wrong.

He has to be.

27

Elsa

I’m distracted out of my mind during the dinner with Knox.

He brought me to the coffee shop where Aiden and I usually have our meals. I’m surprised he knows such a place exists.

Even with the familiar setting and Knox cracking jokes, I can’t concentrate.

I’ve been picking at my salad, but I barely took a bite.

My legs bounce under the table. I emptied the hand sanitiser, but the itch under my skin wouldn’t go away.

The conversation between Aunt and Uncle keeps playing at the back of my mind on an endless loop.

He said she abandoned us. Abandoned us.

And I lost Ma because of that? How so? How the hell did that happen?

“Elsa?”

My head snaps up at Knox’s voice. I’m gripping the fork so tight, my knuckles are white. I think my face is the same, too.

“Sorry.” I force out an awkward smile. “I’m a bit distracted tonight.”

“It’s okay. We can do this another time if you like.”

“Absolutely.” I glide my fork in the salad. “I’m really sorry, Knox. I love your company. I’m just not in my right state of mind.”

“Family problems?”

I wince. “Sort of.”

“I completely understand. I also have an overbearing father.”

“You do?”

“He’s a control freak and is hardly satisfied with anything. I think he rubbed off on me.”

I smile despite myself. “You’re not a control freak, Knox.”

“I can be.” He grins. “Anyway, all I’m trying to say is that parents are like that. I try to be a good son and give him what he wants even if it can be nearly impossible.”

I clutch his arm briefly. “I’m sure he’s proud of you.”

“That’s what I hope.” His eyes appear lost for a second. “I want to be his favourite son.”

“I’m sure you are.”

He shrugs. “Not yet, but I found an opening to snatch the position. Anyway, I understand how it feels to have parents expect a lot from you.”

If only it were about that.

Aunt and Uncle’s expectations are Cambridge, and I’m already sold on that. But this is bigger and more dangerous.

How am I supposed to deal with secrets from the past?

On our way outside, I catch sight of the middle-aged man sitting at a back table.

He’s the same man who usually sits upstairs.

It’s a weird, out-of-body experience to see him change the setting. He was a part of the decor upstairs when Aiden and I are together.

That makes me miss Aiden.

Damn him.

He couldn’t be there for me when I need him the most.

Knox has to go pick up his father, but he offers to drop me off first. I decline and take a taxi. I already burdened him enough for the night.

The traffic is suffocating, it takes me about an hour to get home. I’m physically and mentally exhausted as I punch in the code and go inside.

I stand in the darkness of the entrance, arms falling on either side of me.

Tears fill my eyes and I fight the need to collapse in the entryway.

It’s absolutely terrifying to stand here at the place I’ve called home for the past ten years and feel like a stranger.

Like I don’t belong.

The walls. The darkness. All of it seems wrong.

I’m not supposed to be here.

My home is in Birmingham.

I close my eyes at the random thought. I have nothing in Birmingham and certainly no one.

London is my home. This is my home.

So what if Aunt abandoned us? She came back for me and raised me like her own daughter. She once told me that she and Uncle Jaxon decided early on in their relationship to not have children because their life goals would clash with the care they need to provide for a child.

But after they got me, they decided that I’m the only child they would ever have.

They sacrificed a lot for me by taking loans out for my heart surgery. I can’t be an ungrateful brat just because of what I heard earlier.

Even if it still hurts to know that Aunt abandoned her sister and only sibling once upon a time.

I guess I’ll have to wait until she tells me the reasons herself.

I hit the light switch and hang my coat.

My feet stop of their own volition at the lounge’s area entryway. I gasp, the bag falling from my hand to the floor with a thud.

Aiden sits in the chair opposite the entrance. His elbows rest on his thighs and his fingers interlace under his chin.

His metallic eyes appear glassed over as he watches me with a chilling, haunting interest.

“You scared the shit out of me.” I search around him, expecting to find Aunt or Uncle.

But they should be at work. Uncle texted me earlier that they’ll be pulling another all-nighter.

“What are you doing here?” I remain rooted in place, not daring to get close.

He looks on the verge of combusting if someone touches him.

“I told your Uncle I forgot my textbook and he gave me the code.”

Of course, he did. Uncle likes Aiden more than he cares to admit.

“We both know that’s a lie,” I say.

He motions at the table where a textbook lies. “I did leave it, but I did it on purpose in case something like this comes up.”

“Something like this?”

“The whole masquerade you’re doing.”

I hate the neutral way he speaks with. It’s like he’s preparing for the punch. I’m nearly fidgeting, waiting for the other shoe to drop.

Aiden is never good when he’s pissed off. He’s never good when he’s calm either.

I watch him closely, he’s still in RES’s uniform, minus the jacket. That means he didn’t go home.

My eyes widen when I notice the red marks in his knuckles. I run towards him and sure enough, his knuckles are bruised and the skin is reddening and cracked in some places.

“W-what happened?” I search his face for a sign that he’s hurt. There’s a small bruise at the side of his eye, near the mole. Other than that, he appears fine.

Aiden isn’t the violent type. He’d rather manipulate his way out of any situation. After all, he lives by being smarter, not stronger.

“Aiden?”

He remains silent, staring ahead.

I lower myself to his level so I can watch him properly. “What is it?”

He grabs my wrist and I cry out as he yanks me down. I fall on his lap, sitting sideways on his hard thighs.

“I sent you a text to meet, but you ignored me and went out with the new boy.”

He sent me a text? Does that mean he was willing to compromise? I don’t know why that makes me happy.

I place a hand on his shoulder. “I turned off my phone and forgot —”

“In our coffee shop.” His hand wraps around my waist so tight, it’s like he’s gripping my bones. “You took him to the place that should be ours. Why did you do that, hmm?”