Chapter 1:
over some e inside
I sat across from Jayson, my stepbrother and my secret lover. Beside him sat Xander, his closest friend, laughing o joke I didn’t catch because my mind was elsewhere.
I was busy imagining Jayson’s reaction when I gave him his surprise gift–a sleek, luxury car he’d always dreamed of owning. But my smile fatted when they slipped into Italian mid–conversation, thinking I couldn’t understand
Big mistake. I had secretly learned Italian when I once heard Jayson talking to his friends in Italian, so I wouldn’t feel out of place in case they talk again–just like now.”
“So, Xander said, swirling his glass lazily, “you’re really going to marry Fiona after she abandoned you for years?”
Fiona. The name hit me like ice water, Jayson’s first love. The girl who had shattered him. She’d left him heartbroken and hollow, running off with another man after promising him forever. I remembered the nights he drank too much, the bitterness in his voice when her name slipped out. He never talked about her anymore–or so I thought
Jayson chuckled softly, sipping his wine, his voice steady and sure. “It’s always been her, I don’t care if she left. She’s all I want.”
My fork hovered mid–air, suspended like the breath I forgot to take.
… Your
Xander leaned in, lowering his voice just enough to make me strain to hear. “And what about Anastacia? her, huh? She still thinks there’s a future–that you’ll marry her someday.”
The words punched me square in the chest. But Jayson’s response was the blade that twisted the knife.
secret relationship with
“She’s just a game. Soon, I’ll ruin her the way her mother ruined my family. She’s nothing but a convenient distraction.”
I felt the world tilt beneath me, but I kept my face blank. My heart raced, my stomach clenched, but I refused to let the pain show!
Memories flashed like cruel snapshots–our stolen kisses, whispered promises, his arms wrapped around me in the dark, telling me I was his everything
All lies.!
I thought back to the mess that made us–my mother marrying Jayson’s father after my parents‘ bitter divorce, blending our lives into one. And somewhere in that mess, I fell for him–hard I thought it was real. I thought he was real.
I forced a smile, my vision blurring. My hand trembled slightly as I reached for my glass, and in my distraction, it slipped from my fingers, shattering on the floor. Water splashed across my lap.
The noise snapped both of them out of their conversation.X
Xander’s eyes narrowed. “Dude what if she understood us?““”
Jayson laughed in Italian, the sound hollow in my ears. “No way. She doesn’t speak Italian. She’s stupid. She didn’t even know I was just using her for revenge, to get even with her mother”
Then, he turned to me with fake concem, his mask perfectly in place. “Are you okay, baby?”
I swallowed the lump in my throat and forced a shaky smile. Tm fine. Just clumsy, I guess. I’ll go clean up.”
Without waiting for a response, I stood quickly, my legs nearly giving out beneath me. I walked toward the restroom, my steps humled -but as soon as I rounded the comer, I didn’t stop
I kept going. Out the door. I threw the key to the luxury car. Then, into the night.8
The cold air hit me like a slap, but it wasn’t enough to numb the ache in my chest. I fumbled for my phone, blinking back tears as L called a cab.!
When the car pulled up, I slid into the backseat, slamming the door shut behind me. The driver asked where I was heading, but ! couldn’t answer. My voice was gone, buried beneath the betrayal lodged in my throat.E
Tears spilled freely now, hot and blinding.
How could I have been so stupid?
Every moment, every smile, every whispered “I love you“-all of it was a lie.
But rage slowly replaced the heartbreak
He doesn’t get to break me.X
I wiped my tears with the sleeve of my jacket, my hand trembling as I pulled out my phone again. My thumb hovered over the contact list before landing on a name I hadn’t considered in months–Professor ValentiX
She answered on the second ring. “Anastacia? is everything alright?
I took a deep breath, steadying my voice. “Yes. I’ve thought about your offer. I’m ready to accept the research project.“”
A pause. Then her warm voice replied, “That’s wonderful news. We’ll prepare everything for your departure in a few days. But I’m reminding you again that in this three years of project, you’re not allowed to contact anyone.”
I know, Professor. I’m ready” I said before hanging up the phone.
