Chapter 012
Alina stepped out of the car, said goodbye to Jesse, and turned toward Lorraine’s apartment only to see a familiar car parked beside the building. Her jaw tightened.
She adjusted the strap of her bag and started walking toward the door, deliberately ignoring the figure leaning against the car. But before she could reach it, a firm hand grabbed her wrist and yanked her back.
She whirled around, eyes blazing.
“What’s your problem, Kelvin?” she snapped, snatching her hand away like it burned.
Kelvin’s jaw clenched. “Are you really going to act like this? If I walk away today, it’s over…for real.”
Alina furrowed her brows, genuinely surprised. “Over for real?” she repeated, as if he’d just suggested the sky was green. “Kelvin, who said it wasn’t already over?”
“I know you’re only pretending to date Aiden to make me jealous. I could treat you like hell. Push you away. Pretend you don’t exist. Hurt you, even when you least deserve it. And still, you’d love me. You love me so deeply it scares you. Even when you run, even when you try to convince yourself you’ve moved on… you always come back.”
“If I had to put it into one word?” He leaned in, “You’ll return.”
She laughed bitterly, her frown deepening. “I see you’ve decided to stay lost in your little fantasy. Keep dreaming, Sleeping Beauty.” She turned on her heel.
“I swear, Alina… one more step and it’s over.”
She halted mid-step, taking a slow, deep breath.
Kelvin smirked, thinking he had the upper hand, and slowly approached her. “You know…” he began, reaching out to touch her shoulder. “You can’t do or be without-“|
But before he could finish, Alina spun around and slapped him hard across the face, silencing the rest of his sentence.
His head jerked slightly to the side from the force of the slap.
Alina’s voice dropped to a deadly calm. “Touch me again, and I’ll make sure you never use those fingers.”
Kelvin blinked, stunned. That was the first time Alina had ever raised a hand against him. Even when he had hit her once out of anger, she hadn’t retaliated. But now?
“Just because I stopped walking doesn’t mean I was reconsidering anything.” she said coldly. “I thought you had at least a shred of sense. Turns out, your head isn’t just empty, it’s overflowing with trash
Without sparing him another glance, she walked to the door. Her hand paused on the knob.
“Don’t you ever show your face in front of me again,” she said quietly.
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Then she stepped inside, the door clicking shut behind her.
+25 BONUS
Kelvin stood there, mouth slightly agape. “Did… did she just slap me?” he muttered, still staring at the door, completely stunned.
As the door clicked shut behind her, Alina leaned against it and let out a long breath. Her fingers tingled from the slap, and she stared at them, almost impressed with herself.
Her eyes drifted to the window… and there was Kelvin, still standing by the car like a malfunctioning robot, his expression frozen somewhere between disbelief and confusion.
She rolled her eyes and turned toward the kitchen.
Inside, she found a note stuck to the fridge with a smiley-face magnet. She pulled it off and read aloud, “I’ll see you in the evening. I’m at work. I made breakfast.””
Opening the fridge, she found it packed with neatly prepared dishes, but suddenly, she wasn’t hungry.
She left the kitchen and slumped onto the couch. Her thoughts, uninvited, drifted to Aiden. And his family. And those… gloves.
“Why were they all wearing gloves?” she whispered to herself.
Her eyes narrowed, replaying the moment Aiden flinched when she touched him earlier. Even Grandma Linda had reacted
strangely, her hands had trembled as if startled by the contact.
“Doesn’t he like to be touched by women?” Her brows knit together. “Or… is he really… gay?”
She gasped, hands flying to her mouth. “Oh my god. Is this whole relationship just a cover? Is he using me to hide his sexuality?”
Another dramatic gasp escaped her. “Poor thing,” she whispered, pouting in sympathy. “No one should have to live like that.”
Sitting up straight, she glanced at the clock on the wall. “I should be getting ready for work. And I need to plan a flower. One that marks both the beginning and the end of this fake relationship.” she muttered, inhaling softly.
*****
Jennifer paced her room, phone pressed tightly to her ear, her face flushed with anger.
“You told me she was head over heels for you,” she snapped. “She’s been into you since high school, followed you to college,
proposed more than a hundred times, and kept doing it even after you rejected her. She practically built her world around you. And
when you finally said yes three years ago, I saw how happy she was. So tell me, Kelvin, what the hell changed?”
There was a pause on the line before Kelvin responded, his voice low.
“Be honest with me, Jennie,” he said, “Are you catching feelings for Aiden Blackwood?”
Jennifer exhaled sharply, trying to calm her emotions.
“No. It’s not like that,” she muttered, her tone softer now. “I just… I’m doing all this for Alina.” She sat on the edge of her bed, her
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voice dropping further. “I want her to forgive me first. Once you both get back together and things are calm, we can keep seeing
each other quietly… afterwards.”
Without another word, Kelvin ended the call.
“Ughhh!” Jennifer growled, throwing her phone onto the bed and dragging her hands through her hair in frustration. Her eyes burned rage and resentment.
“What happened to you, Alina?” she whispered, her voice trembling. “You don’t just stop loving someone like that. People don’t
fall out of love so easily.”
Her hands clenched into fists by her sides.
“I don’t care what it takes… I’ll fix this. I’ll get you and Kelvin back together. And Aiden-” her lips curled in a twisted smile, “-
he’ll be mine.”
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