Ruined By My Brother's Best Friend (by Silverwriter) novel Chapter 217

RABELLA’S POV

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His words sent a flutter through my stomach, one so uncomfortable that it made me rush out, not caring how many things I bumped into until I was safely in the hallway and could finally see.

I headed to the room, shutting the door behind me and trapping my bottom.lip between my teeth as tried to come to terms with everything that had just happened.

It wasn’t just the kiss that unnerved me.

It was his words, the way he said them like he meant them… like he really had to fight to control himsel But… control himself from what?

I knew Alvise wasn’t a man who bluffed, so if he said something, he really meant it.

I just couldn’t imagine him fighting his restraints because of a kiss. No… that wasn’t possible.

“Why are you cheesing so hard?”

I jumped, my heart almost lurching out of my chest. “Sierra!” I groaned, rushing to sit on the armchair. “You scared me.”

She cast me a curious look and propped a hand beneath her head on the bed, letting her eyes travel all over me. “And you look flushed,” she observed, raising a brow. “What’s going on?”

I cleared my throat, shifting under her stare. “Nothing is going on. You should go back to bed,” I muttered. “You’re supposed to be sleeping.”

Her eyes, full of obvious suspicion, stayed fixed on me. “Answer my question, Arabella.”

I rubbed a hand over my face to hide my embarrassment. “What question?”

“Where are you coming from?”

“The living room.”

Sierra sat up on the bed. “Who was there with you?”

I scrunched up my face. “Why do you think there was someone there with me?”

“Stop answering my questions with a question, Arabella!” Sierra groaned. “Just go straight to the point.”

I looked at the ceiling and sighed. I should have just stayed in bed and never gone out. If I had, I wouldn’t have had a series of humiliating experiences, all in front of Alvise, only to come back and have to explain them to Sierra.

“Alvise is back,” I told her, avoiding eye contact.

“Your lips are swollen.”

My eyes widened, and I glared at her. “Sierra!”

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Ruined By My Brother’s Best Friend

“What?” She shot me a glare of her own. “You kissed him, didn’t you?”

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Nuffed, giving up. I wasn’t surprised that Sierra could see right through my act. “Yes, I did. And now… I

wish I didn’t.”

She shook her head, and I braced myself, ready for her to scold me. I knew I deserved it too because what the hell had been going through my head when it happened? I was supposed to be angry with this man, not pressing my lips against his.

“You shouldn’t have done that,” Sierra rasped. “Especially not when you know he can leave anytime and you’ll end up emotionally attached.”

I nodded, agreeing with her. “And he obviously doesn’t give a shit about me. He was so cold right after… like he regretted it and had just committed the biggest mistake of his life.”

Sierra scoffed. “He should be glad you even let him kiss you. That is already a privilege in itself… And him acting like he regretted it should be the least of your concerns.”

The corner of my lips tipped up, and I smiled. Sierra always had a way of taking my side and standing by me no matter what. Even when I was obviously wrong.

“I know I messed up,” I said. “And the craziest part is, I went to him myself.”

Sierra didn’t respond immediately. She just watched me intently, and when it became uncomfortable, I blinked several times.

“Girl, why are you looking at me like that?”

she

She chuckled. “You still like him.”

I couldn’t bring myself to deny it.

Worse… I didn’t think I ever stopped liking him.

I woke up late, around noon, the next day, and after showering and freshening up, I headed to the kitchen to cook for Sierra and me.

While I had no idea if I still had a job or not and was basically just living each day as it came, Sierra was also staying at the apartment with me. She had reported to work that she’d been kidnapped, so they gave her a few days off. Deep down, I knew Alvise was the reason her request had been granted, but I couldn’t bring myself to thank him or ask.

I was deliberately staying away from him for my own sanity.

I was cutting vegetables when the front door opened, and my fingers froze around the knife.

I heard the door close just as I resumed cutting and pretended not to be aware of the man who had just entered the apartment.

Alvise walked to the couch and sat down, a frown etched across his face as he typed rapidly on his phone.

I was extremely hungry, so I focused on making tacos for Sierra and me. I didn’t make any for Alvise

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Ruined By My Brother’s Best Friend

because, now that I thought about it, I didn’t have to cook for him.

was rude and dismissive toward me, and besides, I wasn’t his wife or girlfriend.

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With that thought in mind, I spent the next hour cooking, and when I was done, I went to the room to give Sierra hers before walking back to the living room and taking a seat on the lone couch.

Alvise was still typing on his phone, piquing my curiosity. What was so important that it had to be done for that long?

In between bites of my taco, a disturbing thought streamed into my head. With everything happening so fast, I hadn’t taken the time to actually think about Henry’s death and whether Alvise was responsible for it./

I dropped the taco on the plate and set it aside, suddenly losing my appetite. Memories of Theo using crutches to walk and the blood on Alvise’s knuckles flashed through my mind, and I couldn’t ignore them.

“Alvise?”

He didn’t look up. “What?”

I swallowed and locked my fingers together, gathering enough courage before blurting the question out.

“Did you kill Henry?”

Slowly, Alvise lifted his head, something unreadable flashing in his eyes and making my heart skip its next

beat.

“Yes.”

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