Ruined By My Brother's Best Friend (by Silverwriter) novel Chapter 52

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I stared at him blankly. “I know you hate me, but this is taking it too far,” I blurted. “Do you expect me to walk home in the rain?”

“I’m dropping you off,” he said with finality. Then he turned around, grabbed the suit jacket draped over his chair, and slipped it on.

I stood frozen in place, too shocked to move. He’d stopped dropping me off after what happened at the restaurant, and I’d gone back to booking rides like I normally did.

I shook my head, the memories of what he’d said to me that night creeping back into my mind. “Don’t bother. Thank you.”

Alvise’s jaw hardened. “I wasn’t asking.”

“But I’m declining,” I said, my voice firm. “I’ll find my own way home.”

He tilted his head to the side, disbelief flickering across his face. “So you’d rather book a ride this late, with a storm rolling in, than let me drop you home?”

I knew I wasn’t being logical, but his words had hurt me. And even though I always seemed to melt in his presence and crave everything about him, I had to fight against all of that at this moment.

“Yes.” I tipped my chin up. “That’s exactly what I’m saying.”

“You’re still upset,” he observed, his voice dry, as if the very fact irritated him.

I gritted my teeth. “You’ve kept repeating that for some time now. Isn’t it enough?”

“It’s an observation,” he said sharply, “one that appears to be true, judging by the way you’re acting.”

“The way I’m acting?” I scoffed in disbelief. “You…” I took a deep breath, trying to steady myself as the wave of hurt I’d felt when he looked me in the eye at that restaurant and told me never to expect him to treat me better than anyone else resurfaced. “Well, forgive me if I’m just following your rules.”

His eyes hardened. “What rules are those?” he shot back. “Because the last time I checked, you break every single rule 1 have.” He scoffed, a dark look crossing his face. “Isn’t it a little ironic that you’re the one choosing to be upset?”

I flinched, his harsh tone prompting me to take a step back. We stood in silence for a while, neither of us making any attempt to break it.

The longer I looked into his intense eyes, the more I was reminded of just how hurt I was… How hurt I still was.

“I get to be upset, Alvise,” I said quietly, breaking the silence. “I get to be upset because you humiliated me in front of my colleagues…”

“And I added you back to the team, Arabella,” he cut in.

That wasn’t all of it. How could I tell him that it didn’t really make a difference?

1:22 Wed, Sep 9 MO.

Ruined By My Brother’s Best Friend

I closed my eyes, my pulse racing as my fingers dug into my palm. I hated that I was upset.

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bated what I was thinking at that moment, what I was too afraid to say because I already knew what his reply would be.

“You can’t just do things and then cover them up with a grand gesture, Alvise,” I said, my voice trembling. “You..you never. really apologized.”

The air shifted immediately. A thick tension engulfed the room as Alvise’s shoulders visibly stiffened, his eyes narrowing into a hard glare.

“Apologize?” A bitter edge laced his voice. “Did you ever apologize for that night?”

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