Secrets of Us A Forbidden Love Romance (Alina) novel Chapter 210

Letting Go of the Noise

The shower doesn’t help.

I stay under the hot spray until my fingers wrinkle, until the smell of chili and french fries is long gone. My skin is pink from the hot water, but my nerves are still on fire. My heart hasn’t stopped hammering in my chest, regardless of how much I try to calm my

breathing.

The shame won’t rinse off. The cruel words still echo loud in my ears.

Whore. Slut. Desperate.

I tug on a clean set of pajamas and twist my wet hair into a towel. I’m so tired, but I know

I won’t be able to sleep like this. Not with my chest feeling like it’s full of shattered glass. Not with my stomach still turning.

Might as well get my stupid ice cream.

I make my way down the hallway quietly, heading to the kitchen. The house is mostly dark, but Zaid has turned on the warm under cabinet lights, casting a soft golden glow across the counters.

Zaid’s sitting at the island, hunched over his sandwich. He hasn’t taken a bite, he’s sort of just staring at it.

His eyes lift when I walk in, and I don’t miss the way they flick down my body in a slow, heated, lingering gaze. It’s just a second too long.

I feel it like a spark against my skin. But then he blinks, clears his throat, and pushes back his stool, standing up. I’m left with my stomach tightening and my breath shallow.

He walks over to the fridge, opening the freezer and reaches into it. “Are you going to tell me what happened?”

He pulls out the dented pint of ice cream and grabs a spoon without needing to ask me.

I sit on a stool with a sigh, resting my elbows on the counter. “Sadie happened.”

He pauses. His jaw ticks.

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Letting Go of the Noise

“Of course she did,” he mutters, opening the cabinet for a bowl. “She’s a bitch.”

The hatred in his voice makes me bristle, sending my skin into a mess of goosebumps.

He exhales, leans his head back against the cabinet like the weight of everything suddenly hits him. “I’m sorry, you know? For everything. For taking her to the rehearsal dinner. That was shitty.”

I blink at him. He’s apologized for it before, but never so bluntly.

It’s kind, it is, but it’s not what I want. Not what I need.

“I don’t care about Sadie,” I say softly.

He swallows hard, but doesn’t say anything right away. Just gives me the bowl and sits down beside me, eating his sandwich.

I watch him for a minute. His strong profile, the tired way his shoulders slope. The little raven inked just behind his ear that I know by heart. The one I used to kiss.

My stomach twists. I want him. More than ice cream. More than late night comfort. More than just friends.

I clear my throat, trying to push the ache away.

“Couldn’t sleep?” I ask, my voice quieter now.

He stops chewing. His eyes flick to mine, and they’re darker than before. Sadder.

“I haven’t really slept at all since, umm,” he says, then pauses.

He doesn’t finish the sentence.

He doesn’t have to.

I know exactly what he means.