Secrets of Us A Forbidden Love Romance (Alina) novel Chapter 60

It Will Never Be

I fold another sweater and shove it into the cardboard box in front of me, not bothering to

keep it neat.

It will be a pain to dig through the box and figure out where everything is, but I don’t

care.

Mother hums to herself as she walks down the hallway from her room to the hallway bathroom. She seems to be unbothered by the chaotic mess.

Clothes, books and random things are scattered everywhere, all over the floor.

I roll my eyes and peek my head out of my bedroom. “Are you expecting me to clean up

all this mess?”

Mother stops with her shampoo in her hands, frowning. “Of course not. Jake is hiring a cleaning company to take care of everything we leave behind. Just take what you want.”

“How can you be so calm about this?” I ask.

She shrugs, walking toward her room again. “I’m ready to start this new chapter of our

lives.”

A new chapter. Yeah right. Something tells me nothing is going to change except our living situation. “Does Jake know you’re an alcoholic?”

She gasps, jaw dropped. “Don’t be so dramatic. So, I like to finish my day off with a glass

of wine, that doesn’t make me an alcoholic, Alina.”

I sneer at her. She says it’s a glass of wine, but it’s more like bottles. With an s.

Moving into Jake’s house feels more like stepping into a twisted version of my life than

any kind of fresh start, and dread fills me up to the brim.

Mother didn’t even listen to me when I told her that I could keep living here and she could live with Jake and the guys. She told me that was ridiculous, too.

The wedding is tomorrow, and tonight is the rehearsal dinner. I don’t know what’s worse: pretending everything is fine or knowing I’ll be living under the same roof as Jake by the

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It Will Never Be

end of the day.

My chest tightens as I think about our conversation yesterday. His confession that he’s marrying my mother just to be close to me.

Fuck.

There was a part of me that wanted to be flattered at that. That he wanted me under the

same roof as him. The larger part of me was absolutely disgusted with him.

Maybe Aiden and I could get a place together, move out and…

And what?

Do I see a future with him?

I don’t.

But Aiden’s fun. He makes me feel normal; he makes me forget.

I shake the thoughts away and shove another handful of clothes into the box.

“I think I’m done here,” mother says as she walks to the living room with a box in her

hands.

None of the furniture is coming, so the packing is quick. Jake’s house is fully furnished, and I’m sure he does not want the style ruined by our secondhand things.

When we pull up, Jake is waiting for us outside. His tall frame leans casually against the doorframe, but his eyes are anything but relaxed. They’re locked on me, intense and burning, and I can’t help the way my heart skips a beat.

I hate him for saying it, for putting me in this position. And yet, I can’t stop the wild flutter in my chest whenever he looks at me, when I remember his touch.

“This will be your room,” Jake says, opening the door.

I step inside, my eyes immediately scanning the space. It’s clean and impersonal, with a bed, a small desk for schoolwork, and a vanity tucked in the corner. There’s no bathroom. The realization that I’ll have to share with Aiden and Zaid hits me like a brick.

“Is there another room?” I ask before I can stop myself.

My mother whirls on me, her tone sharp. “Alina, don’t be rude. You should be grateful you have your own room.”

I bite my tongue, glaring at the floor. Grateful? Grateful for what? That I’ve been uprooted and shoved into this house to play happy family with Jake? With Aiden and

Zaid?