There was silence for a moment. “There’s no in between in this world, Sebastian. The sooner you understand that, the better.”
I let out a heavy breath.
Things were different from before. I had the company and Aria. I couldn’t be there all the time like I used to be.
“I get it, but nothing will ever come before Aria.”
He let out a sigh. “You can’t have everything, Sebastian.”
He cut the call.
This wasn’t something I needed right now—pressure from Soran. Not with the thought of Callum telling Aria everything.
I pulled up at the house and turned the ignition off, sitting there for a moment. Aria was already home. Logan had dropped her off for me when she’d finished work. She was probably preparing everything for dinner tonight, making it fucking perfect for her beloved Callum.
“Fuck.”
I slammed the palm of my hand on the steering wheel, then grabbed hold of it with both hands, tensing my arms to try and release some of that fire that was already pulsing through me. I needed to keep my cool tonight.
It was going to be fucking hard, sitting there playing nice with him, but I couldn’t let Aria catch on to anything.
I picked up the grey roses from the passenger seat and dragged my body out of the car, forcing myself to the front door. I rested my forehead on the cold wood for a beat to try and extinguish the burning running over my skin, before I opened the door and stepped through.
“Nyx?” I called, walking through the foyer.
“In the kitchen,” she called back.
As I got closer, the smell of chicken and tomatoes hit me. Was she making my favourite, creamy Tuscan chicken? A smile curled on my lips as I stepped into the kitchen—then the aroma changed, with a smell of doughy dumplings.
That smile quickly disappeared when I saw the oven had something in it, and not the stove.
“What you cooking?” I asked, walking over to her, and she turned around to face me.
“It’s chicken and tomato cobbler. It was always Callum’s favourite.” Of course, I’d forgotten this was all about Callum.
She took the roses that I’d forgotten I was holding. “Thank you.” She kissed me. “They’ll look lovely on the dining table.”
She then carried on with whatever she was doing before I’d interrupted her. I took a deep breath to try to calm myself as I made my way back out and into the dining room.
The table was decorated with a black tablecloth and a white netted table runner with silver butterflies embroidered on it. We’d been out shopping one day, and when she saw it, her whole face lit up, so I bought it for her. This girl loved anything with abutterfly on it. Running my fingers over one of them, I let out a heavy sigh.
I needed to be supportive of her tonight, not a dick. She was that free little butterfly that was allowed to do anything she wanted, and I wasn’t going to stop or try to cage her. I’d never do that to her.
The doorbell rang.
Time to be nice, Sebastian.
I started to walk towards the door to open it, but Aria hurried past me and got there first. She pulled it open to see Callum standing there with a huge bouquet of purple roses, and his face lit up with a smile as he saw her. He pulled her into an embrace.
I cracked my knuckles. He shouldn’t be touching her like that.
“Callum, these are beautiful.” She took the roses.
“Anything to see that smile on your face.”
I appeared at her side, wrapping my arm around her waist and pulling her towards me. A warning to him that she was mine.
She looked up at me and smiled. “Sebastian, this is Callum.”
