“I already knew you liked her,” Rook said quietly, dragging a hand down his face. “I honestly didn’t know it before. I had no fucking clue you liked her at all. Then Regan came around and pointed it out and suddenly I saw it all. I didn’t want to see it, but you’ve been chasing after her for a while now.”
“And you didn’t want to tell him it was fine to do something about it?” I yelled, taking one large step toward him.
“No. This is your house as much as ours. If I told Aiden he could even attempt to get your attention, it would have been a damn free-for-all for any of these guys trying to do the same thing. I guess I assumed if he wanted it bad enough, he would talk to me one day.”
“He wasn’t going to!” I yelled. “He was going to sit back and not say a word because he respected you too much.” I stomped forward, but Aiden pulled me back.
“Calm down, little psycho, don’t get me into more shit with this than I am already.”
Rook exhaled sharply, dragging a hand down his face before leveling Aiden with a look that made my stomach twist.
“You know I can’t just let this go.” His voice was eerily calm, and I didn’t love the sudden change.
Aiden didn’t flinch. “No. But I think you’ll do what’s right.”
Rook let out a low, bitter laugh. This wasn’t good. I knew it would take a turn at some point, but I didn’t know how.
“The right thing?” He scoffed, shaking his head. “What the fuck is the right thing? Aiden, I don’t even know if I can trust you anymore.”
The words landed like a gut punch.
“What the hell does that mean?” I snapped. “Aiden is the most trustworthy person here, and you know it.”
“No, actually, he’s the one who betrayed me on the one thing I really needed him not to. Blackmail or not, he did.” Rook’s jaw clenched. “Everything he’s done has been behind my back. And now, because of your choices, I have to deal with the fallout ofall this if it doesn’t go well for you two.” His eyes flicked to me, frustration sharp in his features. “And you—”
I tensed.
“You’re reckless,” he said, voice tight. “You don’t think things through. You do whatever the hell you want, no matter the consequences. You blackmailed Aiden, someone we all need in our lives, and risked that safety for all of us. You never think through your actions. You forced his hand into this relationship and you think that was a good thing? You think that’s going to be a healthy long-term relationship?”
That hit a nerve. A deep painful wound that I could never shake because I knew it was true. And it was even true with Aiden. It’s not like he had started this relationship naturally.
I made him.
I sucked in a sharp breath, my vision narrowing. This was about me and how much of a problem I was, how careless I could be... but I wasn’t that person anymore. Or at least, I didn’t want to be.
But I knew what Rook meant.This is why I never tell you anything. This is why I don’t trust you to make your own decisions. This is why I have to protect you, even from yourself. This is why Aiden has been forced to be at your side all these years. Not because he wanted to, but because he had to.
Like how he had to be in a relationship with me.
“I do think things through,” I shot back, stepping toward him. “I think through everything I do, but you’re only mad I don’t make the same decisions you do, and that I’m a little more confident in my decisions than you.”
Rook let out a slow, measured breath, like he was keeping himself from saying something worse.
“I’m careful with my decisions because they don’t affect just me. They affect you, Regan, everyone. This fucking decision you so carelessly made affects everyone, and you don’t seem to care.”
I could feel Aiden at my side, his presence steady, but it didn’t help. Somehow the blowup was between Rook and me now, the blame all on me.
“It’s not her fault, Rook. We both did this and, if anything, I’m the one who crossed the line first,” Aiden said, positioning himself between Rook and me a little more.
But Rook’s glare was still trained on me.
Because no matter what, I was a problem. I was out of control, and they would always think I’m a problem they had to fix.
The realization cut deeper than I wanted to admit.
“You know what? You two have fun deciding how to clean up this mess I made. Only another one of my fucking antics that’s threatening to ruin all our lives.” My voice was sharp, shaking with the weight of too many bottled-up emotions. “I’m sure you’ll come up with something real fucking reasonable on deciding how to punish me, right? Because I’m the problem, I’m the instigator, and I’m only here to destroy lives.”
“Evie,” Aiden started, his voice softer now. “You aren’t the problem.”
