Chapter 24
RENéE
The past month had gone by smoothly—whatever ‘smoothly’ was supposed to mean. I saw Javier less and less. At first, that hollow ache of missing him felt like it was eating me alive, but then... I don’t know. It became this strange relief. Like maybe, just maybe, I could breathe without feeling like my lungs were about to cave in every time his eyes met mine.
And yet, that relief? It was a lie.
Because even with the space, and the distance, I still thought about him. Constantly. His voice, his smirks, the way he could make me laugh when I didn’t want to. It wasn’t just the physical stuff, though God knows that was addictive enough on its own. No, it was more than that. And that scared me.
What scared me even more was that I might’ve already fallen for him. Just the thought made me groan out loud like I could somehow exorcise it from my brain. It was ridiculous. Impossible, even. People don’t fall for someone like Javier. He was... he was untouchable. And me? I was too broken to even consider something like that. Wasn’t I?
I’d told myself—no, sworn —that this thing between us would be a one-night mistake. A lapse in judgment, quickly forgotten. But instead, here I was. Craving him more and more every day, and it wasn’t just about his stupidly perfect hands or the way he kissed me like he wanted to drown in it. No, it was him. All of him. The person underneath the cool, guarded front. The one who could say so much with a look and make my heart trip over itself without even trying.
That craving scared me. Because what if I wasn’t enough? What if I was too much?
I thought about that monster—something I hated doing but couldn’t avoid. He’d made me feel like love was a punishment. Like every part of me that I dared to share was just ammunition for later. I’d let someone in once, let myself believe I could be loved, and all it had done was tear me apart piece by piece.
So, what was I doing with Javier? What was this?
I shook my head, brushing out my hair as if that would smooth out my chaotic thoughts. Every stroke of the brush felt like a question I didn’t want to answer. Was I ready to trust someone again? To risk it all when I wasn’t even sure I knew how to be whole on my own?
The sound of the doorbell startled me, pulling me out of my spiraling thoughts. I set the brush down, taking a moment to glance at myself in the mirror. My reflection stared back at me, and for a second, I didn’t recognize the woman I saw. I looked... raw. Vulnerable.
I turned away immediately and walked to the door and opened it, expecting maybe the mailman or a neighbor. Instead, there stood Aeros in a sharp navy suit, his tie slightly loosened and a playful grin on his face. My big brother. Standing in my doorway. Looking like he’d just charmed his way out of a business meeting and decided to crash my evening.
“Hello my little sun!” he greeted, sweeping me into a warm hug before I could even get a word out. “Surprised?”
“Uh, yeah,” I managed, stepping back to let him in. “I didn’t even know you were in town.”
“That was the point,” he said with a wink, sauntering into my apartment and glancing around like he was already trying to solve a puzzle. “Thought I’d drop in on my favorite sister.”
“I’m your only sister,” I muttered, shutting the door behind me.
He ignored that, his eyes flicking over the mismatched furniture and the slightly too-small space. “Okay, seriously though—what is this place?” He picked up the vase with fresh red carnations and casually dropped it on the table before moving along.
I glared at him and adjusted the vase. “It’s my apartment,” I said, already bracing myself for the inevitable comment.
He turned back to me with a dramatic sigh. “Renée, why are you living in a shoebox? We’ve already bought you a townhouse, and I don’t even want to count how many penthouses we have in the city.”
I rolled my eyes. “Because I don’t need the family money. I’m fine here.”
“You don’t need it,” he agreed, crossing his arms and leaning casually against the back of my couch. “But that doesn’t mean you have to slum it, either.”
“This isn’t slumming it,” I said, gesturing vaguely around the apartment. “It’s cozy. And it’s mine.”
Aeros raised a skeptical brow but didn’t push it. Instead, he let out a good-natured laugh and threw up his hands. “Alright, alright. I’ll let you have this one. But don’t expect me to stop dropping hints. I’m just saying, the penthouse has a killer view.”
I shook my head, trying not to smile. Aeros had always been the easiest of my brothers to deal with.
“So,” he said after a moment, straightening up and dusting imaginary lint off his suit. “Dinner tonight. You, me… and Javier.”
I froze mid-step. “What?”
“You know,” he said, raising a brow. “Your boyfriend. Or should we start looking for a husband again?”
My stomach dropped. “Uh... yeah. We’re still... dating.”
“Great!” he said cheerfully, clapping his hands together. “Can’t wait to catch up with him. Eight works for you?”
I cleared my throat. “I’ll, uh, call him. See if he can make it.”
I turned away to grab my phone, my fingers fumbling slightly as I dialed Javier’s number. It rang a few times before his voice came through.
“Hi,” he greeted.
“Hey,” I said, trying to sound normal. “Where are you right now?”
“Court,” he replied simply.
“Court?” I frowned, caught off guard. “What are you doing there?”
There was a pause before he chuckled softly. “I’m an attorney, remember?”
“Right. Yeah. Forgot about that,” I muttered, pacing back and forth. “Aeros is here, and he, uh, wants to take us to dinner.”
“Okay.” He spoke. What does that even mean, okay?
“How long do you think you’ll have to be there?” I asked.
“Not sure,” he admitted. “It might take a while.”
I sighed, unsure whether I was relieved or annoyed. “It’s fine if you can’t make it tonight,” I said quickly.
“When is the dinner and where?”
“La Grande, at eight,” I informed and he hummed.
“I’ll call you later,” he cut in gently. “We’ll figure it out.”
And just like that, the line went dead.
I lowered the phone, staring at it like it could somehow explain why Javier was so hard to read.
“Well?” Aeros asked from the couch.
I forced a smile, sliding the phone into my pocket. “He might be late. Work stuff.”
Aeros didn’t say anything for a moment, just watched me with that sharp, unreadable expression. “We’ll see,” he said finally, his tone low but pointed.
Something about the way Aeros was acting didn’t sit right with me. He was too casual, too smooth, even for him. Don’t get me wrong, my brothers always had a knack for turning any situation into something that felt like a game he was winning. But this? This felt different. Like there was something he wasn’t saying.
I leaned against the counter, watching as he settled himself on my couch like he had no intention of leaving anytime soon. He reached for the throw pillow and gave it an exaggerated pat before tossing it aside. “This place has charm, I’ll give you that,” he said with a grin. “But I’d still prefer you live somewhere that doesn’t look like it could be crushed by a strong gust of wind.”
I didn’t take the bait. Instead, I crossed my arms, narrowing my eyes. “Why are you really here, Aeros?”
He blinked at me, all innocent-like, and threw me his best disarming smile. “What? I can’t visit my baby sister without a hidden agenda?”
“No,” I said flatly. “You don’t do casual visits. And you definitely don’t just invite people to dinner without a reason when all you are going to drink is wine.” I tilted my head, trying to read him. Aeros is the pickiest eater I know; he rarely eats anything that he himself didn’t cook. “What are you up to?”
“Up to?” He laughed like I was being ridiculous. “Renée, you wound me. Can’t a guy just want to catch up with his family? And besides, I like the risotto La Grande serves.”
“Not when that guy is you. And definitely not when the family in question is ours.”
Aeros’ grin widened. “You’re too suspicious, you know that?”
“Gee, wonder where I learned that,” I shot back. “Come on, just spill it. What’s this really about? You’re way too relaxed, and it’s creeping me out.”
He held up his hands in mock surrender, but there was something in his eyes—just a flicker, a shadow of amusement, or maybe something else—that told me I was right. “Relax. It’s nothing. I just thought it’d be nice to meet your boyfriend again without the other, maybe interrogate him. That’s all.”
“Uh-huh.” I gave him a pointed look. “And that’s why you showed up unannounced, brought up my apartment like it’s some kind of crime scene, and then casually invited us both to dinner?”
“Exactly,” he said with a wink. “Completely innocent.”
I rolled my eyes but couldn’t shake the feeling twisting in my gut. He wasn’t telling me something—I knew it. The way he was leaning into this whole dinner thing like it was no big deal was exactly what made it a big deal. And knowing Aeros, it wasn’t just about dinner. Whatever this was, there was a plan in motion, and I was smack in the middle of it.
We reached the restaurant and settled into a booth that was way too polished for my taste—white tablecloths, crystal glasses, the whole deal. Aeros looked completely at home, scrolling through his phone with that effortless charm of his while I tried not to fidget too much. The waiter barely had time to bring us water before Javier showed up.
He walked in like he owned the place, dressed in a sharp black suit that fit him so well it might as well have been custom-made. There was this air of urgency about him, like he’d just walked out of something important and made it here by sheer will.
He came straight over, kissed my forehead like we’d been doing this whole fake-dating thing forever, and shook hands with Aeros, who gave him one of those polite smiles.
Javier slid into the seat next to me, loosening his tie just enough to make himself comfortable but still look sharp. “Sorry I’m late,” he said, his voice calm but quick like he was already moving on to the next thing in his head.
“You’re not,” I said, blinking at him. “We’ve only been here for five minutes.”
“I thought you’d take more time,” I added in a hushed tone, leaning closer so only he could hear. “What happened to the trial?”
He glanced at me, the corner of his mouth lifting slightly. “I quickly won and came.”
Aeros raised an eyebrow at that, clearly intrigued. “You’re a lawyer?”
Javier nodded, his posture straight. “I’m an attorney.”
Aeros leaned back, still smiling. “That’s impressive. What kind of law?”
“Criminal defense,” Javier replied smoothly. He didn’t elaborate, and I could tell Aeros was itching to dig deeper. It was in the way his gaze lingered just a fraction too long when Javier answered a question or the subtle, calculated pauses in their small talk. But knowing my brother, he probably didn’t need to ask much. The Aarle brothers didn’t let anyone date their sister without doing their homework first. They learned their lesson the first time. And by ‘homework,’ I mean deep-diving into everything that person had ever done in their life. If Aeros was here, he wasn’t fishing for information—he was here to size Javier up in person.
Dinner was surprisingly peaceful, but I couldn’t shake the feeling of being watched—not by Javier, who was the picture of calm, but by Aeros. He had that faint smile on his face, the one that didn’t reach his eyes. He wasn’t outright hostile, but every now and then, I’d catch him analyzing Javier, like he was piecing something together.
By the time we left, I was exhausted. Not from the conversation, which had been fine, but from the undercurrent of tension I couldn’t ignore. Aeros hugged me at the curb, told me to call him if I needed anything, and drove off.
Javier turned to me, his hands tucked casually in his pockets. “Ready to go?”
I nodded, and we started toward his car. The ride was quiet for the first few blocks, the kind of silence that wasn’t exactly uncomfortable but wasn’t comfortable either.
“Thanks for coming tonight,” I said eventually. “You didn’t have to, you know. Aeros can be... a lot.”
Javier glanced at me. “I didn’t do it for him.”
That caught me off guard. “What do you mean?”
“I didn’t come here because I had to, Renée. I came because I wanted to,” he said simply. “You don’t have to thank me for that.”
I didn’t know how to respond. My stomach twisted in a way I didn’t like—like something was slipping out of my control.
Something inside me snapped. Why was he doing this? Why was he putting in so much effort? Every kind gesture, every moment he showed he cared, it was breaking down the walls I’d spent years building.
It wasn’t fair. Love wasn’t supposed to make an entrance like this, uninvited and unmanageable. I couldn’t handle it. I wasn’t meant for it. People like me didn’t get to be loved. Not really.
Javier’s voice broke through my spiraling thoughts. “Are you okay?”
I snapped before I could stop myself. “What is it to you?”
He blinked, caught off guard. For a split second, something like hurt flashed across his face, but it was gone just as quickly. He nodded once, his jaw tightening, and turned back toward the road.
“Nothing,” he said quietly.
The rest of the ride was silent. When we pulled up outside my building, he didn’t even wait for me to fully step out of the car before he said, “Goodnight, Renée,” and drove off.
I stood there, watching his taillights disappear down the street, my emotions tangling into a knot I couldn’t unravel.
He cared one second and shut down the next. And me? I didn’t know how to deal with either version of him. I couldn’t figure out if I wanted to cry, scream, or run. Maybe all three. But mostly, I just felt exhausted, conflicted, and hopelessly lost.
A part of me still hoped he would maybe turn around and come back. Maybe say something, anything. And about ten minutes later, there was a knock at the door. My heart leaped, and I rushed to open it, convinced it was Javier. He had to have come back.
But the second I swung the door open, my blood turned to ice.
It wasn’t Javier.