Chapter Twenty Five #2
“And the awards ceremony …” I sigh heavily.
“I didn’t go because that was the night Eva and I were going to go public.
On our terms. But then you called and asked me to go with you, and it just got complicated.
I was torn between my loyalty to you and my commitment to her.
So I took the coward’s way out and ditched you both. ”
I turn my whole body toward him, my hands held out. “Ace, please. Say something. Swing at me. Yell at me. Just don’t sit there and pretend like I’m not here.”
Ace finally turns his head slowly, and the sight of his face tears through my chest. His eyes aren’t angry, but they’re completely bloodshot. There’s a look of profound hurt on his face that drives the knife in deeper.
“You should have told me in college,” he said, his voice completely devoid of his usual mood. “And you sure as hell should have told me when you started seeing her last summer. It’s been what? Since last summer? That’s over six months.”
I try to swallow the lump in my throat. “I know.”
“You never said a word,” Ace whispers, his eyes drifting back to the pool for a split second before locking back onto my face with a weight that makes my head hurt.
“You sat by and watched us together for a year. That must have been torture for you if you had feelings for her then. But, even then, you should have told me. We’ve been tied together since the womb.
We talk every day. I tell you everything about my life, and I wasn’t getting the same in return.
And then you sat there and listened to me talk about going for her again.
And still nothing. You had plenty of chances to draw the line, Aston. ”
“I just didn’t know what to say. You were torn up for months after your breakup. I wasn’t sure how you would take it, and I felt like I was going against the family or something.”
“You know, I’m not even upset about you two being together,” Ace says, an emotional edge breaking through his flat delivery.
“If you had just told me, Hey, I’ve had feelings for Eva since Walker, and we’re seeing each other, I might have been shocked, sure, but I would have dealt with it. Because you’re my blood.”
He stands, pacing along the edge of the pool, his hands on the back of his head.
“But you lied to me,” Ace snaps, turning to face me.
“You lied about her, and then you lied to me about the awards. And I knew you had lied about that because I called Scott—you know, our mutual agent—and asked him about it, and he had no idea what I was talking about. I just couldn’t figure out why you’d lied.
That was a big deal to me. And I wanted to have you by my side. ”
“I’m sorry,” I whisper, my shoulders dropping. “I’m so fucking sorry.”
“Yeah, well, I just can’t believe you kept something like this from me. And you let me go on and on about how I thought she was the one." He lets out a humorless laugh. "You already had her, and you sat there listening to me. You let me look like a damn idiot."
I swallow hard but don't interrupt.
"That's not what brothers do."
His jaw tightens before his expression softens.
"The crazy thing is ... I really believed it that night. I thought Eva was it for me."
He shakes his head.
"You know what, though? I never went up to her at the after-party. I planned to. Hell, I was looking for her."
He stares past me, remembering.
"Then I saw her across the room ... and something felt off." He shrugs. "She looked different." His eyes meet mine. "Now I get it." A small smile tugs at one corner of his mouth. "She never was mine completely." He points at me. "But she was yours."
His words hit me square in the chest harder than he'll ever know.
"Ace ..." My voice cracks. "She's always had my heart. But I handled this all wrong. Every damn second of it. And I sure as hell wasn't trying to keep you in the dark because I didn't trust you."
"So what was it?" he asks.
"I was terrified."
His eyebrows pull together.
"I've spent my whole life knowing one thing.
" I gesture between us. "Griffiths are loyal.
We show up. We fight for each other. We don't betray each other.
" I let out a shaky breath. "The second I realized I was in love with Eva, all I could think was ...
What if this is the thing that finally breaks us?
" The words leave me in a rush. "I could survive losing almost anything in this world.
" I meet his eyes. "I couldn't survive losing my brother. "
Silence.
Then Ace snorts.
"That's the dumbest damn thing you've ever said."
I blink.
"Aston, you can't lose me." His voice is so matter-of-fact it almost pisses me off. "I might want to punch you in the face sometimes." He points at me. "Hell, give me five minutes and I still might."
A laugh escapes me despite everything.
"But you're my fucking twin," he says, and his expression turns serious again. "That doesn't change because we screw things up.” He steps closer. "And you know something else?"
"What?"
"I know you.” He jabs a finger into my chest. "You're not the kind of man who steals another guy's girl." He shakes his head once. "If you went after Eva ... it wasn't because you wanted to beat me."
A grin ghosts across his face.
"It was because you have loved her for all these years."
I stare at him.
He shrugs. "I would've been pissed if you hid it forever."
Another beat.
"But I never would've hated you for loving the right woman."
“How do I make this right, Ace?” I ask, my voice steady and absolute. “I’ll do anything but give her up. But I swear, I’ll never keep a single thing from you again. You get the truth every time.”
Ace stares at me for a long minute, reading my face. “I’ll think of something.” The humidity between us is thick enough to choke on.
He finally lets out a long breath that eases some of the tension from his shoulders. He walks over to the outdoor kitchen and grabs two bottles of water from the fridge and tosses one straight at my chest.
I catch it against my ribs.
“You look hot,” he mutters, still carrying an edge, but his jaw has softened. He walks back over, his shoulder lightly clipping mine as he sits back down on the lounger. “Sit. Tell me how serious this is with Eva.”
I let out a breath that feels like the first time since I landed, a knot loosening in my chest as I sit back down next to my twin. The connection might be bruised and a bit fragile, but we’re back on the same team.
“I love her, man,” I say softly, cracking the cap on the water bottle. “And I’m going to spend the rest of my life trying to deserve her.”
For the next two hours, the heavy weight that’s been between us for half a year hadn't just broken—it had completely dissolved into the quiet, grounding reality of the truth.
I lean back into the chair, letting my frame settle as the tension finally drains out of my shoulders, and I give him the raw, unedited story of the last six months of my life with Eva.
Ace just sits there in the silence, his arms crossed over his chest, his blue eyes tracking my face without interruption. When I finally run out of words, a slow, genuine smile breaks across my brother's face—the first real, easy expression I’ve seen on him since I got here.
"She’s a good one," Ace murmurs, his voice rough but laced with a deep, unmistakable warmth. He reaches over, his palm grasping my shoulder in a firm, lingering grip that tells me everything I need to know. "And I'm glad you finally got your shit together and took your shot."
We finish the night with good food and are just simply happy to be in each other’s company. It’s been too long since we’ve spent time together like this, and we both needed it.
By the next afternoon, the Florida sun is blazing down on the tarmac at the private airfield, heat waves shimmering off the concrete. Ace’s truck idles near the nose of my charter plane, the low rumble of the engine a familiar, steady backdrop to my departure.
I haul my duffel bag over my shoulder and step out of the passenger side, turning back to look at my brother through the open window.
The lingering weight that had shadowed every single one of our conversations for the past six months is entirely gone, replaced by the easy, unspoken rhythm of two brothers.
"Don't make me fly down here to drag your ass north for a visit," I tell him, letting a familiar, teasing smirk settle on my face as I rest a hand on the door frame.
Ace chuckles, resting his forearm on the window track, his eyes clear and steady. "I promise I’ll come up. Someone’s got to keep an eye on you and make sure Texas stays in your heart too.”
I give him a nod, my chest tightening with a deep, quiet gratitude as I slap my hand twice against the side of his truck. "Texas forever, brother. See you soon, Ace."
"Safe flight," Ace replies, his smile widening as he shifts into gear. "Go get home to your girl."
Turning toward the stairs of the plane, I feel the warm sun on my back and a profound, unshakeable peace settling deep in my chest. My family is okay, and for the first time in my life, I feel like every single path I’ve taken has led me exactly where I want to be—straight home to Eva.