Chapter 15
FIFTEEN
Rule Number Twelve of Adeline’s Guide to Overcoming Loneliness: Adeline, make peace with the past. A lot has happened, and that’s fine.
Sometimes, you feel lonely because you’re still holding onto pain from the past, and you can’t move forward if you’re always looking back.
Turn to face the past, not to live in it, but to understand it.
Write a letter to those people from the past, whether it’s an apology, a goodbye, or a thank-you.
Close that door, Adeline, be brave. Be smart.
Vivienne St. Claire.
Standing there in all her glory, her red hair swept back like a crown. With all the fame in the world, her well-deserved success. She’s every bit the star she was destined to become.
Vivienne St. Claire was an old acquaintance. Not exactly a friend, but a friendly face. One I had seen a few times over the years when Arion was still around.
Arion.
Even thinking his name is like opening an unhealed wound. It’d been so long, and that wound still hadn’t gotten easier to bear. It had left scars, and those scars ached long after the original pain had faded.
Arion Hayes wasn’t just a friend. He was my best friend. The kind of person who makes everything better just by existing. He made me laugh when I thought I couldn’t. He saw me, really saw me, in a way no one else had.
I met him through Mason, of all people.
Mason’s friend first, but mine soon after.
He had this knack for making everyone feel like they belonged, like they were the most important person in the room.
And somehow, despite all of his charm and grins, he always chose to spend his time with me.
I don’t think I ever stopped being surprised by that.
And now he’s gone.
It doesn’t matter how many times I remind myself, it still feels like a punch to the gut every time. I remember the day I found out. I’d called him, just like I always did, and instead of his voice, I got his mum.
“Ari?”
“Honey, this isn’t Arion, this is his mother.”
Since when did his mother start taking calls for him?
“Could you please pass him the phone if he’s around, it’s very urgent —”
“Adeline.”
I pause when I hear the urgency—no, the pure agony in her tone.
“What happened?”
“Oh Addie, baby…”
Gone.
How do you even begin to understand that word when it’s applied to someone like Arion? Someone so full of life it didn’t seem possible he could just… stop? I couldn’t bring myself to go to the funeral. I couldn’t face it, like a coward. I just couldn’t face him not being there.
And now, here’s Vivienne, who was completely tied to it all. To Mason, to Arion. All of it. Seeing her, I don’t just see her—I see Arion.
I see the ice cream trips, the late-night walks, the rehearsals she had dragged he and I to.
We were never that close, Vivienne and me.
But now, watching her in the company of Kai Steele and his father, she looks like she was always meant to be here.
I feel the sting of shame and defeat tugging at my heart.
Shame because, despite my best efforts to create a better life for myself and my sisters, the reality of our situation is…
not so good. Defeat because I knew there would never be a life for me if there wasn’t a life for my sisters.
And maybe the college will keep us going for a bit. But what will happen after?
“I’m sorry. I’m going now,” I say, my voice shaky as I turn to Liam and Christian.
But before I can disappear into the crowd, I hear Lilia’s voice.
“Addie? What are you doing here?”
Seems to be the question of the night, doesn’t it?
And there they are. Lilia and Bea, their perfectly styled appearances somehow managing to make me feel even more out of place.
“What are you wearing?” Bea cuts in, her eyes darting to my dress before adding with a smirk, “And where do I get one of those?”
“Did you have anything to do with this?” Lilia adds, her tone slightly accusatory as she glances at Chris and Liam, eyes narrowed.
“No, they didn’t,” I say quickly, gesturing to the tray still clutched in my hands. “I was just trying to give my friend back her phone, and… well, this is how it ended. Her name’s Camille.”
From behind me, Liam lets out a loud, poorly suppressed snort.
We all turn toward him, and I shoot him a glare that could melt steel. He doesn’t even have the decency to look sorry.
“What? Sorry. Sorry,” Liam mutters, holding up his hands in mock surrender. But there’s a glint of mischief in his eyes as he continues, barely suppressing a grin. “It’s just… come on, the whole thing is just so stupid it’s almost funny.”
For a second, there’s silence. I don’t know if I want to punch him or laugh with him. Probably both.
Before I can make up my mind, Liam breaks the stillness. “Anyway, I’m bored,” he announces, and with a casual shrug, he spins on his heel and saunters off, completely unbothered by the entire thing.
He’s heading straight toward Will.
Oh, great. Of course, Will is here. Because why wouldn’t he be?
My eyes flick toward the other side of the room, where Will is leaning against a wall.
He’s surrounded by a flock of women. As always.
I can’t help but shake my head as I watch him.
It’s not that he doesn’t enjoy the attention (he clearly does), but there’s a flicker of boredom in his expression, a distance in his eyes, and a faint detachment that suggests he’s not entirely present.
He leans casually against the wall, his hands in his pockets, a lazy smile curving his lips as he responds to whatever ridiculous compliment just floated his way.
A smirk here, a raised eyebrow there—just enough to keep them hooked without offering anything real. One of the women places a hand on his arm, and Will doesn’t pull away; he lets it linger, tilting his head slightly as if she’s just said the most fascinating thing he’s ever heard.
Those poor girls. If they only knew what lurks behind that charming smile.
I notice Lilia’s gaze flicker toward him too, and for a second, her playful expression falters. Something else creeps into her eyes, something soft and unsure.
Lilia quickly looks away and refocuses on me, her tone overly bright as she says, “Well, at least you got something out of this.”
I blink at her.
“New shoes, obviously,” she grins. “And more time to spend with us! But you know what? We should definitely go shopping soon. Or better yet, Bea can design some clothes for you. She’s crazy good at it. And if all else fails, we can raid Bea’s amazing closet. It’s like half the size of my house.”
“Lilia, I —”
“Oh, no, no, no.” She holds up a hand, cutting me off. “You don’t get to argue. Rules are rules. Bea would back me up if she weren’t…” She pauses, gesturing behind me, “… preoccupied.”
I glance over my shoulder and spot Bea a few feet away.
She’s standing with Christian, a look of pure frustration on her face. Her brows are furrowed, her arms crossed, and her glare is aimed directly at him. The intensity in her gaze could probably scorch the very ground beneath her.
Christian, for his part, doesn’t look as reserved as he usually does. There’s something softer in his eyes, something that almost looks like regret. It’s unsettling to see him give that much attention to someone who isn’t one of his friends, or whatever book he’s reading at that time.
“What’s going on there?” I ask, raising an eyebrow at Lilia.
She sighs dramatically. “Oh, those two. I have no idea what’s happening, but Bea seems to hate him most of the time.”
“Maybe there’s more to it,” I suggest, watching as Bea jabs a finger in Chris’s direction, her frustration practically radiating off her.
Lilia snorts. “Not maybe. Definitely.”
Before I can respond, my gaze unintentionally drifts back toward Kai. Completely by accident, I swear. Except this time, his piercing gaze locks onto mine, and panic seizes me.
Crap crap crap.
His expression shifts in an instant. Surprise flickers across his face, followed by something sharper, something that makes my stomach twist. He raises an eyebrow as if to say, Why are you here?
And then he starts walking toward me.
Oh, no.
My heart pounds in my chest, and for a moment, I’m concerned it will actually burst out of my ribcage.
“Oh, shit,” Liam hisses, suddenly reappearing at my side. “This is gonna be good.”
I barely have time to process his panic before Kai Steele is standing in front of me. “Adeline,” he says politely, but with an edge. “What are you doing here?”
He says it like he’s someone greeting an acquaintance at a dinner party. Like he might offer me champagne next. But his eyes don’t smile.
It shouldn’t scare me. But it does.
I swallow hard, the lump in my throat making it difficult to form words. “I was trying to give Camille her phone back,” I say, and despite it being true, the explanation sounds weak even to my own ears.
His gaze flicks past me, scanning the room. “Camille,” he repeats. “She’s not here.”
I frown. “Why not? She told me this was where she was going.”
Kai nods slowly, and his smile, if it can be called that, is something you could cut your hand on. “She was sent home. Which means she’s not here. And now you are. Standing exactly where she should be. That’s… curious.”
There’s a chill in his voice, I realize.
So slight I could swear I imagined it. Like the cold you feel when a cloud passes over the sun. Faint, but you feel it anyway.
I shift slightly, heart thudding against my ribs. “I was only trying to help. I wasn’t planning on staying.”
“Then by all means,” he gestures, graceful, dismissive. “Don’t let me keep you.”
The silence that follows stretches just long enough to make me wonder if I should take the out he’s offering.
I should leave.
That would be the smart thing, the easy thing. I wasn’t meant to be here. I wasn’t asked. I wasn’t supposed to take Camille’s place.
But I didn’t get dressed up in this ridiculous outfit for nothing. And besides, if I leave now, I’ll either get paid less or not at all.