53. HOME
ariella
If there is one thing worse than being interrogated by one Keinston man, it’s being interrogated by two of them at the same time.
Unfortunately for me, that’s exactly what’s happening at the worst possible time.
“Asher,” I say patiently, lowering my mug of hot chocolate onto the coffee table, “you’ve asked me the same question six times by now.”
Finally, I’m properly dressed and no longer running into my brothers wearing nothing but a bed sheet. It was awful.
The moment I sprinted back into the bathroom, mortification hit me like a trainwreck. Not because of the sex itself but because of the evidence of it.
The bruises decorating my throat. The bite marks scattered across my skin. The fingerprints stamped into my body. Every single mark Alistair left behind for the whole world to see—or in this case, my brothers.
I was so embarrassed I briefly considered climbing out the bathroom window and starting a new life somewhere remote.
Instead, I cleaned myself up and came back out only to find Alistair already gone.
Apparently, while I had been hiding from humiliation, he escaped the firing squad.
The image still plays vividly in my mind.
Asher was standing there with one hand already drawn back, fully prepared to punch the living hell out of him while the other held a gun because apparently one form of violence wasn’t enough for him.
Meanwhile, Adrian had been doing his absolute worst to keep the two from committing a felony before breakfast.
And somehow Alistair still managed to leave in one piece.
A small pang settled in my chest. I wasn’t expecting forehead kisses and declarations of affection. God knows Alistair Hertley isn’t built that way.
Still, after literally wrecking my body and becoming my first, a simple knock on the bathroom door and a “I’m leaving” wouldn’t have killed him.
“Then answer it properly on the seventh,” Asher presses, pulling me back to the present.
“I did.”
“No, you didn’t.”
“I literally did.”
Adrian leans back on the sofa beside him, looking far too entertained by my suffering. “In her defense, she answered it every time.”
“Thank you,” I give him a sweet smile.
“It was just a different lie each time,” Adrian pouts.
My jaw drops immediately from a gasp. “Traitor.”
“Professional observer,” he corrects lazily.
Across from me, Asher narrows his eyes at me.
The expression would probably terrify most people, but not me. I’ve seen him cry just because I got a fever when I was twelve.
At least neither of them seemed interested in questioning why I was suddenly wearing enough layers to survive an Arctic expedition.
Between the scarf wrapped around my neck and the full-length trousers, despite the pleasant weather outside, I did a reasonably decent job concealing the damage Alistair inflicted.
I’m more than thankful that my brothers are simply choosing not to worsen my humiliation.
“So let me get this straight,” Asher says, straightening up.
“You moved across continents. Enrolled in one of the most competitive universities in the world. Started dressing differently. Started acting differently. Developed a British accent despite being Aussie, and somehow I’m supposed to believe none of that has anything to do with that smiling freak. ”
I nearly choke on my hot chocolate. “Smiling freak? He freed me from the ward when you guys weren’t even here.”
The ache blooming between my legs reminds me why I shouldn’t defend him.
“That’s exactly what he is,” Asher focuses only on the ‘smiling freak’ part of what I just said.
“He teaches engineering.”
“Which somehow makes it worse.”
“That doesn’t even make sense.”
“It makes perfect sense,” he argues. “Nobody smiles that much voluntarily, especially if it’s that branch of engineering. It’s suspicious.”
I stare at him while Adrian nods.
“Actually,” he says thoughtfully, “he does have a point.”
I turn to him in disbelief. “Now you too?”
Then again, Adrian wasn’t exactly judging blindly.
He had known what Alistair truly was before I did. Before I discovered hidden laboratories, impossible technology, and truths that sounded more like science fiction than reality.
If anyone earned the right to be suspicious, it’s him.
“I’m just saying,” Adrian shrugs. “I’ve seen his videos. Nobody should be that cheerful while discussing circuit analysis.”
“See?” Asher points at him immediately. “Even Adrian agrees,” and gives him a thumbs up.
Judging from his reaction so far and the fact that neither of us has been murdered yet by Asher, I’m very certain Adrian kept his word.
Asher still has no idea that months ago, I asked Adrian to investigate Alistair for me.
“Adrian agrees because he enjoys causing problems,” I say.
“Also true,” he agrees with a touch of sarcasm.
I groan and drop my head back against the couch.
The two of them exchange a look that immediately puts me on edge. That’s never a good sign.
Whenever they start communicating silently, someone usually ends up arrested, threatened, blackmailed, or emotionally damaged.
The last one is usually me.
“Ari,” the use of my nickname instantly confirms my suspicion.
I squint at Asher. “What?”
“You know you could’ve done better, right?”
I blink. Seriously?!
“Way better.”
I blink again. “Excuse me?”
“Asher means—”
“No, I don’t,” Asher cuts Adrian off. “I mean exactly what I said.”
My eyebrows shoot up. “You’re judging my choice?”
“I’m rating your standards.”
“You don’t get to have standards to judge my standards.”
“I’m your brother. That’s literally my job.”
I throw a cushion at him. He catches it effortlessly.
“You’re ridiculous.”
“And yet I’m still right.”
“How?”
“If you’re going to lose your mind over a man, at least choose one who’s ordinary.”
I deadpan stare at him.
Adrian looks genuinely thoughtful. “He’s got a point there too.”
“Oh my God.”
“What?” Adrian laughs. “The man looks like he’d apologize to a corpse with a smile after committing murder.”
“That’s because he’s polite.”
“That’s because he’s British.”
“Same shit,” Asher mutters.
I bury my face in my hands. They’re impossible. Completely impossible.
When I look up again, the amusement is still there, but something softer has settled underneath it—real concern. The kind they try to disguise as annoyance.
“You know we’re only teasing you because we worry, right?” Adrian says quietly.
Suddenly, this isn’t funny anymore.
“I know.”
They study me. Not as the men half the city fears. Just as my elder brothers.
“You’ve always loved too hard, Ari,” Asher says.
The words land far gentler than I expected.
“When you care about something, you throw yourself at it headfirst. And sometimes… people don’t deserve that.”
It isn’t really Alistair he’s talking about. It’s everyone.
The dead friends.
The family fractures.
The years we spent separated.
All of it.
Before I can answer, a shrill alarm explodes through the room.
Asher moves before the sound goes off.
What surprises me is that it’s not a phone call but an alert. It makes both his and Adrian’s expressions harden instantly.
The shift is so fast it almost feels violent.
One second, he’s my annoying brother.
The next, he’s the man who runs empires.
Suddenly, I don’t buy the excuse of a business meeting at the CynoTech branch here in England, and that they dropped by my place just to surprise me in the meantime.
Mostly because Adrian doesn’t attempt to move at all, even though Asher is already fixing his suit, readying to leave at any moment now.
“Well,” he exhales. “Gotta go.”
“Let me know if you need me,” Adrian offers, leaning back against the couch.
“What happened?” I can’t help but ask.
“Business issue.”
Heavy silence falls. I hate that silence. It always reminds me of the parts of their lives I’ll never be allowed to see.
Asher looks at me. “Stay here,” his expression softens just slightly.
I roll my eyes. “I’m not a kid.”
“Yup, you’re worse.”
“That’s not reassuring.”
“Just stating facts,” he heads toward the front door.
I follow automatically. Adrian doesn’t.
The second we reach the doorway, Asher turns around and pulls me into a hug.
It catches me off guard. The embrace is strong, brief, and protective—the way he always does before leaving.
“Don’t get into another mess,” he murmurs against my hair.
I snort despite the pang in my chest. Something isn’t right.
“Then stay to make sure I don’t,” I attempt to sound casual despite the strange, uneasy feeling settling in my chest.
“I wish I could,” he breaks the hug.
Before I can make another smart remark, he presses a kiss on top of my head.
Then he turns toward Adrian. That’s when I realize Adrian has followed us after all. I hadn’t even heard him approach.
The look they exchange lasts less than a second. “Mind staying with her while I’m gone?”
“Wait—why would Adrian need to stay?” I ask, but they ignore me.
Adrian scoffs. “Obviously. I’m always the babysitter, ain’t I?” he says to Asher.
“Think of it as training.”
Adrian immediately narrows his eyes. “For what exactly?”
“The children you’re inevitably going to traumatize one day.”
“Bold of you to assume I’d be alive to willingly reproduce.”
“Bold of you to assume you’ll have a choice.”
Adrian flips him off, to which Asher looks entirely unbothered. Clearly, this is a conversation they’ve had a lot of times before.
Then his gaze shifts back to me. For a split second, fear flashes across his face for some unknown reason.
“No matter what happens, don’t do anything stupid,” Asher says to me.
“I’ve never done anything stupid in my life.”
Both men burst out laughing right in my face.
The bastards. This time, I raise both of my hands to flip them off.
“Yeah, save it for later,” the laughter lingers as he leaves with that.
The apartment suddenly feels emptier than ever before.
Eventually, Adrian exhales. “You do know he’s terrified, right?”
I glance at him. “Of what? Does he know….” the question stays unfinished, implying what we know about Alistair.
A small smile touches his mouth as he shakes his head. “Of losing you.”
My throat tightens unexpectedly. I don’t dare to speak.
The amusement is gone from his face now. What’s left is honesty.
“When your father kicked him out, do you know what the first thing he asked me was?”
I shake my head.
“He asked whether you’d hate him too.”
My chest aches. I find myself speechless again.
“He didn’t care about the money. Didn’t care about the inheritance. Didn’t care about losing the house or anything.”
His eyes meet mine. “He cared about losing you, Ari.”
The room grows unbearably quiet.
I stare down at my hands. Suddenly unable to look at him.
I know. I’ve always known. Yet somehow hearing it out loud hurts even more.
“You two are idiots,” I try to lighten up the mood and blink back the tears threatening to spill free.
He lets out a soft laugh. “That’s a family trait,” he says and ruffles my freshly showered hair.
I smile despite myself. Then it fades as soon as it comes.
“Sometimes I think everyone leaves,” the confession slips out before Adrian can stop it.
I go very still because I know exactly what he means.
The woman he loved enough to lose. The woman he let walk away from him because staying would have destroyed her.
Just like Asher. Just like the bullet she shot at him. And he took it in his chest willingly, despite everything he did to protect her.
“Not everyone,” I say softly. “Only a few.”
Adrian lets out a quiet laugh devoid of any amusement. “Yup. Only the ones we love.”
The certainty in his voice forces me to look up.
When I do, I don’t see the feared Keinston man. Not the untouchable strategist. And certainly not the man everybody mistakes for a machine.
It’s just years and years of heartbreak in his eyes that never truly healed.
Suddenly, Adrian doesn’t look invincible anymore. He looks like an ordinary man who’s brought to his knees by the simplest thing in existence—love.
“You can push us away,” his gaze doesn’t waver when he grabs my shoulders. “You can lie. You can make terrible decisions.”
“Thanks,” I smile through the waves of emotions crashing through me.
“You will make terrible decisions,” the corner of his mouth lifts briefly,” then disappears again. “But none of that changes anything.”
Something fragile shifts inside me. Adrian rarely speaks like this. That’s what makes it matter.
His eyes remain locked on mine. “You‘re family. We are family.”
A lump forms in my throat.
“And no matter what happens, what awaits us,” he continues quietly, “I can never let you or Asher go.”
“Neither would I,” I smile genuinely at him.
For the first time in what feels like forever, Adrian returns a real smile. Looking at me like I’m still the same annoying little girl who’d follow him and Asher around everywhere.
That smile brings peace settle quietly inside my chest. Maybe because home isn’t a place but simply this.
These people.
These moments.
The certainty that no matter how far life drags us apart, we’ll always find our way back to each other.
Adrian reaches over and ruffles my hair again. “Time to sleep, kid.”
“Are you?”
“Sleep is for people without responsibilities.”
“And babysitting me is a responsibility?” I pout at him.
“A tragic one.”
I roll my eyes at him. “Goodnight to you too, mofo.”
He chuckles as I head toward my bedroom.
Halfway down the hallway, that uneasy feeling returns.
A storm is gathering somewhere beyond the horizon. I just can’t seem to pinpoint ‘somewhere’.