24 #2
“Oh, Regan . . .” she laughed, her cheeks even flushing.
She wanted to say something else, but Aegan cut her off.
“What the hell are you doing here?” Aegan blurted out abruptly, sounding pissed.
Aleixandre threw him a stern look, but Regan didn’t even flinch. In fact, he just shrugged with an elegant indifference.
“I’m one of Tagus’s most distinguished alumni, and this week is the university’s anniversary,” he replied. “How could I not come? Or is there a problem, Chancellor?”
He looked at the woman, who quickly shook her head. Her entire face had lit up. She probably would’ve snogged him right there if she could’ve.
“Actually, Regan, it just occurred to me that it might be better if a former student gave the speech,” she suggested.
A nuclear attack would’ve done less damage. That bombshell fell on Aegan and blew up in his face. His eyes widened in shock, his brow furrowing like he couldn’t believe what he’d just heard.
“What? What the fuck?” muttered my poor, now ousted boyfriend, like he’d just been kicked in the ass. “But we agreed!”
“Aegan,” Regan purred patiently, with a mischievous smile. “It won’t hurt you to make room for someone else.”
“I wouldn’t mind, if it was anyone else but you. I’d rather have my dick cut off,” he scoffed directly, not going back. He had every intention of making it clear that his brother showing up had really pissed him off.
“Mr. Cash!” exclaimed the chancellor, horrified.
Regan’s laughter was so laid-back.
“Don’t worry, this is the way it always goes with us,” he said to the chancellor. Those words were enough to put her at ease; she nodded and smiled back. Then Regan looked at Aegan, and I got the impression that there was a subtle rivalry between them, something only they could understand.
“He really doesn’t care if I give the speech. Isn’t that right, little bro?”
Of course, he cared. I sensed the issue ran deeper than Regan simply stealing the spotlight from Aegan.
If you stripped away all Regan’s charisma, what remained was a vibe that was far more intense than Aegan’s when he and I were alone.
I could feel it. There was something there .
. . something that made Aegan hold back.
And him holding himself back was truly hard to believe.
“No,” Aegan said, clenching his teeth. He then just stood there, blinking. I was blown away.
Regan threw him a broad smile. Of course, his teeth were perfect; he was a Cash, after all. He reached out and grabbed the speech from Aegan’s hands with a charming audacity.
“All sorted then,” Regan said, alternating his gaze between the chancellor and his brother, who stood beside him, about to have a complete meltdown.
The chancellor told Regan he needed to be there by six o’clock and then went on her way. Once she was a safe distance away, Aegan stepped in front of Regan.
They were more or less the same size, but up close, they were completely different.
Different styles, different ways of carrying themselves—maybe one was crueler than the other.
Don’t get me wrong, Regan was impressive, sure, but there was something about him that made me uneasy.
Maybe it was the way he oozed that unbearable Cash aura of power; or maybe it was something else . . .
“Tell me what the hell you’re doing here. You’re never just passing through anywhere. When you show up, it’s because you’re planning on fucking shit up,” demanded Aegan, much sharper than a minute ago.
“Aegan, please, we haven’t seen Regan for ages,” Aleixandre tried to say. But Aegan held his ground, eyes defiant and locked on his half brother.
“How long? A year last Christmas?” asked Regan, acting thoughtful.
“Answer, Regan,” Aegan insisted, as threatening as he was disturbing.
The truth was, I’d never seen anyone deal with Aegan so calmly. Even Adrik’s calmness and indifference seemed less impressive once I saw how Regan shut him down, like he was subtly mocking the eldest of the Perfect Liars.
“There’s no reason.” Regan shrugged. “Dad gave me a month off and I thought I’d stay in the country house. That’s all.”
Aegan looked at him. Anger flickered in his clear, fierce eyes, but then it was like something clicked. He looked horrified.
“It was him . . .” he whispered, before clearing his throat.
“Aegan,” Aleixandre said, flicking his gaze between his two brothers like he knew there’d be terrible consequences if they kept talking.
“This isn’t the place to start arguing, okay?
” He gestured to show that there were plenty of people around, and we were all watching.
All that was missing was some popcorn and 3D glasses.
Aegan turned his head and looked at the three of us, frowning. Artie pretended to look elsewhere, I pretended to play with an imaginary stone, and Laila curled her hair.
Aegan stepped back and seemed to be trying to calm all the rage that was bubbling inside him. But his veins were bulging.
“Jude, let’s go,” he suddenly ordered.
I wanted to fight back, but I didn’t want to be there any longer, so I just headed over to him.
“Do I know you?” Regan’s voice sounded intrigued. The way he looked at me gave me the shivers.
“I don’t think so,” I responded, shrugging.
“Jude, get a move on,” insisted Aegan, looking at us both. However, Regan’s curiosity intensified.
“Are you sure?” he asked again, looking thoughtful. “I think . . .”
“She just told you she didn’t,” Aegan butted in and came over to me. He placed a hand on my back to get me to start walking. “She’s also my girlfriend. Look elsewhere.”
Even I was surprised. The suspicious, possessive edge to the words she’s also my girlfriend would’ve convinced anyone.
“Ah!” Regan nodded, like everything had been cleared up. But he completely ignored his brother and said to me, “You’re the girl from the party photos.” A playful, cunning sparkle made his incredible smile stand out even more. “You looked great, by the way.”
I could see Artie and Laila out of the corner of my eye basically drooling over Regan. I was about to thank him, but before I could even get a word out . . .
“Yeah, well, she looked even better in my bed that night,” Aegan said, grabbing my arm and dragging me away with him.
I let him make a triumphant exit. It was the least I could do after he’d already been made to look a fool over the speech. But once we were a safe distance away, I pulled away from him.
He was pissed off. He didn’t look anything like he did after an argument with Adrik or Aleixandre; this was more complex.
“Have you got a doll that looks like me that you take to bed?” I asked, with mock disbelief, trying to tease him as I followed him toward the car.
He strode furiously, rummaging through his pockets for the car key.
“Shut up,” he said, and then he stopped dead. He turned around and almost banged into me. I took a step back, confused. He pointed his finger at me. “Be very careful with Regan. Don’t even talk to him.”
The warning sounded real and threatening.
“Why would I? Apparently my sex life with you is so incredible it wipes my memory,” I replied sarcastically.
Aegan still looked serious.
“Stay away, Jude,” he said to me.
New discovery: the only thing capable of unsettling Aegan Cash was his older brother, Regan.
“But he’s your brother, I can’t see why—”
“That . . . individual . . . isn’t my brother.”
Maybe he wasn’t. Or maybe he was.
But one thing was for sure: Regan had shown up to wreak a kind of havoc that nobody saw coming.