23. Jules #5
“Nothing is happening,” Kaia says, measured.
I stare at the ceiling. “Well, I had sex with Camille.”
Silence.
Complete, total silence.
“Okay,” Kaia says eventually.
Mina’s mouth opens, then closes. Remy only nods once, like she’s confirming something internally.
“Okay,” Mina tries again, softer. “That’s okay. When?”
“First night here in Barcelona.”
I take another drink. Probably unnecessary. Definitely happening anyway.
“And it was…” I squint at the ceiling like the answer might be written there. “It was not casual.”
Remy snorts quietly. “Noted.”
“I’m serious.” I roll my head to look at them. “Intense. Grounding. Whole ‘wow, I can feel my soul rearranging’ situation.”
Kaia’s expression shifts slightly. Mina looks concerned.
“Okay,” Mina says carefully. “And how do you feel about that?”
I laugh because obviously.
“How do I feel? Great. Amazing. Super normal. Not confusing at all.”
“Jules.”
“I like her,” I say, the words coming faster now. “Like, really like her. Which is unfortunate because she does not like me.”
“That’s not…” Mina starts.
“She said it wasn’t real,” I cut in. “Very clearly. Very professionally. Very ‘this was a logistical error’ about it.”
Remy’s jaw tightens. Kaia goes still.
“So that’s where we’re at.” I shrug like none of it matters. “I had sex with my wife, she regrets it, I’m apparently emotionally compromised, and she arranged for my sister and dog to show up today, which, what is that? Who does that?”
Mina’s eyes widen. “She did that?”
“Yeah.” I throw one hand up. “As a ‘low-risk emotional stabilization intervention.’ Romantic, right?”
Kaia exhales slowly. “Have you told her any of this?”
“Obviously.”
A beat passes.
Kaia tilts her head. “Without making it a joke?”
I open my mouth, then close it. “Sort of… Not really…”
She just looks at me.
Not judging.
Which is worse.
Remy takes a sip of her drink. “I already told her to take her own advice.”
“Wow. Love the consistency.”
Mina keeps watching me, her brow furrowed. “I thought you didn’t like her.”
I blink. “What?”
“You always acted like…” She gestures vaguely. “Like it was just flirting. Like it didn’t matter.”
“It didn’t,” I say automatically.
Then I pause.
“It doesn’t,” I try again, weaker.
Mina does not buy it.
Obviously.
She hesitates before saying, “Camille came to see you.”
The room stills.
I sit up. “What?”
“In the hospital. She… She came in.”
I stare at her. “That’s not… She wasn’t there when I woke up. You didn’t tell me this before.”
Mina’s expression tightens. She and Remy exchange a look.
Remy turns back to me. “She shouldn’t have been there.”
“She’s my wife,” I snap.
“On paper,” Remy shoots back.
That lands harder now because I’ve heard it from both sides.
Then something clicks.
I straighten and look at her. “Wait. Is that why she said that? Because you said it to her?”
Remy doesn’t look away. “It was true.”
My stomach drops.
“And it was her fault you got hurt,” she adds, her voice still flat. “She knew the risks.”
I stare at her. “You told her to leave?”
“Yes.”
I look at Mina. She avoids my eyes at first, then finally meets them.
Guilty.
“I… agreed,” she says quietly. “I told her to go too.”
That hits differently.
Worse.
“Why?” The word comes out sharper than I mean it to.
Mina winces. “I didn’t know. I thought you didn’t like her like that. I thought it was just…” She gestures vaguely.
Me.
Flirting. Joking. Nothing real.
“And she was being so cold to you before the show… I didn’t know you actually liked her,” she finishes softly.
Silence settles over the room again.
“She looked really shaken,” Mina adds. “I’ve never seen her like that.”
I don’t know what to do with that, so I don’t.
I lean back and press the heel of my hand to my eyes.
“I’m sorry,” Mina says.
That makes it worse.
There is something in her voice beyond guilt or worry. Something heavier. I can practically hear the way she is blaming herself, replaying every second and deciding she did something unforgivable.
I hate that.
I hate upsetting Mina.
Anyone else? Fine. Sometimes even fun.
But Mina?
No.
I drop my hand. “Hey. Don’t do that.”
She frowns. “Do what?”
“That.” I gesture vaguely. “The sad, guilty thing. I don’t like it.”
“I told her to leave,” Mina says, quieter. “I thought I was helping.”
“You were helping,” I say immediately. “Remy was being intense, you were backing her up. Whole team effort. Gold-star behavior.”
“Jules.”
“I’m serious.” I lean forward. “You didn’t know. I didn’t even know, so how were you supposed to?”
She still looks unconvinced.
Of course she does.
I scrub a hand over my face. “This is a mess.”
“No argument there,” Remy says.
Kaia shifts closer, her voice steady. “You need to decide what you want.”
“I want her to stop being emotionally unavailable.”
“That isn’t something you can control.”
“Yeah, I’ve gathered.”
Silence settles again, softer this time.
Mina nudges my knee. “Hey. You’re allowed to care, you know.”
I let out a breath. “Yeah. That’s kind of the problem.”
For once, I don’t try to joke my way out of it.
Not right away, anyway.