Page 63 of Goldsin

“None of us are the same people we used to be.”

“Look, I don’t know what game you’re playing.” His voice is low and intense. “But I won’t let you drag her deeper into our world. Not when I don’t know what she’s hiding.”

“Who says I want to drag her into anything?” I retort, anger finally bubbling to the surface. “Maybe I just want her.”

“Then you’re a bigger fool than I thought,” he snaps.

I don’t respond, letting his words hang heavy in the air between us.

“Stay away from her, Julian,” Adrian repeats, his voice softer now but no less insistent.

As he storms out of the kitchen I bite back a thousand retorts, knowing they won’t change anything.

The moment his footsteps finish echoing down the hall, Aurelia appears in the doorway. Her hair is tousled, and her cheeks are flushed.

Her eyes flick toward Adrian’s retreating figure before settling on me. She arches a brow in a silent question.

I can tell she overheard our conversation from where she was hiding behind the kitchen door, and I relish in the fact she knows Adrian believes we’ve been intimate.

“Good morning, beautiful.” I ignore the daggers forming behind her eyes. “Sleep well?”

“Slept better,” she hums, trying to sound casual as she crosses the room to pour herself a cup of coffee.

I can’t help but stare at her as she moves. Her hips sway with a confidence that seems so natural, so innate, it’s hard to believe this is the same girl who blushed every time we fought; whose vulnerability shone through when she thought no one was watching.

“Is everything okay with Adrian?” she asks, taking a sip of her coffee and grimacing at the taste.

The sugar jar is right there on her left. I know she sees it. But I guess adding some sugar proves her vulnerability? Fuck knows.

I don’t answer her. My thoughts are still caught up in the conversation I just had with my brother. His suspicions about her, his warnings for me to stay away from her—it all feels like a giant weight pressing down on my chest, making it hard to breathe.

He is so close.Toodamn close.

He’ll soon smell the blood staining her hands.

“Julian?” Aurelia’s voice breaks through the fog in my mind, pulling me back to the present. “You look ... I don’t know, worried. Did something happen?”

I shake my head, not trusting myself to speak. Not that there’s anything to say when she has so much more to reveal first.

“Forget it.” I turn away from her and focus on my own cup of coffee, its nauseating smell a stark reminder of how things usually turn out.

How much longer can I keep pretending everything is fine when it so clearlyisn’t?

With that, she turns her attention to making herself some breakfast.

She moves around the kitchen with practiced ease, opening cabinets and drawers without hesitation. It’s obvious she’s been in this kitchen many times before, back when she was dating Adrian and would spend the night in his room.

Those were the days I conveniently allowed myself an extra-long lie-in. It was either that or bash Adrian’s head on the counter every time she blinked her big eyes up at him.

The thought vanishes as I watch Aurelia toast a bagel and spread cream cheese on it, her every gesture familiar and yet somehow new. There’s something both comforting and unsettling about the way she fits so seamlessly into our lives, as though she belongs here more than I do.

But then I remember Adrian’s words—his warnings, his suspicions—and I know I can’t afford to let my guard down. Not now. Not ever. Because no matter how much I want to believe otherwise, there’s a darkness lurking beneath her surface. A secret that threatens to destroy her—along with me.

Because I’ll be fucked if I ever let her goanywhereI am not.

Aurelia finishes preparing her breakfast, adding some smoked salmon, and as she takes a bite of her bagel I admire the way her eyes sparkle with life. She always has been a beacon of light. Whenever I find myself immersed in my thoughts, she’ll be there for me to turn to, brighter than the city lights.

I want to reach out and touch her, to lose myself in her warmth and forget about the darkness threatening to consume us both, but I know I can’t. Not when there’s so much at stake.

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