Page 63 of Love Me Not

“Tell me what you did to get it then, huh?”

My entire body flushed with shame.I couldn’t.There was a line I wouldn’t cross, and this was it.

“Just leave it and accept the goddamn money, Lucas.Don’t be difficult.”

He took a step closer.

“I’m being difficult?”he asked with a scoff.“Now Iknowyou opened your legs to get that money.Is that why she looks at you like that?Is there some other arrangement here?Or did you fuck some rich, old geezer just so you could get out of hard work?For the last time, I don’t want to fucking go, and I don’t want your fucking dirty money?—”

“That’s enough,” Lux said, appearing by my side and wrapping her arm around my shoulder.“You’re young, so you might not get it, but you shouldnevertalk to your sister that way.”

Lucas glared at her.

“Hey, just because you think you have some weird claim on her?—”

“This has nothing to do with what I feel about her,” she said.“Yes, I like your sister.And that's none of your business, quite frankly.It's between me and her.But I say this because you never know what could happen.Tonight might be the last time you got to talk to her.”She paused for a second.“Now, I think it’s time for everyone to rest.Bella’s driver will take you home.”

I expected Lucas to fight, but when I stayed silent, he seemed to deflate as well.As he took a step back, tears welled in my eyes.

“I’ll call you,” he mumbled and walked to the door where Marci was already waiting with a scowl.

There was a long, silent moment, then the door shut and Lux turned me to look at her.

“Don’teverlet people, even your brother, talk to you like that, do you hear?You don’t deser?—”

“So you really like me?”

Lux stopped mid-sentence, her face deadpan.

“That’s all you got from that?”she asked, her hands gripping my shoulders.“I’m telling you, you deserve more.It doesn’t matter where that money came from.You shouldn’t feel ashamed.No one should make you feel that way.You’re too important and too good for it.”

I tried to let her words sink in, but all they did was bring back the wound my brother left.

“He’s just a teenager,” I said.“He’s had it hard.And just because I offered him the money doesn’t mean he has to take it.”

She paused for a moment, her expression turning soft.

“There are many things I regret about my relationship with my sister,” she said in a low voice, likely not wanting to alert Bella to our conversation.“One of them was how I treated her before her death.She was… kinder than me.Always reaching out.But I ignored her.Pushed her away when I was busy.I didn’t give her the attention she deserved, didn’t spend enough time with her.If I knew she would die so young… If I knew I would never see her again, I… I have so many regrets.”

Her words weighed heavily on me.I couldn’t see it from her perspective, as I’d always been the one worried about my sibling, always the one reaching out, always the one taking care of him.

But now I saw that Lux was more like Lucas.Someone wanting to show that they could live on their own.Succeed.Even if it came off harsh, they wanted to prove themselves.

Before I knew what I was doing, I was wrapping my arms around her waist.She froze, her breath audibly hitching.Ever so slowly, not to scare her away, I placed my head on her chest.I felt as though she could jump ship any moment, but she needed this.

Maybe just as much as Bella did.

After all, they both lost people they loved.She breathed in deeply.Her heart was racing; I could hear the rapid beating as I hugged her.

Her arms twitched, and slowly, she brought them around me, but they never touched my skin.They just hovered there, unsure.I could feel them brush against my back.The invisible weight of them.

“Juliette, are you okay?”

Before we could pull away, we heard the sound of Bella’s footsteps, and her small body slammed into us.She buried her head into us and squeezed, pulling us into a three-person hug.

Lux hesitantly wrapped one arm around Bella, the other around me.I brought my hand to Bella’s head, patting it.

“Lucas had to go,” I finally told Bella, not breaking the hug.“He’ll be back if you want another gossip session sometime.”

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