Page 54 of Lust & Lies
“Believe it.”
“He practically raised her,” my brother pointed out. “She’s family. That’s why...”
“We’re not blood related, Tristan. And you know her being like family isn’t the reason he didn’t want us to be together. The Old Man created a path for all of us. He didn’t give a damn about what we wanted or about how we felt. My path didn’t align with the one he had planned for Noe. So he did everything in his power to keep us apart.”
“He’s set in his ways, Aiden. And he does what he thinks is best. He doesn’t do things to spite us or make us unhappy.”
“Yet we somehow end up unhappy,” I countered.
“He does what he thinks is right for us. He had a hard upbringing and faced a lot of trials. He’s only trying to keep us from making the same mistakes he made, the same mistakes our great-grandfather made when he came to the States.”
“Brother, save that talk for someone else. I’ve heard it a hundred times from him, Dad, and you. I wasn’t buying it in the past. I won’t buy it now.”
“Family protects family,” Tristan recited one of our family mantras. “What do you expect from him, Aiden?”
“I understand that. But his way of protecting us is suffocating. I’m done playing by his rules, brother. I’m not trying to make him sick. I’m just trying to get my life back on track. Noe’s too.”
“But you didn’t stop and ask her if she wanted this. She had a life, Aiden. No, you weren’t a part of it. But she still had one.”
“You know she wasn’t happy, brother.”
“No, I don’t know that. She never told me that.”
“Because she doesn’t like talking about her feelings. She doesn’t like being vulnerable. But I know her. She wasn’t happywith grandfather’s plans for her. I know it. You know it. He knew it.”
“Even so, your plan was rash and reckless. There are too many loose ends, Aiden. I warned you that this could all blow up in your face. If grandad’s team finds out the truth, there will be a shitstorm headed your way.”
“Are you done talking yet?” I asked, ready to get back to Noe.
“How is what you're doing any different from what grandfather has done?”
I opened my mouth, then closed it. It was different. I loved Noe, and she loved me. I wasn’t trying to control her. I just wanted to free her from grandfather’s clutches. This was fucking different.
“You can’t answer that, can you? You need to put an end to this before it gets out of hand. If grandfather finds out she’s alive...”
“He won’t find out.”
“Even Ethan knows. How long do you think it’ll be before he lets something slip in front of grandfather?”
“He won’t. He knows what I’m doing was the only option.”
“Yeah, but he talks too damn much. He will let something slip.”
“Are you saying our brother can’t keep a secret?”
“He called me last night to let me know he talked to Noe and that she remembered him cooking for her.”
Damn it, Ethan.
“Ethan makes mistakes all the damn time,” Tristan continued. “Letting him know the truth wasn’t the right way to go.”
“He’s her best friend. I had to let him know. Plus, I’d needed his help putting my plan into action.” This conversation was giving me a damn headache. “Look, Tristan, I don’t need your advice on this. I know what I’m doing.”
“No. You don’t! When it comes to Noe, you’ve always been a little crazy. No, you’ve been crazy as hell. And you know how damn crazy she can get. If her memory returns...”
“It won’t.”
“You can’t be sure of that. If it returns, she will kill you for this.”
