Page 13 of You Were Always Mine
‘Yeah,’ she says lightly — too lightly. ‘Thanks for the coffee.’
He grins, nods, and walks out the door, the bell above it chiming as it swings shut behind him. I watch Scarlett’sshoulders drop the second he’s gone, her whole body sagging with relief she probably doesn’t even realise she’s showing.
She thinks she’s alone now.
She thinks she’s safe.
I rise from my seat slowly, my chair scraping against the floor. Crossing the room is easy — too easy — and when I sit in the seat he just vacated, Scarlett’s head snaps up, her eyes widen, and her mouth parts as if she’s committed an unforgivable sin.
The look on her face — shock, guilt, fear — feeds me more than any kiss Ava ever pressed to my mouth.
I lean back in the chair, stretch out like I own the place, my shoulder brushing hers. The air between us changes instantly — thick, hot, dangerous.
‘Miss me?’ I murmur, low enough that only she can hear.
Scarlett
My heart slams against my ribs when he sits down beside me, shoulder brushing mine, eyes burning through me like he’s been here all along.
‘Did you follow me?’ I snap, the words spilling out before I can stop them.
Kai smirks, tilting his head, his voice a dark purr. ‘Don’t look so surprised, baby sister. You knew I would.’
I swallow hard, fingers tightening around my coffee cup, but my voice is sharp when it comes. ‘Now what did I tell you about his hands?’
His grin sharpens, dangerous. ‘And what did I tell you about mine?’
My jaw clenches, heat crawling up my neck, fury laced with something else I don’t want to name. ‘You had your hands all over her this morning,’ I bite, spitting the words like poison.
Kai leans closer, his breath brushing my ear, his voice so low it makes my stomach twist. ‘This isn’t about me.’
‘This isn’t aboutyou?’ I laugh, sharp, brittle, setting my cup down too hard on the table. ‘Everything is about you, Kai. You don’t get to show up here, act like I owe you explanations, when you had Ava’s lipstick all over your mouth this morning.’
His eyes glint, bright and cold, like I’ve just walked straight into a trap he’s been holding open for me.
‘You watched,’ he says softly, almost like a fact, not an accusation. ‘You hated every second, didn’t you?’
My throat closes, but I lift my chin. ‘Maybe I was disgusted.’
He leans closer, his shoulder brushing mine, his scent wrapping around me, and murmurs, ‘You were jealous, little sister. I could see it in your eyes.’
I force a laugh, shaking my head. ‘You think everything revolves around you. Tyler actually treats me like a person, not some?—’
Kai cuts me off, his voice slicing through me. ‘Tyler doesn’t know you. He doesn’t see you. He wants a sweet little girl he can show off — not the real you. Not the girl who looks at me like she wants to set me on fire.’
Heat floods my chest, my face, and I hate how it steals my breath. ‘You’re insane.’
His smirk deepens, his eyes locking on mine like a chain snapping shut. ‘No, Scarlett. I’m right. And you know it.’
I push back from the table, my chair screeching against the floor. ‘You don’t get to follow me. You don’t get to decide who I see or what I do. You’re not—’ My voice cracks, splinters. ‘You’re not anything.’
He stands too, slow and deliberate, towering over me, blue eyes burning like they want to swallow me whole. ‘Thenwhy are you shaking?’
I shove past him before he can say another word, heat scorching my skin, fury and humiliation tangling in my chest like barbed wire. The café is too small, too loud, every pair of eyes suddenly watching me — but I don’t care. I want out. I want air.
I push through the door, the bell above it chiming, sunlight slamming into me like a spotlight. My heels crack against the pavement as I storm down the pavement, my breaths coming too fast, too jagged.
I don’t make it far.
