Page 37 of You Were Always Mine
His laugh is soft. Cruel. ‘That’s where you’re wrong, little sister. You are my business. Every look. Every breath. Every secret. Especially the ones you’re trying so hard to hide.’
His hand ghosts over my hip — not touching, just hovering — his fingers curling like he’s holding himself back. ‘So, you gonna tell me his name… or you want me to keep leaning closer until you do?’
I swallow hard, the air between us too hot, too close, and when I finally find my voice, it’s shaky but sharp — the kind of blade you don’t realise cuts until you’re already bleeding.
‘Why do you care?’ My eyes flick up, meeting his in the dark. ‘I’m just your sister, right?’
The word feels poisonous on my tongue, but I spit it out anyway, watching the muscle in his jaw twitch.
His breath hitches, his forehead still pressed to mine, and for a second I swear he flinches.
‘You wanted to forget the car,’ I push, my voice cracking but loud enough to matter. ‘Forget me. Pretend it never happened. Isn’t that what yousaid?’
Silence.
The kind that crushes. That coils around my throat tighter than his hand ever could.
His stare is piercing, impossible to decipher, but his body shakes, his jaw tight as he fights to hold back his words.
I wait for him to break.
To snap.
To prove me right.
But all he does is lean closer, his lips brushing my cheek — not a kiss, just heat and threat and something I can’t name — and then he whispers, low, ragged:
‘Don’t ever say that shit to me again.’
His breath shudders out of him, rough against my cheek, and then it snaps, low and raw. ‘Fuck, Scarlett. You know why.’
My chest tightens, every nerve strung taut, but before I can answer, his hand slams into the mattress beside my head, caging me in. His voice sharpens, slicing straight through me.
‘You know. But that doesn’t mean you get to smile at anyone else.’
The words hit like fire — jealousy dripping from every syllable — but his tone is cold. So cold I can barely breathe. His eyes are glassy, unbreakable, even as his jaw grinds like he’s seconds from snapping in half.
I laugh — bitter, broken. ‘So what? You get to have your girls draped all over you while I—what? Sit here like some good little secret?’
His nostrils flare. He leans in closer until his lips almost graze mine, his voice a deadly whisper.
‘Don’t twist this. Don’t you dare. Those girls don’tmean shit. You don’t smile at anyone else, Scar. Not him. Not anyone. That’s mine.’
My throat burns. My heart pounds. He’s shaking, and I can feel it in the way his body presses into mine — but his eyes stay cold, detached, as if none of this is cracking him open.
I whisper, broken, ‘Then what am I supposed to do?’
For a moment — silence. His forehead presses harder against mine, his breath ragged. Then he answers, flat and merciless:
‘Pretend. Like you always do.’
I shove at his chest — harder than I mean to — but I need him off me. I need space, because his silence is worse than anything he could have said.
‘God, Kai, you don’t even want me,’ I spit, my voice ragged, venom dripping from every word. ‘But nobody else can have me, right? That’s the game. You don’t want me — but you’ll ruin me for everyone else just to keep me in your cage.’
His eyes flash — sharp and dangerous — but I don’t stop. I can’t. The anger tastes too bitter, too good.
‘You wanted to be my brother so badly?’ I snarl, tears burning down my face. ‘Then just fucking be my brother. Go back to ignoring me. Go back to pretending I don’t exist. That’s what you’re good at.’
