Page 124

My stomach chooses that moment to grumble, and Alec points his thumb toward the kitchen.

“Come on. Let me make you a sandwich.”

“Thank you.”

In the kitchen, he prepares a ham and cheese sandwich on the island. He offers it to me when I feel Dane behind me.

“Don’t bother. She won’t even take more than two bites.”

Just to prove him wrong, I eat it all.

It’s not my body that’s my enemy, it’s my heart—my shattered heart and my broken spirit. The rest I got treated.

“Why are you still here?” Dane asks while I keep ignoring him.

“I invited her,” Alec says.

He grumbles, and I roll my eyes at him.

“Wanna stay for a while longer?” Alec asks, wearing a mischievous look.

I nod, following him toward the living room. Dane shoves past me—the moody and broody asshole—and slumps on the couch. I bite down my smile at his obvious display of jealousy.

Alec points at the video game paused on the TV, and I plop down beside him.

“Can you play?” he asks.

“Blake taught me.”

“Your boyfriend?”

“Really? Fishing for info?”

“I have to know who I am up against?” He winks, but it’s a playful flirtation.

“An arranged marriage,” Dane says, sucking the air out of the room. Alec’s brows knit in confusion.

“And who asked you? It’s not like you know anything,” I retort.

“Deny it then.”

Instead, I take the controller and spend the next hour smashing my car into things. I smile the entire time. Fun moments are a rarity in my life, which saddens me. All these contradictory emotions will tear me apart for good one day.

My phone rings, and I pluck it from my jacket pocket.

“Can you come home?” Kaden asks.

“I’m on my way.”

I give Alec the controller and say, “Sorry, have to go.”

“Did you forget about your curfew?” Dane asks.

I refuse to give in to his taunts, so I hug Alec and kiss his cheek. A low grumble hits my ears from behind me.

“Thank you.”

“Anytime,” Alec steals a glance at Dane. It’s clear he cares about him, and it hits me: he wants to play matchmaker.