Secrets of Us A Forbidden Love Romance (Alina)

Chapter 60

It Will Never Be

I fold another sweater and shove it into the cardboard box in front of me, not bothering to

keep it neat.

It will be a pain to dig through the box and figure out where everything is, but I

don't

care.

Mother hums to herself as she walks down the hallway from her room to the hallway bathroom. She seems to be unbothered by the chaotic mess.

Clothes, books and random things are scattered everywhere, all over the floor.

I roll my eyes and peek my head out of my bedroom. "Are you expecting me to clean up

all this mess?"

Mother stops with her shampoo in her hands, frowning. "Of course not. Jake is hiring a cleaning company to take care of everything we leave behind. Just take what you want."

"How can you be so calm about this?" I ask.

She shrugs, walking toward her room again. "I'm ready to start this new chapter of

our

lives."

A new chapter. Yeah right. Something tells me nothing is going to change except our living situation. "Does Jake know you're an alcoholic?"

She gasps, jaw dropped. "Don't be so dramatic. So, I like to finish my day off with a glass

of wine, that doesn't make me an alcoholic, Alina."

I sneer at her. She says it's a glass of wine, but it's more like bottles. With an s.

Moving into Jake's house feels more like stepping into a twisted version of my life than

kind of fresh start, and dread

didn't even listen to me when I told her that I could keep living here and she could live with Jake and

the rehearsal dinner. I don't know what's worse: pretending everything is fine or knowing I'll

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It Will Never Be

end of the day.

chest tightens as I think about our conversation yesterday. His confession

Fuck.

be flattered at that. That he wanted me under

The larger part of me was absolutely

I could get

And what?

I see a

I don't.

fun. He makes me feel normal; he makes

shove another handful of clothes

she walks to the living room with a

hands.

furniture is coming, so the packing is quick. Jake's house is fully furnished, and I'm sure he does not want the style ruined by our

last of the boxes into the car, my

silent, my nerves eating me up too much to let me speak. Not that I

waiting for us outside. His tall frame leans casually against the doorframe, but his eyes are anything but relaxed. They're locked on me, intense and burning, and I can't help the way my heart skips a

low as

racing. His words from yesterday echo in my head:

only

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It Will Never Be

I'll get to

him for saying it, for putting me in this position. And yet, I can't stop the wild flutter in my chest whenever he looks at me,

new room. My mother follows close behind, chattering about

your room," Jake says, opening the

the space. It's clean and impersonal, with a bed, a small desk for schoolwork, and a vanity tucked in the corner. There's no bathroom.

room is sandwiched right between

I ask

be rude. You

tongue, glaring at the floor. Grateful? Grateful for what? That I've been uprooted and shoved into this house to play happy family with Jake? With

and