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 fills me up

that I could keep living here and she could live with Jake and the guys.

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

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It Will Never Be

end of the day.

I think about our conversation yesterday. His confession that he's marrying my mother just to

Fuck.

was a part of me that wanted to be flattered at

as him. The larger part of

and I could get a place

And what?

a future with

I don't.

me feel normal; he makes me

shove another

mother says as she walks to the living room with

hands.

coming, so the packing is quick. Jake's house is fully furnished, and I'm sure he does

the last of the boxes into the car, my stomach churning as I slide into the

much to let me speak.

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

as I step out

away, my pulse racing. His words from yesterday echo in my head:

only

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It Will Never Be

get

And yet, I can't stop the wild flutter in my chest whenever he looks at me,

leading the way to my new room.

be your room," Jake says, opening

step inside, my eyes immediately scanning 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. The realization that

sandwiched right between

I ask before

tone sharp. "Alina, don't be rude. You should be grateful you have

for what? That I've been uprooted

and