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

fresh start, and dread fills me

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

I don't know what's worse: pretending everything is fine or knowing I'll be living under the same roof as Jake

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It Will Never Be

end of the day.

His confession that he's marrying my mother just to be

Fuck.

to be flattered at that. That he

him. The larger part of

Aiden and I could get a place together, move out

And what?

a future

I don't.

fun. He makes me feel normal;

and shove another handful

says as she walks to the living

hands.

house is fully furnished, and I'm sure he does not want the style ruined by

the car, my stomach churning as I slide into

to Jake's house is silent, my nerves eating me up too much to let me speak. Not that I have anything I want to talk to

we pull up, Jake is waiting for us outside. His tall frame leans casually against the doorframe, but his eyes are anything but relaxed. They're locked on

voice low as I step out of the

look away, my pulse racing. His words from yesterday echo in my head: If it's

only

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It Will Never Be

get

for saying it, for putting me in this position. And yet, I can't stop

boxes inside, leading the way to my new room. My mother follows close behind, chattering

room,"

schoolwork, and a vanity tucked in the corner. There's no bathroom. The realization that I'll have to share with

sandwiched right between

there another room?" I ask

whirls on me, her tone sharp. "Alina, don't be rude. You should be

my tongue, glaring at the floor. Grateful? Grateful for what? That I've been uprooted and

and