Secrets of Us A Forbidden Love Romance (Alina)

Chapter 71

Just the Three of Us

I walk through the house with all of my senses dulled. I can't hear, think, or feel anything.

My breath is coming out in harsh pants, and I step back outside to the backyard. The laughter and clinking of glasses feels distant, like it's happening behind a veil. Everything is muffled under the weight of what I've just learned.

Aiden. Zaid. That night. The secrets.

Zaid is a few steps behind me. I can hear his steps. I let out of sigh of relief. I didn't know he made me feel this way. He always wound me up so tight. This feeling is new and

welcome.

I can't shake the image of him in my mind, broken and desperate.

I want to cry because I have never met anyone who could understand me like he does. He was in the car accident that killed his mother, and he still carries the scars associated

with that. He still carries the guilt.

Like me.

He protected Aiden at the cost of his own future. At the cost of his reputation. At the cost

of himself.

My heart aches as I glance back at him briefly. Zaid looks calm, almost unreadable, but his

eyes meet mine, dark and holding me together in a way that feels like it's pulling

me

apart at the same time.

so much more for him than I've

around me, faces blurring. And then I see Jake laughing, charming as ever, leaning slightly toward my mother as they speak with a group of

from my lungs. Does he know? My step falters, and my chest tightens as my thoughts

time that Aiden was the

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the Three

help

Zaid murmurs, his voice low and right behind

the small of my back, warm and grounding. My body leans into his touch without permission, desperate for something steady. I

his voice brushing against my ear. "You can confront Aiden later. The night's almost

His hand lingers a second longer before falling away, leaving me

say, Aiden walks up to us, weaving through the crowd toward me,

asks, his eyes flicking to Zaid briefly before

me.

smile that feels tight and unnatural. "I

leans down to kiss my forehead. My stomach twists, and I have to focus hard not to pull away.

person I thought he

hand slipping to mine as he leads me back to our table. Zaid follows a few steps behind, silent as always but somehow louder than the noise

party.

the reception passes in a haze. People stand to give their toasts, their words blending into a background hum I can barely focus on. Aiden's hand rests on my thigh under the table, a

can't shake off.

want to ask him so many things and tell him that I know.

I don't know

at Zaid across the table, catching the

his

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pm II II

Three

meet for the briefest of seconds