We didn’t see eye-to-eye and had never gotten along, but Aiden wasn’t so bad. He would do everything in his power to protect Alex. That made him alright in my book.
Ignoring her twin, Alex turned to look at Bash and wiggled her fingers. “I need you, Bash. Stay with me.”
Alex had a special attachment to Bastian that she didn’t share with the rest of us. Even in high school, she clung to him. She thought he was the nicer brother. But she didn’t know the real Bash, not like I did.
He was different with her.
He took Alex from Marcello and kissed her forehead. “I know you’re scared, Cherry. But you need to put on your big-girl pants. Stop with the tears.”
She dabbed at her cheeks. “I’m just freaked out. I haven’t been this scared since I was a little girl.”
Alex still had PTSD flashbacks and vivid nightmares of her awful childhood. It was the reason she had to share an apartment with Aiden. If he weren’t here to calm her down in the middle of the night, she would need to be hospitalized.
As long as Alex took her medicine, she was usually okay. But tonight was too much for her. The threat set her over the edge, and she couldn’t seem to settle down, no matter what any of us tried.
“We have three months left of college,” Bastian said. “You’ll be so busy working on the paintings for your art show, you won’t even notice we’re gone.”
“I’ll be here for your art show,” I told her.
“So will I,” Marcello added.
Alex’s eyes illuminated. “How about Luca?”
“I’ll be there,” Luca said, entering the living room as if he materialized out of thin air.
Dressed impeccably in a black Brioni suit, Luca sat on the couch beside Bash and stared at Alex like he was ready to devour her.
“I invited a few of my mother’s friends to look at your work,” Luca said in his usual emotionless tone. “They can help launch your art career after graduation.”
Alex hopped off Bash’s lap and leaned into Luca’s arm. “Really?”
“Yes.” Luca rubbed his thumb across her cheek to collect the tears. “But only if you stop crying and act like a queen.”
She narrowed her eyes at him. “I don’t even know what that means, Luca.”
“It means you need to toughen up. Do you think your life will be easy with me? With any of us?” Luca waited for her to shake her head before he said, “One day, you will be our queen. And we need you to be worthy of that title.”
She had no idea what awaited her a few years from now. Her life was about to change forever.
“Luca,” she cooed, curling up against him, and, surprisingly, he didn’t push her away. “What are you talking about?”
“One day you will.” With his free hand, he clutched her chin and swiped his thumb across her bottom lip. “One day, you will be mine, Drea. So, I need you to learn how to stand on your own two feet. No more running to Bash for hugs or crying on Marcello’s shoulder. Queens are powerful. Strong. They don’t look to other people for help.”
“Is this some kind of royalty role-play thing?” Alex laughed, tossing her curls over her shoulder. “Because I’m not following.”
“I swear to God, woman,” Luca hissed. “You drive me fucking crazy. No, we’re not role-playing.”
“Although I do like the sound of that,” Bash chimed, sliding his hand onto her hip. “I wanna play, baby.”
“Seriously,” Aiden groaned. “Do you fucking mind? That’s my sister. Alex deserves better than this shit. She’s not some toy for you and your brothers to pass around.”
Aiden had a pair of brass balls. But what I didn’t like was how he often spoke to my brothers and me with disrespect. Even after all these years of being a Wellington, he still hadn’t lost the trashy attitude.
He didn’t look like the clean-cut heir to the Wellington fortune his grandfather wanted him to be. Instead, Aiden covered his body with black ink like a mural. He rarely styled his short blond curls, so they were a mess. And I had yet to see him in a pair of jeans that weren’t ripped.
“Aid, it’s not like that,” Alex cut said. “They’re not passing me around.”
He snorted. “I know what I’ve seen and don’t like it.”
