Lyn joins next, the sound of cars and chatter behind her showing she’s outside on the street. “Hey, girls.”
Finally, Wen appears with a playful grin. “Oh my God, so many beautiful faces on a single screen.”
“I’m getting married next week,” I announce flatly.
“What?!” Wen and Autumn shout in unison.
“I’m coming to your place,” Lyn says with a sharp frown before instantly disconnecting her end of the call.
“And Zo is fine with the idea?” Wen asks, her brows furrowed in worry.
“Wait, why would Zo have any issue?” Autumn asks.
The screen goes silent.
“Guys, what is it that I don’t know?” she presses, narrowing her eyes.
Wen sighs, then begins explaining. “Zo and Avi… they’ve got this complicated thing going on…” She fills Autumn in with the details.
“Fuck,” Autumn mutters. “Then why are you marrying someone else?”
A knock sounds at my door. “Wait a sec, girls.” I set my phone down and walk over.
When I open the door, Lyn is standing there, frowning. She strides inside and shuts the door firmly behind her.
I grab my phone, disconnect the call, and slide it into the bedside drawer before facing her. “Connect the call from your phone.”
Her brows pinch. “Why did you disconnect?”
“There’s always a chance Zoan might be listening in on my conversations.”
Her eyes go wide. “What the fuck? Are you serious?”
I shrug. “He’s my full-time stalker.”
She shakes her head, disbelief plain on her face. “And you’re okay with that?”
I grin. “As long as it’s Zoan, I don’t have a problem with a stalker.”
She groans, pulling out her phone. “You’re a lost case.”
She connects the call, Wen and Autumn are discussing my mess. Lyn sets her phone on the table and flips it so the call projects into the air between us, now both girls can see the two of us in the same frame.
“What’s your plan, Avi?” Wen asks.
“My plan is very simple and ancient,” I say. “Zoan says he wants me to have a happy life with someone else, then he gets jealous enough to kill Roxion when he sees me happy with him. So I’ll just accelerate that process.” I shrug.
“And what if he refuses? Say he doesn’t want you to marry Roxion, then what?” Autumn asks.
“My plan is to keep a secret relationship with him. The idea of making it public isn’t pleasant.”
“You can’t keep a secret relationship forever, Avi,” Lyn says from beside me.
I sigh. “I don’t know. I just want to be with him, even if I have to hide our love from the world.” I know what I’m giving up to be with him, the guilt of lying to the family that raised me, the stains on Daddy and Mama’s reputations. My dramatic mind feeds me cruel scenarios of what people will say about them, and about Zoan and me.
“Let’s not talk about some far future we can’t predict,” Wen says.
Autumn nods. Lyn squeezes my shoulder. “Don’t be sad.”
