“I can’t just come up to him and say, ‘Hi, beautiful. Do you, by any chance, still self-harm? Is your mental health okay or should I be worried?’ He’ll slap me across the face and never talk to me again.”
She groans and throws a cushion in my direction that I catch at the last second. “No shit, Sherlock. If you said that tome, I’d have punched your butt-face. I’m saying you should try to get him to open up about it. Also, when the hell are you gonna tell him who you truly are?”
“Soon,” I grit out, already having been overthinking that matter for a while now. “He doesn’t remember anything from our years together and he mentioned that remembering takes a toll on his mind, so he avoids it. I don’t want to hurt him.”
“Yeah, ‘cause lying to him is so much better.”
“Fuck you,” I flip her off and she sends me a mock flying kiss. “It’s already hard as fuck to juggle making him fall for me while keeping my identity a secret. For the record, he still doesn’t know that we’ve already hooked up before. I’m so fucked.”
“Damn right you are. Better tell him everything at once. If you’re lucky, he’ll be so confused and overwhelmed with the amount of info that he won’t even have the energy to be mad.”
I straighten and grin. “You know what? Hell yeah.”
“Dumbass. He’ll kill you if you do that.”
“Definitely but dying by his hands would still be a blessing.”
She fake gags and jumps onto the couch, making silly noises as my cat starts baking biscuits on her stomach. “You’re whipped, it’s disgusting.”
“Jealous much?”
She snorts and pets Ao’s fluffy throat. “Not of your messy situation, no.”
“You’re such a delight to be around, you know?” I say, rolling my eyes while I slip on my shoes. “Well, I gotta go pick up Aoi. Have fun with the furry diva and avoid emptying my fridge, you glutton.”
She feigns offense as she heightens the pitch of her voice and addresses the cat. “Can you believe your daddy is such a cheap bastard even though he’s rich? Does he feed you hopes and dreamsinstead of food? Don’t worry cutie pie, I’ll pamper you while your mean daddy is sucking up to his crush.”
“Bitch.” I snort and grab my phone and wallet before stuffing them in my suit pocket. “Stop badmouthing me to my child. She’s already greedy enough. You’ll make her pull out a gun on me to feed her caviar.”
Liv bursts out laughing and calls over her shoulder, “Text me if you’re bringing Aoi home, so I can get the hell out before y’all make me a personal porno.”
“You’re nuts. See you later.” I slip into the elevator and grin at my reflection.
Tonight, I’ll officialize ourrelationship.
37
Aoi
Fuck, I’m nervous.
Funnily enough, I have never been to a fundraiser, and since Lacroix Corporation organized this one, I’m damn sure it’s a fancy event. I usually avoid mediatized events like the pest and simply make donations regularly.
Yesterday, after we drove back to the city, I dragged my ass to the shower then took a long nap and ended up working on my autobiography for a few hours. Today, I woke up and followed the exact same boring routine until Andrew picked me up to head to the fundraiser.
“Are you nervous?” Andrew asks in a whisper as we enter the magnificent venue.
I nod and inhale a sharp breath. “I don’t like fancy spaces filled with flashy, rich people.”
I nearly gasp when his fingers interlace with mine and he smiles softly at me. “I promise everything will be alright. We won’t stay long anyway.”
“Okay,” I mutter, slipping my hand out of his and that grants me a pout. “There are cameras everywhere. I’d rather keep things private.”
He doesn’t answer and instead smiles as he leads us to a dark haired man in a black suit and a beautiful brunette in a floor-length, pastel blue gown. She beams when she notices Andrew and walks up to him while her partner merely nods at him in greeting.
“Aoi, this is Francesca, my sister-in-law, and this is Bellami, my brother.”
I extend my hand, and Bellami shakes it firmly, sending a wave of familiar annoyance buzzing through my wrist. “Nice to meet you.”
