“I’m willing to take that risk,” I mutter under my breath and exhale loudly. “Let’s get back to my boyfriend.”
42
Visha
Oh fuck.
Aoi walks into the open kitchen in only his underwear. “It smells delicious.”
I silently beg the gods to grant me at least a slither of self-control because I’m so close to turninghiminto my breakfast instead.
“Take a seat and dig in. Do you want coffee?” I ask, smiling far too brightly.
This is how I imagine my mornings to be for the rest of my life. Waking up next to Aoi in my bed and cooking for him. Dropping him off at work and going on countless dates, then having sex all night. And when the right time knocks on our door, I’ll ask him to marry me. We’ll get a place in whichever city or country he wants, and we’ll be together until death do us part.
I’m getting ahead of myself but so what? The man of my dreams is half naked in my kitchen, about to eat the food I prepared, after he officially became my boyfriend.
Fuck, I love this word.Boyfriend.
I’m Aoi’s boyfriend. He’smyboyfriend.
I couldn’t be luckier and yet with each smile he sends my way, I feel more blessed than ever.
He sits down at the table and watches me fetch him a mug and pour him some coffee. I gaze at the hickeys and bite marks coating his pale skin and imagine the face he’ll make when he notices them.
He chuckles and takes a sip of coffee. “Your place is huge. Do you wear aprons and vacuum, or do you have helpers?”
“I’d love to pretend I’m capable of keeping so many rooms spotless but sadly, I can’t.” I sit down opposite him and take a bite of my pancakes. “I do have a housemaid that comes by twice a week to deep clean each surface. But I take care of the rest as you can see.”
He chews on a piece of mango. “I live in a hotel room, so who am I to question people owning a home that’s too big to clean by themselves?”
“Do you mind me asking why you live in a hotel?” I carefully inquire. “I’m sure it’s not due to financial issues.”
He frowns, stabbing another piece of fruit before sighing. “It’s a long story. How much time do you have?”
“Till the end of times.”
“Well, long story short, I used to live with the man I mentioned to you at the chalet.”
“Oh…the one you were in love with?”
Jason? Wait a fucking second. Hisuncle? I’m so confused. This is impossible. Maybe he’s talking about another man that was omitted in Linda’s report?
“Yeah, and let’s not call it that, please. Whatever we had cannot be considered love. The ‘relationship’ we had was built on manipulation and lies. He never loved me, and I was just naïve back then.”
“So, you moved out? Did you break up or something? I mean, I sure hope you did, but just out of curiosity, you’re not still seeing him, right?”
Aoi laughs as if the answer were obvious. “We dated for a year when I was sixteen, then I broke up with him after my parents and sister died. I won’t lie to you, he and I hooked up occasionally over the years, but I haven’t been with him in a long time.”
“What’s his name?” I ask as casually as possible.
I’m definitely freaking the fuck out. Okay, they haven’t been together in ages, but he hooked up with hisuncle? That’s fucked up. I know they’re not blood related, but still.
Fuck, I knew back then that something was up between them, but nothing could’ve prepared me for this revelation.
If he was with him at sixteen, that means Aoi was groomed by that motherfucker. Based on their respective ages, Jason had to have been in his thirties when he dated my Paradise.
I’m going to fucking murder that bastard for taking advantage of him.
