‘Even if he isn’t engaged, he lied to me. I trusted him with the ugliest parts of myself and he couldn’t trust me to accept his.’
Sasha tuts and waves a hand in front of her face. ‘As if he was going to tell you he was engaged to somebody else. I mean, presumably the two of you thought you’d shag and get whatever weird tension thrums between you out of your systems… I guess neither of you dreamed there might actually be something between you.’
‘Careful, sis, you’re sounding like you’re on his side.’
My phone lights up again. Jayden.
‘Take it, please,’ Sasha says. ‘Put us all out of our misery. I bet he’s distraught over in LA. Do you know the shit he’s been dealing with on top of this Lula business? Someone’s been trying to take him down. That business with Mam and Dad being rehashed. It wasn’t to hurt Ryan’s image, it was to damage Jayden.’
I reject the call, still far from ready to talk. ‘What? Why wouldn’t he tell me?’
‘Because believe it or not, the man’s determined to be a goddamn hero in everyone’s eyes. He’s spent his life looking out for other people, starting with Ryan when he was only three years old and their mother left them.’
I slump back in my chair, taking it all in. Remembering the way he picked up on every single shift in my mood, determined to support me, to lift me, never once complaining about his own troubles, of which it turns out, there were plenty.
Sasha continues, on a roll now. ‘Almost every artist Jayden represents has come from nothing. Do you know how many lives he’s changed?’
I think back to Aurelia and the bond they clearly share. The fog is slowly lifting from before my eyes.
‘When Ryan and Jayden were on the streets, Lula got in with a bad crowd. She’d go days without checking in with the rest of them. Smoking weed and acting out like teenagers do, but unfortunately it was far from the safety of someone’s garage or bedroom. Sofia, her older sister, was sick, really sick, with a rare genetic illness that meant her chances of surviving past twenty-five were slim, and that was without medical care. All Sofia wanted in life was for Lula to have a chance. She got her out of Mexico, away from the dangers of her hometown, but she worried she’d brought her somewhere worse, knowing she didn’t have much time left to drag them out of the gutter.
‘Jayden made a promise to Sofia that he would find her and help her. They were close. Really close. When Ryan was picked up by Diamond Records, the boys searched for the girls for years. It wasn’t until recently they finally found Lula.
‘She was about to be deported. Jayden made her a promise, and he was determined to make good on it, even if it meant sacrificing his own happiness. Jayden has a hero complex. It’s like he’s determined to be the polar opposite of his unreliable parents. But the funny thing is, the only person who truly needs saving is himself.’
Wow.
Shock seeps into my bones.
‘How did I not know any of this?’ I shake my head in utter amazement.
‘You weren’t here,’ Victoria says in a sad tone. ‘Ryan’s only just started opening up to all of us in the last couple of months.’
‘Believe me, I gave Ryan a tough time for leaving me like he did all those years ago. Things were rough after Mam and Dad died, as you know. But the boys were fighting battles of their own. Battles we’ll probably never understand. What happened that night, when Mam and Dad died, changed all of our lives, in so many ways. It took me a while to see it, but Jayden’s a good man. One of the best. I’m sorry he hurt you, but genuinely, it wouldn’t have been intentional.’
I swallow the lump in my throat. So much information. It’s hard to process all of it at once.
‘So, he’s not engaged?’ But he still lied. I can’t shake it.
‘No. Lula has been issued with a student visa today. It will allow her to stay in the country for up to four years, which gives them time to work out something more permanent.’
Jayden’s name lights up my phone screen again.
‘If you don’t answer that now, I will. After all, we’re practically family,’ Sasha says.
My thumb hovers over the green button as I deliberate. Victoria’s thumb lands squarely on top of mine, forcing it to tap the screen.
My neck cranes to glare at her, but she shrugs.
Gingerly, I lift the phone to my ear. ‘Hello?’
‘Oh, Chloe, thank god. Are you ok?’
The man has literally been through hell and back according to Sasha, andhe’sasking ifI’mok.
‘I think we need to talk,’ I say.
‘Finally. But first, I need to tell you something. Chloe Sexton… I love you. I love you so much. If we can get through this, I swear to god I’ll never omit to tell you a single thing ever again. The good, the bad or the shameful.’
