Chapter 46

Chapter 46
Aurelia's POV

Ivy said nothing.

"Or perhaps this marriage is a mistake? Since you seem scared for your stepdaughter's life."

Ivy's eyes locked with mine. "Are you all right, love?"

"I'm fine," I told her, though my voice was not strong. "I couldn't sleep, and he was talking to me. That's it."

"That's it," Killian said, making a small head motion.

Ivy breathed out through her nose and faced him. "You always have an answer, excuse... Story... I'm only believing this because it's from Aurelia."

Great. My stepmom, however rocky our relationship has been over the years, trusts me. And I've screwed her fiancé exactly four times. One of which I seduced him.

I hated myself even more, knowing how Ivy felt about me.

But then, could I even trust her? What if what Killian was insinuating was that she was responsible for his death?

"I try," Killian said, tilting his head to the side. "You used to like that about me."

"Don't," Ivy spat at him. "Don't start."

Why the hell was she continuing with this marriage if things were already tense?

If they were no longer the kind of lovers I had known them as like the first night of the wedding?

Was there something she was gaining access to through this marriage?

"I'm not starting," Killian said, stepping so I was no longer in the back of his frame. "I'm simply stating something true."

Ivy's eyes didn't soften. "Truths from you are never simple."

"They don't need to," he said, putting his hand on the bedpost. "Truth likes to bend."

I frowned. "Why are you two talking like that?"

They didn't say anything right away.

Then Ivy finally broke her silence, "This is among adults, Aurelia."

"Then don't have it in my bedroom," I snapped, pulling the blanket tighter up my chest.

Killian let out a short laugh. "She's got your mouth, Ivy."

"Don't compare us," Ivy growled, speaking low.

He shrugged, moving a hand through his hair. “It’s only an observation.”

Ivy stepped closer to him. “I don’t want you near her like this.”

“You don’t want many things,” he said, leaning against the wall. “Yet here we are. And we are getting married. She'll be around me."

“You think this is a game?” she asked and then began laughing. "Aurelia is an adult. She's not going to be living with us.

“No,” he said. “I think this is a moment. And who knows if circumstances will make her have to be under us?"

I looked at them, trying to catch any hint of what they were really saying.

Ivy shook her head. “You never change.”

“You never asked me to,” Killian said, his eyes meeting hers.

“I shouldn’t have to,” she said.

He gave a quiet chuckle. “Maybe not.”

I cleared my throat. “Can someone explain what’s going on?”

Ivy turned to me. “Nothing you need to worry about.”

“That sounds like something to worry about,” I said.

Killian smiled faintly. “She’s right to ask.”

Ivy shot him a look. “Stop feeding this.”

“She deserves the truth,” Killian said. “Even if it’s thin.”

“I don’t need the plain truth,” I said. “I need someone to talk straight.”

Killian’s gaze moved to me. “Talking straight isn’t always safe.”

“Safe again,” I said, rubbing my forehead. “What does that even mean to you?”

“It means you live long enough to ask more questions,” he said.

Ivy’s voice cut in. “Enough.”

Killian ignored her. “Aurelia, do you ever wonder why people hide in plain sight?”

I stared at him. “I don’t know what you mean.”

“They wear smiles, they host parties, they talk about love,” he said, his voice soft. “But they keep a ledger in the dark.”

Ivy stepped closer. “Stop.”

“You kept a ledger once,” he said, turning to her.

Ivy’s face stiffened. “That’s not your story to tell.”

“Every story crosses,” he said, with a small shrug. “Some more than others.”

Ivy looked at me, then back to him. “Leave her out of it.”

“She’s already in,” Killian said, his eyes never leaving hers.

I felt a cold edge run through me and pulled the blanket tighter. “What ledger?”

“It’s nothing,” Ivy said quickly.

“Not nothing,” Killian said. “But maybe not everything either.”

Ivy turned on him. “You always do this. You plant seeds and walk away. And you're... Oh my goodness, Killian. What do you want? Is this about the other conversation we had?" She yelled.

“Seeds grow whether I stay or not,” he said, folding his arms and ignoring her previous statement.

I wondered what conversation that may have been.

I looked between them. “Did something happen? Between you two?”

“Nothing you need to think about,” Ivy said.

“That’s not an answer,” I said.

Killian gave a slow smile. “She’s persistent. You should be proud.”

Ivy closed her eyes for a second. “Killian, please. Leave.”

“I will,” he said, glancing toward the door. “But one more thing.”

“No,” Ivy said.

“Yes,” he said, looking back at me. “Oh yes, Aurelia, you were telling me about your father. Six years ago. Heart attack, right? It was a dark time for you.”

Ivy stepped closer to him. “Don’t.”

He looked at her. “You would know.”

Ivy’s jaw tightened. “That’s enough.”

I gripped the blanket. “What are you saying?”

“Doctors can tell more than you think,” he said. “Don't forget to see one. I can give you my contact.”

Ivy raised her voice. “Stop it now.”

He gave her a slow nod. “I’m done.”

I sat there, trying to piece their words together, but nothing fit.

Ivy turned to me. “Don’t listen to him. There's nothing you have to start thinking about. He's doing this on purpose. Your father died of a heart attack. That’s all.”

Killian looked back at me once more. “Stories change when you ask better questions.”

“Out,” Ivy said, pointing at the door.