A Divorce He Regrets (Raina and Alexander) novel Chapter 323

AVA

There were bags under my eyes, I saw them in the mirror every morning, deeper than the day before. I hadn’t slept properly in days and not even my concealer was helping to hide the bags anymore.

The girl that was staring back at me looked exhausted… haunted. And it was the same way I had been looking since the day Liam had caught us. And since Kye had threatened to kill him.

I was stretched so thin that I felt like a thread about to snap. One was waiting for me to end things and the other… he could kill.

I bumped into Liam on my way downstairs for breakfast before school, nearly dropping my phone. He didn’t say good morning. Just, “have you broken things off with Kye yet?”

I froze for half a second too long, not knowing that to say. After a while, I responded, lying through my teeth. “I-I… like him. Why do I have to break things off?”

Kye’s threats replayed over and over again in my head, “next time your brother touches me, I’ll kill him.”

Laim stared at me, his eyes hard and unreadable as he clenched his jaw. “I’m not stupid, Ava,” he bit back. “Something is off about you guys' relationship. And if you don’t end it, I’ll find out what it is.”

With that, he turned around and walked away.

I knew that was how Liam was… he was always watching, always digging. He’s so damn persistent.

He never dropped thinks and he never forgot. And he found out the truth. If he saw the videos or heard even a whisper of what Kye was holding over me, it would break him. And then Kye would break him.

I didn’t know what to do anymore.

No, I can’t do this. I can’t tell anyone the truth. After seeing what Kye did last night, I couldn’t afford to get anyone hurt. Especially not my family.

Three months. He had said it would all be over in there months. I would endure it all before then, I would push through.

What are you going to do about Liam though? A tiny voice at the back of my head asked but I shook it away and turned to look at my parents.

I swallowed hard and forced a smile that didn’t quite reach my eyes. “I’m okay,” I muttered, my voice sweet, too sweet. “I’m just worried about college, that’s all.”

Worry about Kye instead, that tiny voice said again and I swallowed nervously. I was worried about him… worried about the next message he would send, the next time he would show up outside my house, worried about Liam catching wind of anything and getting himself killed.

My grades were the least of my problems even though they were falling and my sleep was gone. All I know is that the same boy who said he wanted me was also the one blackmailing me and I needed to keep it away from my family. That was my worry.