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    Mother adjusts her purse on her shoulder, her smile overly bright as she looks at Jake.


    Aiden leans toward me, his arm pressed into mine.


    "I have my final hair and makeup trial to get to. You can handle the three of them, Jake?" She says, teasing him with her hand on his back.


    I blink. She''s leaving me here alone with them? My stomach turns. I nce to the side,


    catching Zaid as he walks out of the alley, throwing a cigarette on the floor before


    stomping it out.


    Gross.


    I spin around and Aiden looks annoyed. Zaid is unreadable as he makes his way toward us,


    and Jake''s jaw tightens like he''s ready to bash his face in.


    I''m left simmering in frustration.


    "Wait," I blurt, my voice sharper than I intend. "You''re just leaving? What about-"


    Mother waves a dismissive hand. "You''ll be fine, Alina. The boys just need to finish their


    fitting. Besides, it''s good for them to spend some time together." She waves onest time


    before walking away, heels clicking against the floor.


    I gape after her, trying to hold back the urge to groan. Time together? Aiden and Zaid can


    barely be in the same room without the tension getting thick enough to cut with a knife.


    Not to mention that I do not even want to breathe the same air as Jake right now. Jake sighs heavily and turns toward Aiden and Zaid. "Alright, enough of this shit." Zaid puts his hands in his pockets, and Aiden scowls. "What?"


    "Whatever is happening between the two of you, fix it."


    "There''s nothing to fix," Zaid shrugs.


    Aiden groans. "You''re the one threatening me!"


    I watch, wide eyed.


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    Jake exhales. "We had an agreement. The three of us." He res at Zaid after saying that,


    and he has to look away.


    The sight is weird, and it makes my blood heat.


    Jake''s jaw clenches when neither of the guys say anything, and I see a sh of the temper he usually keeps under control. "I mean it. Talk. Work it out. Now, actually."


    Before I can react, he grabs my arm.


    "Alina, you''re with me."


    "What?" I jerk back instinctively, shooting him a confused look. "Why? I can stay here-"


    "No." Jake cuts me off.


    I look at Aiden, who is following after us.


    But Jake''s already pulling me toward the car door. "Let''s go."


    "Dad-"


    Jake turns toward Aiden, shoving a finger into his chest. "Fix it, Aiden. We both know you can''t afford to lose everything."


    I nce at Aiden and notice the moment the fight leaves his body. He''s going to stay. He''s going to stay, and he''s going to let Jake take me away.


    Zaid, for his part, watches me leave with a longing gaze. At least he looks like he wants


    me to stay.


    The next thing I know, I''m in the passenger seat of Jake''s car, my stomach churning.


    "This is ridiculous," I mutter as he pulls onto the street.


    Jake''s hands grip the steering wheel tightly, his knuckles white. "You''ve been avoiding


    me."


    I scoff and cross my arms, staring out the window as the city blurs past. The tension between us is suffocating. This is thest thing I want right now. Especially after


    everything.


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    We pull up to a small Italian restaurant I don''t recognize, the kind of ce that looks


    intimate.


    Fuck, exactly what I don''t want.


    Jake doesn''t say a word as he steps out of the car, and I reluctantly follow,


    Inside, the warm lighting and soft music do nothing to ease my nerves, Jake gets us a table in the corner, away from the other diners, and sits across from me.


    I keep my eyes fixed on the menu, pretending to be engrossed in the pasta options, I can feel the heat of his eyes on me, like they''reser pointers. "Stop it," I blurt.


    Jake doesn''t move an inch, he just keeps watching me."Stop what?" Chapter Comments


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