For Angelo(38)

“I’m sure he’s not wrong,” he said politely.

But Jaike only laughed his words off. “That’s just your good manners speaking, and we both know it.” She paused, and the silence between them gradually became awkward.

“Would you like to go to the study?” he asked finally. He expected her to refuse, but she surprised him by nodding.

When they were inside his study, he offered her a choice of drinks, and again she surprised him by asking for a popular type of mocktail. After relaying her request to the staff, he told her, “You’ve changed.”

“For the worse, right? My husband’s a bad influence.” But a fond smile played on her lips as she spoke. As he took his seat across her, she murmured, “You’ve changed, too, you know.”

He only shrugged, murmuring, “Everyone does.”

Although Angelo’s tone remained polite, Jaike also detected a note of warning in it. She pretended ignorance, though, saying, “This whole party scene…it’s not like you at all.” She bit her lip, thinking about all the stories she heard over the years about him. And to think she had been so naïve, believing they were just rumors.

He said quietly, “It’s not your fault, Jaike.”

Jaike was startled. He really did know her well, she realized, and the knowledge was bittersweet.

Someone knocked on the door, and at Angelo’s acknowledgment, a staff member came in with a tray bearing drinks. She murmured her thanks and took a sip, using the time to muster the courage she needed to do what she came for.

When Jaike heard the door close behind the staff member, she put her drink down and blurted out, “I’m sorry.”

Angelo’s face became inscrutable. “There is nothing for you to apologize for.”

“We both know there is.” She swallowed, knowing that what she had to say next would cause them more pain. But even so, she forced herself to meet his gaze as she said jerkily, “I’m sorry for forcing you to be the bad guy.”

He went still at the unexpected words.

“Everyone thinks Derek and I have this great love story, and none of them realize that one of the reasons why it’s like a fairytale is because you forced yourself to be the villain.” Jaike lowered her head. “And I never apologized for that. I’m sorry for allowing you to…to c-care for me because you were safe. I’m sorry for forcing you to do things that weren’t—”

“Enough, Jaike.” His voice was firm. “You didn’t force me to do anything. Whatever I did or say then, it was all my choice.”

She only looked at him, and he read everything she couldn’t say in her eyes.

He said quietly, “I’ve moved on. And if you think the life I’m leading now is because of you – maybe it is, but it’s not the way you think. The last time we talked, you told me that I never allowed you to see the real me. And you were right. So now, I’m simply being myself.”

He looked at Jaike, waiting for his heart to clench with the usual mix of pain and longing, but he only found himself numb.

Instead, all he could see was a pair of caramel brown eyes, and as soon as he thought of it, his gaze immediately went to the clock on his desk.

Three-thirty.

She had to be sleeping - had to know what a bastard he was.

Much later, as he escorted Jaike to the driveway, she asked, “What’s with all the clock watching?”

He only smiled. “It was nice catching up with you.”

Jaike grinned. “The polite rebuff. I get it.”

Behind them, a woman inside the mansion screamed like she was having an orgasm, and considering the kind of party he had thrown, she probably was.

Jaike’s smile faded.

“This is the real me,” he repeated. “And it’s not your fault.”

“I just wish you had told me about your uncle—”

“And risk you becoming sick of me?”

“I would never have—”

His lips twisted. “Wouldn’t you? You honestly believe that?”

“Just because you share the same blood doesn’t mean you’re like him!”

“Then why did you think you’d end up like your mother?”

She paled.

Her car arrived then, and he opened the door for her, saying evenly, “Good night, Jaike.”

Jaike moved towards her car when she suddenly turned to face him again, saying in a rush, “Maybe you’re right. Maybe I would have thought you were like Anthony Carras, but…we’ll never know now, will we?”

Dio.

Why did they even have to talk about this?

What was the point?

“Even if I had taken the risk,” he bit out, “do you think things would have changed? I’ve seen the way you and Christopoulos looked at each other. It wouldn’t have made a difference if I had risked—”