Chapter 9
My heart thunders wildly as I stare at the back of the man in my room. I can’t distinguish much of his features, save for the dark suit he’s wearing and his dark brown hair.
Nathan’s dark brown hair.
“Um…” I glance down at June; her confused look most likely mirrors mine.
“Nathan?” I call out again, thoroughly confused.
The man’s shoulders shake, and a low chuckle fills the room. Then he turns.
I don’t know if the sigh that escapes me is one of relief or exasperation.
It’s not Nathan. Peter Ashford is standing in the middle of my room, and I have no idea why.
“Oh, I’m sorry.” Peter smirks. “Were you expecting someone else, April?”
My breath hitches. He remembers me?
When Nathan transferred to my school in sophomore year, Peter was just starting as a freshman. The two brothers were opposite in every way.
Where Nathan was cool and friendly and earned his popularity through his talent and charisma, Peter was notorious for playing questionable pranks, bordering on bullying and being a whore, collecting girls like they were Pokémon cards.
It was always a wonder to me that they were related. The few times I ever saw the brothers interact, it was stiff and borderline hostile. I didn’t think they liked each other very much.
What’s worse, after Nathan’s very public rejection and my becoming the laughingstock of the school, Peter made it a point to always throw snide jabs my way in the halls and made sure that neither I nor anyone else in the school forgot what his brother thought of me.
That he remembers me all these years feels like extra punishment for some crime I have no recollection of committing.
“Peter.” I swallow tightly. “Hi.”
His icy blue eyes rake over me slowly in a way that makes me want to peel my skin off. His smirk widens. “April Farrah as I live and breathe.”
I shift uncomfortably, very aware that my little sister is in the room.
“Can–can I help you?”
Peter shrugs and casually sits on my bed like we’re old friends. Like we’re about to have a pleasant conversation.
“I must say, I’m impressed, April.” He keeps saying my name like he’s trying to make a point that he remembers mé.
He glances at June, and his smirk turns wolfish. “Hi, little April,” he says to her. “What’s your name?”
June looks up at me, sensing my unease. “Summer.” I turn to my sister. “Do you want to get started on a shower?” I ask, keeping my voice steady.
I point to the door that most likely leads to the en–suite bathroom. “I’ll come join you shortly.”
She looks confused and suspicious, but props to her, she doesn’t question me. She shoots Peter a wary glance before reaching for our small toiletry bag and heading into the bathroom.
With a sigh, I turn back to Nathan’s brother.
“Are you even allowed to be here?” I ask when I hear the shower start to run.
He shrugs. “It’s my house, in case you forgot. You lot aren’t allowed in the west wing, but I can go wherever the fuck I want.”
I wince at his language, thankful that June is out of earshot.
I fold my arms, hoping I come off as aloof instead of severely uncomfortable.
1/3
12:39 PM P
Chapter 9
“What do you want, Peter?”
“I want to know what exactly you were thinking, April,” he replies. “Entering this competition, after what my brother did to you back in high school is crazy.”
I bite my lip. “I didn’t…” I shrug, unable to explain Lou’s interference. “It just happened.”
“It just happened,” he repeats, his tone slightly mocking. “It seems like for you, a ‘no‘ just doesn’t suffice, now does it? You’re still pining after all these years?”
I grit my teeth. “That is not what this is.”
He leans forward, bracing his elbows on his thighs. “What is it then?” he asks, looking genuinely intrigued. “What possessed you to enter a competition to marry the guy that broke your heart and humiliated you in high school?”
I close my eyes and sigh, willing my emotions to stay in check. I don’t have an answer to Peter Ashford’s question–it’s the same question I’ve been asking myself since I got into the limo that picked us up this morning.
Peter cocks his head to the side and watches me curiously. When I don’t provide an answer to his question, he asks another. “Tell me, does it
hurt?”
I frown. “What?”
“Nathan not remembering you.”
Like hell.
I shrug. “It’s whatever; I don’t really care.”
Peter snorts. “Yeah, okay.”
“I don’t care,” I repeat, willing him to believe me when I don’t even believe myself.
“Do you think he’ll eventually remember?” Peter continues like I didn’t say anything. “Or do you think you were that insignificant?”
sigh, running my hands through my unbound hair. “What do you want from me, Peter?”
“Would you like me to jog his memory?”
1 gape. “Wha–No!”
For a beat, we just stare at each other and I wish I knew what he was thinking behind the mischievous glint in his eyes.
Then he starts to laugh. Not a full–bellied laugh, more like a gentle chuckle, like I lightly amuse him. –
“Relax, April; I’m just having some fun.”
“I’m glad this is fun for you,” I snap. “Is that why we were allowed to stay, so you could have fun?”
He raises an eyebrow, then glances towards the bathroom door.
“What is it?”
“What is what?”
“What does she have? Nathan said she had ‘needs‘.”
I swallow, feeling my defenses rise. “I don’t think that’s your business.”
Peter snorts. “You still don’t get it, do you?”
“Get what?”
2/3
12.39
Chapter 9
“Why you were allowed to stay,” he clarifies. “You think my family is just that generous and benevolent?”
“What are you saying?”
“You show up on the first day and constitute a nuisance, upsetting a fellow contestant and the peace. All that flies if this was ‘Keeping Up with the Kardashians‘, but the Ashfords are a drama–free family.”
I sigh, feeling uneasy. “So?”
“So, the only reason that you, a certified drama magnet is still here and not halfway back to wherever you were picked from, is because of that.” He points to the bathroom door, and I’m now sure I’m going to throw up.
Peter smirks. “Your little dependent charity case of a sister is the only reason you’re still in this competition.”
Chapter Comments:
2
