Page 83 of Mine to Ruin

Kian walks over to us, and Aubrey clears her throat while Tara pats her dress. They introduce themselves, and when we take the elevator downstairs, we find Brandon, Kendrick, Jason. All three look spectacular in suits.

“It’s official, I am moving back,” Aubrey declares.

I am happy they’re ogling someone other than my man.

As we walk into the gallery, a sense of déjà vu hits me as the cameras flash. The interest in my art is just as present now as it was in the past. But now, people also want to know about our relationship. After that first paper fiasco, I stopped reading them.

I spot my parents and walk over to them. They congratulate me on the opening. A head full of red locks pops up behind them and I squeal.

“I can’t believe you came!”

“Anything for you,” my aunt says, her face drawn in a pale expression.

“Are you all right?”

“Tonight is about you and not my demons, okay?”

I nod and grab her hand to go introduce her to Kian, who is talking to his grandfather. Both of the men turn around to greet us. My aunt freezes and his grandfather blinks.

“Esther.”

“Mr. Reyes.”

A tomb-like weight falls from my aunt’s tongue, while Kian and I eye them.

“Do you know each other?”

“We do,” he says while my aunt snorts and laughs sardonically. The awkwardness only increases when my parents join and they greet each other with stiff postures.

“Excuse me,” my aunt says, before she crosses the room, away from Kian and his grandfather.

I follow her into the bathroom and find her wiping at her eyes.

“What was that?” I ask.

She grips the sink and a sigh parts her red lips. “To tell you would mean to relive a past I have tried to hide from for twenty years.”

Disappointment wedges between my ribs, but I insist, hoping to finally get some answers. “I’d still like to know.”

“I don’t want you to view me differently.”

I hate all this damn secrecy. I open my mouth to tell her that would never be the case, but she cuts me off.

“What were the chances, huh?” She combs her fingers through her hair and plasters a big smile on her face. “Whatever. This is your night. Show me everything.”

The opening is a success, and Lorene shows up every five minutes, beaming from head to toe, with another sale.

I’m in the bathroom washing my hands when I hear Robert’s voice, and freeze.

“Congratulations, Ellia. I always knew you were a talent, special and beautiful. No one else was ever like you.”

I shiver, a memory from my past so potent pulls my heart from my chest down to my stomach. I lift my gaze and blink. He’s really here, and he’s closing the door behind him.

Shock overpowers the fear. I take a step back, my brain overwhelmed for a few seconds.

Oh no, never again. I square my shoulders and move two steps in his face.

“I am not that girl anymore,” I snarl, driven by power surging through me, kicking the old fear to the curb.

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