Page 102 of Heart of a Villain

Ayesha nodded. “Okay.”

“You don’t want to know why?”

“Only if you’d like to tell me.”

“It’s not like I haven’t done any healing,” Sayeda began. “I’ve read books and listened to podcasts. I’ve tried all the mindfulness tricks—stuff like that. I didn’t jump into a sexual relationship with Adrían without doing my due diligence. And Adrían doesn’t make me feel dirty. I think it’s just who he is. There’s a certain kind of gentleness about him. It makes you wonder how he could be dangerous.”

“Sis, I think we share a type.”

She’d stared at Ayesha’s face before, examining it, looking for the tiny spots of evidence that said they didn’t look as alike as everyone else thought. After tonight, things were different, but they didn’t feel as different as she’d believed they would. Ayesha, being her twin, didn’t feel like a bigger revelation than Ayesha being her sister.

In a way, she knew.

It was the only way any of it made sense. Some siblings did look nearly identical to one another, but from the first time Curtis mentioned the name Eesh, she never forgot it.

“I broke up with Adrían.”

Ayesha looked down. “Does he know that?”

“What do you mean?”

“These guys aren’t normal boyfriends and husbands.”

“So you think Adrían won’t agree?”

“I know he doesn’t.”

“But Joel’s divorced,” she pointed out. “If something happened between the two of you, you don’t think he would understand?”

“No.”

“Accept it?”

“Nope.”

“And that doesn’t scare you?”

“Not at all. I feel loved with him, safe with him, supported by him. I’m never alone when with him. We’re parent and parent, not parent and occasional babysitter. Joel’s always wanted to be a father, and it shows. Then there’s the way I answer this question: what would make me leave Joel? And the answer is,” Ayesha shrugged, “nothing.”

“What if he cheated?”

“It’s possible but not probable. I know it sounds ignorant, but I don’t have any fear of Joel cheating or, worse, hurting me, and it’s not only because Giorgio would skin him while he’s still breathing. Being with him, with this family? It feels right, and it has for a long time. Long enough to show me I’m where I’m supposed to be.”

“Was it that way with your mother?”

Ayesha sighed.

“Mora isn’t exactly warm or nurturing. I don’t mean that as if to say she deserved what Aron did, but my aunt was for me what your mother was for you.”

“My mother…”

“Eesh, she was your mother. Is Joel then not Josiah and Theo’s father because of their DNA?”

Ayesha lightly smacked her shoulder. “Don’t school me this early in the morning.”

“I’m just saying. You need some schooling.”

“Who do you think’s older?”

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