Page 31 of Heart of a Villain

“We’re two years apart, then.”

“Based on the years alone,” Ayesha said. “I have a birthday coming up.”

Then they both said, at the same time:

“What do you want for your birthday?”

Ayesha started laughing all over again.

She searched Ayesha’s face, still blown away by the similarities. It couldn’t be a coincidence that Ayesha was associated with Julien and the rest of Alpha. With her mother being who she was, Dr. Mora Bentley had probably kept an eye on Ayesha, but it had to be before Joel came along. It was plain as day that Joel didn’t mess around when it came to this woman and their children.

“So you and Joel have been together since you were nineteen?” she asked. “Adrían said you two recently got married. Why’d it take that long? I mean, I’ve been here, like, two seconds, and I see the way that man looks at you. I’m surprised he manages to keep his hands off you.”

“It’s hard for him, but he does his best.”

“I’ll keep him in my prayers.”

Ayesha, still laughing, lay down facing her. “Joel isn’t Theo and Josiah’s biological father, only Tiare’s. She’s ten weeks old—my third and Joel’s first.”

“So it’s Joel, Josiah, Theo, Tiare. Are you planning an A?”

“Planning?”

She wanted to laugh, but nothing came out. Still, she felt the amusement move somewhere inside her. Somewhere with a valve that had long since rusted over.

“Want to know something weird?” she began. “Tiare’s the name I used to say I would give my daughter.”

The name reminded her of Hawaii.

But she’d left her dreams of a daughter in her past between the pages of a journal she wrote like a romance novel. In one chapter, she and Adrían reunited in the middle of a busy market in Marrakesh. Unbeknownst to each other, they’d returned to Morocco on the anniversary of the day they first met with scant hope of running into one another. However, unbeknownst to him, she was there, shopping with Tiare, the daughter she never got the chance to let him know he had.

“So, where’s Theo and Josiah’s father?” she asked.

Ayesha’s expression went from content to neutral before settling on sullen. “He…was killed. His name was Curtis. Curtis Savea. From what I understand, you’ve met him, but he might have introduced himself as Nik.”

For a man she’d met only briefly, the news hit her as hard as if they’d been close friends. She wanted to ask what happened, but she felt Ayesha’s grief as if it were her own.

“I’m so sorry,” she said. “Oh, sweetie. I’m so, so sorry. Nik’s the one who helped me get out of Morocco. I remember him like this just happened yesterday—tall, pretty hair, gorgeous, and kind with an underlying hint of protector. You know, he’s the first one who called me Eesh. We were getting ready to leave the hospital where I was at the time, and he held out his hand and was like, ‘Let’s go, Eesh.’”

“You were probably like, who the hell is this man talking to?”

“At the time, he could have said, ‘Come on, bitch, time’s a-wasting,’ and I would have happily trotted over.”

Each time Ayesha laughed, the sound shot a ray of comfort through her. She thought about reaching for Ayesha’s hand, but they hadn’t known each other for a day yet, although it felt like she was looking into a mirror.

“But Joel seems wonderful,” she said.

The light returned to Ayesha’s eyes. “Second chances are…interesting. All of a sudden, I was daydreaming again, getting butterflies again. He’d touch me, and my heart would start racing. Yet, despite me saying all that, I resisted Joel for years. Years, Sayeda. Like a dumbass.”

“Joel? Not the same blue-eyed Disney prince I met?”

“He was going through a divorce, and I’m friends with his ex-wife. It’s long and complicated. You probably want to get some rest.”

When she touched Ayesha’s hand, nothing exploded. No fires broke out, and no alarm bells sounded. Oddly, she swore she felt something torn reconnect, like a ligament that instantly went from injured to healed.

“Tell me everything.”

“Are you sure?” Ayesha asked. “I could talk about Joel forever.”

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