Page 96 of Divine Obsession

“Yeah. Something to do with Dad’s business in Japan. Some crazy shit went down, so he sent Trevor since he’ll be taking over the Dynasty soon.”

Not cool that he didn’t mention he left thecontinent, but whatever.

“When’s he coming back?” I asked, keeping my tone as neutral as possible.

“He’s not,” Kali replied with a sad smile.

The Earth stopped spinning. “What?”

“I know. He graduated early and left to work for the family branch in Asia. Our uncle who was running it got killed, so Dad sent him to take over. I think it had something to do with the Yakuza.”

“Wow.”

“Yeah,” She sighed, sipping her matcha. “It’s been crazy. But you know Trevor – he’s good at this stuff. Heneedsto be. Especially with him taking over the family’s arms-dealing empire soon. He can handle the Yakuza.”

“So… He’s staying in Tokyo?”

“There’s a lot of work to do there. He’ll be gone for a while. Might come back for the holidays, though.”

I nodded slowly, feeling like the ground had been pulled out from under me.

I tried to listen to Kali as the discussion went on, but my mind was stuck on the realization that Trevor was just…Gone.

No warning.

No explanation.

No goodbye.

At first, I waited.

I told myself he was coming back. That he couldn’t contact me because of our family’s rivalry and him taking care of the Yakuza.

I told myself it wasn’t a big deal. That Trevor would reach out when he had the time. He was busy; I knew that. His responsibilities to his family were different from mine; demanding, relentless, dangerous.

But as the days turned to weeks, then months, the silence became harder to ignore.

I replayed every moment we’d shared, clinging to them like they were all I had left. The way his voice dropped when he called meamai, the warmth of his hand on my back as he steered me through a crowded room, the dark intensity in his eyes when he promised no one would keep him from me.

I believed him.

So, I made excuses.

Maybe he didn’t want to risk my safety by contacting me while the Sus were at war with the Yakuza. Maybe he didn’t want to risk my father finding out. Or his, since he was supposed to only be focused on taking over the Dynasty.

But every passing day chipped away at those excuses until there was nothing left but the cold, harsh truth.

Until I realized, that’s all we’d been. A fling.

And he wasn’t coming back. Not to me.

I tried to move on after that.

At first, it was out of spite. I told myself I didn’t care abouthimanymore. Why would I? He left without a word, like we were nothing.

LikeIwasnothing.

I told myself he didn’t deserve another second of my time, another thought in my head. So, I forced myself to move forward.

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