Page 34 of Reign of Psychos

I loved all of them. Only I wasn’t sure whether I could keep them all. Or any of them, for that matter.

Life had taught me that if I loved something, someone always took it away from me.

My resolve strengthened. Nobody was taking my guys from me. They could try, but if they did, I’d make sure they bled first.

17

Cassian

The email sat in my in-box unread. Ever since my father casually mentioned his link to Thea’s mother, I’d barely slept. It didn’t matter how often Milo tried to reassure me the likelihood of her being my half-sister was slim to none; I couldn’t get it out of my head.

The thought of what we’d done made me feel sick. Yes, it wasn’t our fault, but knowing that didn’t help. And to make matters worse, she had no idea.

She knew I was hiding something. Ever since she and Dario returned, I’d avoided her. When she walked into a room, I walked out. If it made me a coward, I could deal. What I couldn’t handle was the hurt in her eyes.

She probably assumed I’d lost interest in her and was too chicken to admit it. It was a fair assumption, considering my history with women. Camilla was the only long-term relationship I’d had, and that had been fake.

“Are you going to open that?” Kyril asked as he peered over my shoulder. I slammed my phone down and scowled at him.

“I will when I’m ready.”

Landon threw a peanut at my head and then grinned when I scowled at him, too. He was much happier now Thea was back. They all were apart from me.

“Have the results come in already? That was fast.” I’d sent the hair samples off two days ago and paid a fortune for an expedited service. Too fucking right the results were back. Another day and I’d have been on the phone to the clinic’s director to personally tear strips off him.

I ignored Landon. The stupid fucker was getting on my last nerve with his singing. I got he was in love, but seriously? The world did not need to hear him butchering Taylor Swift songs. If I had to listen to him wailing ‘Love Story’ one more time, I’d fucking nail him to the wall.

“Look, man, just fucking rip the band-aid off and read the fucking email.” When I ignored him, Dario snatched my phone from my hand and before I could punch him, clicked open the email.

“Give it to me!” I yelled, losing my shit. He swung the phone out of reach while Kyril pinned me down.

“We need to know,mudak. You giving her the cold shoulder is hurting her. She doesn’t need stress while she’s carrying my baby!”

“It’s my baby,” Landon scoffed before turning to me and nodding. “Face your fear. It’s the only way. If it turns out you and her have been keeping it in the family, we can go for counseling. I read that genetic sexual attraction affects, like, 50% of siblings who only meet as adults.”

“Shut the fuck up, Lan,” I snarled.

“It’s linked to the reward center in your brain,” he continued, oblivious to my death stares.

“He’s right,” Milo agreed. “I downloaded a scientific paper on the topic if you want to read it.”

“Ooh, interesting! Can you forward it to me?” Jesus. Since when had my potentially incestuous relationship with Thea become a topic of scientific interest to my friends?

“What’s going on?” We looked up to see Thea in the doorway, her skin damp with sweat from a workout. Everyone stopped talking and looked at her, except Dario, who was too busy staring at my phone.

“She’s not,” he said before throwing the phone at me.

The relief I felt was instantaneous. Like a thousand tons of rocks had been lifted from my shoulders, leaving me floating on a cushion of warm air.

“Not what?” Thea asked, her curious gaze flicking between me and Dario.

“Not your brother.” The water bottle she held hit the floor and bounced as the pink flush in her cheeks faded into a sickly shade of green.

“What the fuck are you talking about? Why would you be my brother? That makes no fucking sense!” Her brow furrowed in confusion before her expression morphed into horror.

Seeing she was about to have a meltdown, I tried to go to her, but she recoiled away. Her rejection burned, but I understood. She had no reason to trust me after I’d avoided her for days.

Ignoring the impulse to go to her, pull her close, and do what I should have done the moment she walked back into this apartment after a week away, I focused on her.

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