Mia Regina (#1)

Chapter 42: Soon To Be Revealed

"Arie? What are you doing here?" His eyes were wide, his raised brows creasing his forehead. My heartbeat pounded in my ears as I wondered how to explain this to him. Today was not the day I planned on telling him everything.

"Ashton!" Swallowing the massive lump in my throat, I reached forward and looked at him. "Hey!"

          "Hey, sissy," he faked excitement and then adopted a stoic expression. "I asked you something. What are you doing here?"

          "I came as his plus one." I looked at Leo who put his mask on and pulled him to my side. Here goes nothing. "This is Leo Bonferroni." Leaving Leo's side, I grabbed Ashton's arm and tugged him closer while talking to Leo. "And this is Ashton, my brother."

"Wait!" Ashton jerked his hand away from my hold and stepped back, a look of confusion plastered on his face. "Leo Bonferroni? Like the Leo Bonferroni?"

          "Do you know any other Leo with that ridiculous last name?" I covered my mouth as soon as those words left it. Good job, Arie! You deserve a pat on the back, dumbass!

          Leo laughed and put his hand forth. "Yes, I'm the Leo Bonferroni with the ridiculous last name."

          Ashton shook Leo's hand, his face still awestruck from the revelation. "You're the billionaire from our graduation?"

          "Yes, I am."

          Ashton's eyes narrowed at Leo, his teeth clenching and lips pulled into a thin line. "What are you doing with my sister?" He grabbed my wrist and pulled me to his side, his eyes still glaring at Leo who had a smug smirk planted on his face.

          "Not my place to tell. Ask your sister," Leo suggested and nodded his head to me.

          "Ashton," I slowly turned to him and removed his hand from my arm. "I'm his date to this party."

          "Are you guys like a couple?"

          "I love your sister," Leo stepped to my side and placed his reassuring hand on my back. "Which is why she's here with me."

          "Is this a joke?" Ashton frantically looked between me and Leo before his confused eyes finally settled on me. "When did this all happen?"

          "I met him two days after our birthday and-"

          "About three months ago and you didn't tell me," Ashton yelled, but it wasn't loud enough to grab anyone's attention due to the music. "I thought you told me everything. I thought I was your person."

"It wasn't anything back then. We just ran into each other," I answered, my heart racing for the hills. Now is not the best place to tell him everything, but he deserves to know a little. "It started getting serious after our graduation."

"And that's still two months." The look of disappointment on his face shattered my heart. I never felt so guilty until now. "I tell you everything and you didn't tell me that you fell in love with someone."

"Ashton, you left right after graduation. How in the world did you expect me to tell you this? You barely picked up my phone calls."