Deal • REWRITE • BOOK 1

21; Now or Never

"What's the use in passing down a family name that effectively makes you a rival to everyone?"

L U C I E N

"Why are you scowling?"

I inhaled a sharp breath at the sound of my brother's voice as he closed my office door behind him, his footsteps echoing in my head like a bad memory at the same time I scrubbed over my face with my hands and exhaled.

"I'm not scowling," I muttered, pinching the bridge of my nose when I heard him snort disbelievingly.

"You're always scowling," Alex retorted easily, moving the chairs from in front of my desk and sitting across the leather as I sat up straighter and sighed. "What's bothering you, brother?"

My upper lip curled at the name he'd called me, his rolled eyes leaving me to squint my own as he tried to pry his way into my business and act like the older brother who did nothing better than deal with my issues.

Which was a complete façade if you fücking asked me.

"I didn't come all the way over here to sit in a chair, Lucien...tell me what's wrong," he sighed, looking at me with a raised eyebrow when I teetered on the edge of explaining what had me so distracted.

My mood stemmed from a web of questions I had, most (if not all) centered on one secret I'd admittedly forgotten about and the one person who was keeping it.

Aria.

The image of her settled in my head and made my chest tighten when I focused on her a little too hard, the ache causing more discomfort than it should have when I thought back less than twenty four hours and to the moment Giovanni had spoken to Ryder right after he'd knocked out Salvatore.

Don't think I forgot about what you did to her.

Don't think I forgot about what you did to her.

Don't think I forgot about what you did-

"Lucien."

I blinked out of my thoughts and looked across the desk to see Alex impatiently waiting for a response, the narrowing of his eyes and the slight harshness in his features leaving my instincts to prepare for a fight.

The habit of always being ready for one only left my blood simmering in my veins instantly as a burst of heat hit my chest and spread outwards, his impatience only setting a spark to the fuel that was my anger as I spoke up irritably.

"Drop it Alex, it doesn't fücking matter," I told him bluntly, the sudden adrenaline in my system spiking when I watched him glare at me.

"It's Aria, isn't it?" he questioned easily.

Our sudden eye contact ceased when I looked away at the same time I felt my spine straighten back into my chair, the leather cooling against the heat of my body as I grit my teeth and swallowed without confirming his words.

"What happened?"

I stayed silent.

How could I even begin to explain the fücking thought process in my head right now?

Fück, I wanted to shake Aria by the shoulders and scream at her to tell me what she was hiding and why she was waiting so long to do so.

Was she having second thoughts about us? Did she not trust me anymore?

I wanted to know and I wanted to know now...especially when I wanted to be with her.

I hated to think my motives came from my own selfish intentions that stemmed from not being able to function properly when it came to being blindsided, however, as I sat in my office chair at nearly four in the morning since I couldn't sleep because of it, it was clear as day that no matter what I felt for Aria, I was a selfish bastard.