Chapter 34

Kai

A fter I finished texting with Zoe about when I'd get to have Paris, I checked the time. Ash and Aiden had left for the airport about thirty minutes ago, meaning it would take at least an hour before Ash came back.

Aiden wasn't joking last week when he'd told us about his plan to travel the world. It came as a shock, but despite the fact we were going to miss him, we were both excited for the old man.

I think Aiden wouldn't have done it if it hadn't been for two things. The first being Ash's breakup. Aiden wanted to make sure Ash was getting better and to wait until Ash was starting to heal before leaving. The second was the passing of his dog, Seb. Sadly, we had to tell Seb goodbye a month ago. He passed of old age, but it didn't ease the pain. Poor Aiden was heartbroken over his best friend passing. I think the grief was what pushed him to go on this adventure. Some people saw dogs as pets, but not the Sage family. For Aiden and Ash, their dogs were their life.

Pacha was also sad since Seb's death, but the vet told Ash it was a normal reaction. They'd formed a small pack, and now he was all alone. Right now, he was sitting on the couch beside me while giving me his best puppy eyes. Feeling sorry for the cute pup, I took him for a walk.

As always, the dog got me running after him on the sand until my lungs burned. I was in shape, but jogging definitely wasn't my favorite activity. We walked around the beach for a while until I decided it was time to go home and start making dinner. At some point on our way back, Pacha began losing it. Howling into the air and spinning around himself, he tried to get off the leash. That pit bull was strong AF, and he managed to get free.

"Hey, come back here!" I shouted, already chasing after him. Ash will kill me if something happens to him.

Thankfully, Pacha ran in the direction of the house. Maybe Ash had returned earlier than I thought? Pacha often reacted with excitement when someone he loved came home.

I switched from running to walking, catching my breath while climbing up the wooden stairs in our backyard. Pacha's barks were coming from the front of the house, so I rounded it. Shock or, more likely, rage took over me at the sight of Soren crouched on the ground while petting Pacha, who was all too eager to see him.

What. The. Actual. Fuck?

My muscles tensed as anger slowly simmered through me, and I tossed the leash on the ground. Soren hadn't noticed me, but that changed the second I called his name, hate oozing through my voice.

"What the fuck are you doing here?" I hissed while striding toward him.

Slowly getting up, he moved a hand over his pants to clean them of fur and dirt. He looked as pretentious as I remembered, with a slim, tight suit and a stick up his ass.

"Good afternoon," he said back just as I reached him.

"Fuck off," I snarled in his face. "Better speak up before I punch your fucking face, asshole."

The idiot seemed unfazed by my threat, but he did seem off. Something in his eyes was different from before. It wasn't just the tiredness in them, as if he hadn't slept in weeks, but the lack of the repulsive confidence his eyes always carried. Looks like someone doesn't have all his duckies in a row.

Soren was one of those obnoxious rich, entitled assholes who always looked down on you as if you were nothing more than dust underneath their expensive shoes. Now, Soren's eyes didn't hold that attitude but something defeated instead.

Good .

"I'm here to see Ashton."

Ashton . I never got a hold of why he insisted on calling him that. What a weirdo.

"Really?" I lifted my chin. "'Cause Ash ain't here, and I doubt he invited you over."

Soren pressed his lips together in a hard line while averting his look to the ground. "I tried calling, but he doesn't answer."

"Tough shit," I snorted, a mean smile on my face. "But what do you expect? He's been over you for months." That was probably a lie, but Soren didn't need to know that. Same as he didn't need to know Ash wasn't answering his calls because I blocked his stupid number.

Soren's ugly face paled, and his brows pinched close. "What are you saying?"

"I'm saying that he and I are together now, and he couldn't care less about your sorry ass."

He visibly swallowed, and I took joy in seeing him suffer. I hated that fucker.

"When did it start?"

"When did what start?" I asked, scratching my chin.

"The two of you. When did it start?" His jaw tensed as if he'd forced the words out of his mouth.

Ohhhh .

"A few weeks after he came back. Although, we fucked long before that. Remember that one Christmas he came to visit his mom? We fucked then, too." Well, that was a blunt lie, as I didn't even get to see Ash that time, but Soren didn't know that, and from the horrified look on his face, it seemed like he bought it, too.

"That's not true. Ashton would never cheat on me."

Aww, look at that. Who knew this fucker was capable of showing emotions.

"Is that so? 'Cause I remember how loudly he moaned that night." I grinned and crossed my arms over my puffed chest. I definitely was the one on top now. "I would have suggested you ask him yourself, but Ashy wouldn't bother himself with talking to you."

Breaking our stare, Soren stepped back, almost stumbling on his feet. It seemed I'd managed to shake him off his high horse, and the taste of victory was sweet.

"You know, Ash often tells me how glad he is that you guys broke up. Usually, after we fuck, he laughs about your weird ass." Since Soren was the first to play dirty years ago, I couldn't help but try and stab him where it hurt the most. "Like those photos on your walls." I faked a laugh. "Seriously, man, what's up with that?"

When Ash had just started dating Soren, he'd told Zoe about Soren's OCD and his weird-as-fuck photo wall. Zoe mentioned it to me, and that was how I knew about it. Yet, Soren couldn't know that, and right now, the look in his eyes was full of dread. I wasn't one to laugh at someone's mental health, especially with my past, but Soren wasn't just someone. He was a piece of shit who deserved to suffer for the rest of his fucking life.

"I-I think I'll leave," he said, turning to walk back to his car.

"Oh, Soren," I called after him, and the idiot turned to look at me. "I forgot to tell you… You look like shit." I couldn't erase the smile on my face even if I tried. And self-satisfied, I watched the bastard going back to the car with his tail between his legs.

Opening his car door, he lingered before getting in.

What's he up to?

"I'm going to stay in LA for a while, so let Ashton know that in case he changes his mind about talking, I'll be here."

Yeah, right. As if I was about to tell Ash that. If Ash allowed Soren back into his life, he'd get hurt again, therefore, me keeping this whole thing away from Ash was for his own good. My decision had everything to do with what was best for Ash, not me. Fine , perhaps it was also to get back at Soren, the fucking asshole who thought he owned my best friend. Well, babe, karma's a bitch, and it was about time he learned it.

"Hey, you're back," I said once Ash entered the kitchen, half my attention on the shrimp I was currently frying. "How did it go—"

My words cut off as Ash suddenly hugged me.

Surprised, I turned off the stove and wrapped my arms around him while he buried his face in my chest.

"Ashy, what's going on?"

"I'm just so happy you're here," he admitted, his hands holding me closer.

Moved by his words, I rested my cheek on top of his head, my fingers running through his hair. "Is this some sort of an emotional breakdown because of Aiden?"

He pinched my nipple. "Don't be an ass," he pouted while I yelped and rubbed my hurt nipple. "And maybe it's about that, but mostly, it's because of this." Taking a step back, he pulled an envelope out of his back pocket.

Confused, I frowned at him. "You hugged me because of an envelope?"

"It's not the envelope but what's inside," he said, opening it and taking out a paper folded in two.

"A paper?"

He grunted, rolling his eyes. "A letter, Kai. Your letter."

"I'm finding it hard to follow, and I'm scared you'll pinch my other nipple—"

Ash chuckled and then handed me the letter. Reading the first line connected all the dots. It was the letter I'd written to him while I was in rehab years ago. It was nothing special, just a bunch of crap an idiotic kid wrote without giving too much thought into it, and yet, when I looked up from those meaningless words I'd written on a whim to meet Ash's face, he was tearing up like some baby.

"H-Hey, why you crying, babe?"

"I never came," Ash choked on a sob. "You were always so sweet and kind, and I wasn't there when you needed me."

Watching him sob over some letter I wrote years ago and had managed to forget about was adorable, so I tossed the letter aside before quickly pulling him into another hug.

"I'm so sorry." He rubbed his face in my chest, his snot getting all over my shirt.

It was unlike him to be this emotional, but maybe he was just having one of those days.

"How did you even get this letter?"

"Aiden gave it to me." He sniffed. "He actually gave it to me years ago, but I tossed it away. He probably kept it until now."

I groaned. That old bastard loved messing with other people's lives.

"Why are you crying now, though? It's fine that you didn't want anything to do with me back then." I snorted. " I didn't want anything to do with me back then either."

Pulling back, he looked at me. "I should have been there for you like you've been here for me for the last few months." His lips pulled into a soft smile. "I'm so lucky to have you again, Kai. You're truly amazing."

My heart fluttered, and the room turned a bit hotter.

I coughed to clear my throat, then asked, "You really think that?"

His eyes softened before he pressed his cheek to my chest. "I do. And I feel so safe with you being around me, especially now that Aiden's gone." He took a deep breath. "I just know you'd never do anything to hurt me, and I'm grateful."

My stomach flipped, and not only because his words struck me hard but because of guilt. For a moment, I considered telling him about Soren. Eventually, the only thing that would truly help Ash heal would be the closure he deserved and never got. But what if they met, and Soren managed to sweep Ash back into his arms? Where would that leave me? The idea freaked me out, and I hugged Ash harder.

"You're damn right, Ashy. I'd never hurt you." I tilted his head up before taking over his lips in a hot kiss. And as Ash kissed me back, his hands desperately grabbing my shirt, I realized that the reason I didn't tell him about Soren wasn't because I wanted to protect his heart but to protect mine . But realizing how selfish I truly was didn't stop me from grabbing Ash's hips and lifting him up. It also didn't stop me from stripping him naked and then fucking him against the kitchen wall.

In fact, it didn't bother me one bit.