Because right now? I seriously cannot imagine my life without him. The fact that he was once my sister’s husband barely gives me pause anymore.

I’m so sorry, Alicia. I’m the worst sister to ever exist.

Our first stop as soon as we arrive in England is Birmingham.

“I could’ve come to check on Layla on my own,” I tell Jonathan as the butler welcomes us inside Ethan’s Birmingham mansion — or palace. It’s a lot bigger than the one in London, and Moses had to drive a long time before we were able reach the entrance with its majestic lion statues and high towers.

“You think I’d let you come to Ethan’s house alone?” The question is clearly rhetorical since Jonathan continues in that haughty tone of his, “Nonsense.”

“Don’t be a jerk to him, okay?” I whisper in case someone is around. “We’re in his house, after all.”

“Depends.”

“On what?”

“On whether or not he looks in your direction.”

I chuckle. “You can’t be serious.”

He fixes me with one of his uptight glares. “I’m dead serious, and if you want me to prove it in front of him, I will.”

“I don’t see what the big deal is. After all, you used to share women in the past.” And no, I’m still not over that.

“The key phrase in your sentence is ‘in the past’. I wouldn’t even share a table with him willingly.”

“So I’ve been wondering… If you guys weren’t fighting, would you still be sharing women?”

He grips me by the waist, his fingers digging into my side. “Why the fuck are you asking these questions? We already established that Ethan, or anyone else, is off the fucking table. I wouldn’t share you for the rest of your life.”

“You mean your life?”

“Your life. Death won’t stop me, wild one. I’ll find a way, even as a ghost.”

“I have no doubt about that.” The masculine voice coming from our right pauses our conversation.

Instead of letting me go, Jonathan keeps me planted to his side with a possessive hand at the small of my back.

Ethan stands at the base of the stairs, placing a hand in his trousers’ suit pocket and smiling amicably. “Welcome to my Birmingham residence, Aurora. Jonathan, it’s been a long time since you’ve come here. More than twenty years, I believe.”

“Not long enough.”

I elbow him and whisper, “Play nice.”

“He’s looking at you, so that’s a no,” Jonathan says in a voice loud enough for Ethan to hear.

“Always a charmer, Jonathan.” Ethan smiles at him, but there’s no welcoming in it.

The latter returns it with a scowl.

The amount of testosterone around here is high as hell. I can almost taste it on my tongue.

“Where are Layla and her parents?” I ask to dissipate the tension.

“Mr and Mrs Hussaini went for a stroll, and as for Layla —”

Ethan’s words cut off when a door opens from the other side of the room, and in comes Layla carrying basket of roses, throwing the petals at a solemn-faced Agnus. He doesn’t seem to enjoy it in the least, but he remains silent as she grins. “I could totally turn you into a princess, Agnus. If anyone can do it, it’s me.”

Ethan laughs, and even Jonathan is about to smile before he seals his reaction, as usual. I’m beginning to see a pattern between Ethan and Jonathan. One is more open and the other is closed off. However, they have a lot of traits in common — the most important of all, their hunger for power. The more they have, the more they want. That’s why they clicked a long time ago.

Jonathan is just more forthcoming about it. Ethan doesn’t show it as much, but that doesn’t deny his desire for it.

Upon seeing me, Layla pushes the basket of roses at Agnus’s chest and runs towards me.

I open my arms and she hugs me without protest. “I missed you so much, mate. Don’t you dare leave me again.”

“I missed you, too, Lay.”

“Come on.” She grips me by the hand. “We have so much to catch up on.”

Ethan motions at the stairs and raises his brow at Jonathan. “My office?”

“Play nice,” I mouth at Jonathan.

“No,” he mouths back and I shake my head as Agnus abandons the basket of roses on a table and follows them.

With the three of them there, I can only imagine what will happen in that office. Definitely not something I want to witness.

Layla and I sit on a bench in the garden. The trees here are so tall, they block the horizon.

“So?” she asks impatiently. “Details.”

“Promise you won’t hate me?”

“Never. Ride or die, remember?”

I let it all out and tell Layla about my life ever since I was brought up in Leeds, and all the way to witnessing that crime, losing my sister, and the whole trial nightmare.

While I speak, Layla’s expression falls and I think she hates me by the time I finish, but she hugs me again. Two hugs in one day is a first.

“I’m so sorry you had to go through all of that on your own. You were so young.”

I hold on to her and let the tears loose. It’s the first time I’ve talked about the whole thing and I’m so grateful that Layla is the one I got to tell everything that happened.

She pulls back and wipes my tears with the back of her sleeves. “Johnny gets brownie points for taking you away from here so you could clear your head. His Daddy status is reinstated.”

“You’re awful.” I smile through the tears.

“Can I ask you something?”

“Sure, Lay.”

“Which name do you prefer? Clarissa or Aurora?”

“When I was Clarissa, I was happy, but it was at the expense of other people’s suffering. I don’t like being her anymore. I don’t like the memories associated with her or the fears she went through.”

“Aurora it is, then. It’d be super weird to call you anything else.” She grins tentatively. “Why did you pick that name?”

It’s my turn to smile as the memories of summer and marshmallow scent filter back in. “Alicia said if she had a baby girl, she would’ve named her Aurora. I guess it’s stayed with me.”

“I’m so proud of how far you’ve come, mate.”

“Are you being sappy right now?”

“Who? Me? Never!” We laugh and she scoots closer, her expression morphing into one of seriousness. “What are you going to do now?”

“I’m still thinking about it. Hey, Lay, don’t you miss work?”

“Honestly? I’m going out of my mind here. You know I hate staying still, but it’s okay. I can take it.”

“Well, I can’t.”

“What do you intend to do?”

“I’m going to stand tall like I was supposed to sixteen years ago.”

 

 

The following day, I go to the prosecutor’s office. I don’t tell Jonathan, because he’d stop me.

I refuse to live my life in fear, scared about when they’ll come knocking on my door, or when they’ll catch me while I’m walking down the streets.