Page 41 of Till Forever Falls Apart
“You’ll have to let me know when you’ve got some good investments going. I might have to add some money too.”
Like fuck I’d want his dirty money running through Luxe Corp. It was a legit place of business. I never mixed it with the Organisation and never would.
“I’ll let you know if something comes up.”
We sat in silence for a moment. Everyone was eating but me as I sipped my whisky, watching every move Callum made.
“You’ll never guess what I saw the other day when I was picking up some bits in Leeds.”
Aria arched her brow at him. “What?”
“You remember you told me about that tiger teddy your dad got you as a mascot? You took it to every netball game you played, right up until you were sixteen. It was one of those—the same one, I swear. I should have bought it.”
Her eyes widened. “No way. Oh my God, you should have got him. He disappeared when I moved to London. I think he got lost somewhere. I was so sad.”
I sat up, leaning forward in my chair.
“Wait, you played netball?” I asked her.
“Didn’t you know? She went to all the tournaments and won medals. She played centre. One of the best, I reckon. She said that Tiger was her lucky charm,” Callum explained for her, as if he knew everything about her.
“I started in primary school, continued into secondary school, and stopped when I moved here. It was a massive part of my life.”
My eyes widened slightly at the revelation. I’d never really known much about Aria’s life before I met her. She’d told me a few odd bits, but that would have played a massive role in her life, and she’d never shared it with me. My heart sank. Was it because I’d never really shared much of my own childhood with her that she felt she couldn’t with me?
“Thank you, Callum,” Aria said.
She leaned over, placing her hand on top of his and squeezing it. I shifted in my chair, unsure what I was seeing.
“For what?” he replied, squeezing her hand back.
“Everything you did for me when I was with Jason. For taking care of me when I needed it. You were always there for me, and I never got the chance to say how grateful I was.”
His eyes flicked to mine for a split second. “You know I’d do anything to keep you safe.”
The glass slipped from my hand, smashing into shards on the table as it hit the side of my plate.
“Fuck.”
“It’s fine.” Aria started to pick up the broken glass. “Oww.” She sucked in a breath and shook her hand.
My lips parted, my eyes widening at the blood coming from her finger. Callum grabbed a napkin and wrapped it around her hand.
“Are you ok?” he asked.
I sat there frozen, unable to get a word out, just focusing on the blood. I’d hurt her. Something I’d never imagined myself doing. Sick rose from my stomach, and I swallowed hard to push it back down. What was wrong with me? I’d vowed to protect and keep her safe; instead, I’d just made her bleed.
“Let’s get this cleaned up,” Callum said, helping her.
I watched as Aria said her goodbyes to Callum at the door. When he was gone, she spun on her heels and glared at me. “What was that?”
“What was what?”
“Tonight. You were really stand-offish with him.”
I scoffed and turned to walk away.
“Where are you going?” She chased after me as I reached the kitchen.
