Page 10 of When Forever Falls Apart

Everyone waits until the seat belt sign turns off, except for one man, who is already up. The hostess shouts at him from her seat. The moment the sign is off, an announcement airs over the speaker, prompting everyone to rush like sheep being herded into a barn.

Thankfully, no one sat beside me on the flight, so I didn’t have to make small talk with some stranger. I’m convinced plane small talk is a punishment from the universe. It’s all fun and games at the beginning, but it’s not worth the awkward silence for the other ten hours of the flight.

As I stand up and stretch my arms, my phone pings inside my purse.

Aston

As if you could kick my ass. Meet you outside.

He has a point, but I don’t dwell on it, distracted by two young girls staring at me. One whispers something into the other girl’s ear, and then they both continue to gawk at me. Instinctively, I wipe my face in case I have some of that god-awful pudding I ate on my chin or something.

Passengers start moving toward the exit with their hand luggage. As I step out of my row, I’m forced to walk past the girls who linger in their section. I lower my gaze to the floor of the plane, staring at my Dunks, until a voice says, “Excuse me, are you Madelina Beaumont?”

The mention of my name draws my attention to the two girls.

“Um, yes” is all I manage to answer.

“Your brother is Aston, right?”

“Yes…”

Their eyes widen, and then the one with the messy bun whispers, “I told you so. He’s so hot.”

Of course, this is about Aston and his viral posts of Donuts Ever After, which he started after creating a socialmedia account. A sweet gesture to show Eva how much he loved her when they were apart.

Since things went belly up with my dad, Aston’s been making a name for himself and running in the same circles as other well-known billionaires. Every girl and her vagina has been drooling over him like he’s some sex god.

“I saw this video, and is it true your ex stood you up at your wedding, but your father made it sound like you ran away?”

I tilt my head in confusion. “What? Where on earth did you read such bull—”

“Excuse me, ma’am?” The lady behind me interrupts. “I’ve got a husband, mother-in-law, and a cranky manager who didn’t want me to take two days off from my shitty job to attend my aunt’s funeral waiting for me. Could you move it along?”

Ma’am?I am only twenty-six.

There’s no time to continue my conversation with these girls, let alone stew in my anger. The anticipation of freedom surges within me—the confined space suddenly feels like pure hell.

My fingers grip the suitcase handle as my knuckles turn stark white, and I wish I could transport to anywhere but here. I could wait for them to disembark, but what’s the point? People are forming their version of my life, and nothing I say will make it all go away.

I breeze through customs without any interrogation of my travels, a wave of relief washing over me as I head to the baggage carousel. Usually customs has a long wait, which has me questioning my will to live, and whether Iamcarrying bags of cocaine.

I spot my suitcases rolling toward me on the carousel. Grabbing hold of them, I push through the glass doors into the bright arrivals hall.

As I scan the area, I quickly spot Aston waiting for me, his familiar figure standing out among the crowd. The sightof my older brother ignites a rush of emotions, and I feel a lump form in my throat, even though I saw him a month ago in Paris.

“You looked wrecked,” Aston is quick to tease with a smile. “I offered to upgrade you to first class.”

“I have to unlearn a billionaire’s daughter’s lifestyle. Dad doesn’t pay for anything anymore. A trust fund can only last so long. Besides, first class would have been me drunk on whatever liquor they handed out, and I would have been kicked off the plane.”

“Well, I missed you.” Aston wraps his arms around me as I bury my head in his chest. Again, I fight back my tears but allow myself to linger. For my entire life, he has been my big brother, trying to protect me from the world.

When I pull away, Aston draws his brows together. His dark brown curly hair is a little more tousled than usual, and he’s grown a slight beard. Eva has a thing for beards, so this doesn’t surprise me. “I’m worried about you.”

“I’m a big girl, okay? I can do this myself without my big brother holding my hand.”

“I know, it’s just…”

“What?”