Sweet Little Lies

Chapter Twenty-Four

This is the 3rd chapter of a quadruple update. Please make sure to read chapters 22 & 23. Enjoy!

Astrid turned the corner and made her way up the winding staircase away from the crowd of the wedding. Escaping the wedding had been easy enough. Dinner had ended a few hours ago, so the drinking and dancing had been an easy distraction. It was risky to do this tonight, but when she received the text, she couldn't say no.

As the music grew quieter, she made her way down a few hallways. The venue was large, the wedding only taking up half of the premises, so there was a lot of empty space up here. Usually, the venue could book out several parties or meetings and presentations a night, but Ivy and Harry had booked out the entire place for security reasons.

They did utilize a good portion of the second floor rooms. There was a cigar room, a quieter lounge in the library portion for those who wanted to get away from the music, and also a few rooms utilized for poker games.

It had taken Astrid a long time to get used to this world. She grew up normal, not involved in any shady back door deals or businesses that were a front for money laundering or drug trades or illegal weapons sales. Her mom had worked at a diner, and they barely survived month to month.

When her mom had married, they moved to Queenstown and everything changed. Still to this day, she felt a little out a place. Expensive events were commonplace in the Malone world, and she, by proxy, was a part of that. The wedding itself probably cost tens of thousands of dollars. A wedding that her friend had dreaded for months. Although, that could have changed recently.

Turning down an abandoned hallway, she checked her phone once more to make sure she was heading in the right direction when a hand came out of nowhere, grabbing her arm. She was pulled back, spinning until her back was against the wall.

A small squeak of surprise had left her, echoing down the empty hallway, but it was smothered by a pair of lips. She closed her eyes at the familiarity of them, immediately looping her arms around a neck. Slowly, they drifted apart, a full on kiss turning to pecks.

"Hello," she smiled up at Tai.

The normal sharpness in his eyes grew soft, a lazy smile drifting across his delicate features. "I've missed you." He said, "Do you know how hard it is to be in the same room with you and not touch you?"

She had met Taiki over a year ago. It had been after a long shift at the hospital, Astrid exhausted and starving. She had no food at home, so she stopped by a restaurant and sat at the bar while she ate. Tai had come in and sat at the only bar stool available right next to her.

Of course, she recognized him right away. She remembered the way her skin prickled when their eyes caught, and how every muscle in her body locked into place. Up close, his features were much sharper, the angular shape of his face and the natural downward slope of his lips made him look harsh. His body was slim and he was probably only a few inches taller than her, but he held a mesmerizing power about him.

The way he had said her name that night, a rakish grin consuming his face, immediately had her in a chokehold. He didn't try and play it like he didn't recognize her. Tradition would have them ignore each other, pretend the other didn't exist, yet he started up a conversation, however stilted it was at the time. She went to bed that night remembering the mischievous glint in his eyes, like he loved doing the exact opposite of what they were expected.

She had come to realize that Tai Hayashi hated being told what to do. He hated rules and expectations. So, naturally, his first instinct upon meeting her would have been to talk to her. Not just talk, but flirt.

At first, Astrid had been suspicious. She would have been the perfect target if the Hayashi family wanted to start a war. She was close enough to the inner circle of the Malone family, her stepdad being the old lieutenant to Cillian Malone, and Ivy and Willow being her best friends. The conversation was hesitant at first, but his playfulness caught her off guard. He never asked personal questions about her upbringing or if she helped out with the family business.