Living Room
"Storm Lyn?" I overheard someone inquire.
"She's my only chance," Reign's voice reached my ears, piquing my curiosity. I lingered at the edge of the stairs, drawn by their conversation.
"Chance for what? Escaping your lunatics?" someone retorted.
"Idiot."
What were they discussing?
"Bro, they might come after her. Are you dense? Remember your crazy ex-girlfriend nearly killed herself because she was madly in love with you," another voice chimed in.
"I know" Reign responded.
"Regarding Storm—"
"I'm serious; I like her."
He likes me?
"Then I suppose I can pursue her, right?" yet another voice suggested.
"Get lost."
"What? You said you like her. You only like her," the previous voice taunted.
"Shut up, damn it!" Reign's retort was the last bit I heard before laughter erupted.
I didn't care to listen further.
I didn't want to hear his words.
He could be lying.
I didn't want to entertain the thought of him liking me, let alone falling for me.
"Baby!" I recognized the voice instantly, causing my eyes to widen.
No way.
I rushed downstairs when I spotted Kaden.
I stopped a few feet away from him, ignoring the eyes that fell on me.
"You're just going to stand there?" he laughed before approaching me.
"A cute welcome reaction, I've missed you, baby," he murmured in my ear.
"I missed you too," I whispered.
"Why are you crying? Did you really miss me?" he asked, cupping my face.
His thumb brushed away my tears before he placed a gentle kiss on my forehead.
I cried once more, not knowing what to do, unable to share my thoughts lately. I felt lost, and now that he was here, I cried tears of gratitude.
I wanted to understand why I didn't want Reign in my life.
"Kaden," I sobbed. He saw my face, picked me up in his arms, and carried me upstairs.
"Excuse us, gentlemen, for a moment," I heard him say, probably to Luke and his companions.
"Now, where's your room?" he inquired.
I pointed to my room, and he carried me inside, still in his arms.
"Why?"
"Hmm?" he prompted.
"Why are you here? It's not that I don't want you here; it's just—"
"Tyler didn't actually cheat on you, Trixie, she's one of Tyler's friends."
"What are you saying?"
"Trixie kissed Tyler at Bon Jour because she knew you were there. It was a stupid move, trying to gauge your reaction and test how much you loved Tyler. But you didn't trust him enough."
"I did trust him!" I shouted, pulling away from Kaden.
"You didn't, baby. If you truly loved him, you wouldn't have doubted his love for you. If you genuinely loved him, you would've believed him when he said he wasn't cheating. If you were really in love, you would've listened to his explanations."
"But at the end of the day, testing you meant doubting you," he spoke as if to himself.
"Stop confusing me! Do you want to know why I've been crying lately? Because the guy in the white shirt, Luke Reign, is also confusing me! I don't understand my feelings for him, and now you're telling me I didn't love Tyler? That it's my fault for all my tears? Is that it?"
"No, baby, that's not what I'm trying to say." Kaden held me in a tight embrace.
"I'm sorry," he whispered in my ear, and I continued crying in his arms. "Perhaps you didn't love him the way you thought. Maybe you saw him as a hero, a friend, but you didn't truly love him as a partner, maybe you just wanted the fall"
"Tyler is here," Kaden informed me.
"Downstairs, I'll go get him," he said with a smile before leaving my room.
I couldn't handle this. The pain was overwhelming.
"Storm," a familiar voice called out, causing my heart to race.
The next instant, I was in his arms.
"Tyler."
"I missed you," he whispered, his voice laden with tears that resonated with the ache in my heart.
"I'm sorry. I was a jerk. I'm sorry."
"Tyler."
I had been so blind all this time. I was the reason for my pain. I hadn't listened, wasting time apart from him, believing he didn't love me. I felt so foolish.