Chapter 13
The celebration had gone from uncomfortable to unbearable.
Aiden’s mom couldn’t contain her excitement to see me, hovering over me throughout dinner like nothing had changed.
“Brooklyn, honey, you’ll freeze in those New York winters. Let’s have Aiden take you to Saks tomorrow – they have the most amazing winter collection.”
“That’s okay, Mrs. Carter. I can shop online, or hit the stores once I’m there.”
She beamed at my mom across the table. “I already got their whole dorm setup – matching comforter sets, those adorable string lights everyone’s doing now. And the warmest North Face jackets – you know how brutal those East Coast winters can be. Don’t worry about a thing, Karen.”
Mom shifted in her seat, probably thinking how all that winter gear would gather dust in sunny California. But she plastered on her best social smile and murmured her thanks.
Madison’s perfect smile cracked slightly, but Mrs. Carter didn’t notice.
“Once you’re both at Columbia, you’ll be all each other has. Aiden, promise me you’ll look after Brooklyn. No more of this fighting nonsense.”
Aiden rolled his eyes. “Mom, please. She’s not exactly helpless.”
The tension at the table could’ve been cut with a knife until Madison chimed in, her voice dripping with
false sweetness.
“Don’t worry, Mrs. Carter. I’ll take good care of Aiden in New York. Besides, Brooklyn will be too busy in California to worry about him.”
The silence was deafening. Three heads snapped up.
“California?”
Madison’s eyes widened in mock surprise. “Oh, Aiden, didn’t you know? It was posted on the school’s acceptance wall… but I guess you haven’t been around much.”
Every eye at the table turned to me.
Under their collective stare, I managed a small nod.
Mom jumped in, her voice artificially bright. “Brooklyn decided Stanford would be a better fit. Their
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Seven Years of Love, Seven Minutes of Truth
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Chapter 13
program is actually ranked…”
“Bullshit,” Aiden cut her off, his fingers closing around my wrist. “I watched you accept Columbia. I was literally there.”
His grip tightened, sparking my anger.
“Yeah, well, plans change. Not that it’s any of your business.”
He stared at me like I’d grown a second head, then let out a harsh laugh.
“This is a joke, right? You? Miss ‘Call–Aiden–To–Kill–The–Spider“? You’re suddenly moving across the
country?”
I pulled up my Stanford acceptance letter and thrust my phone at him.
He studied it like a detective with evidence, zooming in and out as if the pixels might rearrange themselves. Finally, his face hardened into something I’d never seen before.
Before anyone could react, he yanked me out of my chair and toward the exit, ignoring the startled looks from nearby tables.
