She was lost and so was he.
Who knew that two broken hearts can connect to one.
Arabella's world has been rigged since the day she was born. Her fate had been decided for her much longer before she even had been conceived in the womb. So it came as...
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I hide with Adelaide behind some trees and bring my finger to my lips, trying to shush her. She continues to giggle from behind the hand covering her mouth. It makes me smile—but I freeze when I hear a branch snap behind us.
After Dominic helped me calm down, I decide not to cancel Luca's family day. Plus, it feels like the perfect opportunity to talk to Alejandro—to really hear him out instead of yelling.
Apparently, Luca had called Dominic to come over, knowing he's the only person who can get through to me. Dominic had been on the way to lunch with the rest of the family, so they were all already in the car. We ended up deciding on one big family day together and settled on the park. Well, more like Adelaide decided. She almost cried when we told her Elijah wouldn't be there. I couldn't say no.
We invite Marco, Mateo, Aria, Dahlia, and their siblings too. Again—Adelaide's doing. We're just one massive group that ends up taking over the entire park. The guys form their little boy huddle or whatever, and us girls decide to play hide and seek with the kids.
It gets intense. Everyone's paired up. Adelaide with me. Vivian with Ashton. Aria with Jonathon. Isla and Serena are currently it. Vivian and Aria are already out, leaving just Adelaide and me. And we're winning. We just need to last a few more minutes.
Hands suddenly loop under my arms and lift me into the air, making me screech. But my screaming quickly turns into squeals of laughter when I'm spun around. I try wiggling away, but then I hear one of my favorite sounds wafting through the wind—Dominic's laugh. I love that sound. I love that it's like a masterpiece. That it's like its own song. That it's mine.
"Put me down," I plead between breathless laughs, and Adelaide falls to the ground, cackling. Traitor. Soon enough, the rest of the group finds their way over, surrounding the scene as I'm still being tickled like there's no tomorrow.
"Dominic." I wheeze through painful laughter, and he finally plants me on the ground. My head spins, and I stumble into him for support. His laughter dies down when he sees my glare.
"We lost. Thanks to you."
"Actually, Serena heard a lot of giggling over here. Dominic was looking for you, and we pointed him in the right direction. So technically, you lost thanks to Adelaide," Isla grins.
I shoot Adelaide a playful glare, but she's too busy wrapping her arms around Ashton, who stands stiffly. He doesn't look like he wants her to let go, but he still seems anxious.
"We're like you and Domy," she says proudly. "He's my boyfriend, and I'm his girlfriend."
I feel Dominic's arm tighten around me as he glares down at Ashton like he's personally offended. Still holding me against him, he sticks his arm between the two kids and gives the five-year-old a rough little shove. Ashton stumbles back.
"Dominic!" I gasp, smacking him away—even as he grumbles in protest—and I immediately kneel beside Ashton, who gives me a shy smile. I smile back, smoothing out his messy hair.
