𝐇𝐞𝐚𝐥 𝐌𝐞

43 | Aurora

I knew who that girl was as soon as I opened the apartment door and saw her standing outside. She wasn't difficult to recall; with my knowledge about Jade's past and the ongoing conflict between him and Christian in this home, she was mostly on my mind.

Now, Kiara was sitting in the Grogans' apartment's living room, holding a glass of water that I had offered her and which she accepted while glaring at me suspiciously. Meanwhile, Jade, his brothers, and I were standing in a different space, staring at Kiara with expressions of mutual confusion on our faces.

When I opened the door and saw her standing outside the home, I allowed her inside since I didn't know what to do. It would have been rude to tell her to leave when I didn't even know her and she had the same knowledge of me.

When Jade came downstairs and saw her looking at him, his whole demeanour changed. His face lost its usual colour, and his eyes were wide in shock while he stood on the stairs, only staring at her. I knew that her sudden presence would be such a triggering point for him, so I immediately called Adrian, telling him about Kiara's sudden arrival at their house, and now they were here as well.

After they were all here, Christian told Dorothy to take the day off for today, which I guessed he did because he didn't want a scene in front of her.

Jade was now standing with me. The frown on stress was continuously visible on his forehead, while his fists remained locked as well as his jaw. A visible vein popped in his forehead as he was looking at her, and the pulse in his throat drummed rapidly.

He was furious.

She occasionally gave me side looks, which I couldn't help but notice and found to be really uncomfortable. Even though she didn't know my name, her stare gave off the impression that she wasn't pleased to have me in this house.

"How much time will you take to tell us what brings you here?" Adrian's stern voice echoed in the living room, making all of us look at him while Jade's raging eyes remained on her. Adrian looked equally mad, and I have never seen him like this before.

A crease formed between her brows as she turned to face him. "I just wanted to see you." Her gaze travelled briefly to Christian before returning to Adrian. "All of you."

Something about her made me feel negative for the time being here in this house.

"Cut the fucking crap, Kiara." Jade gritted beside me, and I could see his body shaking in rage. "Why the fuck are you here?"

"I am serious, Jade." Concern laces her face. "I saw in the media how you started working at the firm again, and then about the deal in Edmonton. I just missed you." She ended the sentence in a whisper.

"Missed him?" Adrian raises an eyebrow. "After one and a half years and everything you did, you started missing him because you saw interviews about him working again. Do you really think we would believe that shit?"

"I know it sounds stupid, and I know that none of you will believe me." She sighs. "But this is the truth. "Please believe me, Adrian, Jade." Her eyes landed on Christian. "Christian."

My eyes witnessed how Christian was visibly stiff when she called his name.

Upon witnessing this, I became aware of the uneasiness in his posture and the continuous fidgeting of his fingers. His eyes conveyed the fear he was feeling, as though he were afraid of her presence, even though his face was still filled with the same rage as his brothers.

But that wasn't the only thing that made me worried; it was something else as well.

It was the same dread that I had seen in my eyes whenever I saw or heard Liam or anything related to him.