Snowbound Hearts

3.

Elena

I stood there in shock, unable to process the words that had just left my brother's mouth, but before he could leave, I grabbed him by his sleeve and forced him to face me.

"Where do you think you're going? What's going on here?" I ask, my gaze shifting between my brother and my Aiden standing behind him.

"I explained to you. Michael and Aiden are back. Aren't you happy?"

Happy? How the hell am I supposed to be happy finding out that the guy I've been in love with most of my life, the man I've spent years trying to forget, is back? This isn’t some cheap romance movie or novel the last time I checked.

"I'm kind of lost for words." I chuckle. I'm pissed is what I am, but I try not to show it for now, at least. I take a deep breath, not wanting to murder my beloved brother at this moment, especially in front of all these people.

"How long has Michael and Aiden been back?" I ask through gritted teeth and an obviously fake smile.

"A week."

"A WEE-", I cough, trying to disguise myself, raising my voice for a second. I lower my voice before drawing unwanted attention towards us. "You mean to tell me that they've been here for a week and you didn't tell me?" I ask, my anger becoming slightly more visible at this point.

"He asked me not to tell you," I turn to look at Aiden, "he wanted it to be a surprise." His voice sounded so soft.

I feel my heart skip a beat, and for a moment, I feel my anger subside but quickly regain my composure. I sigh, then turn to face my brother once again. Without warning, I grab my brother by the collar and whisper in his ear loud enough only for him to hear.

"Dovresti ringraziare Dio che siamo in pubblico altrimenti giuro che ti avrei tagliato I tuoi cazzo di testicoli" I turn on my heels, wanting nothing more than to get away from them. (Translation: You should thank God we're in public otherwise I swear I would have cut off your fucking testicles.)

I passed through the thousands of guests who would greet me and try to make small talk, but I for one wasn't interested at all. All I could think about was how no one told me that Aiden was back. Why was he back? I had so many unanswered questions running through my mind and the more I thought about it, the more angrier I got, the more suffocating I felt.

A waiter passes by handing out glasses of champagne and without thinking I grab one and take a huge sip hoping it would help subside all these mixed emotions growing inside me.

"May I remind you that you don't have the legal age to be drinking alcohol." I turn and come face to face with my brother, Michael. I roll my eyes.

"If I may ease your concern, my dear brother, this is only my second glass of the night," I say, a fake smile on my face.

"You shouldn't be drinking at all little sister," Michael says and I could see that he was still a stuck-up idiot.

"Well, Dad said it was fine if I had a few glasses."

"Dad shouldn't trust you," Michael mutters before taking a sip of his champagne.

The old me would have fought back, given him a piece of my mind, but I for sure wasn't going to give him that satisfaction, nor make a scandal in front of all these people. I walk away, not saying a word and try to get as far away from him as possible.

I walk past the guests, I can see them but my brain doesn't seem to acknowledge their existence, all it cares about is the thoughts that are running in my head. Once I finally stop walking I take notice of my surroundings and realise that I'm no longer in the ballroom but in the Resort's indoor garden. I take slow and deep breaths to try to calm myself down. I seriously should’ve walked at a slower pace.