Chapter 51

I heard her yelp, then she laughed with her hands wrapped around him. And even after he had placed her back down he kept his hands on her shoulders. 

I balled my hands into fists for some unknown reason. My mind no longer on the conference call. 

" I really missed you, " Arden said and I frowned. Wondering exactly what he meant, before he had left he didn't seem to care about Layla at all. And now the guy could hardly keep his hands off her. 

" You're just saying that, " Layla said sweetly, then she proceeded to take out the ingredients she would use. Arden leaned against the counter and crossed his arms. Following her every action.

I was following his. 

" Of course not. I'm being very serious, "

Layla chuckled, then she said that she had missed him too before asking him what he had been doing. He lied,said his dad's company had run into technical difficulties and he had been required to fix it. The entire interaction was sending hard and spiky chills down my spine. And I held onto the tables edge in an attempt to control whatever that feeling was. Something was up with Arden, I had known him long enough to tell.

There was something different, otherwise why would he be casually complementing Layla on how lovely she looked that way, or joking around as if they were best friends who had known each other for ages.

Each time he made her laugh, I felt like striding over there and....I don't even know what I'd do but I'd surely do something.

" What you making?" Arden asked and Layla said something about pancakes.

" Can I help?" 

" Sure, if you want to. "

" Cool, just tell me what to do. I'm at your service. "

He started helping her, and there was this specific instance where Layla had been trying to reach the top shelf and couldn't, so he had walked behind her and helped. I watched how close he was to her and I couldn't bare it anymore. 

This anger but up I side me. A primal need to mark my own territory and make it clear that Layla was mine. It was like a living thing, and I was unable to continue with the call so I ended it without explanation and stood. 

Jealousy was a feeling I wasn't used to. And I hated it, I hated how it made me feel. 

Walking over to the kitchen, i got in and headed straight for the counter. Once seated, I asked Arden whatever it was he had wanted to tell Layla earlier.

" Oh....that, " he seemed a bit nervous and Layla must have sensed it since she asked him what was wrong. 

" Nothing, it's just that..well, "

" Just spit it out," I told him and he turned to Layla and smiled a rather guilty smile. Like he knew whatever it was he had to say was going to make Layla uncomfortable. Then he breathed out and told us.

" I told my parents about you and they're coming over....next weekend, "

Panic washed through her like floods on a street. She tried to speak but no words came out. I knew his parents, probably better than he did. They considered me their son. And I knew that they were fairly good people and had genuine kind hearts,I however didn't know how they were going to act around Layla.

That was a situation neither of us had ever planned to be in. 

" That's, God, " Layla muttered before she placed the whisk on her hand down and turned back to pour herself a glass of water. 

" There's nothing to worry about, " Arden said as he followed her to the sink, then he placed his hands in her waist and made her then to him. It was a casual touch, nothing at all intimate about it, but I wondered why she hadn't flinched. 

Normally she would have jumped at such unexpected contact, but this time she seemed completely comfortable with it. And that was something that actually made me worry. 

Did it mean she was now comfortable with everybody else, perhaps when I had broken her barriers towards me, I had also broken them towards every other person. And now she wouldn't have a problem interacting with others normally.

" Listen, " Arden said as he looked at her. My blood began to boil again and I wanted to pry them apart. He could have told her whatever he wanted to say while they were feet apart. There was no reason for the physical contact. 

" They were actually quite excited. Don't stress over it, it's gonna go well, and then before you know it they'll be gone and everything will be back to normal. Okay?" 

He was trying to calm her and she seemed to appreciate it. She breathed in deep and then she breathed out. But the entire time my focus was on the hand Arden had around her waist. 

Mine, I thought.

She was ONLY mine. No one else had the right to touch her the way he was. It didn't matter whether we had been friends our entire lives but Layla was strictly mine to possess. 

And the more I saw them interact the more I wanted to growl out in rage. 

But I couldn't, because if I acted irrationally the Arden would have known and that would have started an entirely new subject I didn't want to have. 

" Okay?" He asked her and she nodded. Then she smiled and went back to her cooking.

" When are you planning on going to Dahlia's?" I asked her. I hadn't forgotten about that, Miguel and I had talked over the phone yesterday and he had asked me whether Layla was still planning on going. I had said yes.

" Oh, I'm not sure. Tomorrow maybe?" 

" Where?" Arden asked and before I could tell him, Layla did so. She seemed so excited as she talked about the entire thing. I had been planning on taking her myself, was still planning on doing so. But the Arden asked her whether she would be okay with him accompanying her. 

And she fucking said yes. 

"It'll actually give us a chance to talk more. Just in case my parents ask us about each other, "

That clever bastard. He was lying.

The two went ahead with their pancake making and after some minutes I couldn't even stand to be there. To look and hear them talk, so I stood and made my way to my room. Heading straight for my bottle of whiskey and pouring myself a glass. Then another. 

I thought I'd feel better after that but it did nothing to help. I could still imagine them. I paced the space, then finally I decided to just go out and check on things at my firm. I hadn't been there in quite a while. 

🌼💮🌼💮🌼💮

Jealousy equaled feelings, feelings equaled emotional attachment. 

I hit the steering wheel and tried to get those thoughts out if my head. I was blowing things way out if proportion, of course Arden wasn't interested in her. 

Arden wouldn't fall in love if someone put a gun to his head and forced him to do so. 

Neither would I.

What I felt was just possessiveness. In my head, Layla had already been branded as mine. Meaning I only felt how I was feeling because I believed her to belong to me. 

But then why the anger? Why the constant thoughts of her? Why couldn't I drive two miles without itching to turn around and drag her out if that bloody kitchen before locking her up in my room. For days. 

That makes me sound like a serial killer but I really couldn't care less. And along with this goddamn anger I suspect I feel fear as well. Arden and I were much alike, but unlike me, he was a smooth talker. He was openly sweet and affection. 

And I suspect those are qualities that will align perfectly with Layla. So if he continues to give her attention like he's currently doing, it will only be a matter of time before ours is a thing of the past.

A thought I found impossible to comprehend. I pulled over at the side of the street and leaned back against my seat, my mind was all over the place. I had known she would be trouble,from that first instance when I glanced at her I knew she was different. And she was proving just how right I had been. Layla Kendrick was messing with my thoughts. And I didn't want to proceed with the madness but I couldn't help myself. The only thing worse than thinking about her constantly was not thinking about her at all. 

And I wondered exactly how I would tackle things, I wasn't going to go on knowing that the end was something I didn't want. I was already in too deep and I needed to get out. The price to pay was harsh but I preferred that to eventually getting my feelings involved in the matter.