#Chapter 8: Unwanted

Elara Finally, I couldn’t bear the silence in the car any longer. I turned to Alaric, my heart pounding in my chest. “What are we going to do?” I blurted out. “Play nice for six months, apparently,” he replied without taking his eyes off the road. I pursed my lips and looked away, watching the city lights blur past the window. My mind kept wandering back to Alaric’s brother, back to the tense moment he had looked at me. It was like he was seeing right through me. Through both of us. “Do you think people could tell we weren’t really together?” I wondered out loud. “Do you think Asher will try to prove that we’re lying?” Alaric’s grip on the steering wheel tightened a little at the mention of his brother. The movement would have been imperceptible were it not for the subtle squeak of the leather and the way his knuckles whitened ever so slightly. “To achieve his goals, he’ll stop at nothing. So I wouldn’t put it past him.” Alaric paused, his gaze briefly sweeping over m