Fractured ties

"How old are you, Alayna?"

Jasmine's voice carried a gentle curiosity as she studied the young woman sitting across from her at the grand dining table. Her calculating brown eyes flickered with admiration as she took in Alainà's delicate features, her soft curls cascading over her shoulders like waves of mahogany and her bright blue eyes that sparkled like emeralds.

She was very beautiful and a perfect woman for her son, Aiden. She thought, scrutinizing her once again "Are you alright, Alayná?"

Alayna awoke from her thoughts "oh! Yes, Of course ma'am"

Jasmine gave her a brief smile, then said "I asked, how old are you, dear?"

Alayna hesitated before answering "I just turned twenty-two, ma'am."

Jasmine's lips curved into a warm smile. "Such a beautiful age, you remind me of myself when I was younger."

Aiden exhaled sharply from his seat at the other end of the table, swirling the wine in his glass. "I assume we should focus on Jordan, who is to be wed soon" he paused. His piercing gaze studied Alayná and then his mother "Rather, you seem so interested in Alayná"

His mother turned to him with a pointed look. "Is it a wrong thing to make inquiries about our guest?" Sipping from her glass once more she continued "do you not think, Aiden, that you could learn something from Jordan. He's settling down with a wonderful woman, perhaps it's time you did same."

Aiden smirked, tilting his glass slightly "you mean chain myself to someone for convenience? No thanks."

Jordan, Aiden's older brother, set his knife down and sighed "not everyone is pretending, Aiden. Maybe if you actually tried to form a real connection, you wouldn't be so-"

He hesitated.

Aiden arched a brow "Go on. Say it"

Jordan studied his brother carefully before shaking his head "so lost."

Aiden's grip on his glass tightened, a flicker of something unreadable crossing his sharp blue eyes. But he masked it quickly, replacing it with his usual air of indifference

Jasmine, sensing the tension, reached for her wine and turned back to Alayná with a softer expression "you know, dear, you'd make a lovely wife. Maybe even for someone like Aiden."

The table fell silent.

Alaynà's breath hitched slightly, but she kept her face neutral.

Aiden let out a low, dry chuckle, before casting a slow, dismissive glance in Alaynà's direction. His gaze trailed over her for a second too long before he leaned back in his chair and smirked.

"She's ugly"

A sharp inhale from Mrs Curran, Alaynà's grandmother, who was seated near the far end of the table. Her knuckles whitened as she clutched her napkin, her expression darkening with quiet fury.

Alayna, however, didn't flinch. Years of enduring cruelty had taught her how to school her expression instead, she gave Aiden a small, unreadable smile and dropped her gaze to her plate, as if his words were nothing more than idle conversation. Meanwhile, she felt like slapping the egotistic and arrogance of his face, her fist clenched. who'd wanna marry an asshole like you, she thought.

Jasmine gasped. "Aiden! That's a horrible thing to say"

Maverick Ruskin, the patriarch of the family who had been silently observing, finally spoke his voice was low and firm "Enough! Aiden, I won't tolerate disrespect at this table."

Aiden didn't apologize. He merely took another sip of his drink, his expression unreadable.

Jordan glanced at their mother before sighing. "I'll talk to him," he murmured. "He listens to me more than anyone."

Aiden rolled his eyes "Oh! How lucky I am to have a wise older brother to fix me"

Jordan ignored him and turned back to their another. " The wedding will be perfect, mom, Don't worry about Aiden."

The conversation shifted towards Jordan's upcoming wedding, The grandeur, the lavish preparations, the perfect bride waiting for him.

Aiden barely listened. But from the corner of his eye, he noticed Alaynà's quiet attentiveness.

She didn't belong in this world, and yet, ate sat there with quiet grace, pretending she did.

The Ruskin family dispersed after dinner, but Alayná stayed behind to help her grandmother clear the table. She rolled up her sleeves, gathering the dishes while Mrs Curran scrubbed.

From the corner of her eye, she noticed Aiden standing near the counter, scowling at the coffee machine.

She smirked. " You're doing it wrong"

Aiden's head snapped up "excuse me"

"You're pressing the wrong buttons" she moved past him, her shoulder grazing his arm as she reached for the coffee beans "you're going to burn it"

His gaze followed her, slow and assessing.

"And you're suddenly a coffee expert?."

"I don't set things on fire when I try to make them." She measured the beans with practiced ease, the rich aroma filling the kitchen. When she was finished, she poured two cups and slid one toward him.

Aiden hesitated, then took a sip. His

expression remained unreadable.

"Not bad," he admitted.

Alayna beamed. Then their gaze met again, her pulse leaped, she looked away from him, avoiding his gaze once more "You're welcome."

Aiden leaned against the counter, watching her with a strange intensity. "Why do you always look at me like that, Alayná?"

She raised a brow "Like what?"

"Like you love me"

A soft, amused laugh escaped her lips. "Do not flirt with me, Aiden, I'm not like your girlfriends"

"Who said I had a girlfriend?" a tint of amusement crept up on his face.

"If you don't want your coffee, you can help with the dishes." She said low and firm, she turned her back on him, focusing on scrubbing the cups. She added sharply "And you shouldn't associate with ugly girls"

She half-expected him to leave, but instead, she felt it, the heat of his body behind her, the ghost of his breath against her skin.

"Alayná"

He murmured, his voice like a warning her hands stilled in the soapy water.

She refused to turn around. But deep down, she knew, this was only the beginning.