Chapter 153: [Bonus - ] Have Sexy Father-in-laws

Chapter 153: [Bonus Chapter] Have Sexy Father-in-laws

"So let me get this straight..." Brittney began. "Aria..." She gestured toward Aria, who was seated on the other couch with a defensive look on her face. "...is Maverick fucking Nightshade’s fated mate?!"

"I literally told you that minutes ago," Alek answered.

"Oh my God." Brittney looked completely blown away. "I knew it! I fucking called it! All those secret touches from someone who supposedly doesn’t like being touched, I knew there was something between them."

"Except Aria turned him down," Trisha added, prematurely killing Brittney’s excitement.

"Excuse me?" Brittney practically hurled the words at Aria. "You did what?!"

Aria rubbed her forehead with a sigh. She couldn’t say she hadn’t seen that reaction coming. It was times like this that she almost wished she hadn’t formed such a close bond with these girls, because apparently friendship also meant everyone felt entitled to stick their noses into her business.

Everyone knew how persuasive Brittney could be, which was probably why no one interrupted when she began grilling Aria.

"Are you crazy? This is Maverick Nightshade we’re talking about. The man practically every woman on this planet wants to fuck!"

"Well, I would too, except it comes with forever," Aria blurted out, only realizing what she’d admitted when the words were already out of her mouth. Embarrassment immediately flooded her face.

"No, no, no," Alek told her. "Don’t you dare retreat now. Keep that same energy. We need you angry and truthful, not careful and afraid to admit what you actually want."

Anger rushed through Aria’s veins. "I am not afraid! Excuse me if I’m not comfortable with someone telling me I’m bound to him forever. Someone I don’t even know!"

"Then get to know him!" Trisha cut in. "This is supposed to be a mate bond, and from everything I know, it’s something special. Do you even realize how lucky you are to stumble upon your forever person? Someone whose soul was literally made to yearn for yours? Most people go their entire lives without finding something like that, and plenty of them would kill for the chance you’ve been given."

"That’s the problem," Aria said, her frustration giving way to something far more vulnerable. "Without the bond, would he have fallen for me? Or am I supposed to just play along with some script fate has already written for me? What assurance do I have that I’ll even like what I find at the end of the road?"

At that, all three girls went silent. For once, none of them had an immediate argument to throw back at her. When Aria put it that way, they could understand her hesitation. It wasn’t Maverick she was rejecting as much as the terrifying idea that something beyond her control had already decided what the rest of her life was supposed to look like.

Alek’s expression softened. "I don’t think any of us can answer that for you, Aria. The only person who can tell you whether he would have fallen for you without the bond is Maverick himself. But if there’s one thing I’ve learned about the Matebond since coming here, it’s that no one really fights fate and wins. Maybe you don’t have to accept everything the bond promises right now. You can simply give yourself the chance to know him and decide what you want from there."

"Moreover," Alek added, a little humor returning to her voice, "if fate gives you something this good, I’m not sure you want to find out what’s waiting on the other side. With our luck, it could be really ugly."

"I know I’m a terrible judge of character when it comes to men," Brittney said this time, "but even I can acknowledge a genuine man when I see one. Maverick has protected all of us since we arrived at this school. If he were an asshole who only cared about getting into your pants because you’re his mate, he could have protected only you and left the rest of us to our fate."

"Or he could be doing all of this to buy my affection," Aria argued.

Alek gave her a look. "Now you’re deliberately painting the poor guy black."

"I don’t know!" Aria threw her hands into the air. "I didn’t come to this school to date anyone. All I’ve been thinking about since I got here is survival, getting through this program and eventually going home. Now, out of nowhere, I’m supposed to become someone’s forever person. I don’t even know what I’m supposed to do with that."

"You’re scared. We get it," Trisha told her, surprisingly gentle this time. "But life itself is unpredictable, Aria. Before all of this happened, could you ever have imagined that your own mother would submit your name to the Concordia Program for money? You had plans for your life, and everything changed in one night without asking your permission."

To that, Aria couldn’t answer, not when the answer was painfully obvious.

"So why don’t you go with the flow this time?" Trisha continued. "Not because fate told you to. Not because Maverick wants you to. Do it because you want to find out for yourself whether there’s something between you worth exploring. You don’t have to promise him forever tomorrow."

"What’s that saying again?" Brittney struggled to remember for a second before snapping her fingers. "Ah, yes. When life gives you lemons, you fucking make the best lemonade you can. And baby girl, this particular lemon happens to be Violet Purple’s son. You get to become part of that family. Do you have any idea how fucking gorgeous your potential fathers-in-law are? And you get four of them! Four!"

Aria didn’t know when the laughter escaped her. It burst through the heaviness in her chest so unexpectedly that she couldn’t stop it. Here she was questioning her fate, free will, and whether she could ever surrender herself to some magical bond, while Brittney was already planning her entry into the Nightshade family and apparently admiring her four potential fathers-in-law.

Except the laughter broke apart almost as quickly as it came. One moment Aria was laughing, and the next her face crumpled as tears spilled down her cheeks. She tried to stop them, embarrassed by how suddenly she’d lost control, but once the first sob escaped, everything she’d been holding inside since leaving Maverick’s quarters seemed to come pouring out with it.

"What if he leaves me?" Aria cried. "What if one day he decides the bond doesn’t mean what he thought it did? What if I believe all of this, give him everything, and he uses me and leaves anyway? Everyone keeps telling me it’s forever, but people promise forever all the time before they walk away. What makes this any different?"

"Oh, Aria..." Alek’s heart broke as the real source of Aria’s fear finally came to the surface. This had never been about whether Maverick was handsome enough, kind enough, or whether Aria wanted him. She was terrified of trusting something permanent when nearly everything she’d learned about love had taught her that permanence could disappear without warning.

Just like that, Alek moved first, wrapping her arms around Aria. Trisha joined them almost immediately, followed by Brittney, until Aria was surrounded by all three girls while she wept. No one tried to argue with her anymore or convince her that she was being ridiculous. They simply held her because that was what friends were for.

It felt like forever before Aria finally stopped crying. By then, she was trapped beneath three pairs of arms, their combined body heat quickly becoming unbearable. "Gosh, move away. I feel like I’m inside an oven."

The girls all chuckled but released her, giving Aria the space she desperately needed. She wiped the remaining tears from her face and groaned. "That was so embarrassing. Trust me when I say I did not plan on having an emotional breakdown in front of all of you."

"But you feel healed now, right? That’s my power you’re feeling right there," Brittney joked, looking entirely too pleased with herself.

"Oh, fuck off," Trisha said, rolling her eyes.

Aria chuckled at their banter, wondering if the two girls would ever go a full day without getting on each other’s nerves. Sometimes it was difficult to believe they were related, although perhaps that explained why they irritated each other so effortlessly.

"Wait," Brittney suddenly said, her amusement fading as another thought occurred to her. "If Maverick is your mate, what about the dragon? I thought there was something going on between you two?"