Chapter 30

30. Confronting Coraline got released a day later from the hospital. She was extremely disturbed to learn about the situation with her life insurance, as she had not even been aware of something like that happening.

“He must’ve forged my signature,” she utters in horror, sitting on her hospital bed as doctors fussed around, making sure she was ready to be released, “I do not have any sort of memory about altering my life insurance policy.”

“You know, that is a crime, right?” I ask her, “you need to take this to the police, Coraline.”

She nods mutely, “I’m afraid I must. But first, I need to talk to him.”

And she looked so damned terrified at the idea that I wanted to find Aiden and strangle him for what he did to her. I could understand her hesitance, but as long as she was afraid of him, he would get the power to control her life even without being her boyfriend. I can’t even imagine how he managed to forge the documents and alter her life insurance without anyone noticing. I have a suspicion that he bribed some people in order to do it.

It takes me so much effort to ignore Aiden the next time I attend the Adrenaline Rush club after Coraline’s release. There is nothing I want more than to march over to him and plant one on his smug face, but out of respect for Brennan, I refuse to give into my baser urges. I steer clear of him as much as I could, but Brennan can sense that I’m livid and wrung taut like a bow.

“Woah, kid,” he comments as I instill rapid punches on the sandbag in front of me. “Slow down, would you? Otherwise, you will break your knuckles, and broken knuckles are a pain in the ass.”

I huff as I slow down on my punches. I feel the pain in my knuckles all right, but the pain fuels my anger, and I don’t want to let the hot rage go.

Brennan holds the sandbag until I’ve exhausted all the pent-up anger on it, and collapse on the ground on my ass, panting. He calmly crouches next to me and asks, “what’s wrong? I’ve never seen you like this before.”

“A friend of mine had her psycho ex-boyfriend alter her life insurance policy,” I mutter, not naming names in order to keep everyone anonymous. Brennan sucks in a breath. “We found out when she was taken to the hospital after a severe allergic reaction. I’m so fucking mad at that son of a bitch I could march over to him and kill him.”

Brennan’s brows raise, “normally I would advise against aggression, but that is a pretty shitty thing to do. Hope you got the anger out of your system. At least wrecking the sandbag won’t have legal repercussions like a fistfight.”

I snort at that and feel a bit of the tension flow out.

But then at the end of my session, I see Coraline walk in through the double doors. Immediately, I snap my head at Aiden to see his attention latch onto her, his eyes gleaming strangely. I rush towards Coraline.

“What are you doing here? I hiss before she could even get a word in.

Coraline looks surprised, and her brows furrow, “I just came to talk with you about an important matter at Zelt Tech. We have a light issue we need to resolve before the day ends and Gerald told me to meet you at the club so we could get on with it as soon as you’re finished here. Why are you so pressed?”

“Because Aiden is here,” I reply Coraline’s jaw sets. “So what? I’m not going to cower away in fear just because he’s here.”

It’s funny how she says that when she still won’t go to the police station against him.

I open my mouth to ask her to wait outside until I gather my stuff when a voice, I did not want to hear growls behind me.

“What the hell is going on here?”

Putting myself behind Coraline and the talker, I turn to catch Aiden’s glare. Without showing any hesitance, I glare back.

“None of your business,” I snap.

He bares his teeth. “Is that so? Tell me, you bug, are you flaunting our relationship with the cheating slut around here? Is that what this is?”

Coraline cries out in protest behind me, pushing me away to show herself. “Fuck you, Aiden. I’m tired of you making me out to be the bad guy here when you’re the one who screwed up our relationship first. You got no right to speak after what you did to me.”

“What did I do to you, dear Coraline? Was it leaving you?”

“Hell, no! And I’m the one who left, you might remember, I’m the one who broke up with you after you dared to touch me outside our house!”

“Is that why you’re settling down for that rat bastard over there? Because you want to get back at me for what I did?” Aiden demands. By now, Brennan had noticed the confrontation. He narrows his eyes and starts to walk towards us.

“Coraline,” I warn my friend, “we’re causing a scene here.”

But Coraline has not finished saying her piece.

“Jace and I are nothing like you and me,” she spits. “Even if we are lovers, it’s none of your goddamned business.”

“What’s the matter here?” Brannan asks.

“Nothing, coach. We’re just having a conversation,” Aiden provides with a sadistic smile, “I was going to leave anyway.”

Coraline ignores us all and demands, “What the hell did you do to my life insurance, Aiden? You altered it without my permission and forged the documents with my signature. I only realized at the hospital.”

Aiden’s smile widened. “Caught on that, didn’t you?”

Coraline looks like she might burst at her seams, “Undo it,” she orders, “give me back my original policy, damn you!”

“Hmm, how about no? Now, if you excuse me, I have places to be. Can’t waste my time on the likes of you.” He brushes past her as she splutters in her indignation. Without a care for the world, he saunters towards the door.

And something in me snaps.

I start to launch myself at him, but Brennan’s arms hold me back, “Jace, Jace, stop, come on, it’s not worth it.”

Aiden turns and flashes me a cocky smile. “Getting feisty there, cockroach?”

“Why are you doing this to me?” Coraline questions.

Aiden tilts her head, “Oh, honey,” he grins, “I haven’t even started yet.”