Page 198 of Love Unwritten

I blink a couple of times. “What?”

He releases a shaky breath. “You had already gone through so much that it felt selfish to fight for their attention, so I became more independent.”

I’m stunned by Julian’s confession. All this time, I thought he was perfect because he wanted to compete against Dahlia, but clearly there is more to his story than I originally thought.

Perhaps if we had had this heart-to-heart years ago, I would have understood him better, but Julian is just like me—closed-off and way too prideful to admit any weakness.

“I’m sorry,” I confess.

He rears back. “What the hell are you apologizing for?”

“Turning your life upside down.”

“Is that what you think?” His soft chuckle makes me frown.

“Did I miss my own punch line?”

“The joke is you believing that you need to apologize for being one of the best things that happened to our family.”

My eyes roll. “You’re just saying that.”

He jabs a finger at me. “I never say things I don’t mean. Period.”

I sit with his statement for a few seconds. “How could you say that when I was faking it the whole time?”

“Because we knew what you were doing and let you get away with it.”

My heart stutters. “What?”

Julian’s head tilts. “You think my mom wasn’t aware?”

“What do you mean?”

He shrugs. “You’ll have to ask her.”

“You think she knew?”

“You’re her son in every sense of the word, Rafa. What do you think?”

Nothing good. I need to speak with my aunt and figure out just how much she knows and, most importantly, why she let me continue the farce for years without ever saying a single thing.

LORENZO

We’ll be in touch about your endorsement.

Oh shit.

I click on the article attached to the message.

News broke this morning that Darius Larkin, owner of MIA Records, has officially sold the company to a rival record label owner, Jack Davenport of Cadenza Records. The sale was made after multiple witnesses came forward to share their personal experiences of what it was like working with Mr. Larkin, which included but were not limited to allegations of blackmail, predatory legal contracts, sexual harassment, and sexual assault.

I continue reading. Some witnesses chose to remain anonymous, while a few spoke out. Their stories are different from Ellie’s, but no less disgusting. Some were singers who never got their big break like Darius had guaranteed, while others were promised better opportunities so long as they agreed to an intimate relationship.

Fuck. Is that what Ava did too?

My stomach is in knots as I call Julian. My cousin skips past pleasantries and says, “I just received an email thanking me for being a guest speaker at Lorenzo’s political dinner next month.”

I choke. “A guest speaker?”