Page 111 of Game on, Love

Raina

WALKING THROUGH THE FRONTgates of our family estate felt like the key to a memory box I didn’t want to unlock. It felt like I was seeing it for the first time, yet somehow reliving a vivid dream turned nightmare. The grey sky felt like a hug wrapped up like the ones Ma gave me, and I found the courage to walk up to the front door. The trees along the gravel driveway swayed with the strong November winds, the fallen leaves an accurate representation of my chipped armour.

I was regretting this big time.

But as I stood in front of the ivy-clad house, it felt like the stony exterior wasdaringme to turn back.

I had texted Dev that I was walking up to the house and waiting for him like this made me feel like a guest.

And why wouldn’t I? People can lose the sense of their home in a matter of minutes after a single disaster, and I hadn’t been in this place for the better part of my life.

Ten years, four months, two weeks and one day, but who was counting, right?

The past couple of days had been a dream with Oliver, but I knew all good things eventually came to an end. Rihaan had been in and out of the house, and when he came downstairs this morning, the way he had looked at me told me he was suspecting what was going on between me and Oliver, and I almost told him then and there, but then I remembered after Oliver had told me about the pictures, I had promised him that we’d tell Rihaan together.

So here I was, ticking off another thing on my list I needed to do before closing this chapter of my life.

The front door creaked open, and Dev gave me a comforting smile. I wanted to make a joke about how he was still in a suit at home, but my voice felt like it was trapped in my throat. Like it always did in this house.

“Come in, Rai. He’s not home, I promise.”

I nodded, stepping into the house. My heeled boots clicked against the marble floor, the dull light from outside dimming the hallway. Dev shut the door behind me, and suddenly, the air felt heavy. The memories of the laughter, the screams of us chasing each other, the lingering disappointment that came later and the unsaid words that were hanging.

“How was Vegas?” I cleared my throat as my uneven voice reached my ears.

“Good. Missed you there,” Dev replied, walking behind me as he nudged my back into the foyer, and the sight of the two grand staircases hit me harder than I’d expected.

“How did we not fall off sliding down those railings?” I asked, and a relieved chuckle left Dev.

“I honestly don’t know.”

I touched the wooden table as we passed the archway, ignoring the burning sensation under my fingertips.

We walked into the kitchen, and he closed his laptop on the counter, tidying up the space he’d just been in. I couldn’t help but ask. “Why are you still living with him, Dev?”

He sighed, placing both of his hands on the counter as leaned forward. “You know I have to.”

“I promise you, you don’t.”

“Yes, I do. I have to keep an eye on things, and it’s not like I have a choice.”

“You know you could just marry in the next short while and be finally done with this? You owe him absolutely nothing. We both know he doesn’t make life easy for you, and he isnevergoing to change.”

“You think this is about the fucking contract?” He asked, his jaw tightening. “It’s not. It’s about the promise I made to Ma, okay? And even if it were in my contract, I’d rather not have a repeat of our parent’s marriage.”

An ache spread through my chest as I sucked in a breath. “What the hell does that mean?”

Before he could reply, the slam of the front door echoed through the house, and my heart dropped into the acid of my stomach. The only saving grace Dev had was that he mirrored my expression.

He truly didn’t know, it just was myluck.

Dad was home.

Ten years or not, the sound of his heavy footsteps in the hallway felt familiar, like the sound of a broken heart. We were both frozen in place as he appeared in the archway, looking as stern and emotionless as ever.

I’d spotted him at the championship party, but only from a distance. But as he stood only a couple of feet from me, I could see the lines of age that had been carved in his face, and from the memories of my sixteen-year-old and twelve-year-old self, it felt like staring at a stranger.

His look bounced between Dev and me, his expression void of any emotions.