Crawling To You

Gabby's POV

The more I thought about what he just said, the harder his words hit me like a slap across the face.

A girl? He loves a girl?

My fork slipped from my fingers and clattered against the plate when I saw the look on his face. 

He wasn't joking. 

The sound was too loud in the sudden silence that dropped over the dining room. 

Mom's eyes went wide with delight instantly at the news. Dad actually grinned, that big, proud smile he saved for when one of the guys did something "manly" or responsible. Julian leaned forward, elbows on the table, already laughing like this was the best news he'd heard all year.

"Oh my God, Aiden!" Mom clapped her hands together. "You've found a girl? Are you ready to settle down now? That's wonderful! When do we meet her? Tell us everything!"

Dad was nodding so hard I thought his head might fall off. "Finally settling down with one girl, huh? About time, son. We've been waiting for this day."

Julian punched Aiden's shoulder lightly. "Look at you, big guy. Locked down. I guess I'm the only player now."

Everyone was buzzing, chairs shifting, questions flying...What's her name? How long have you been together? Is she coming for dinner tomorrow?...like we were all in some happy family commercial. Like this was normal. 

Like the world wasn't cracking open right under my feet.

I couldn't breathe. My chest felt too tight, like someone had wrapped barbed wire around my ribs and was pulling it tighter with every second.

Is this supposed to be a good thing?

The word kept looping in my head, louder and louder. He was in love with someone...and maybe soon, he'll be talking about marrying her? Some other woman was going to get his ring, his last name, his dick, his mornings, his nights, the way he groaned when he came...

No. Fuck that.

There's no way I'm letting that happen.

I'd been destroying his flings since I turned sixteen, and I wasn't about to stop now. Not when it mattered this much.

It's safe to say that I was the reason none of his girlfriends stayed longer than a few days.

I still remembered the first one. Her name was Chloe. All glossy hair, soft laughter, and that effortless confidence that made people think she belonged anywhere she stepped. 

Especially in our house.

Aiden was twenty-four then, fresh out of high school, and she was his very first real crush. The first girl he looked at like she mattered.

I'd hated her instantly.

Not because of anything she did...

But because of how easily she fit into his life.

I'd watched them from the staircase the day she came over...her giggling at everything he said, her hand sliding into his back pocket like she owned him. It made me sick.

So I fixed it.

I didn't confront her. That would've been messy. Obviously.

No...sixteen-year-old me had been smarter than that.

I let her settle in first. Let her get comfortable. Let her believe she'd already won.

Then I slipped in right where it would hurt the most.

A careless comment here. A quiet "accidental" reveal there. Nothing loud. Nothing dramatic. Just enough.

Just enough to make her question him.

Just enough to make her feel stupid for trusting him.

I made it sound like a pattern...like she wasn't special, just the latest in a long line of girls he got bored of. I didn't accuse him of anything outright...I didn't need to.

Doubt does the real damage.

By the time I was done, she was watching him differently. Every word he said, every touch, every smile...she was second-guessing all of it.

And once that crack forms?

It spreads.

Fast.

She didn't fight for him. Didn't ask questions. Didn't try to fix anything.

She just...left. 

Blocked him everywhere like he'd done something unforgivable.

I remember how confused he'd been. The frustration. The way he kept checking his phone like it might magically explain itself.

He never figured it out.

He never did.

And me?

I stood back and watched it all fall apart...knowing all it took was a few well-placed words.

I'd smiled into my pillow that night, heart racing with victory. That was just the beginning.

After that it got easier. A fake text from a "pregnant ex" here. A whispered comment about how Aiden "still called me his little girl" there. 

One time I even paid someone to show up at his apartment in London wearing nothing but his old varsity jacket and instructed her to tell the girl he was seeing that she was "the reason he could never really commit." 

She packed her bags before breakfast. Every single time, I made sure I was the poison in the well. 

Because he was mine. He'd been mine since I was born. No one else got to have him. Not ever.

And now this? This new love interest?

I was going to burn it to the ground before she even stepped foot in this house.

Aiden turned to me then, that easy, crooked smile on his face like he had no idea he was ripping my heart out. 

"Kiddo, are you excited to meet my girl? You know...she could be your sister-in-law if it works out."

Kiddo? I'm a fucking adult!

The word snapped something inside me.

I shot up so fast my chair scraped back across the hardwood with a screech that made everyone flinch. 

My hands were shaking. I could feel the heat crawling up my neck again, the same heat from earlier when I'd come with his name on my lips.

"You're not my brother," I said, voice low and sharp, each word cutting through the happy little bubble they'd built around the table. "So why the hell would your dumb girlfriend be my sister-in-law?"

The silence that followed was deafening as all eyes turned towards me.

Mom's smile dropped. "Gabriella-"

Dad's face went from proud to thunderous in a heartbeat. "Gabby, apologize to your brother. Right now. That is completely out of line."

"He is not my brother!" I screamed, not even bothering to look at them. 

My eyes were locked on Aiden. Those ice-blue eyes that had been watching me my whole life, the ones I'd pictured between my legs less than an hour ago. 

He looked... surprised. Hurt, maybe. Good. Let him feel a fraction of what I was feeling.

I shoved my chair in harder than necessary. "And no. I won't be apologizing for stating facts!"

Then I turned and walked away before anyone could stop me, heels of my bare feet slapping against the floor. 

The hallway stretched long and dark in front of me, the old money silence wrapping around me like it always did...thick walls, heavier secrets. 

I could hear Mom calling my name behind me, Dad muttering something about "teenage hormones," Julian trying to laugh it off like it was just Gabby being Gabby.

But I didn't stop. I took the stairs two at a time, pulse hammering in my ears, tears burning behind my eyes that I refused to let fall.

He has fallen in love with someone new?

Fine.

I'd destroy this one too. Just like all the others. Only this time I wouldn't stop until there was nothing left.

Because Aiden Calder wasn't ever going to have a girlfriend as long as I'm alive.

Not if I had anything to say about it.

I was about to shut the door when a foot pushed in, stopping it.

I looked up...and there he was.

Aiden.