“Nico! Come on. That’s not true, and you know it. Shelli isn’t even like that. She’s happily married. Honestly, I’m starting to feel like you’re still hung up on her.”

My stomach drops at the pain in my sister’s voice.

“What? That’s not true at all. I love you, Aviva. Only you.”

“Then let this shit with Shelli Adler go, and don’t hold Evan accountable for what she did!” my sister roars, and when Vance starts to cry, my heart stops. “You are going to push Callie away, because let me tell you, she won’t put up with it. She doesn’t need anyone. I have raised her to be strong, to be resilient, and to fight for what she wants. She only keeps people around who add to her life. So if you want to continue being wanted, get your shit together before you are standing in that courtroom alone!”

With that, Vance’s crying gets closer, but Aviva doesn’t see me as she crosses from the kitchen to the hall. Nico calls her name, chasing after her, and he doesn’t see me at the front door either.

My heart is pounding hard in my chest, and I hate that my sister just got into a fight with her husband over my relationship. Most of all, I hate that she feels he’s still caught up on Shelli. I know that’s not true. I know he loves my sister, and I know Nico loves me. I shouldn’t have let her handle it. I should have done it.

But I know I let her because I’m scared.

I’m scared I won’t want him to adopt me anymore because, as Aviva said, I don’t need anyone. He isn’t doing me a favor by adopting me as an adult. I want him to adopt me because I love him and I want him to be my dad, legally. I don’t want my relationship with Evan to come between Nico and me, but I know for a fact that I’m not letting Evan go.

I can’t.

Tags: Toni Aleo Bellevue Bullies Romance
Source: readsnovelonline.net