Chapter Thirty:

It was innocent enough.

They were fully clothed, the only omission being Ria's hot pink bridesmaid nightgown. They sat a few metres from the villa on a pair of abandoned beach chairs facing the shore.

But there was something in the way the chairs had been pulled up close to each other, her leg angulating over his knee, her head lolling against his shoulder as she laughed too loudly at something he said. The way Blaine gazed at Ria as if the beach in front of them would always pale in comparison to her.

Maybe it could've been mistaken for something platonic to a mere bystander. But Reid knew better, for he knew his baby sister the way he knew the lines that paved across his palms, and he knew his best friend almost as well. He'd never seen Blaine look at any woman in such an intimate yet vulnerable way, not even in his longest-running relationship. And perhaps, the part that wounded him the most was that Reid had seen Blaine look at Ria like that before and hadn't realised the meaning behind it.

The group stood behind them for a short while; Ria and Blaine were too lost in their bubble to realise that they now had company. Reid couldn't tell what they were talking or laughing about, because the roaring of his heart radiating to his ears was the only thing his body would allow him to hear.

His thoughts raced around his mind in impossible migraine-inducing circles. The conversation he'd had with Blaine the night before, Ria's unusual keenness for Blaine to move in with them, the strange noises he'd heard from Ria's room late at night, the missing condoms in his drawer when he'd returned from Bali, that he'd quickly found an excuse for. The ocean of thoughts continued to engulf him until he felt a hand tugging his arm, releasing him of his anguish for a second.

"See, Reid. It's nothing. They're just talking. Let's—Let's go back to the villa." Lydia pleaded, appearing more than just slightly out of place on the beach. Her hands remained tightly bound by the silly pink handcuffs, dressed head-to-toe in all-white garments with a cheap veil hanging down to the middle of her back.

The sound of Lydia's pleas caused Ria and Blaine to pivot their chairs around, hauling away from each other at the sprint of light. The accusing faces glaring down at them told them that their secret relationship no longer remained a secret.

Blaine quickly bit back his emotions; an uncertain smile lurking upon his face whilst Ria retained her hunched shoulders, her nose scrunched, her focus everywhere but on her brother's disappointed face. If there was a way to show guilt through body language, Ria had unknowingly mastered it.

"When did you become such a good liar, Ria?" Reid whispered; accusation and rage draped around each word like poison ivy lining a tree. Ria opened her mouth to answer, but Reid lifted his index finger, "Don't answer that. I know he taught you all about lying, didn't he?" He laughed, glaring up at Blaine; teeth bared, face beetroot-red, ready for attack.

"We were gonna tell you, Reid. When we got back to London." Blaine answered first, "It didn't seem like the right time to tell you now...with all the stress you've been under with Indiya and then the Hazel thing."

"I can't believe you made me feel bad for sleeping with your brother once, and all along, you've been fucking Blaine?!" Hazel yelped at her best friend and then immediately stepped back, realising it was completely the wrong choice of words to use in front of Reid. She quickly mouthed a weak sorry at an enraging Ria.

"That was a completely different situation. That was our friend's ex." Ria said meekly.

"But your brother's friends are fair game, are they? Maybe you can hop into Felix's bed next when you're done with Blaine?" Reid asked.

"Oh, come on, that's not fair. Don't speak to Ria like that." Blaine replied, a protective hand reaching out to Ria, much to Reid's absolute dismay.

"Let's get back to the villa. It's really chilly out here." Lydia spoke, shuddering as the wind hit her face, "I've still got these silly handcuffs on too—" She laughed, apparently trying to lighten the mood.

"This thing," Reid signalled between them sharply, "has been going on for longer than this holiday. If this were anything serious to him, he would've told me. But you're just his dirty little secret, and he's treated you exactly like one with the sneaking around and hiding."

"No, no. that's not—"

"I'm not speaking to you, am I?" Reid's words were a sharp razor, slicing through both Ria and Blaine as he spoke, "he's using you, Ria. Do you know why? Because the forbidden fruit always tastes better just because it's forbidden. And that's exactly what you are to him. And maybe you're having a really good time with him now. But do you think he'll stick around next year or the year after? When there's a shiny new toy to play with? No, he'll leave you. He'll leave you broken and won't care how you're hurting when he's gone."

Ria's breath hiked in her throat, but she maintained her breath as she leaned forward and whispered, "You mean the same way you left Indiya? Broken and hurting?" She'd hit a nerve, one that transversed straight to his heart, she saw it in the way he jerked back from her, "Blaine isn't like you. He wouldn't do that to me."

Reid scoffed; biting back a bitter laugh before averting his gaze to Blaine, "How many fucking lies have you fed her?" He swung his head back, "You can have any girl you wanted. Why Ria? Why my baby sister?"

"It's not what you think, Reid. I care about her. I really do. I promise I won't hurt her. I wouldn't just leave her."

"If you care about her, then you know you're not good enough for her, and you never will be." Reid snapped back the retort.

Blaine didn't answer, his jaw clenching as he took the verbal blow. But Ria turned to him, gripping his hand, tightly between hers. Their fingers locked, showing a united front. "Blaine and I are together, and that's just something you'll have to accept."

Reid cocked his head to the side abruptly, and for a second, Blaine and Ria thought he would walk away, that perhaps he'd accepted defeat.

Instead, he unexpectedly thrust out his left hand in a fist, the kinetic energy in full force as his hand transited in a straight line, aiming for Blaine. He managed to move to the side, saving his jaw, nose and eyes, but Reid's knuckle made contact with the vermillion border of his upper lip. His upper lip's mucosa ballooned nearly twice its size, a nick in the taut skin releasing a small quantity of blood.

"Reid! What the hell are you doing?!" Lydia grabbed the cuff of his sleeve between her fingers, urging him back, the others joining to ensure no further fighting ensued, "Stop this, right now!"

"Are you okay?" Ria turned to Blaine, her hands flying up to his mouth, joining his in soothing the skin, before turning back to Reid, "Are you happy now? Does hitting him make you feel like the big man? Do you think you getting angry and acting like a spoilt brat is going to stop me from wanting to be with him?"

Reid took one final look at them before beginning to storm off back to the villa, Lydia hot on his trail, "Ria, you can stay with Indiya tonight. I don't want you anywhere near him."

"What?" Ria let out a hollow-sounding laugh, "You don't get to make those decisions for me. Reid, why are you just walking away? God forbid we actually talk about things like adults!"

"I forbid you from being with him. Do you understand me?" Reid yelled over his shoulder.

"You what?" Ria cried out, "You forbid me?" She almost screamed at him, "What next? Are you going to banish me to the naughty corner so I can think about my actions?"

Reid ceased for a second, swivelling around to glance between them, his gaze dropping to their hands; still interlocked, "I'd give your hands a good scrub tonight, Ria." And upon noticing her dazed expression, he continued, "His are much dirtier than they look."

He turned on his heel and continued walking back to the villa, the remainder of the group equally stunned to silence and making their way back. Hazel halted for a second, peeking over her shoulder at the couple. Ria noticed the hurt expression across her best friend's face but ignored it. Hazel and her childish attitude wasn't her primary concern at that moment.

Ria attempted to continue arguing but felt a protesting hand on her back, "He's right. You should stay with Indiya tonight."

She glanced up at Blaine incredulously, "What? And let him win?"

"Win what?" Blaine hauled an arm around her shoulder as he led her back to the villa, slowly to ensure that the others would reach first, "This argument? Yeah, maybe he'll win that. But right now, all Reid's seeing is that you're not his little sister anymore, and it's crushing him. So, maybe if you listen to him just this once, he won't think he's lost you. And, while you're gone, I'll try to speak to him. It isn't worth severing your relationship with Reid over this."

Ria groaned, "I hate that you're right."

They perched on a ridge of rock outside the villa, listening to Lydia and Reid's raised voices from inside their bedroom, "What if he hits you again when I'm gone?"

"I'm a big boy; I can take it." He pointed to his upper lip, "Besides, I've always liked that Kylie Jenner pout. Maybe, he'll give me a matching bottom lip next time."

"Blaine." She giggled, shaking her head at the poor attempt at a joke. She used her thumb to stroke the swollen skin before bringing her lips to press feather-soft kisses to the injured area, instantly soothing him as though she were his elixir, "I'm really sorry he hit you. You didn't deserve that."

When she leaned back, she noticed his eyes were firmly closed, and a soft but gleeful smile tugged at the corner of his lips, "I feel better already."

"Alright, Juliet. Tell me what you need packing for tonight?" They heard the feminine voice behind them and twisted their heads to see Lydia, hands placed on either hip, finally freed from the handcuffs shackles. When Ria didn't respond, she pursed her lips, "You're staying with Indiya tonight, and I'm offering to pack you a bag for tonight so you can spend a little more time with Blaine before you go. God, you aren't half slow for a budding lawyer, are you?"

"Right." Ria answered, "just some basic toiletries, maybe a pair of pyjamas for tonight." And with that, Lydia strolled straight into Ria's and Hazel's room.

Blaine waited for a few moments after Lydia left and ensured the bedroom doors were still closed behind them, before he pressed his lips against Ria's ear, "He was wrong, you know. About me leaving you in a year, or two, or even five. I couldn't leave you. My feelings won't change. I promise you that."

Ria smiled at him, "As sweet as that is, you can't possibly promise me that. You don't know how you'll feel in the future."

"I do know. Ask me why."

"Blaine." She laughed, waving him away but feeling the weight of his hands over her own.

"Ask me." He insisted.

"Okay, why?" She gave in.

"Because my feelings for you have stayed the same over the last five years. Why would they change over the next five?"

And as she peered up at him through narrowed eyes, she saw the sincerity lining his eyes. Her mind fluttered back to what Indiya had told her nearly two months ago, about how there was nothing quite like being loved and loving someone; nothing could ever compare. And she realised the truth in her words. However, unlike Indiya's expression of love, Ria didn't feel like an extension of Blaine; she didn't feel as though she wasn't sure where she began and where he ended. She knew they were two separate entities, but with him, the world had more colour, the birds chirped a little louder, food tasted a little better and life was a lot happier.

She averted her gaze to the floor, not answering his question but opting to change the topic, "What did Reid mean? About your hands being dirty? It felt like he was talking about something else?"

"I—"

"Come on, let's go. I haven't got all day." Lydia sauntered past them. She turned to Blaine, "Make him see sense, please. I can't deal with these constant battles every day. The amount of undereye concealer I've had to use has doubled since I've met Reid."

Blaine nodded hesitantly, pressing one last kiss against Ria's forehead before entering the villa, silently thanking Lydia for her disturbance at the perfect time.

He pressed his knuckle against Reid's door, internally debating about how he should approach the situation before knocking, "It's me. I come in peace."

He saw Reid with his head in his hands, a muffled sound emerging from behind his lips. He sat beside him on the bed, "I'm sorry. I am. I know it's not ideal, but—"

"Not ideal? You preyed on my little sister."

"You know it wasn't like that." Blaine argued, "She's not a kid anymore, Reid."

"Yeah, well, you made sure of that, didn't you?" He spat, "How could you do this to us?"

"Look, if you wanted me all to yourself then--" He stopped, noticing the aggravated expression etched on Reid's face, "I'm sorry." He shifted on his seat, eyes glued to the carpet, "I love her."

Reid scoffed, "Well, that's just fucking great, isn't it?" He laughed, "Do you know why she pushed herself so hard doing that stupid law degree? Do you know why she's so hard on herself in that internship? Do you know why, Blaine?"

Blaine felt his bottom lip quiver at his friend's words, "Because it's what Rayhan wanted."

"Why else?"

Blaine placed his hands on the bed to steady himself, his own body weight suddenly feeling too heavy for him. He shook his head at Reid's words, "I...can't. I can't say it."

Reid turned to his friend, maintaining eye contact, "Because she's convinced herself that she's going to figure out who was responsible for our dad's death and that one day she'll be able to see them go down for a long time." He turned away from him, "how do you think she's going to feel when she finds out that the person who killed her dad is the same man she fell in love with?"

Blaine looked away from Reid, unable to maintain eye contact, "It was an accident." Blaine spluttered out in a small voice.

"Do you think she'll see it like that?" He yelled, standing up, "If you love her as much as you claim to, then you need to end this."

"I can't."

Reid inhaled a shaky breath, "Then, I have no choice but to tell her. Tomorrow. I'll have to tell her what you did."

"You can't." He breathed out, but the determined expression on Reid's face told him he could, and he would, "Okay. I will, but I need some time."

"No, this ends now. If you can't tell Ria that it's over, then fine. But don't answer her calls, don't text her, don't speak to her. You know what, don't even look in her direction tomorrow."

Blaine looked at Reid as though he wasn't even speaking English. He didn't think he had the strength to do what Reid had asked. Certainly not after he'd just told her he'd never leave her.

But when the expected call came from Ria after midnight, and an image of Rayhan's deceased body flew into his mind, he managed to muster up all his courage to decline the call.

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Authors Note:
So the truth is out, finally (maybe?)

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