All The Truths (Lies & Truths Duet #2) by Rina Kent

Jason shakes his head.

“How about you?” My voice is so filled with hope it’s pathetic.

“It doesn’t matter what I believe.”

“It matters to me.” If Jace is Cloud003, he’s possibly the only friend I have in this pile of chaos, and right now, I need someone I can lean on.

“Of course not, Reina. There might have been disagreements before her death, but you loved Arianna as if she were your sister. She was the only one you never acted snobby or robotic with.”

“Then how come Asher believes I’d hurt her?”

“I don’t know. Honestly, there’s no proof of what he said. He was the only one on the roof when Arianna committed suicide, so there are no other witnesses. I think he’s only using his sister’s death to inflict pain on you. Since he couldn’t get rid of you before, that opportunity was golden for him.”

My palms turn sweaty as I clasp my hands together.

No.

As monstrous as Asher’s grudge is, it’s real and tangible. I saw the intensity of it in his green eyes and tasted it on my tongue.

He didn’t make it up. He really thinks I had something to do with Arianna’s suicide.

Now, I must figure out a way to prove my innocence, and I need to find it quick.

Judging from Asher’s pace with things, I won’t be so lucky next time he comes back for my soul.

I meet Jason’s gaze. “Yesterday you said something about things escalating before Izzy stopped you.”

“Yeah.” He rubs the back of his neck. “I think he’s after your life, Reina. Those attacks were only a preparation for the grand finale. Next time, he’ll force you to jump off a roof like Arianna did.”

I gulp at the thought, not because I’m scared, but more because of how that possibility hurts.

“Do you think he’s the one who beat me up in the forest?” I ask.

“Probably.”

The remaining part of my heart shrinks and turns into stone.

Asher took everything from me.

Maybe I have taken everything from him, too.

Now we have nothing.

Don’t they say those who have nothing to lose are the scariest?





Life is strange.

One day it’s all unicorns and rainbows, and the next, it’s a straight-up trip to hell.

It’s fight or flight.

It’s kill or be killed.

I straighten in front of Ari’s grave, one hand clutching the other in front of me.

Arianna Carson, beloved daughter and sister.

Each word is a ruthless stab. The sentence is as gruesome as if it were written in blood.

She died so young, in her prime years, seventeen going on eighteen.

Her smile is starting to fade from my memories. It crashed and burned that day three years ago.

All I can see is her tear-streaked face, the trembling of her lips, and the white dress that flew in the wind behind her as she stood on the edge.

Her face was pale as she shook like a leaf and confessed the words that killed me on the spot.

The words that ended my fucking life with hers.

I’m so sorry.

I briefly close my eyes to push away the onslaught of memories—the look on her face, the way her legs gave out…

She should be standing here with me as we visit Mom’s grave. She would’ve told me not to hate the man who acted as our father. She would’ve said she missed Mom and hugged me.

Since I was ten, I’ve known Alexander is a useless father. If I wanted my baby sister and me to have a good life after Mom, I needed to step up. So I did just that; I became her mother, father, brother, and best friend.

I became Ari’s world, and she was mine.

Until she left me and joined Mom.

I lean over and stroke my fingers over the tombstone. At her funeral, I sat here for the entire night wondering where I had gone wrong.

Was I too protective? Was I not attentive enough? Was I too fucking stupid?

Then I realized, I hadn’t done anything. Ari had told me she was sorry. She hadn’t wanted to leave me, but she couldn’t stay in this world.

A world in which Reina existed.

After that, I decided to leave, because I didn’t want to be in such a world either. I didn’t want to see her fucking breathing when my only family lay six feet under.

Alexander doesn’t count. For me, he was only a sperm donor, never a father. Writing checks made him a sponsor, not a parent.

Actually, he was a parent to Reina more than to his real children. She’s his precious partner’s daughter and a source of income. We were a fucking liability he had to spend his money on.

When I left for England, I promised I’d put everything behind me.

Back then, Reina knew exactly what I thought about her, and I wanted her to suffer until the day she dies. I wanted the guilt to eat her from the inside out, until she’s old and gray and still living in Blackwood.

And she accepted her punishment. Our punishment.

But she broke the rules that night.

She wanted to escape.

Fuck that. Fuck my patience for seeing her decimated little by little.

I’m done watching, done trying to stay away.

Reina will pay, and she’ll do it my way. She’ll do it while hanging off the edge of a rooftop, bound and tied and begging for help that won’t come.

“Her grave will be next to yours and mine, Ari.”