Perfect Bastard

~Joan~

"This place is... wow," I muttered as we entered the house, its floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the city, a fireplace glowing faintly, a rooftop pool gleaming under the fading light, and more rooms than I could count. The house was absolutely perfect, yet something felt off.

"So... how did you know about this place?" I asked Rhoda, who had already sunk into the plush sofa, crossing her legs, while I stood by the window staring at the dazzling city of Spain below.

"Well, this is one of Aaron's properties," she chuckled. My stomach dropped. Aaron?

"He doesn't know we're here. I have the spare keys to the building. I mean, why ask when I can just walk in?" Rhoda said, making a playful gesture with her arms, her smile wide and carefree.

"This is Aaron's house?" I asked slowly. She whipped her head around, her smile fading, eyes narrowing slightly.

"Yeah, it's his." Her voice grew sharper as she met my gaze. "What's going on?"

I pinched the bridge of my nose, feeling disbelief wash over me. "I can't believe you brought me to Aaron's house of all places," I muttered, my pulse quickening. I felt foolish for admiring the place, now knowing it belonged to the last person I ever wanted to be near.

Rhoda straightened up on the couch, her amusement dimming. "Exactly why I said he has no idea we're here. Jo, your feud with my brother is seriously getting ridiculous."

"Oh, really? You think this is childish?" I snapped, crossing my arms. "Have you forgotten the time we both landed in jail and he bailed you out, leaving me there to rot?"

Rhoda opened her mouth to speak, but I cut her off. "Or the time we crashed his party, and guess who got blamed for that? Me! He called me a bad influence, told me to stop dragging you into 'bad things.' He acts like I'm the villain in your life."

"Jo..." Rhoda started softly, probably trying to calm me down, but my anger was bubbling over.

"And now you bring me to his house? You really think I won't get blamed for this too?" I spat, feeling the sting of frustration in my chest.

Rhoda stood and closed the distance between us, her face softening. "Jo, I'm really sorry. I didn't think. I just wanted us to enjoy our girls' trip, and this house is... well, it's perfect." She gestured to the room around us, but I barely glanced at it. "I should have talked to you about it. You're right."

I exhaled slowly, trying to push away the tension in my body. "If we hadn't spent a small fortune getting here, I'd drag us both back to New York right now," I muttered.