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What had I done?
“Savina, I need you to tell me what happened,” Aurelio ordered, though I could tell that he was doing his best to keep whatever he was feeling out of his voice.
Staring at the empty tumbler, I said, “Ashton had approached me because they’d been looking for a building to house his father’s campaign. After finding them a suitable office space, he had asked me out, and…and I’d said yes. I’d been feeling high over how I’d been making it on my own, so him asking me out had felt like the next step towards that life that…” I shook my head, the words sounding foreign, yet stupid to my ears. I hadn’t appreciated what I’d had, and so I probably did deserve all that’d been happening to me. “For three months, he’d been the perfect gentleman. He’d even gone out of his way to assure me that my old life wouldn’t be a problem. When he explained that he’d had to do a background check on me because of who is father is, I never questioned it. In fact, I would have thought it strange if he'd hadn’t done one on me. Still, he had insisted that it was fine as long as my life was with him, and that I didn’t visit my parents. When I told him that my parents had disowned me…well, I guess that just helped pave the way for him to take over my life completely.”
“When did the beatings start?” he asked, and my stomach cramped again.
“We hadn’t been living together yet, and so…there was a…a fund raiser happening, and I had bought a really nice dress for the event,” I started. “When we’d gotten to the venue, everything seemed so larger than life and perfect. The night had been…everyone had been kind, and Ashton had shown me off like he was really proud to have me on his arm.” Tears started pouring down my face again, but they weren’t despondent tears; they were from anger and shame. “When we’d gotten back to my place, that was the first time. He had accused me of trying to embarrass him with my cheap dress, and that was also the…the first time that…that he’d taken me without permission. He’d done it after the beating, so I hadn’t really been in the condition to fight him off.”
“I’m going to kill that sonofabitch,” Aurelio repeated quietly, and I didn’t doubt it.
With nothing to say to that, I continued with how it’d all started. “After finally coming to, I had threatened to call the police. I mean, what woman in her right mind wouldn’t call the police, right?” I twirled the empty glass around in my fingers. “That’s when he reminded me of my background check, telling me that he’d done a full background check and knew all about my relationship with you.” I let out a cold laugh. “When he’d told me that, I’d gone on a full rant, telling him how my father was going to go after him and how stupid he’d been for daring to lay a hand on me. I even…I even…”
“You’re safe, Savina,” he said, though it wasn’t necessary.
Finally looking up at him, I said, “I was never scared of Ashton, Aurelio. It’d been a choice to be with him, even after knowing all that he was capable of. He hadn’t spared me during that first beating, so I’d known exactly what I’d been signing up for after he showed me that video.” His jaw ticked, but I was shackled in my own misery too much to care. “So, you don’t need to assure me that I’m safe because I’m not scared. I’m a lot of things right now, but I’ve only ever been scared of one thing, and that was you going to prison for a killing that you never committed.”
“Savina-”
I put my hand up to stop him, needing to get the entire story out before it ate me up more than it already was. “After I threatened him, that’s when he’d told me about the video, showing it to me, telling me that his friend owned the hotel where it had happened, and his friend thought that it might be beneficial to Ashton’s political career to take down a high-ranking Sartori. When I threatened him with Nero’s power, that’s when he offered the deal; me in exchange for his silence.” I glanced back down at the tumbler in my hands. “It was the easiest decision that I’d ever made.”
There was only one heartbeat of silence before Aurelio roared, “Motherfucker!”
I kept my head down as he destroyed the office, which I still wasn’t even sure where I was. I also didn’t begrudge him the need to be destructive since I was feeling the same way. In fact, whatever Aurelio was feeling right now, it was nothing compared to how I felt. While he might want to kill Ashton with his bare hands, I wanted to make Ashton pay with an evil that would frighten any sane person. I was never going to be able to escape what Ashton had done to me, effectively sentencing me to a life of mental and emotional torment. Even if I never saw him again, my memories were never going to fade. I was stuck with the knowledge that I’d been too stupid to see what had been right in front of me, and that was a bitter pill that I was never going to be able to swallow. It was going to sit on my tongue forever, and it was hard to admit to yourself that you were that stupid.
I wasn’t sure how much time had gone by before Aurelio had finished with his rage, but I quickly found myself exhausted with the weight of what I’d just learned. I wanted nothing more than to just go home, take a hot bath, then fall asleep for the next month. Right now, I didn’t even care about the career that I’d fought so hard for. In fact, I wanted to just disappear. I wanted freedom from all of my mistakes, something that I knew was impossible.
When I looked back up at Aurelio, he looked like he wanted to go to war for me, and the beauty in everything that he was still stole my breath. My biggest regret in life was always going to be how I’d left him, even over Ashton’s physical abuse. Though it’d all been a ruse, I couldn’t ever imagine regretting sacrificing myself for this man.
“Whose house is this?” I finally asked.
His jaw ticked again. “It’s mine.”
I nodded. “Okay,” I said before letting out a deep breath. “Would it be possible for me to have a bath?” Then jealousy joined all the other emotions that were beating me down, very aware that I had no idea what Aurelio had going on in his life and that the other day didn’t mean anything. “I mean…can you drive me to a hotel? I’m just…I’m just really tired, and I’d like to brush my teeth, take a hot bath, and then sleep.” I let out another sigh. “I’d really like to sleep.”
He looked like he was about to snap again. “And why can’t you do all that here?”
I lifted my chin because I’d never been a scared rabbit before. A trapped one, yes. However, a scared one, no. “Because it’s been three years, Aurelio,” I answered as evenly as I could. “I imagine that you’ve moved on, and I don’t want me being here to cause any issues that don’t need to be caused.”
“Worried that my girlfriend might come home and not appreciate another woman in my house?”
There was something in his tone, but I didn’t have the energy to figure out what was going on. I was simply too exhausted to play any more games with anyone. Besides, I needed my energy for whatever came next. I also figured that as long as I was staying at a hotel in Sartori territory, then I’d be fine. Ashton would be insane to come here looking for me, though I wouldn’t put anything past him with the level of entitlement that he had going on in his head.
Ignoring his question, I said, “I don’t have the energy for this, Aurelio. I’ll just walk to the nearest hotel.”
I stood up, but before I could take one step, Aurelio was blocking me from leaving, and my knees almost buckled with the weight of how broken I felt right now. I’d never felt so goddamn weary before, but I was also afraid if I sat back down, then I’d never get back up again.
Chapter 21
Aurelio~
Staring up at me, Savina had no idea that I was never going to let her leave my penthouse again. She was never going back to her brownstone or even to her parents’ house. I was going to do everything in my power to make sure that she never set foot off Sartori territory ever again.
However, I couldn’t tell her that right now.
She’d fall apart if I did.
Her blue gaze looked vacant, but it wasn’t from the trauma that she’d endured. It was obvious to anyone with a pair of working eyes that she was past the point of exhaustion. She looked like the past two years had just come crashing down on her head, and she was one tick away from losing it, something that she was very entitled to if it came down to that.
