49. Lessons
49
LESSONS
RORY
“ O h, you’re going the wrong way. It’s a left on park,” I call out to Sal, my driver for the evening.
The Belles are all going out to Lolita’s bar for post-game dinner and drinks. Even though I’m exhausted, I agreed to go. That is, after I verified no Breakers would be in attendance.
“Apologies, Signorina.” Sal peers at me through the car’s rear-view mirror. “I have orders to take you straight home.”
I sigh, frustrated, crossing my arms and slouching down in the leather seats of the town car. Of course he does.
Matteo’s waiting for me when I arrive. “Leave us,” he orders Sal, who turns and exits the room without a second glance. Antonio, a guard I’ve noticed, usually posted by the front door, also leaves with Sal.
Once they’ve gone, Matteo’s eyes narrow on me. “Aurora, follow me.” He turns and stalks off toward his office, a room I already hate.
I consider not doing as I’m told.
“Now, Aurora!” Matteo’s shout elicits a jump. Against my will, I follow.
He holds the door for me, pointing at the chair. “Sit,” he commands, like I’m a dog.
The door shuts behind me, and the air seems to thin inside the office. Slowly, I sink into the chair.
Matteo leans back against the front of his desk, his dark eyes ablaze with something like rage, and also maybe a little excitement. “Confess your sins, Aurora.” He studies me. “I’ll give you this one chance. Come clean, and I’ll go easy on you.”
My heart races, and my eyes dart around the study. No idea what I should be confessing to. “W-what sins?”I ask, unable to hide my nerves.
He clicks his tongue. My mind goes to Aidan and the penalty box last week, but there’s no way Matteo can know about that… right ?I eye my fiancé warily, doing my best to look as innocent as possible.
When I only blink up at him, Matteo sighs, pulling out his phone. A saccharine smile on his lips as he scrolls, pulling up an entertainment news article. He shoves it in my face.“Explain this, Aurora.”
It’s a photo of me from the game tonight. But I’m not alone… Aidan’s got one arm wrapped around my shoulders and I’m leaned up against him. The photographer, or magazine, conveniently cropped Elle and Rez out of the frame. The headline teases at a possible relationship between player and cheerleader.
It’s… not good.
Matteo slams the phone down onto his desk, and I flinch.
“O’Rourke?” he demands. Every alarm in my body goes off, screaming at me to run, run, run .
I press my lips together.
“You let a dirty Irish O’Rourke touch you again ?” he screams, his face so close to mine spittle sprays across my cheek. The back of his hand follows it. I brace myself on the arm of the chair to keep from being knocked out of it.
Taking his time, Matteo reaches over me. He picks up my skating bag and rips it open. I hold my breath as he pulls out my custom skates, holding them by their laces. “You mock me, Aurora.”The skates spin slowly in his grasp.
My hands come up in defense. “No, I’m not—I didn’t do anything! He put his arm around me! It was a PR photo. I’m sorry!” I’m practically begging. The light from the fire in the hearth glints off my skate blade as Matteo moves closer to the fire. “Please, don’t!” I plead with my eyes, my bottom lip quivering, and not for show. The skates… the last pair my mother bought me just before…
“You make a fool out of me.” He shakes his head, pissed, but with a cruel smile on his face. He’s enjoying watching me beg. “You’re not sorry, but you will be.” He tosses my skates into the fire.
“No!” I squeal, diving after them. But Matteo grabs hold of my hair and drags me back, throwing me headfirst into the far wall of his study. I collapse onto the floor. Flashes of light blur my vision. The metallic taste of blood in my mouth. Before I can get my bearings, he comes after me again, wrapping his hand around my throat and hauling me up by it.
I scramble to get my legs under me, his grip punishing. Panicking, I claw at his face, aiming for his eyes—desperate for oxygen. He curses as I drag my fingernails down his cheek. He drops me and I inhale sharply, my lungs screaming. Pain and fear are second to my growing rage. “I won’t marry you! You can’t make me!” I shout at him, once I have recovered enough breath. My voice hoarse. I’m sure I’ll have bruises on my throat tomorrow.
I expect him to lunge for me, but he doesn’t. Instead, he straightens. Adjusting his suit, he tugs up the hem of his pants as he lowers himself to my level. “Oh, you’ll marry me, Aurora, if I have to tape your mouth shut and say “I do” for you.”Matteo’s lips curl up into a sadistic smile. “Or your father will do it for me.”
I blink up at him, feeling a fleeting moment of satisfaction at the angry claw mark marring his left cheek. “What’s the matter, Aurora?” he taunts, “You thought you could refuse me?” His laugh is bitter. “You can scream, cry, throw a tantrum in church on Saturday… It won’t change a goddamn thing. The wedding is just a formality. You will be my wife. You belong to me. Nothing you can do will change that, so get used to it.”
He kicks me. His designer dress shoes knocks the breath from me again with stabbing pain. I curl in on myself in an effort to protect my body. His next kick is stronger than the first, catching me in the back this time. A whimper escapes me, and I bite down hard on my lip to keep in my scream, hard enough to draw blood. I refuse to give him the satisfaction.
The fire flashes brighter and I look over just in time to catch sight of my skating boot flare as the fire engulfs it fully. A tear runs down my cheek before a surge of anger overtakes it.
I kick out with my feet when Matteo comes closer, intending to kick me again. The back of my foot catches him behind his knee and he falters, falling back onto the wooden coffee table. It splinters with a crack as he crashes through it.
Despite the pain screaming from my ribs, my lips twitch up in a faint smile. Anger I’ve never seen before flashes in his eyes when he sees it.
He’s on his feet faster than I could have ever anticipated, hauling me up roughly. “You bitch! I’ll fucking kill you.” He winds up, and his fist coming toward my face is the last thing I see before everything goes dark.