12. Chapter 12
She blocked my number. It was what I deserved. I”d apologized by text messages until I realized they weren”t getting through, and it became even more apparent when I tried to call her.
I had drunk just enough to be an asshole—and I had been. Christ, the hurt in her eyes when I”d talked about how she wasn”t maternal, how her parents had abandoned her, still made me want to throw up. How could I have done that to the woman I loved?
I went through the weekend like a zombie, ignoring Iris while we played fucked up family at some social gathering at my ex-in-laws” place. Sophia had wanted me there, and I”d gone instead of picking a fight.
My mood sucked when I got to work on Monday, and everyone, including my executive assistant, was on alert.
I could guess the whispers.
”He broke up with that architect.”
”Damn it. He”d been in such a good mood while he was with her.”
”Well, Angry Rhodes is back.”
Apparently, Aurora had made me tolerable, and now I was back to being Angry Rhodes.
There was a knock on my door after my morning meeting, where I”d chewed up a few people.
”What?” I barked.
Luna Steele walked in. ”Your EA is petrified of you, but I told her it was fine; you”d want to see me.”
I closed my eyes. If I couldn”t reach Aurora, maybe Luna could help me get through to her, though the way she was looking at me, she wanted to knee me in the balls.
”Have a seat.” I gestured toward one of the client chairs.
She pulled out her phone from her jeans and sat. ”I”m sending you something. It”s a video. I want you to watch it. I was never going to show this to you. But after what happened at the ball, I think you need to see this and lay off Aurora.”
I leaned back on my chair and picked up my phone. ”Okay.”
The video was of Sophia in my bedroom.
”Take your stuff and get lost,” Sophia said. She took something from…Aurora and threw it on my bed. A suit bag. My clothes, I deduced, the ones I left at her place.
The video showed Aurora bending down to pick up what I recognized as her clothes that had been dry-cleaned by my housekeeper but were now crumpled on the hardwood floor. A chill ran through me as I understood what I was watching.
It broke my heart when I heard my Sweetpea say, ”I told you, if you didn”t leave my father, I”d make him leave you.”
Aurora looked so sad when she said, ”Sophia, is this how you want to be? Lying to your own father?”
”I”m doing it so we can be a family. You won”t understand. My father told me how your own parents didn”t want you,” Sophia yelled, and my heart broke.
I”d done this. I”d given Sophia the ammunition. I”d allowed this to happen.
But the knife went deeper when Aurora smiled and said, ”Take care of your father.”
”I don”t need you to tell me that,” Sophia replied belligerently.
The video was shaky after that and only showed the floor, my floor. I heard Iris”s voice. ”Oh…Ariel, is it? Gabriel mentioned you”d be here to take your things. Hope you didn”t take anything that isn”t yours.”
”Wow, Iris, that”s low even for you.” That was Luna”s voice.
”Luna,” Iris said.
”Christ, no wonder your kid is so fucked up,” Luna said.
”Don”t talk about my daughter,” Iris said.
”Fuck you, bitch,” Luna replied.
The video ended.
”First things first,” Luna began, ”Aurora doesn”t know I made this video, and I don”t want her to know. She”ll kill me if she finds out I came between you and your daughter. But you needed to see this because you need to know that the fact your kid and Aurora didn”t get along has nothing to do with Aurora.”
My hands shook as I put the phone down.
”This is how Sophia has been treating Aurora. The reason Aurora didn”t leave things in your house was because the first time she left some makeup, Sophia got rid of them.”
Aurora had told me that Sophia hadn”t liked her leaving things, and I had dismissed her, saying she must”ve misunderstood. Despite that, Aurora had not tattled on my daughter.
”Your wife insulted her whenever she was there, and you weren”t, which is why she started to ask you to come over to her place,” Luna wasn”t done.
I was having trouble breathing. I couldn”t believe that my sweet child had done what she had, said the things she”d said, and probably lied about how Aurora treated her. I should”ve known. Aurora was kind and sweet. It didn”t match up with how Sophia looked at her, and yet I didn”t see it because I hadn”t wanted to admit that my kid was, as Luna put it fucked up, that I”d fucked her up.
”Aurora feels hurt, humiliated, and ashamed after what you said at the ball. Looks like your daughter comes by her meanness and cruelty, honestly; she gets it from you.”
I closed my eyes then and grabbed my desk because Luna”s words hit me hard. She wasn”t wrong. I could be a downright asshole.
I opened my eyes after a long moment. ”Thank you for letting me know.” The words came out hoarse.
”Now, please stay away from my friend. She deserves better.”
I nodded, and for the first time in decades, tears filled my eyes, surprising me. I”d hurt the woman I loved, and I”d damaged the child I loved to where she”d lied to me, treated another person with such cruelty, just like I had.
”Why didn”t Aurora ever say anything?”
”Would you have believed her?” Luna challenged me. ”Without a video like I just showed you?”
I shook my head. ”I wouldn”t have.”
”You know what Aurora said when I asked why she didn”t tell you? She feels sorry for Sophia for carrying the pressure of keeping her parents” marriage together, and yeah, she knew as well that you wouldn”t believe her.” Luna got up.
”I fucked up.”
”Yeah. You lost an amazing woman. It just sucks that you hurt her so much that it”s going to be a long while before she trusts a man again, if ever. But I”m hoping she does because no one deserves to be loved, to have a family more than Aurora.” Luna”s eyes were also shimmering with tears. ”The way you talked about her parents? Have you any idea how hard it must”ve been for a kid to have her father abandon her and her mother drag her around to fend for herself?”
I dropped my head in shame.
”Do you think it was easy for her to have to protect herself as a child when her mother put her in dangerous situations?”
I looked up at her now in horror. Aurora had never said.
”Oh yeah, her mother would just go to some commune where they were high all the time, and little Aurora would have to hide from some sick fucks who liked young girls.”
I ran a hand over my face, frustrated with myself.
”Her only choice was to come to Savannah, and you know how her aunt agreed to it? Do you know, Gabe?” Luna demanded.
”No.” I just knew that she”d lived with her.
”Because she had COPD and needed someone to take care of her. So, thirteen-year-old Aurora went to school, took care of her aunt, cooked, and cleaned, and worked a part-time job to pay for rent. She had to pay rent at that age.”
I didn”t know any of this because Aurora never told me, because I”d never bothered to ask. I knew about her work, and she knew about mine; but mostly, the truth was when we met, we fucked. We talked every night, but I realized now it was always about me and my work. She would mention her projects, and I knew she worked hard, but I hadn’t grasped the significance of her job and career until Rafe mentioned that Georgia Tech, where she studied, had the one of the best architecture programs in the country.
”She took care of her aunt until she died when Aurora was in her last year of high school. She got a scholarship and went to Georgia Tech. This has been her life, and you ridiculed her for her childhood, blamed her for your kid”s behavior.” Luna tucked her hand in her jeans. ”I hope now you understand how much you hurt Aurora.”
”I do. And I”m sorry. I”m so fucking sorry, Luna. I texted her and tried to call her this weekend, but—”
”She”s blocked you. Nina Davenport is this close to dropping Rhodes Hotels as a client because your behavior has been reprehensible.”
”I didn”t know about her childhood,” I said defensively.
”Oh please, you didn”t need to. Couldn”t you guess?”
Shame was a heavy burden, and my shoulders slouched. ”I lost my temper, Luna. I love Aurora and—”
”Oh, shut up,” she snorted, ”if that”s how you treat people you love, I can see why they call you a barracuda in business, Gabe; you probably eviscerate people you hate.”
There was absolutely nothing I could say in my defense. I”d fucked up royally, and now I had to figure out how to fix my kid and, if I could, find a way to get my love back. I didn”t know how to do either.
Luna pulled out something from her pocket and threw it on my table.
”When I was growing up, I got into a lot of trouble. A therapist helped me. She”s a tough cookie but great. I recommend you and your daughter get some counseling,” Luna advised. ”You have a nice day.”
With that, she left.
I picked up the card and reviewed the details of a family therapist.