Eleven #3
He smirks. “A woman’s got two paths in life: become a whore or marry well. Look deep enough, and they’re the same. So don’t act like you’re above them.”
He straightens. “Pay the price for what you want, or rot in this house for the rest of your life.”
Before I can respond, he cuts in, “Yeah, I said you can leave whenever you want. But remember, the second you step out that door, Aurora’s no longer in your life.”
With obvious satisfaction, relishing how he’s cornered me, he walks out of the kitchen.
***
I’ve been staring at myself in the mirror for almost five minutes now, and I still can’t figure out what’s missing from my makeup. The smoky eyes look good, and my blush and lipstick match perfectly. Eventually, I realize the problem isn’t the makeup at all. It’s my hair.
There are still a few days left until the birthday party, but since this will be the first time I’m stepping into a circle of people I’ll probably be dealing with for years, I want to look flawless.
That’s exactly why I bought the most ridiculously expensive dress I could find, and why I’m standing here now, practicing different looks until I find the perfect makeup and hairstyle.
I run the flat iron through my curls until they’re completely straight, then pull them up into a high, sleek ponytail with extra volume. After one last look in the mirror, I decide I finally look right. Elegant, but still sexy.
A thought slips into my head before I can stop it.
How’s Maxim gonna react when he sees me looking like this?
So far, he’s still acting like a damn iceberg, waiting for me to throw myself at him so he can graciously reward me with a little attention.
Yeah. Not happening.
My phone ringing pulls me out of my thoughts. Emily’s name flashes across the screen, and I answer immediately.
“Hey!”
She sounds warm as always. “Ava, sweetheart. How are you?”
“I’m good, Emily. Thanks.”
The last time I called her Mrs. Bruni, she frowned and told me I wasn’t her employee anymore and needed to call her Emily from now on. At first, it felt wrong, but somewhere along the way, she started feeling more like a friend.
Her tone softens even more.
“I wanted to talk to you about your things. I could’ve packed everything up and sent it over, but I didn’t feel right sending someone through your belongings without your permission.
And since we haven’t seen each other lately, I thought maybe we could have lunch at the hotel first, then you can grab whatever you need afterward. What do you think?”
“I’d love that. Thanks for asking.”
“Perfect. I’ll see you around twelve?”
“Yeah, that works for me.”
I hang up the phone. Since it’s already eleven, I slip into a tight black spaghetti-strap dress that falls to my knees and head out of the room. If I’m not Emily’s employee anymore, there’s no reason to keep dressing like one.
After getting Aurora ready and clipping her hair back from her face, I tell Alex I’m meeting Emily for lunch. He immediately calls Maxim, and once permission is granted, we head to the hotel.
I have to admit, this hotel, the place that’s been home to me and my daughter for the past year, makes me feel strangely safe. I have good memories here, and I’ve always gotten along well with the staff.
Emily leaves Aurora with the boys, and the two of us head to the hotel restaurant. The second we sit down, she flashes me a warm smile.
“Ava, you look incredible.”
I smile back.
“Thanks, Emily. I know my makeup might be a little too much, but when you called, I was practicing looks for the birthday party we’re going to. Maxim was very clear that I need to look elegant.”
She picks up her glass of water, looking effortlessly put together as always.
“Then I’d say your practice paid off. You look stunning, honey.”
She takes a sip before we order our food, then asks casually,
“So… what’s life with Maxim like? Has he managed to drive you completely insane yet?”
I take a sip of the red wine in front of me and sigh.
“He’s definitely trying. Very hard.”
She laughs softly.
“That’s not hard to imagine. He’s one of the most irritating men I’ve ever met.”
“Trust me, not one of them. The most irritating.”
Another smile spreads across her face, but she doesn’t say anything else.
I take a deep breath, and for some reason, my mind drifts back to that night. The night we slept together.
Actually, the only night I’ve ever had sex.
Without thinking, I blurt out, “I wish he were a good man. Life would be easier if he were.”
“But you still don’t really know him. There’s a lot about him you don’t know.”
“I know he’s a criminal.”
The second the words leave my mouth, I realize what I just said. Sure, Maxim’s a criminal, but he still works for the man Emily’s married to.
I immediately shake my head.
“I’m sorry, Emily. I didn’t mean to insult your husband. It’s just… dealing with this world is hard for me.”
A faint smile touches her lips, but she stays quiet.
I exhale slowly.
“Ever since I was a kid, I wanted to escape my father, his world, his people. I just wanted to stay with my mother. Far away from all that filth. When Sister Maria found me and saved me, I thought I was finally free of that life. But my father found me again. Maxim saved me, years passed, and then that bastard found me again…”
She cuts me off gently.
“And once again, it was Maxim who saved you, right?”
My chest tightens. I nod silently.
Emily pauses for a moment before speaking again.
“I’ve known Maxim for almost six years. There’s still a lot I don’t know about him, but there’s one thing I do know.
He’s not like your father, Ava. When it comes to the people he loves, he’d give up his own life for them.
He’s loyal to his family. And from what both of us can clearly see, he’s trying his hardest to be the best father possible for Aurora.
He would never hurt her, and he’d never walk away from her. ”
“Your husband said the same thing.”
“Because he’s right.”
I let out a heavy breath and take another sip of water.
“I’m not superstitious, but when fate keeps sending the same man to save you over and over again, maybe you need to consider the possibility that he was written into your destiny.”
That truth hits me like a slap in the face every single day. No matter what I do, life keeps leading me back to Maxim.
But that’s not what scares me.
What scares me is the question I can’t stop asking myself.
Do I even want to escape him?
It’s the kind of question my heart and mind are constantly at war over.
We change the subject after that, shifting to safer, normal girl talk.
After lunch, we head toward the kids’ room. Even before the door opens, Luca’s loud, excited shrieks spill into the hallway.
The second we walk inside I blink in disbelief.
Maxim, dressed in a white crew-neck shirt and black pants, his sleeves shoved up to his elbows, is dangling Luca upside down by the ankles while saying calmly,
“Say you were wrong.”
Luca shrieks with laughter. “No! I’m not saying it!”
Maxim gives him another careless shake. “Yeah, you are, little brat. Say, ‘I shouldn’t have pulled Aurora’s hair.’”
I glance toward Aurora, who’s standing beside Gabriel, both of them staring at Maxim with their mouths hanging open.
The kids’ new nanny, a middle-aged woman, stands quietly in the corner, wisely staying out of it.
Emily immediately walks over and takes Luca from Maxim.
“Maxim! What are you doing in here?”
She sets Luca back on his feet while he’s still panting with excitement, then says firmly,
“No more fighting, Luca. You’ll be nice to Aurora.”
Luca only shrugs before wandering back toward Gabriel’s Legos.
Emily turns to Maxim next, fixing him with a bossy glare. Maxim, however, is looking at me and only me. His gaze slowly drags over my body in a way that makes heat crawl into my cheeks.
He takes a deep breath, picks Aurora up into his arms, then lifts an eyebrow at Emily.
“Figured I’m not banned from your hotel anymore. Or am I?”
Emily throws me a quick glance before answering, “That depends. We’ll see.”
Then she walks back toward the boys, clearly giving us space.
The problem is, I have absolutely no idea what I’m supposed to say to Maxim.
In the end, he’s the one who speaks first.
“Alex is waiting outside.”
“I’m not done yet. Some of my things are still here. I need to pack them.”
Maxim looks down at Aurora.
“You wanna go back and play with the kids, baby girl?”
Aurora nods immediately. He kisses her cheek before setting her back on the floor.
“Let’s go.”
“I can do it myself.”
“I wanna see where my daughter’s been living. Move.”
Together, we make our way to the small suite that’s been home to me and Aurora for almost a year.
While I unzip a suitcase and start packing our clothes, Maxim looks around the room. He checks everything carefully, moving from drawer to drawer, opening every single one and looking through the few belongings Aurora and I have.
Once the suitcase is full and zipped shut, I turn around and find him sitting in one of the armchairs, flipping through my pregnancy album.
Without thinking, I walk over and stop beside him.
He’s staring at a picture taken the first day after I gave birth. I’m lying weak and exhausted in the hospital bed with tiny Aurora sleeping in my arms.
I can’t help smiling. “She was so pretty, wasn’t she?”
His voice comes out quieter than usual. “Yeah. She’s beautiful… and so damn tiny.”
“That’s exactly what I thought. The first few days, I was honestly scared to even hold her. I thought I’d hurt her somehow. But eventually I realized babies are tougher than we think.”
He stays quiet for a few seconds before speaking again, his tone softer now.
“You look exhausted in this picture.”
“Sixteen hours of labor will do that to a person.”
He takes a deep breath and finally looks at me. His jaw is tight, brows drawn together.
“That must’ve been hard.”
“It was. But she was worth it,” I say quietly.
“You were alone?”
“No. Sister Maria stayed with me.”
“What happened to you a couple weeks ago? Why’d you end up in the hospital?”