Chapter 25 Aurora
AURORA
The taxi dropped me off outside my childhood home minutes ago, and I’ve been standing here since, gathering the courage to walk in.
Or maybe I’m waiting for my collar to buzz. It’s useless, wishing for that.
I must be out of Everett’s reach. There’s no tracker on me either, or Cormac would’ve been here by now.
Everett would’ve been here. Because he has feelings for me.
That’s the reason I’m here, isn’t it? His soft touch late at night. His whispered words that he doesn’t want me to hear.
I have to be brave if I ever want us to be more than that.
God, he must be furious.
His jaw must work. Fists clenching.
He must think I’ve run away for good.
I run my fingers over my rings, drawing comfort from every diamond facet. From the smooth gold wedding band.
He might punish me for this stunt. He’d do it in ways that’d leave me crying and screaming for him to stop.
Denied orgasms. Extreme humiliation sessions. Ignoring me for weeks.
I’d take anything from him. I’d wait out the storm.
Then maybe we could actually talk. About everything. I hope.
God, I hate this place.
I can’t wait to tell Everett I didn’t want to come here.
This conversation, I wish I’d have with him instead of my dad.
Unfortunately, Molly and Winston are my last resort. If Winston is even here. It’s too early, unless he’s working from home. Or—fuck, I’m blabbering inside my own head.
My pulse quickens as I approach the access control keypad by the gates. I’m shivering from head to toe.
I’m also running out of time.
Once Everett gets over how angry he is, he’ll come here. He’ll realize I didn’t have any other options since I’m not supposed to have money on me.
Punching in the code makes the tall metal gates glide open without a sound. As I step past them, the front door cracks open in the distance.
I don’t even see who’s in there, and I’m already flinching. My instinctive reaction to years of abuse.
Breathe, Aurora. Breathe.
Air in. Air out. I walk faster. Make myself stand taller.
This is for Everett. For both of you.
I lift my chin, not feeling any safer for it.
Pretending will have to do.
The door opens wider. A heartless man in a dark suit stands in the doorway.
My adoptive father.
He didn’t let one of the staff get the door. He’s home, and he answered it by himself.
He’s about to deal with the problem. With me.
I force thoughts of Everett and my fear out of my head. Winston won’t see how scared I am. I’m not here for his entertainment.
“Hi.” I’m within hearing distance. A light breeze whips through my hair and slides under my shirt. I refuse to wrap my arms around myself. He’ll consider it a sign of weakness, and I am not weak. “I need to talk to you.”
“You’re not wanted here.” His lips twist into a disgusted snarl. “In fact, you’re trespassing. So until I’m able to get you out of this mess and find you a suitable husband, you’re banned from this house. Get off my property.”
An unexpected sting brings tears to my eyes. Normally, when I’d feel brave like I should now, I’d have a witty remark to spit back at him.
Other days, when my hate for him and Molly was so big it couldn’t fit in my bedroom, I’d give him the finger. That was a surefire way to land myself hours, if not days, in the basement.
Today—if I’m right about this secret no one lets me in on—I’m at his mercy. I need his cooperation.
I blink back the tears.
I’m Everett’s wife, and I have to act like one. Like an extension of him.
Ready. Set. Go.
“Are you going to shoot me?” My sass gets on his last nerve, like I hoped it would. The vein in his neck throbs. “Dad?”
“Where’s your husband?” he spits out.
Will probably be here sometime soon.
“This has nothing to do with him.” A few steps closer put me almost within his reach.
Close enough to show him he doesn’t scare me. Far enough not to put my head in the lion’s mouth.
“This is between you and me. And Mom.”
“Your mother isn’t here.” He holds onto the door, knuckles whitening. His eyes are calculating, despite his hate. “Are you back for good? You got out of your situation?”
Giving him more of my attitude, I raise my left hand. Wiggle it. “What does it look like?”
“It looks like you’re a whore.” His nostrils flare. “After what your mother told me, I have no doubt that you are.”
He’s trying to get under my skin. I won’t let him. I don’t say a damn thing until I’m calm again.
“If you’ve been taking your pills, though…” Winston’s tone turns contemplative and derisive all at once. “I’ll have my lawyers on your case. No one from Everett’s firm, that’s granted. Schedule a meeting with my assistant, and we’ll see what we can do for you.”
I don’t tell Winston that losing my virginity wasn’t my choice. That had it been up to me, Everett and I would’ve at least gone on one real date before it happened.
It’s none of his business. This is between Everett and me, and I’ve forgiven my husband. I accept him, even at his cruelest.
“I’m not leaving my husband.” I lift my chin and speak in that low, intimidating Everett tone. “I do have a question, however. And you might have the answers I need.”
“Your mother already told you, we don’t know anything about your parents.” His breath is ragged. His rage is barely contained. “The only thing we know is that it’s not the husband you’re fucking like the whore you are. Get out of my face.”
If you hadn’t hurt Everett, I wouldn’t have been his whore, wouldn’t I?
“Stop lying to me.” Since this isn’t the conversation I’m here for, I silence my accusations. What’s the point anyway? “You know it wasn’t him, so you do know something. You owe me answers.”
“Bold of you to assume I owe you anything.” He takes a step back, gesturing for me to enter my prison. “But we can negotiate…daughter.”
The information I’m interested in is bigger than my ego. Far bigger than the fear that sinks its claws into me.
Bracing myself for the worst, I head inside.
The door shuts behind me, and it’s loud. It’s thundering. I’m lucky to catch my gasp in time.
It’s just a door.
It really is. Not letting him squeeze a word in, I spin on my heel.
“Who is she?” Shoving the picture I stole from Everett is awful. This picture, this girl, they’re dear to my husband, and Winston is looking at her. I hate myself for it. “Is she alive? Is she dead? She’s dead, isn’t she?”
His face turns from white to purple in a matter of seconds. He blinks, pressing his hands to his hips.
I tuck the picture back into my pocket. I’ve violated Everett’s privacy for long enough. “Was she my mom?”
Winston’s eyes are on me. “She was no one.”
Judging the change in him, I see that she was definitely someone. Someone important.
An intricate part of his life. Of Everett’s.
And he said was. How did she die? What the hell happened?
Why won’t anyone talk to me?
“Tell me who she was. I’ll leave after that.” Having him lie to my face ignites something hot and unforgiving inside me. “Who was she? You knew her. I can see that you did. So answer me. Was she my biological mother? Who was she to Everett? To you?”
“Last warning, Aurora.”
“I’m not leaving until you answer.”
“Insolent piece of trash,” he snarls and—
Bam.
His fist connects with my cheek.
Black spots dot my vision. I stumble back, staggering. Eventually, I find myself on my ass.
“Bastard.” I seethe, feeling my cheek swell beneath my fingertips. “Who was she?”
“She was no one,” he repeats, his hand gripping my hair. As he drags me outside, I fight him. I scratch his hand. I kick my feet against the floor. “A nobody, you hear? Just like you.”
He’s right.
He’s so right.
Not about her. About me.
I’m a no one.
The realization is the most brutal blow of everything he’s said to me in a while.
Had I been someone to Everett, I would’ve had a tracker in my rings. On my collar.
He would’ve been here, chasing down his wife.
Headlights would shine along the driveway. The intercom would’ve buzzed as he demanded entrance.
But Winston’s right.
I’m a no one.
A no one whose scalp is on fire.
Winston hauls me the last few feet and throws me onto the porch.
I land on the stairs, hard. So hard that I go tumbling down the stairs and to the driveway.
“You’ve caused a lot of trouble, Aurora.” Winston points his finger at me while I scramble to stand up. “Way I see it, you aren’t my daughter anymore.”
I never was.
“Unfortunately, to the outside world, you always will be.” He’s out of breath, hands on his hips. “I hope you’re happy to have fucked us over. Ungrateful brat. Unless you’re ready to discuss a divorce, stay out of here.”
My cheek throbs where he hit me, heat blooming beneath the skin. My ass still stings from being tossed like a useless piece of trash.
“Fuck you,” I spit out, then literally spit on his driveway.
“No, fuck you.”
I shake my head and walk off, dragging the last scraps of my pride behind me.
He’s right about another thing, I realize, on my way out of this place I used to call home.
The girl in the photo and I, we aren’t that different. But not because we’re nothing.
As it seems, both of us swam in shark-infested waters. We both meant something to both men.
What happened to her?
I don’t know.
Can’t even think straight when my heart hurts so bad.
I let Winston get to me, let him crack my resolve.
Where’s the biggest, worst monster when I need him?
My monster?
Nowhere.
I’m alone. Painfully alone.
Outside the mansion, the street is empty. There’s no sign of his Mercedes. His large silhouette isn’t here.
I could run off to another city. Another state. It would take them weeks, if not months, to track me down.
Except…there’s nowhere else I’d rather be.
Even if Everett doesn’t care, I’m still going back to him.
Self-pity’s as pathetic as the sob that escapes me.
“It’s fine. I’m fine.” I stalk off toward the main road.
Since I ran out of money on the ride over, I’m trying to figure out the way to Everett’s house on foot. Just a few more miles—at least, I hope. Then I’ll be there. With him.
I’ll be home.
Where Everett could shout at me. He could zap me.
He could fuck me until I pass out.
After that, he’d be gentle again. While I’d sleep, he’d offer me some type of warmth.
I need it more than air right now. It’s fucked up, but I do.
I just do.