Chapter 14 Aurelia
Aurelia
The drive home was spent in silence. His anger was palpable.
I started to wonder if it was directed at me instead of Beatrice.
We were dropped off at the front, and the walk inside the villa to the stairs and to the third floor felt like an eternity. When we reached the corridor, Medusa ran down the hallway to greet us, but she halted halfway.
Constantine had made a quick hand gesture, and it seemed to be a command for her to heel.
She darted into the study and jumped on one of the couches.
“Constantine?”
He took the lead and stepped into the bedroom.
His anger was like a cloud of smoke that suffocated us both.
Every breath burned my lungs. I stared at his back as he moved away from me and ignored me.
Everything had been fine at lunch. He’d smiled brighter than the sun, and now, he was a living earthquake.
Every step shook the earth. The world trembled at his feet. “Constantine—”
He turned to me with a quickness that showed his strength, strength I forgot he had because he was always delicate with me. “How did you know it was Isabella?”
It took a second for the terror to strike me. To realize the hand I’d shown without thought. I’d known it was Isabella since the beginning, and the occasional times he’d spoken of her, that was exactly who I pictured. I didn’t even realize he hadn’t referred to her by name.
“Because my mother didn’t say her name. My sister didn’t.
So how did you know?” He was furious exactly the way he’d been in my apartment after Enzo left, the moment before he’d walked out on me and everything we had.
Red in the face, cords popping in his neck, he looked deranged.
“Answer me.” He didn’t yell at me the way he had with Enzo, but it was pretty fucking close.
I didn’t want to tell him that I’d eavesdropped on their conversation, but I knew not to lie.
For Constantine, a small lie to mask the truth was infinitely worse than any crime.
“When—when you had me over for dinner at your family’s house, I noticed your sister was a bit cold to me and I didn’t know why.
And then I noticed the woman she was with.
Everyone was drinking and laughing and having a great time, but they looked so miserable—”
“And you just figured out it was her?” he asked incredulously. “Walked up and asked for her name?”
“No.” I wanted to tell him off for cutting me off, but he was so mad I didn’t dare make it worse. “I went into the house to help your mom, and you two were talking on the patio . . . and I could tell there was tension there.”
“But my mother wouldn’t have told you that—”
“Let me finish, Con. This is the part of the story that makes me look really bad, so let me just get it over with.”
He crossed his arms over his chest.
“I noticed there was an open window near where you were standing, so I walked over there and listened.” I closed my eyes because it sounded so much worse when it came out of my mouth.
I’d violated his privacy and eavesdropped like a nosy bitch.
I kept my eyes closed because I didn’t want to see his pissed-off reaction.
“I heard everything you two said. I know that you slept together like a year ago. I know there’s this tension between you that doesn’t go away.
I know she’s still sorry . . . after all this time. And the reason I didn’t tell you is—”
“Why?” he snapped. “Why the fuck did you sit on this for so long?”
I opened my eyes and saw him staring at me with pure disgust—and it killed me.
“Because you told her you were worried about me seeing the two of you together and you didn’t want to fuck it up.
You didn’t want to have to explain why you were talking, and I didn’t want to put you in that position by telling you.
And honestly, we didn’t need to talk about it.
Because I wasn’t upset you used to be with her and I didn’t care that you were talking and I didn’t care that she still wanted you—because I don’t blame her. ”
He was still livid, his face the color of lava.
“I’d feel the same way if I lost you. Whether it’s nine years or nineteen, I would never get over you. I would never move on. I have no ill will toward her at all, because I don’t blame her.”
He’d stopped yelling at me, so maybe that was a good sign.
“I’m sorry I eavesdropped on your conversation. That was wrong. I know.”
He continued to stare.
“And I’m sorry I didn’t tell you. I just didn’t want to make a problem that didn’t exist in the first place. I’m not jealous . . . just empathetic.”
“You still could have told me. Could have told me you knew about Isabella and you felt bad for her. But you sat on it while I tried to find the right time to tell you about her.”
“The right time?” I asked. “You’ve mentioned her indirectly several times. That would have been the moment to tell me, but you didn’t. I walked into that party having no idea your ex-fiancée was there. So were you ever really going to tell me?”
He got fired up again. “You’re really going to try to flip this on me?”
“I’m not trying to flip anything, but I waited for you to tell me it was Isabella, so then I could tell you I already knew.
Let’s not pretend we weren’t both keeping secrets for the preservation of this relationship.
We’d only known each other for a few days the night of that party, so we didn’t know where it was going to go.
We didn’t know I’d be living with you six weeks later. So let’s just . . . take a beat here.”
He was still pissed off. It was written all over his face.
“I said I was sorry, Constantine.”
He stepped away from me, like he was done with the conversation.
“Con.”
He moved for the door.
When I realized this conversation was over, I broke.
“Please don’t leave me.” I was right back to the woman I used to be, weak and pathetic, begging him to stay the way I’d begged Enzo to stay.
But this time, I was the one who’d fucked up.
“I said I was sorry.” The tears were instantaneous because I’d lost Constantine once before, and that week nearly killed me.
Now I was about to end up like Isabella, missing a man I could never have again, hoping for a dream that would never come true.
“I’m really fucking sorry. Con, please don’t go.
” I followed him into the hallway and burst into tears. “Please.”
He spun back around when he stepped into the corridor, eyes full of a rage that was even worse than it’d been a second ago. “I’m fucking mad as hell right now and I need some damn space—but I’m not leaving you.”
The relief was so strong I couldn’t hide it. My hands automatically cupped my mouth as I took a breath. My eyes closed, and rivers of tears ran down my cheeks. Gratitude of epic proportions struck me like a mound of bricks.
I looked at him again through my hazy vision. I probably looked like a fucking mess with the tears and blotchy skin and the breaths I couldn’t control.
“For the last nine years, I’ve wondered if I made the right decision about Isabella.
If I was being too harsh on her, if I expected too much, if I could drop the resentment so we could move on and be happy.
When she got married, it fucking hurt, and when we slept together again, it just ripped open old wounds.
She haunted me like a fucking ghost, and I worried that I’d thrown away the person I was meant to be with.
But then you know what happened?” He stepped closer to me, angry eyes locked on mine. “You.”
I swallowed, new tears springing to my eyes for a whole different reason.
He formed a fist and put it to his chest, right over his heart.
“I met you, and all those doubts disappeared—because you’re the one.
You’re the one I’ve been waiting nine years for.
My mom told me that one day a woman would come and I wouldn’t be able to live without her.
That I would burn my world to the ground just because she asked me to.
And she was right—because I fucking love you—”
“I love you too,” I said breathlessly, more tears pouring down my cheeks. “I love you so fucking much.”
His eyes flicked back and forth between mine. “This is it for me. You’re it for me.”
“Constantine . . .” Even though I was an ugly mess, I moved into him, rose on my tiptoes, but I didn’t have enough height in my flats to reach his lips.
But he lifted me like I knew he would, scooped his big arms under my ass and pulled me to him.
I hooked my arms around his neck, and I kissed him differently than I had in the past, let all of me pour into him, let my heart and soul release in the kiss. “I love you,” I said between our kisses. “For the rest of my life.”
I couldn’t believe this was my life.
I couldn’t believe this man was mine.
He was still asleep next to me, his smile absent while he dreamed, his entire face relaxed as he continued to rest until almost noon.
I loved the view, but it was hard not to touch him.
Medusa sat up from the couch and looked at me like she needed to go out.
I put my finger to my lips to tell her to be quiet, then snuck out of bed before I silently got dressed.
I snuck out of the room with Medusa, and we left the corridor and took the stairs to the bottom floor.
We stepped out into the garden, and she immediately pranced around to find a spot to do her business.
I walked with her down the path through the trees, glancing around at the private estate that looked like it’d been preserved since ancient Rome. In the corners far in the distance were the armed guards, but I just stayed in the center and close to the house to avoid them.
A pool was hidden from view by the trees, so I walked down the path to look at it, the dark-blue tile along the edges, the loungers around it.
I decided to take a seat in one of them and enjoy the sight of the water while Medusa continued to enjoy the outdoors.
She found a patch of grass in the sun and lay down so she could bask in the warmth.
I wasn’t sure how much time passed, but then I heard his voice from behind me.
“There you are.”
I turned to see him standing tall in nothing but his black sweatpants, the dark ink everywhere, that beautiful smile on his lips. His eyes shifted behind me to look at Medusa on the other side of the pool. “She must really like that sun spot because she’s not even getting up to say hi to me.”
I got to my feet to kiss him. “Morning.”
“More like afternoon.” He squeezed me to him and kissed me, his big hands making their way up my dress like my ass was a magnet for his palms. “Sorry I slept so long.”
“You’re fine. I would have stayed in bed, but Medusa needed to go out.”
“Thanks for taking care of her.”
“She’s kinda my dog too, now.”
He smiled at me. “More than kinda.” He gave me a gentle spank before he sat on the lounger and patted his thigh.
I made myself comfortable across his lap.
He was big enough to be a chair, handle me just fine. “Beautiful day.”
“Really is.” I hooked my arm around his neck and kissed him again, just because I could. “Love you.” I said it just because I could say it. Said it because I knew he would say it back.
He smiled like he fully understood. “Love you too, sweetheart.”
I dug my fingers into his hair, touching him far more than I ever had, feeling like he was fully mine. “Do you have work today?”
“I have work every day. But I’m gonna blow it off.”
“And do what?”
“You—obviously.”
“Ooh, works for me.”
“Then we’ll go out for a nice dinner.”
“Or we can stay in for a nice dinner.”
He chuckled. “Even better.”
When Medusa got too warm, she left the sun and moved around the pool toward us.
“Hey, baby girl.” He petted her and rubbed her around the neck. Then he gave her distinct pats on the flank—like she was built solid. “Now I gotta keep two women happy every day.”
“Good luck with that.”
“One likes sex, and the other likes hamburgers.”
“Well, I like sex and hamburgers.”
That adorable smile moved onto his lips again. “And that’s why you’re my woman.”