27. Chloe
A s my eyes flutter open, I’m shocked to find I’m the first to wake up. Normally, Marcus is wide awake, watching me as I sleep, but this morning, he’s still fast asleep.
I roll back slightly, trying my best not to disturb him, but I want to take advantage of this moment the way he does. I’ve never understood what he gets out of watching me sleep, but as I lean back just enough to look at him, it suddenly makes sense.
He looks so young and peaceful, all the harsh lines of his face that he uses to create the dark, angry vibe he has going on have softened, making him look almost serene.
His mouth has fallen open a little, and he lets out the softest snore I’ve ever heard. It’s closer to a rough exhale than a snore, but that’s not what I’ll tell him.
His arm is wrapped around me the way it always is, and once I’ve moved my head into the crook of his shoulder, instead of laying on his chest, it allows me to get a better view of his body.
Don’t get me wrong, over the last few weeks, I’ve had more than enough opportunities to take in the firm lines of his body, having kissed almost every bit of it, but that doesn’t mean I’m not going to look.
He’s all kinds of perfect, and for just a moment, I do a little happy dance in my head, struggling to believe this is really my life. If you’d have told ten-year-old me that one day this would be my life, I’d probably have passed out with excitement.
I’d only just discovered boys, but already I knew which one I wanted. Even when he tried to make me hate him, all that did was make him hotter.
Girl world is hard to understand, but the idea of wanting what we can’t have isn’t a new concept. Not to mention, he was a bad boy, and all girls want to tame the bad boy—I just never thought I’d be the one to do it.
I look over at the clock on the nightstand, seeing it’s almost seven in the morning, and my stomach lurches as I remember why my nerves have woken me up so early.
It’s cake day!
Marcus opens his eyes to find me smiling to myself, and blush spreads across my cheeks as he stares at me.
“What’s got you so excited? Were you checking me out?”
He throws me a cheeky wink that makes my stomach flutter, but I roll my eyes at him, trying to look cool.
“Of course, I was checking you out. But I’m excited—and fucking terrified—as it’s cake day. In fact, I really have to get up now and get to work.”
As if to reinforce my statement, the alarm on my phone begins to gently vibrate when the clock turns to seven, letting me know I have to get up.
Marcus completely ignores me and pulls me in for a kiss, which quickly deepens and makes my toes curl. Reluctantly, I push away from him.
“I want nothing more than to stay in bed with you, but this is really important,” I tell him, and Marcus gives me an encouraging smile.
“I know it is, and I’m so fucking proud of you, love. You go and finish your cake, and we can say you owe me,” he smirks.
I lean down and kiss him one more time, pulling away before either of us can get caught up.
“I look forward to it,” I tell him. After taking a deep breath, with my voice as sincere as I can make it, I say, “Thank you.”
He shakes his head as he gives me a bright smile. “You don’t ever have to thank me, love. This is all you.”
“You believing in me means more than you know,” I admit, and the look he gives me in return makes me think maybe he does know.
He stays in bed as I rush into the bathroom. When I return, I quickly pull on my leggings and T-shirt, before heading into the kitchen.
Pulling out my notepad, I make a step-by-step list of everything I have left to do for the cake, and once I’m organised, I get to work.
Time flies while I’m in my own little bubble, flicking between my to-do list and the cake. Marcus comes into the kitchen for breakfast, making sure I stop for just a few minutes to eat something, which I’m grateful for.
Same again when he comes in and forces a coffee on me, whispering words of encouragement before he goes back to his office, leaving me in peace.
As the clock ticks on, my nerves begin to grow. I’m incredibly happy with the cake, but there were a few things that didn’t go according to plan, making me pivot in my design more than once.
I didn’t factor those mistakes into the schedule, which was stupid of me, so I’m cutting it close to get this cake ready on time.
Around fifteen minutes before the scheduled pick-up time, I take a step back and just look at the cake. I’ve been assessing every little detail for the last hour, making minor tweaks to get it looking perfect, but now's the time to step back and look at it as a whole.
When I do, my eyes fill with tears as I’m overcome with emotion. I look at the beautiful creation in front of me and I’m filled with a sense of pride I’ve never felt before. I made this—it was all me, my hard work, and it looks amazing. I just hope Leo and his daughter like it.
It’s at that point the nerves become overwhelming, and I start to panic. I tip-toe towards Marcus’ office, listening at the door to see if he’s on the phone, or busy with something important. When I don’t hear anything, I softly knock.
Within seconds, it springs open, Marcus’ concerned gaze scanning over me.
“Is everything okay? Why did you knock?”
I place my hand on his chest to reassure him. “Everything is fine. I’m sorry if I worried you. I knocked because I didn’t want to disturb you if you were working.”
Marcus lets out a sigh, pulling me into a hug. “You don’t ever need to knock, love. I’m never too busy for you.”
I wrap my arms around him, burying my face into his chest as I breathe in his warm comforting smell. “Thank you.”
“Are you okay? How's the cake?” he asks, and I can hear the concern in his voice.
I let out a sigh as I pull back to look at him. “I think it’s good, but I’m so nervous. Do you want to come and see it?”
“Of course,” he replies eagerly, pulling me towards the kitchen.
I hold my breath the whole way there, my heart racing as Marcus takes in the cake but remains silent. I’m about to have a nervous breakdown when he turns to me with a look that could only be described as awe on his face.
“You actually made this? It’s fucking incredible, Chloe.”
I let out the breath I was holding and smile, relief flooding through my veins.
I quickly box the cake back up, not wanting anything bad to possibly happen to it, even though it won’t be long until collection. It’s always better to keep it wrapped and protected, as you never know.
“I just hope Leo and his daughter like it.”
As soon as the words are out of my mouth, the doorbell rings. I practically sprint to the door, Marcus following behind me. I open it to find Leo standing there with the cutest little girl.
She’s got curly blonde hair that falls to her shoulders, and bright chubby pink cheeks that make the green of her eyes stand out. She’s wearing a puffy pink princess dress with a large badge that says Six Today on it.
“Morning,” Leo says, before looking at his watch and adding, “Well, it’s closer to lunch, actually.”
We agreed the cake would be ready for collecting at eleven thirty in the morning, and they’re only a couple of minutes late.
“Morning,” I reply, before bending down to greet the little princes. “And happy birthday to you. I’m Chloe.”
She holds her hand out to mine, a bright smile on her face. “I’m Penny, and it’s my birthday.”
“I can see that. You look so pretty,” I tell her as I shake her hand.
She turns her attention to Marcus, who is standing behind me, her eyes taking on an almost dreamy edge as she stares at him, her mouth open. “Who are you?”
Leo groans as Marcus chuckles. “I’m Marcus. Happy birthday, Penny. I love your dress.”
Her cheeks turn red as her smile grows. She grabs the edges of her dress and twirls, watching him as she does.
“It’s my princess dress.”
“It definitely is,” Marcus agrees, his face soft as he smiles at her.
“Shall we see the cake?” Leo asks, breaking Penny out of her growing infatuation with Marcus.
“Yes, yes, yes,” she shouts, bouncing on the tips of her toes as she throws her arms around.
“Come on in then,” I tell them, leading the way into the kitchen.
I hear Leo politely address Marcus, who tells him there’s no need for formalities when it’s his day off.
Leo apologises for Penny being so hyper, telling him she’s not even had any sugar yet, this is all just the excitement of her birthday, which makes Marcus laugh.
I almost want to turn around and look, as I don’t get to see him truly laugh as much as I’d like to. He always looks so relaxed and carefree when he does, and I wonder if Leo is a little thrown by this side of his boss.
If he is, he doesn’t say anything that I hear, though Penny is pulling me alongside her, muttering about all of the things she got for her birthday.
Once we get into the kitchen, she spots the big white box instantly, bouncing around in excitement. Leo quickly grabs hold of her, picking her up and settling her onto his hip.
“Are you going to close your eyes?” I ask her, and she nods.
Penny makes a big deal about squeezing them shut, but she’s clearly just squinting, so she can still see. Marcus moves closer to her.
“Why don’t I cover them, so you can’t peep?” he asks, and she nods excitedly, making Leo laugh.
When Marcus wraps his hands over her eyes, she giggles excitedly, placing her hands over his.
I think someone has an admirer.
As I lift off the middle section of the box, and pop open the bottom, the sides fall away to reveal the cake. Leo’s eyes widen as he gasps. Penny must have heard him as she begins pulling on Marcus’ hands.
“Let me see. Let me see,” she chants, full of energy.
Marcus looks to me, and when I give the nod of approval, he removes his hands. Penny’s eyes grow wide and full of wonder as she takes in the cake, her face almost frozen as she stares at it.
The longer she’s silent and unmoving, the more anxious I become. My heart is pounding and my hands are clammy, and I’m seconds away from hyperventilating.
“Ohhh, that’s so beautiful,” Penny eventually cries out, and I finally breathe a sigh of relief.
She leans forward to get a closer look, taking in all the details of the large castle cake.
Although Leo didn’t need a lot of cake, he wanted something special for his princess. This is her first birthday without her mum, who passed away ten months ago, and he wanted to make it special.
So the large bottom tier of the cake is fake, made of polystyrene, but covered in white fondant that I’ve made to look like marbled brick.
The next layer is a chocolate fudge cake, just what the birthday girl requested. It’s also got the same white brick effect, and around the top of both cakes, I’ve made it look like the turrets of a castle .
On each side of the cakes, I’ve added two towers, the larger ones at the back, with the smaller at the front, using ice cream cones to create the spikes of the tower.
The four towers have the white brick effect, but the spikes have been covered in pink fondant, to give it a princess vibe.
Around the base board, I added green fondant, as well as lettering that reads Happy Birthday Penny. Then after adding some windows and flowers, to make it look really pretty, I put on the final finishing touches.
Three Disney Princess figurines were placed on the cake, and she’ll be able to keep them afterwards. I added bright pink flags to the top of the tower spikes, with the number six on each of them.
I then covered the cake in glitter, making the white castle sparkle. Before finally, on top of the cake, I placed a pink number six candle.
“Do you like it?” I ask, trying not to sound too desperate for praise.
Penny turns towards me, lets go of her father, despite still being on his hip, and throws her arms around me, pulling me into a hug.
“I love it so so much. It’s so pretty. It’s the perfect princess castle, and it looks just like the one I want to live in when I’m all grown up.”
Marcus chuckles as Leo smiles at me, his eyes becoming misty. “It’s fantastic. I can’t thank you enough for this.”
“It was my pleasure. I had a lot of fun making it,” I tell him, as Penny lets go of me to take another look at her cake.
“I know you said you didn’t want payment, but you have to let me pay you for this. It’s more than I was imagining when I asked for a princess cake,” Leo tells me, setting Penny down on the floor as he reaches for his wallet.
I put my hand on his arm to stop him.
“Absolutely not. We had a deal. As long as you tell people about the cake, and it’s okay for me to put the pictures I’ve taken online, then I’m more than happy.”
Leo nods and smiles, grabbing hold of Penny’s hand when she reaches out to touch the cake.
“When we get it all set up at her party, I’ll send you some more pictures you can use, and I will let everyone know who made it. I’m sure it’ll taste as great as it looks, but I can send you some pictures after we’ve cut it too.”
“That would be great,” I tell him as I begin reboxing the cake, much to Penny’s annoyance.
As I get to work, Marcus distracts her. He gives her some money from his wallet, and tells her she can go with her daddy to buy something that she really wants. Her eyes light up, and she looks at Marcus like she might be in love.
Get in line, kid .
Leo glances at his boss, looking a little shy. “You didn’t have to do that.”
“She’s a great kid, it’s the least I can do. She deserves to be spoiled, after everything you’ve been through,” Marcus says kindly.
Although Leo didn’t tell me much about his story, Marcus told me enough. His wife was ill for a few months before she passed from cervical cancer.
She had lots of operations and treatments in a short space of time, but just seemed to get worse not better.
Leo found it hard juggling work, and looking after his sick wife and Penny, so Marcus gave him the time off, making sure he got paid extra during that time too.
The kindness he showed Leo and his family made me fall harder for him, but it was the humble way he said he was just doing the right thing that blew me away.
The mask Marcus presents to the world is literally just that—an act. If you’re lucky enough to have earnt Marcus’ respect, or have him care for you, he will show you a different side to himself, and it’s a beautiful thing to witness.
He cares about his staff, and he treats them well, which is why they’d protect him with their lives.
“This is the best birthday ever,” Penny cheers, waving the cash in the air.
Her father quickly takes it from her, putting it in his pocket for safe keeping, earning him a glare from his daughter. I quickly pull their attention away, as Penny looks like she might shout.
“This is all ready. All of the instructions are on the box, including which parts aren’t edible. It’s quite heavy, do you want help carrying it to the car?”
Before Leo can respond, Marcus reaches over and tells him he’s carrying the cake for him. Once we’ve got it secured in the backseat of the car, and Penny is in her car seat, Leo pulls me in for a hug, thanking me once more.
Just as he’s about to close the door, Penny shouts to me. “Will you make my birthday cake every year from now on?”
I look over at her father, who nods.
“I can do that,” I tell her proudly.
Her smile grows as she waves goodbye to both of us, looking a little too long at Marcus. As the car drives away, I turn to him. “Looks like I have a little competition.”
He laughs and wraps his arms around me, nuzzling my nose with his. “As cute as she is, there’s only one girl for me.”
He presses his lips to mine, his kiss sending shivers down my spine. He leads me back into the apartment, looking at me in amazement.
“I’m so fucking proud of you, Mio. That cake was fantastic. I think this is going to be the start of something great for you. ”
And within an hour, I’d gotten two texts from people who work with Leo, asking if they could meet to discuss cakes. I was practically bouncing when I told Marcus. He just smiled, kissed me, and told me he knew I could do it.
“I want to celebrate,” I tell him.
Marcus looks a little hesitant, before saying, “I do have a way for you to celebrate, but it’s not exactly traditional.”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, before we can truly celebrate this new start, I think we have to say goodbye to the last pieces of the old Chloe. To do that, you need to exorcise the demon that haunts your past.”
I don’t need him to say his name to know what he means. “You have him?”
A vicious smile crosses his face, making him look more dangerous than I’ve ever seen him.
“I spent all day yesterday torturing and humiliating him. Miles and Jake have been with him this morning. They think he’s broken enough for you to face him.”
“I’m scared,” I whisper, my voice breaking as I admit how I feel.
Marcus pulls me into his arms. “You have nothing to be afraid of, and you’ll be sure of that the minute you see him. You are stronger than you know, Mio.”
I pull back a little, giving him a tight smile. “Are you ever going to tell me what Mio means?”
“You’ve never looked it up?” he asks, his brow furrowed.
I shake my head, fixing his gaze with mine. “No, I figured you’d tell me when you wanted me to know.”
He lets out a laugh. “It means ‘mine’.”
My eyes widen in shock. “You’ve been calling me that this whole time, even before we got together. In fact, you called me it when we were growing up, whenever we argued.”
His lip tips up into that cocky smirk of his that makes me melt. “I was an arsehole, held back by the thought that I was doing the right thing, but I always knew you were mine, even when you couldn’t be.”
I lean over and capture his lips with mine, pulling him in for a deep bruising kiss.
“I’ve always been yours,” I tell him, before taking a deep breath to steady my nerves. “I’m ready.”
Marcus drives us to an old warehouse, though I don’t really pay much attention to where we are, or how long it took to get here. The drive felt long, and we sat in silence.
Marcus seemed to know I needed time to gather my strength. He just placed his hand on my thigh, letting me draw strength from him as he drove.
As I climb out of the car, Marcus laces our fingers together and I pull my shoulders back, drawing in a deep breath. I try to school my face into a mask similar to Marcus’, but I can’t hide the way my hands are trembling.
Marcus squeezes my hand, giving me a reassuring smile. “Are you sure you want to do this?” he asks when we get to the entrance.
I pause for a moment, trying to slow down my racing heart, before I say, “I need to do this. I’m strong enough, now. I need him to know he didn’t break me.”
Marcus presses a kiss to my forehead, looking at me with nothing but love.
“I’m so fucking proud of you, and I’m right by your side.”
As we get to the room, Marcus tells me he’s just on the other side of the metal door we’re standing in front of. I pause to take a few deep breaths and gather my composure.
“You ready?”
I nod, and he opens the door for me to step inside. As soon as I take in the scene before me, I breathe a sigh of relief.
Frank is on the floor, completely naked, curled up into a ball. He looks to be silently sobbing, while Jake and Miles sit nearby, just watching the shell of a man.
He looks completely broken, though he doesn’t appear to have been beaten as much as I was expecting.
Sure, he has cuts and bruises, with dried blood across his legs and chest, but the injuries don’t seem to be what’s caused Frank to break like this.
As I stare at the broken, sobbing man, I know now why Marcus said I shouldn’t be afraid. When I look at him, I feel nothing but pity.
At hearing us enter the room, Frank looks up, his eyes widening as his body trembles when he realises it’s me. He quickly rolls onto his knees, not bothered that he’s completely naked, and begins bowing low in front of me.
Jake and Miles chuckle, watching this unfold like it’s a show for their amusement.
“He follows instructions well now,” Jake comments, and Miles quickly agrees.
“What do you have to say to her?” Miles shouts, making Frank jump.
He continues bowing in front of me, his voice small and shaky as he speaks. “ I want to apologise to you. I can’t tell you how sorry I am for all the pain I caused you.
“You did nothing to deserve it, and I’m sorry. I’m begging you to accept my apology and let me go. I’ll leave Blackthorn and never return.”
I look between Marcus, Jake, and Miles, silently asking them what the hell I’m supposed to say to that. Marcus just nods towards him, letting me know it’s up to me.
“I have a question for you, and I expect you to be honest with me,” I tell him, and he quickly sits up, making eye contact with me through the tears.
I expect to shy away under his gaze, but he’s the one to drop his eyes to the floor first, looking terrified. Marcus chuckles beside me.
“He wouldn’t dare lie to you, love. Would you, cocksucker?”
Frank shakes his head vigorously, his words tumbling out. “No. No, I’d never lie to you. I only tell the truth now.”
I’m frozen at the absurdity of this moment, glancing between the guys, who are looking incredibly smug right now. I have no idea what they did to break him, but it seems to have worked.
“I need to know if you did to other women what you did to me?”
Frank freezes, remaining totally silent as the last bit of colour drains from his already pale face. If I thought he looked terrified before, it’s nothing compared to now.
Jake clears his throat, startling Frank. “I don’t hear you answering.”
“Yes,” he replies, barely above a whisper, his body deflating as the word comes out.
“How many?” I ask through gritted teeth.
Frank looks over at Marcus, but whatever he sees on my guy's face must be scary enough for him to talk. With his eyes fixed on the floor, his trembling voice says the words that guts me in a way I wasn’t expecting.
“Twenty-six, including you.”
I gasp loudly and Marcus steps forward, punching Frank on his nose. Blood spurts out while he falls backwards, sobs racking his body as he curls into a ball on his side.
Miles stands behind him and grabs his hair, dragging him back onto his knees. I take a small step forward, Marcus’ hand in mine.
“You need to pay for what you’ve done.” I then look at the three guys. “Is there any way to get him to hand over every penny he owns, along with the names of his victims, so they can be reimbursed for what he did to them? Money won’t take away the horror of what he did, but it’ll help.”
“I think that’s a great idea, Clo,” Jake says, pressing a soft kiss against my temple .
Miles pulls Frank onto the chair in the middle of the room, not needing to tie him down as he just stays there, sobbing as he holds his nose.
“I’m going to get you a pen and paper, and you’re going to write down the names of every one of your victims. Can you do that?” Miles asks him.
Frank nods his head slowly, almost like he’s given up.
“How will we get his money?” Jake asks.
Frank clears his throat, spitting blood out of his mouth. “If you get me a laptop, I can transfer the money online.”
“Why are you volunteering to do that?” I ask, suspicious as to why he’s giving in so easily.
Frank lets out a sigh. “I’ll do whatever it takes to get out of here. I don’t want to die.”
Miles tells us he’ll be back in a minute, and we wait in silence for his return. It’s not long before he’s back with a pad and pen, and his laptop.
Jake pulls a small dirty table over and places it in front of Frank. I don’t miss the way he cringes when he sees it, and I wonder once again what the hell they’ve done to him.
As Frank starts making a list of names, with as much detail as he can remember, to help us identify the girls, Miles works on getting a bank account set up for him to transfer the money into.
Once Miles is ready, he grabs Frank’s attention. “Right, the login page is open. What next?”
“I can log you in,” Frank says, holding his hand out for the laptop.
Miles shakes his head. “You’re not touching it. Just tell me what to do.”
With a resigned sigh, Frank gives Miles step-by-step instructions on how to log in. Just a few minutes later, the new account he just set up is almost thirteen million pounds richer.
Miles shows Frank his almost empty bank account.
“Don’t worry, I left you with four pounds and twenty nine pence. We’re not total monsters,” he jokes, earning dark chuckles from Jake and Marcus.
As Miles collects the list, I give him an appreciative smile. “Can you make sure the girls get an even share of the money?”
“Of course,” he says, squeezing my arm in comfort.
With one last look at Frank, who appears completely broken and lost, I take a deep breath. Feeling stronger than I have in a long time, I turn to Marcus, whose bright blue eyes are quietly watching over me.
“I’m done.”
Frank hears what I say to Marcus, and his eyes widen. “Does that mean I can go now?” he asks hopefully.
I can’t help but laugh at how weak and desperate he sounds.
“No, I meant that I’m done. After today, I’m never going to think of you or what you did to me ever again.
“For a long time, I thought you ruined my life, but now I know that I had to break into little pieces so that this man could build me back up again, and now I’m stronger than I ever was before.
“I’m going to make sure that every girl you hurt knows that she never has to think of you again either. None of them will fear you again after today.
“But the only way to be sure you’re not a threat to me, those girls, or any woman ever again, is to eliminate the risk.”
I pause, and Frank looks confused, like he’s not really following what I’m saying.
I turn to Marcus, holding my head high as I tell him, “It’s time to end this, for good.”
Without saying another word, I turn and walk out of the door, Miles following behind me. As soon as the door slams shut, I hear whimpering that’s quickly silenced by several loud gunshots, before everything descends into silence.
I lean against the wall, surprised by how calm I feel. Marcus walks out of the room, scanning his gaze over me, no doubt looking for signs I’m about to crack.
I see a few specks of blood over his shirt and trousers, but give him a reassuring smile. He quickly pulls me in for a hug, wrapping his arms around me as he presses his lips to my temple.
“I’m so fucking proud of you, Mio.”
I lean back and stare at his beautiful blue eyes, wondering once more how I got this lucky, to have a man who’d go to these lengths to protect me.
“I don’t know how to thank you for this,” I tell him.
Marcus cups my cheek with his hand, running his thumb over it in a comforting gesture. He gives me the smile he reserves just for me and my heart aches.
“You never have to thank me. The world is a better place without that fucker in it. You’re the one who battled her demon and won, I just helped.”
I chuckle as I reach up and kiss his lips. My heart races but I know there’s no better time to tell him.
“I love you, Marcus.”
The words rush out and Marcus freezes, his hand on my cheek stops completely as he just stares at me. Panic starts to set in, and I wonder if I’ve ruined things by saying it too soon.
When Marcus finally breaks his silence, his voice is thick and husky. “Say that again.”
I shake my head. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to blurt?— ”
Marcus cuts me off by placing his finger over my lips. “Say it again.”
“I love you, Marcus.”
This time, even though I say it in a shy, somewhat uncertain way, Marcus’ face lights up, his bright smile growing as his blue eyes sparkle.
“I love you too, Chloe.”
Hearing him say the words back to me makes my heart almost double in size, and I can’t stop the girly giggle from breaking free.
He presses his lips against mine, looking at me like I’m the most important person in the world. I’ve never felt more alive, more loved, and it’s all because of Marcus.
I need to lose myself in this man right now.
“Take me home.”