9. She Didn’t See Him as a Protector #2
Aiden stood hunched over by the cash register, his finger tracing the trees on the coaster in front of him.
His mind seemed lost somewhere else. When I slipped into the empty space, my shoulder accidentally brushed his, and his finger paused, tension locking his body still, but he still didn’t acknowledge me.
“Hi… Aiden.”
Scowling grey eyes slowly turned. “And what do you want”—his tone was even icier—“Lola from the City?”
Hearing that name was like a slap across the face. The memories of our night together were becoming more muddled, but I hadn’t imagined all the times he’d called me love .
“You know I hate when people call me that.” I couldn’t make my voice any louder than a whisper. His words cut almost as deeply as when he’d thrown away the apple pie I’d baked for him.
Aiden’s attention returned to the coaster. “I know a lot of things about you I wish I could forget.”
Another sharp blow splintered through the protective armour I’d patched around my heart. The wounds I’d carefully hidden by keeping busy were now dangerously close to splitting my heart in two.
“Aiden, what did I do wrong?”
He said nothing.
Did he think I wasn’t even worth a response?
Confused, more pathetic words spilled out of my mouth before I could stop them.
“Am I too messy? I can be tidier.” My fingers fidgeted with the denim cuff.
“Did I do something wrong…in…?” I bit down on my lip.
Maybe I was too vanilla in bed, like Chris had always complained?
Not pretty enough? Too… Lola? “I thought… I mean… You seemed to like being with me—”
A low whistle crawled up my skin.
Evan sauntered up to the bar, men crowded by his side, the stench of alcohol reeking from his pores. The smirk on his face spread like venom as his unwanted eyes slithered down my body.
“Well, look who it is. Lola from the City.” His laugh was loud and obnoxious. “Who knew the dorky mouse was hidin’ a pair of legs like that? Almost makes up for the flat chest, right?”
A peal of laughter rippled through the group. Like a broken animal cornered by a predator, I inched back. The edge of the bar dug into my spine. No escape.
“That was mean,” I said, blinking back tears as I searched for Aiden.
Why did I bother? He still stood there, but his face was stone. He wasn’t going to help. He’d abandoned me again.
“Aww.” Evan’s pout was only mocking. “City girl havin’ a cry?”
My chin trembled. Yes. I was. “L-leave m-me alone,” I choked out. The humiliating dribble of tears down my cheek only made me want to cry more.
Ryan Hollyoak’s bronze hand braced against Evan’s chest to stop him from taking another step. “That’s enough, mate,” the farmer warned.
Evan shrugged him off. “I’ll say when she’s heard enough. She needs to know she don’t belong here.”
An eerie silence fell over the bar, and the only jumbled words making it to my ears were from the game blaring in the background.
My arm hugged protectively across my belly, but I didn’t dare say anything.
I was shutting down, just as I had a hundred times before.
I thought I’d left those days behind me in Sydney.
Men like Evan—like Chris—wanted to see the tears. They liked it.
Evan bared his teeth at me in a horrifying smile. “You think you’re better than me? Better than us?” He gestured at his friends. “Nothin’ but a useless woman with a high-and-mighty city attitude. I know your type and just how to deal with you.”
The threat hollowed my chest. I desperately searched for the man who’d been so very careful and gentle with me only nights before. He’d protect me.
Our eyes met.
Please .
Aiden held my gaze.
Please .
“Aiden?” I pleaded.
Something haunted flickered across his face, but he shook his head and turned away.
A furious click of heels and Brooke wedged herself next to me like a blonde shield of fury. She propped her fists on her hips. “You got something to say to my girl, Evan Barnes?”
“Piss off, Goldilocks,” Evan seethed. “This ain’t any of your business.”
“Like hell it isn’t.” Completely unbothered, Brooke flipped her hair over her shoulder. “You still sore because I wouldn’t bounce around on your floppy dick last Christmas? That’s why your old lady left, right?” She smiled sweetly. “Or was it because she realised you’re a worthless piece of shit?”
Anger rolled off Evan in waves. His eyes narrowed, and his muscles bunched like he’d launch for her throat. “You little sl—”
But before he could take his first step towards Brooke, Ryan’s hand shoved him back.
“I said that’s enough, mate.” There was an icy hint of menace to Ryan’s voice this time. One of the farmhands stepped up beside him. “You can’t keep starting fights. You’re going to regret carrying on at the ladies like this again when the booze wears off.”
Brooke paid no attention to the drama unfolding around her. She had a new target in her crosshairs. Her gaze snapped to Aiden.
“And you!” Her finger jabbed the air in his direction. “Are you really going to let Evan talk to your girl like that?”
Aiden squared his shoulders. He ignored Brooke to look me dead in the eye. “She’s not my girl.”
“Like hell she isn’t,” Brooke fumed. “Like you haven’t been—”
“Didn’t take the hint, did you, Lola?” His mouth flattened into a grim frown. “You listening now? Stay the hell away from me.”
Brooke’s mouth dropped open in complete shock.
Mine didn’t.
Somehow, even though my knees wobbled and my nerves crackled from the threat of confrontation, I still stood tall. I wasn’t the same woman who’d run away three months ago. That Lola had cowered from the constant threat of Chris’s brutal words and merciless hands.
But I was brave now. I’d survived hell. I’d risked everything and escaped.
I was free.
I had friends .
Brooke stood proud and defiant. That blonde ball of fury didn’t hesitate to fight for me against a whole pack of men. Even the mysterious Ryan Hollyoak had my back. And when I glanced around the bar, I saw more faces looking on with concern—with sympathy—for me.
I wasn’t alone. Not anymore.
I turned to Aiden, straightening my spine and squaring my shoulders, just like he had when he’d humiliated me outside the coffee shop. Any affection I’d had for him was gone. All I had left was a glare.
“It will be my pleasure to stay as far away from you as possible, Mr. McKinnon.” My voice was firm. It never wavered. “Life is so precious. I deserve better than wasting a single second of it on someone as two-faced and cruel as you.”
And with my friend’s arm hugged around my shoulders, I left the Old Cellar with new strength fortifying my veins. I wouldn’t settle for being made to feel small. No one would ever treat me like I didn’t matter again.
Not Aiden.
Not anyone.