42. CHAPTER 42
ARIA
My beautiful, sweet Aria.
I miss you, my love.
M y pulse quickened, those words playing over in my mind. Why couldn’t he leave me alone? He had been let off for what he’d done to me, yet he was still controlling me from behind the scenes, acting like he hadn’t done anything wrong.
I stormed into my bedroom and stuffed the note in my dressing table drawer, with the others.
The shower turned off, and I knew Sebastian would be out soon, so I hurried to the kitchen to make coffee.
Sebastian’s phone started to vibrate on the counter as the machine was heating up, and I glanced down at it. It was his dad, Stephen, calling.
I watched as it turned into a missed call notification before starting to vibrate again.
“Who’s that?” Sebastian asked, pulling his T-shirt on as he walked into the kitchen.
“It’s your dad.”
“Just ignore it,” he said, wrapping his arms around my waist from behind. “Nothing good ever came from talking to that man.”
Sebastian and his dad had never had a great relationship.
He had told me that when his mum died, Stephen was too busy with women to raise him like a dad should.
Even though I knew there was more, Sebastian never told me.
I’d seen the way Stephen treated him when we lived together, and most of the time, he only acknowledged Sebastian when it involved the business.
Even then, he seemed reluctant about it.
“Surely if he’s called that many times, it might be important?” I suggested, passing him his coffee.
He raised his brow at me, taking a sip, then leaned over and picked up his phone. I watched as he cleared the notifications and placed it back on the counter.
He could be stubborn at times, and when it came to his dad, he didn’t want to know.
“Fuck him. I’m more concerned about you.” He placed his hands on my waist again, pulling me flush to him, his lips meeting mine.
“Sebastian, please,” I said sternly, removing myself from his grip.
Confusion shone in his eyes. “If this is about me not calling my dad, then I suggest you stop. You know how that man was with me growing up.”
“It’s not about that. It’s not always about you and what you want,” I snapped.
His eyebrows rose, a flicker of a blue flame trying to ignite in his eyes. “Are you fucking kidding me right now?”
I exhaled slowly and cupped his cheek with my palm. “I’m sorry. It’s just been a long day.” Those damn letters. They were etching their way beneath my skin, trying to poison everything it came into contact with.
I didn’t want to argue with him. It wasn’t his fault I was allowing them to affect me the way they were.
I needed to push it away, forget about it all.
I wouldn’t allow Jason to ruin what I had with Sebastian.
He’d destroyed my heart, and Sebastian had helped put it back together. I wouldn’t allow it to break again.
His eyes brightened, that flame extinguished with my touch. He took my hand, planting a kiss in my palm.
“I’ll drop you off at Serfina’s.”
I spent the day with Serfina, enjoying myself, and taking my mind off those letters, doing things I could never do before. Friends were something I wasn’t allowed with Jason.
We’d ended up back at Serfina’s, sipping glasses of wine in front of the fire, waiting for Sebastian and Hayden.
“Aria girl, surely you don’t want to stay as Sebastian’s PA forever? I remember you wanted to be a social worker. What happened?”
I brought the glass to my lips and took a gulp. I’d given up everything for Jason because I was scared to do anything wrong. Not that it made a difference; I’d only have to look at him in a certain way and I’d feel pain.
“I was at university, but with everything that happened …” I trailed off, taking another sip.
I’d opened up to her about it all after I told Sebastian.
It felt right, and I had been ready to tell her.
Serfina took hold of my hand. “Girl, you don’t have to worry about any of that anymore.
You survived and came out stronger. Sebastian may be many things, but he’d never hold you down.
That’s one thing I always loved about him.
Even when we were younger, the way he was with you …
I saw him encouraging you to follow your dreams. If it’s something you still dream of, then do it for yourself. ”
That was true. Sebastian was always behind me with everything I did.
“You should look into going back and doing what you dream of doing.”
I smiled at her. “I’ll think about it.”
I supposed it could be something I looked into once I was fully settled with work and finding somewhere decent to live.
“Omg.” Serfina giggled. “I’ve just remembered this time I keyed Sebastian’s brand-new Audi. You should have seen his face. Served him right for pushing me into that bush on the way home from school. Now, that’s the annoying Sebastian.”
“I would never be able to do that.” I chuckled.
“Please, girl, I see a fire burning deep in you. I bet you would have smashed the windows as well.”
Wine came dripping out of my mouth as I tried to hold my laughter in. Serfina pointed, bursting into tears.
There was never a dull moment with the two of us. She was this fiery energy that lit up any room.
“You ready to get going?” Sebastian asked me, walking in.
“Why are you always trying to take my girl away from me?” Serfina teased.
“Because you always take my man away from me,” he joked, grabbing Hayden to pull him in.
“Keep him.” Serfina laughed.
“He’s too high maintenance. I can’t afford his lifestyle.”
Hayden pushed him, chuckling to himself as he made his way to Serfina to kiss her.
“That’s our cue,” Sebastian said, taking my hand, and I stood.
Serfina got up, giving me the biggest hug. “I’ll see you soon,” she said, pulling away.
As we stepped out of the front door, I could see my breath in the crisp night air. Sebastian opened the car door for me, and I got in. He sat in the driver's seat, started the car, and turned the heating on. I looked over at him. The letter from this morning ran through my head again.
Should I tell him about it? I was so happy, I didn’t want to ruin anything between us. I didn’t want him to think I was still affected by Jason. I wouldn’t be the one to get him involved in the darkness again.
He didn’t need to know.
I’d deal with it myself.