Chapter 31 #2
I lift a hand to his face, trying to calm him down with my touch. "You should go. She's not bluffing. I'll be fine."
His thumb runs over the faint mark Richard left on my shoulder and he gives me a silent apology in his eyes that he didn't get to deliver the punishment Richard deserved. Then he nods and walks to his mom.
Carmela stands by the fence, arms crossed tight, muttering Italian curses and probably prayers while mixing it with English.
"I swear to God, give me the strength to deal with my son.
I don't know if you're my son. Are you? You kissed another woman—who's married. I just watched you almost kill a man!"
"Come, Mamma. I'll explain," he mutters and passes her, but she doesn't walk right away behind him.
Her eyes land on me and her stare says it all: I've wrecked not only her son but the second most important day of her life. It's not just disappointment, but exile.
I take a step back, feeling my stomach in my throat.
The second they disappear, my hand clamps over my mouth, pushing back the internal rupture.
There's no way I'm walking back in there. Not after proving my heart is an idiotic thing I can't chain.
So I wait a bit, walk through the chaotic streets of New York, drenched and freezing in my yellow silk dress.
Ten minutes later, I slip through the side entrance, snatching my stuff before anyone notices, and by the time they might, I'm already in the backseat of a taxi.
Back at the hotel, Richard's things are gone. A huge relief since I planned to book another hotel room, just in case he was here.
In the bathroom, I scrub at my face with the towel, but realize he must have used it because his lemon aftershave clings to the fibers, and now clings to me.
The scent of what we were makes me sick. Now I'm sure he never cared for me. Or maybe in his corrupt, narcissistic way, Richard thought control was affection.
I take a quick shower and stumble out of the bathroom in my bathrobe, barely making it to the bed before I break. Not even the middle, just the corner, like I don't deserve more.
A sharp knock pulls me upright.
It can't be Richard. He'd just use his key.
I drag myself to the door, and swing it open to Ben. Bow tie hanging loose, black shirt half-untucked, hair a mess from running his hands through it.
His eyes find me and flash.
"If you wanted me to lose my goddamn mind, congratulations. Mission accomplished. I nearly punched the doorman," he fires immediately.
He doesn't walk in but storms, anger and worry tangled in every breath. "Why would you come back here alone? And why haven't you answered your damn phone?!"
"Oh." I blink. "It must be in my purse. Sorry."
Ben paces every room like he expects Richard to crawl out from the shadows.
"Is he here?"
"No."
"Is he coming back?"
"I don't think so."
"Where is he?"
"I don't know. Gone."
He stops by the desk and looks at me like I broke some silent promise by disappearing. Then his hands are on me, grabbing me, hard enough that I wince before he loosens his grip. "Are you okay?"
I nod into his chest and hum, muffled. "You?"
"Better now," he says, pulling back to have me see his serious eyes. "But if you ever do that to me again, I swear I'll lose my mind."
I make a guilty face. "I couldn't go back. Not after what I've done."
"You should have told me at least. I didn't even know where you're staying. I would have for sure talked you out of coming here alone."
"Would you come here with me? It wouldn't end well, you know it."
"No, you would not come here at all. I'd come here to get your stuff."
I give him a look. "Yeah, that would end even better."
I slide down onto the bed, hugging the blanket to myself while he stays standing, looming around the desk.
"When you asked me to prove I loved you, I'm guessing this isn't what you meant?"
He snorts and shakes his head. "Was thinking something a little less nuclear, but guess this is us."
I exhale loudly. "Your family must hate me."
"They don't," he jumps in firmly. "And even if they did, do you think I care what anyone says when it comes to you?"
His phone dings in his pocket. He glances at it, sighs. Another ding. Then it explodes with a ringtone.
He paces toward the window, Manhattan spread out below like it's holding its breath, and his thumb hovers over the screen. He silences it, sighs again.
"Let me guess—it's your mom?"
"Yeah." He turns to me and his eyes are bone-tired. "She swore on every dead relative she'll disown me."
A dry snort as he crosses over and drops onto the bed beside me. "This time I think she means it."
"The way she looked at me..." I wince. "I think she means it... I'm so sorry."
"Don't be." His voice softens as his hand finds my thigh. "I'd live through that exact moment a thousand times if it meant ending up here with you."
I turn on the bed, hide my face in the pillow. "Bet Paul and Mara wouldn't agree. I ruined their wedding."
Ben lays down on his elbow. "They're fine. Paul's the one who remembered your hotel, and Mara was calling here before I even picked up the phone, giving them attitude because she wanted to make sure you're okay."
"God." I groan into the pillow. "A wedding basket is not going to fix this."
He clicks his mouth, tries to pull the pillow away so I'll face him, but I wrestle him off—turns out shame makes you incredibly strong.
"What about Lisa?" I muffle and turn to him. "She looked hurt. I felt terrible the second I saw her face. Wish I could apologize to her."
His face is shadowed. "Yeah. She was more upset than I thought she'd be. She locked herself in the bathroom until Mom came and talked her out. She barely spoke to me then."
"She genuinely hurt, not just embarrassed."
Ben frowns. "It's odd because the past few weeks we barely spent any time together, and she didn't seem to mind." He blows out a breath. "Anyway, she's already mentioned lawyers."
I flinch. "Oh shit."
He lifts his hand. "Relax. One of the good decisions I've made is getting a postnup. Paul talked me into it. I'm not the type to withhold anything in a relationship but considering our family's money, my own earnings—he was right."
"I'm guessing Lisa wasn't stoked about it."
"No. She didn't take it well at first. Accused me of not trusting her. I felt like a dick, but Paul told me that money and trust don't belong in the same room, and eventually she signed. It's airtight. Works the same as a prenup—she doesn't touch a cent."
"Thank god for Paul."
"But I'll make sure she's taken care of. I'm not a total bastard."
"You're not," I say, running my hand on his jaw.
The realization slams into me and my face goes cold. "Oh my god. The photo."
Ben frowns. "What photo?"
"Richard... he took a picture of us," I choke.
"Okay...?"
"When I caught him outside, he flashed a photo he took of us kissing. I think that's why he came, for evidence. We have a prenup too—if there's infidelity, we don't split assets, we keep what we earned individually."
He gives me a skeptical look. "You think he planned that? He couldn't possibly know what's going to happen."
"Richard plans everything. He wanted you to hit him, and he didn't just want to hurt me, but wanted to own the fallout." I clamp my hand over my mouth. "That's so sick."
Ben pulls my hand away, planting a firm, brief kiss on my lips. "Baby, you don't have to worry about money. Let him take everything if he feels so petty. We have plenty. I'll get you whatever you want."
I smile at him, shaking my head. "That's not it, though. If he just asked me to officially own up to loving you, I would. I don't care about a penny. It's that he calculated this, instead of talking about it, that he'd use me like that. It chills me to the bone."
Ben exhales, unbuttons his shirt, and shoves off his pants, then pulls me onto his chest.
"It's been one hell of a night," he says. "My nervous system's shot."
"Agreed." I brush my fingers along his shaven jaw. "Let's sleep. But I've got an early flight. Seven, I think—"
He looks at me like I've lost my mind, then says, "You're not going."
I frown. "Why wouldn't I?"
He gives me that slow, deliberate shake of his head and tilts my chin up, his eyes swallowing me whole. "Because we're staying in New York. We're doing this right. And you're meeting my family. As my girlfriend, finally."
I hold his gaze, unsure I want to face his family after tonight, or if they'll ever want to see me. But I say nothing, just tuck myself closer, nose on his chest that smells like home.