Chapter 58
Aurora’s POV
Are Angeline and Thorne getting back together? It’s the only thing clouding my mind now. I watched as they left the office arm in arm, and I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it since then.
The other night, Thorne didn’t come to the house tonight or the other night, and he went out to lunch with his former love today. They looked so comfortable talking in his office before leaving for lunch. Thorne had never looked that comfortable with anyone from what I’ve seen unless they were his family or Beta Jace.
Are they together now?
Is that why he isn’t here with me?
My stomach cramps at the thought, and I roll over, hugging the pillow to my chest and staring at the wall. An incomparable sadness weighs on me, making me sink further into the mattress as my mind runs wild. They could be together, and that makes me feel sick.
If he’s with Angeline right now, there are so many things they could be doing at—I glance at the clock—just after one in the morning. Flashes of bedroom scenes and kissing pass through my mind, and I screw my eyes closed tightly.
No. I don’t need to be thinking of that. He promised that he wouldn’t stay with me if he was starting another relationship. However, if Thorne does start a relationship with Angeline, I need to be prepared.
I’ll leave. I’m not sure where I’ll go, but I’ve saved some money since I started working as Thorne’s assistant. I could probably find an apartment in the Human Quarter, close enough to Sophie’s hospital that I can visit, and maybe even find another job there. I wouldn’t be tangled in a werewolf web any longer, and I wouldn’t have to live with my mother.
Sighing, I blink back tears that form in my eyes. There’s too much between Thorne and I now, that I wouldn’t be able to stay even if I wanted to.
It wouldn’t be possible.
Just one touch, one look, a kind word, or a helping hand from Thorne has me turning into a puddle of warm good. I can’t let him affect me like that if he’s dating another woman. So, I’ll have to go.
I need a back up plan.
“Get to it,” Ivy hisses before spinning on her heel and marching away with Emma. They giggle as they go, talking about what time their favorite boutique opens today.
Clearly, she’s not busy, so I don’t understand why she is still shoving her wedding tasks off on me. Briefly, I have the thought that she wants to be able to blame someone else if something goes wrong, but I hope that’s not the case. I don’t want to be anyone’s scapegoat, especially hers.
I haven’t thought about Ivy and Jackson’s wedding in over a week. Honestly, I’d forgotten about it until she came to me moments ago with a date and a phone number, telling me to call the venue to book the wedding.
Instead of arguing and wasting energy, I dial the number and ask for the owner.
“This is Mariss Steed, how can I help you?”
“Hi, I need to book the Steed Ballroom for a wedding,” I tell her. We go back and forth, smoothing out the details. Everything goes well, especially when I tell her who the bride is. Suddenly, she agrees with everything I say and books the entire day at a discount.
“Thank you. Please call this number if there are any issues,” I tell her, rattling off Ivy’s number.
As I hang up, another ringing reaches my ears. It’s not the office phone, though. It’s my personal cell. My stepfather’s name flashes on the screen, and I let it ring through to voicemail. I don’t really want to talk to him.
Then, it begins ringing again. Then a third time, and I groan. If I don’t answer, he’ll keep calling. It’s how he always is when he wants something.
“Hello?”
“Aurora, dear,” my stepfather’s shaky voice says. “I was disappointed that you didn’t come visit me in the hospital. It’s disrespectful and rude to not come wish someone well when they’ve been hurt, especially if they’re family.”
I have to bite back my scoff as I speak. If there was someone who shouldn’t have the right to talk about respecting others, it’s him.
“Why were you in the hospital?” I ask, ignoring his previous words. I’m sure he expected an apology, but he wouldn’t be receiving one from me.
“Oh, I just had some trouble with a friend of mine—”
“A friend?” I ask, knowing he’s lying. “Tell the truth.”
A sigh floods the phone before he answers, “I got into trouble with some bookies. I was doing real good with a few rounds of poker, but it took a turn—”
“Like it always does, right? You were winning big,” I bark, the annoyance now seeping into my tone. “But luck just wasn’t on your side, was it?”
It was always the same story with him. I doubt he was winning at all. I think that is just a lie he always told me to make me feel sorry for him, but not anymore. He won’t get anything else from me even if he begs.
“Right!” He exclaims. I roll my eyes. “Well, I told them that I would pay, and I thought I did, but then they came to the house looking for payment.”
Typical.
Were they the same people he tried to sell me to? Is that why they came to collect the money?
“I was hoping you had some cash to spare…” I can’t hear the rest of what he says because my heart thuds loudly in my chest and blood rushes between my ears. Memories of that night at the club flood my mind. The choking pain of being collared and threated. The frightening feeling of being trapped in that room. The pain in my hand as I banged it on the door. The fear and embarrassment of being groped in front of a room of men.
It was all too much, turning the small flame of anger to a blaze within me.
“Shur the hell up!” I growl. “You have no right to ask me for money! Why would I want to give you any more money after how you’ve treated me?”
The audacity of some people never ceases to amaze me.
“I know that you sold me to a trafficking ring,” I hiss, tears filling my eyes. “I wouldn’t give you any more money even if you threatened to kill me. Not after what you did. Do you know what they did to me? I almost…”
I take a deep breath and close my eyes.
“There’s no telling what you would do next time you need money,” I spit, disgusted. “Will you hurt my mother? My sister?”
He doesn’t respond, so I continue, “No. You won’t. I will not be giving you another cent, and if you ever think about or do something like that again, I will personally make sure you don’t have time to regret your actions. You won’t even have the breath to apologize because you’ll be so far under the ground that no one will ever find you.”
“Auro—”
“I didn’t say you could speak,” I snap, digging my nails into my palm. “Do not ask me for money again. Do not ask my mother for money. If you do, you’ll regret it.”
