“Look, I’m sorry. I seriously didn’t know,” he said, with a hint of sympathy.
I opened my mouth to tell him what I thought of him, but thought better of it. I didn’t want to mess with the viper. Shaking my head, I walked away without sparing him or the door another glace.
I was done with infuriating men.
He’s an absolute pig.
But a hot pig. The annoying voice had returned.
A disgusting pig.
I wanted to smack my head into a wall.
Chapter 18
I shouldn’t have expected anything else. Alessio was a mob boss, a king. Ruthless. Cold. Heartless. Unlovable. He didn’t care what people thought of him.
Men like him behaved exactly like that. I had the experience firsthand, and I should have known, but for stupid reasons I thought maybe he was different.
Clearly, he wasn’t.
When I got downstairs, Maddie emerged from a closet beside the kitchen. Her hair was ruffled, her dress crooked, and she had a well-satisfied look on her face.
When she saw me, she winked and then walked into the kitchen. Artur came out after her, and stared at her ass as she walked away.
“Men,” I muttered to myself.
I looked down as I walked past him, not wanting to see his lustful eyes.
“Hey, Ayla,” he said.
I nodded but didn’t turn around. “Good morning.”
In the kitchen, Maddie leaned against the counter, a glass of orange juice in her hand. She sipped it, a small smirk playing across her lips.
“Why are you looking at me like that?” I asked.
“You look flushed. Out of breath.” Maddie set her glass down.
I crossed my arms across my chest and shook my head. “I’m fine. What are you talking about?”
She laughed. Entwining our arms together, she led me out of the kitchen. “You aren’t going to tell me, hmm?”
“I don’t understand, Maddie.”
“Stop playing with me! Did he kiss you? Did he do more than kiss you?”
My eyes widened in shock when I realized what she was talking about. Letting out a gasp, I pulled my arm away. “Why would you think that?”
She didn’t answer but laughed instead at my expression. Maddie brought her hand up and pinched me on the cheek. “You’re so cute.”
I glared at her, but wasn’t sure it came across the way I intended. I had been living separately from emotion. As the thought ran through my mind, I felt myself shutting down.
I felt happy here, but I was scared, because I had learned the hard way that happiness can be taken from you in a second.
I was waiting for whatever happiness I’d found here to be taken from me.
The moment when I would return to my cold room, chained to my bed, waiting for Alberto.
Someone squeezed my arm. “Where did you go?” Maddie asked.
“Nowhere,” I replied, forcing a tight smile and linking our arms together again. She was leading me toward the maids’ quarters. She pushed the door open and we walked inside the cozy living room. It smelled sweet, like roses. Only a select few of the maids actually lived in the mansion. It was big and beautifully modeled, the total opposite of how the maids’ quarters looked in my father’s estate. Maddie didn’t live in the maids’ quarters. She had her own room upstairs, same as Lena. But she enjoyed the large flat screen TV in the maids’ quarters.
Maddie pulled me to the couch. She folded her legs beneath her and leaned against the couch sideways, facing me. “So? C’mon. I need all the juicy details,” she demanded, her eyes twinkling merrily.
I shook my head. “Maddie, nothing happened. Seriously.”
“Liar.”
“Maddie—”
“Tell me!”
“Fine! Some woman was giving him a…a…”
Her eyes widened in shock. “What? What was she doing?”
“She was giving him a…you know.” God, this was so embarrassing.
“Giving him what?” Her mouth twisted with amusement.
“You know…”
“Huh?” she said, feigning confusion.
Throwing my hands in the air in exasperation, I spoke through gritted. “A…a blowjob!”
As soon as the words crossed my lips, Maddie threw her head back and barked out a laugh. She held her stomach, laughing hysterically.
Sinking in the couch, I closed my eyes. I didn’t find it funny.
“Oh my God, babe. You are so cute,” she said through her laughter.
“And you are so mean.”
“But you still love me.” Her laughter had finally calmed down, but she still wore her gorgeous, sweet smile.
I shrugged. She was right. I still loved her. She was my only friend.
“So, that woman. What happened?” she asked. Maddie moved closer to me, her eyes wide as she stared at me expectantly.
“Nothing happened. I walked in and saw them. When he was done, he ordered her to leave. I left the protein on the coffee table and walked away without giving him a chance to say anything.”
“You walked away? Why do I find that so hard to believe?”
“Okay, fine. I ran away,” I mumbled.
“So he just finished right in front of you. No decency whatsoever to stop and apologize?”