Curious to where he was going with this, I glanced up again, this time giving him my full attention. “To you, I needed you to see his reaction. If he didn’t care, he wouldn’t have reacted the way he did. He doesn’t give a shit if I fuck around with the other women he slept with. But you…only you can get that type of reaction out of him.”
My stomach warmed at his words.
“And it was barely even a kiss. He cares deeply, Ayla.”
My fingers tightened around the edge of my book as he continued. “And to him. He is a stubborn son of a bitch. He needed to come to his senses, and that was the perfect way to do it.”
I felt my heart wrench, and my eyes stung with unshed tears. Blinking them away, I refused to cry again.
When I didn’t answer, he got up and gave me a nod before walking away. As he neared the door, I called out, halting his movement.
My gaze moved to the tray on my nightstand. Keeping my eyes on it, I asked the question that I already knew the answer to.
“It was Alessio who sent you here, right?”
From the corner of my eyes, I saw Viktor turning around to face me. “He knew you didn’t eat. Alessio was bringing the tray to you but realized he wouldn’t be welcomed. He didn’t want to cause you anymore pain.”
His words made my heart ache. Not in a good way. A sense of guilt overcame me, but I quickly pushed it away. One thing I knew for sure was Alessio didn’t eat, either.
“Can you please make sure he eats?” I asked softly. Viktor sighed and then nodded before leaving the room.
As soon as the door was closed, I pushed my book away and laid down on my back, staring at the ceiling thoughtfully.
Maybe I was being too stubborn, but it had come to a point where I didn’t know how to face him.
All my life I never had a choice. Whatever was done to me, I had to accept it without any complaints. I didn’t want Alessio to think that everything was acceptable, because it wasn’t. I had a choice now.
I didn’t know how long I laid there, lost in my thoughts, but when I check the time, it was almost ten p.m. This was our time. Just us. Alessio would be waiting for me in the piano room.
My fingers were itching to play. I wanted to be there, but a small nagging part stopped me.
Chapter 12
Alessio
My heart raced as I made my way to the piano room. Sweat broke on my forehead and the back of my neck. Stopping in front of the room, I laid my hand on the knob. I sucked in a shaky breath, feeling my throat constrict.
I felt so uncertain. Worried. Scared. Panic rose like bile in my body, and my nerves were tingling.
Every minute spent without Ayla, it felt like I was going insane. My heart ached without her. I needed her. My Angel.
I wished she’d give me a chance to explain. From how it ended this morning, I wasn’t even sure she would be in the piano room. But I still hoped.
Blood rushed in my ears, and my pulse skyrocketed as I opened the door. A sea of anxiety curled in my stomach when I found the room dark and empty.
My Angel wasn’t here.
A wave of pain went through me as I stumbled back outside. How did I mess up so bad? I should have just accepted my feelings instead of trying to fight it.
Now…now I may have lost my Angel.
My heart stuttered, my eyes going wide. No. She was mine. My everything. I would have her listen to me, even if I had to fucking tie her to the bed. But she would listen to me.
At the thought of tying her to the bed, Ayla’s words resonated in my ears.
He used to beat me. He would chain me to our bed and then whip me if I did something wrong or what he perceived wrong.
I went still, my chest growing tight. Closing my eyes, a fresh wave of pain hit me with a ferocious intensity. Each of Ayla’s words felt like a serrated edge over my heart.
I never thought that Ayla had been through all of this. The thought of her going through so much pain made my blood boil, until the monster inside of me was raging to spill blood. His blood.
When I get my hands on the bastard, he is going down.
Opening my eyes again, I stared at the empty hall. Ayla needed to know what she meant to me, how important she was to me.
Stalking to our bedroom with a newfound confidence, I opened the door but frowned when I found the room empty.
She must be in her room. Last night was pure torture. I found that I couldn’t sleep without her. But tonight, that was going to change. Moving to her bedroom, I knocked on the door, but got no response. My fist moved over the door a few times, but there was only silence.