"I don't have anything to say," I murmured, keeping my eyes down. He was silent for a while. I could feel his eyes on me, but I couldn't bring myself to look at him.
"I don't know what you want me to say, Aurora," he said with a sigh.
"You don't have to say anything." I looked out the window. "I just got what I deserved, right?"
I could see his reflection in my glass, his eyes on me as his lips were fixed into a frown. I only heard him sigh and neither one of us said anything for the rest of the ride.
Brittany looked at me in alarm as I stopped by the kitchen to grab some ice for my face. "What the hell happened to you?" she asked, reaching up to touch my cheek. I flinched away from her touch, not realizing how much it still hurt.
I could see Bennett in my peripheral talking to the guys, but I could still feel his eyes on me. I shrugged as I put some of the ice in ice bag. "I got hit in the struggle, but it's fine."
"Why were you even there? You're pregnant," Brittany scolded.
"I wanted to be there. Besides, it was mafia business and it was my job to be there," I said and closed the freezer. Bennett stepped into the kitchen with his hands in his pockets and looked at me, something unfamiliar in his eyes, but he didn't say anything. I walked past him without word, already over tonight. Any hope I thought we had was out the window. I finally accepted him for who he was, and I knew I couldn't love that man he was.
"Aurora."
His voice stopped me in my tracks in the hallway. I didn't turn around, only slowing to a stop. His footsteps echoed on the wooden floor as he took a few steps closer to me until he was next to me. I still couldn't bring myself to look at him, even when he came to stand in front of me.
"Why didn't you tell her the truth?" he asked.
I didn't even know why I didn't tell her. There were the obvious reasons, but I didn't have to lie to her. She knew what kind of person he was; I wouldn't even doubt that she'd immediately assumed that he'd done it.
"Because as queen of La Fedeltá, I have to maintain that your word is still your bond." I met his gaze. "Even if you and I both know that everything you've said from the moment I signed that contract were nothing but lies."
"I didn't lie to you," he said.
"Oh?" I scoffed. "So, this bruise appeared on my face out of thin air after you told me you'd bring no harm to me?"
"You brought that onto yourself," he said tightly.
"Right," I nodded. "So how about this? How about I just not be the queen of your new family and we just go back to how things were? You'll go back to being my master and captive and I'll be your pregnant whore who knows her role. Because at least then I'll know the type of man I'm getting instead of a man who can't keep his fucking head on straight and make up his mind of whether he wants to truly be a good guy or the bad one."
He only stared at me in response, his earlier anger returning before he turned and walked away from me. I shook my head and went into the bedroom, slamming the door behind me. I kicked off my shoes and took the ice pack into the bathroom with me, examining my cheek. It was starting to turn purple a little, still tender to touch. I sighed as I turned on the water. I'd gotten all made up and it just went to waste. I would've been better off staying at home. At least then, I could've just been upset about Bennett not allowing me to go instead of realizing that I'd been a fool this whole time to believe a word he'd ever said.
I washed my makeup off my face and got ready for bed, holding the ice pack against my cheek as I moved around the bedroom. Turning off the light, I got into bed and rolled over to my side. I didn't know if Bennett would come to bed and at this point, I didn't care. A wave of nausea rolled over me and I closed my eyes, forcing myself to take deep breaths. I didn't know what would happen between the two of us, but I knew I had to keep my guard up with him. Maybe my alter was right; I couldn't help him. That also meant I couldn't trick him either because he was entirely too predictable. With conflicting thoughts rushing around in my mind, I finally dozed off into an uncomfortable sleep.
A vase of white roses and a small brown bear sitting on my nightstand was the first thing I saw when I opened my eyes. I slowly sat up, still looking at them. I plucked the small white envelope from the flowers that had my name on it and pulled out the card inside of it.
I'm sorry.
-Bennett
I tossed the card on the nightstand and pulled the blankets back from my legs. His side of the bed was untouched, signaling that he never came to bed last night. After a quick shower and getting dressed, I opened the bedroom door to find Bruce standing there instead of Saint. He looked down at me with soft eyes.
"Good morning," he said.
"Morning," I murmured, closing the bedroom door.
"Are you looking for Bennett?"
I shook my head. "No. He's the last person I want to see right now," I mumbled as I walked down the steps. Everyone spoke to me as I made my way through the living room. I gave them a small smile as I passed them, moving quicker to my destination. Though everyone treated me like the queen Bennett claimed I was, he definitely wasn't treating me like it.
When I reached the dining room, I saw him already sitting at the dining room table, a full plate of breakfast before him as he spoke on the phone. He looked up when I entered the room.
"Yeah, I'll get that to you in a few hours," he said, watching me as I sat down across from him. "Let me call you back a little later. I'm having breakfast with my wife right now."
I fought the urge to roll my eyes as Savannah put an identical plate in front of me, pouring me a glass of orange juice. "Do you need anything else?" she asked.
I shook my head and gave her a small smile. "No, thank you, though," I said. She nodded and disappeared back into the kitchen, leaving me alone with Bennett.
"How are you feeling?" he asked.
"Fine." I reached for the syrup sitting on the table, feeling his eyes on me the entire time.
"Did you see what I left you and the baby?"
"Yeah, thanks."
"I have a couple of meetings today. Would you like to come with me?"
I shook my head. "I'm sure you have it handled. You don't have much need for me to be there," I said.
He sighed deeply and leaned back in his chair. "Any other time you'd be upset that I didn't include you."
"I figured that's what you'd want. It's probably best anyway. You made your point last night," I said softly.
He was quiet for a long moment before he sighed again. "I lost control last night and I'll take full responsibility for that," he said, his voice low.
"It is what it is, Bennett," I said and dug into my breakfast of pancakes, bacons, eggs, and fresh fruit. He didn't say much to me for the rest of breakfast, turning his attention to his ringing phone that seemed to ring with another call every time he hung up. Once I was done, I pushed back from the table and stood. He waved his hand as if to stop me, but I ignored him, walking into the kitchen where Bruce and Savannah were. I looked away as they kissed, clearing my throat when I became too uncomfortable. They slowly backed away from each other, Bruce whispering something to her before turning his attention to me.
"Need something, boss lady?" he asked as he walked over to me.
I nodded to the door leading to the bunker. "I'd like to spend some time with the children," I said. "Could you take me to them?"
"Sure," he said with a nod. He unlocked the door and gestured for me to walk ahead of him. I stepped forward, the chill of the bunker's hallway a stark contrast from the comfortable temperature of the main house. I looked over to him as we walked down the quiet hallway.
"Savannah seems really happy with you," I said.
He nodded. "I try to keep it that way. It hasn't been easy with everything she's gone through here," he said.
"I bet." I gave him a small smile. "It's nice to see her happy though. Her last guy was a dick."
It felt as if it were years ago when I was in my penthouse in South Carolina celebrating my "on
e-hour millionaire" status and getting engaged. Kandace and I had comforted Savannah after her revelation at the table and were all trying to be as happy as we could be. But that only happened months ago. Even though she went through her own hell here, she was getting her happily ever after. A part of me was jealous about that. A part of me wanted to wish that Bennett was capable of being better, but I'd be lying to myself to think that a marriage or a baby would change that.
"He just needs time," Bruce said, as if reading my thoughts. "He's still pretty uptight about Wilson."
"All the time in the world won't fix whatever's wrong with him," I mumbled as we reached the dead-end wall. Bruce revealed the hidden keypad and unlocked the wall to open the door. The sounds of children laughing nearly made me smile, my hand automatically moving to my stomach. Bruce chuckled.
"Get ready for that. Just thinking about the hell a Moreno kid would bring to this house is giving me a headache if they're anything like their father," he teased. I giggled.
"Hey now. Can't have you talking shit about my little angel here," I mused and immediately wanted to slap myself. Bruce's grin faltered a bit as he looked at me.
"Still having a hard time processing it?" he asked.
We came to a stop in the doorway of the room the children were held in and I sighed. "I don't know," I said truthfully. "This wasn't even supposed to be my life. Stephanie was supposed to be living this. She was supposed to be Bennett's wife and they were supposed to have children. He's so worried about what could happen to me that he's managing to fuck everything up in the process."
"I understand where you're coming from, but I can't say I blame him for wanting to protect you." He gestured to the room. "Here you are. I'll be right out here."
I nodded and entered the room, Giselle squealing when she saw me. "Aurora! You came to visit me!" she exclaimed, running across the room. Her innocence made me smile, which made me wince as the soreness in my cheek reminded me of last night. I push the negative memories away and crouched down and held out my arms, closing them around her when she crashed into me.
"My daddy said you might come to play with me and you came!" she exclaimed.
"I did," I said as I let go of her and stood to my feet. Taking her hand, I looked down at her and smiled. "So, what do you want to do?"
"You can help me make my cake," she said, pulling me over to a table with balls on Play-doh on it. She let go of my hand and grabbed a small roller, rolling it over the Play-doh. I got down on my knees across from her and grabbed a ball of Play-doh.
"What are you making a cake for?" I asked.
She gave me a cheeky grin and leaned over. "I'm getting married to my boyfriend," she whispered.
I giggled. "What will Daddy say about that?"
"It's a secret!" she whispered again and giggled.
I pretended to zip my lips and throw away the key before we both burst into a fit of giggles. As we made Play-doh cakes and had pretend weddings with Barbie dolls, I couldn't help but wonder how things would be if I had a daughter. I wondered what kind of things she'd like and if we'd have play dates like this.
"Your ring is pretty," Giselle said, cutting into my thoughts. Her brown gaze was focused on the ruby ring on my finger, one that now didn't mean as much as it used to.
"Thank you."
"Did Uncle Benny give it to you?"
"He did."
She gasped. "Like a married ring?"
"A wedding ring, yes," I said and giggled. She frowned.
"But I didn't see you in your dress," she said and crossed her arms over her chest, pouting.
I gave her a soft smile. "I didn't have a dress, but I promise you'll get to see it one day."
"Deal," she said with a grin. She ran off to her bed for a moment, fiddling with something before she slowly walked backwards to the table. When she turned around, I snorted. "Look, I'm a mommy!"
She carried a baby doll in her arms and had a small pillow stuffed under her shirt to look as if she were pregnant.
"Your daddy isn't gonna like that," I said.
"He said he's not old enough to be a grandpa," she said. "But when I'm big, I'm gonna have a lot of babies."
"Oh really? How many babies?"
"Nine!" she said, holding up six fingers. I giggled.
"That's a lot of babies," I said. "How are you going to take care of them all by yourself?"
"My boyfriend is gonna help me over there!" she said, pointing to a blonde hair boy I'd seen the last time I was here. He sat in a corner with two other boys playing with trucks and shrieking when they'd crash into each other.
"That'll be your life if you end up with a son," my alter said in my head.
"Aurora, are you and Uncle Benny gonna have babies since you're married?" she suddenly asked.
I gave her a small smile and patted my stomach. "We're growing one right now," I said. I was almost jealous of the excitement that danced in her eyes. The pure excitement that came along with blissful ignorance.
She skipped around the table and stood next to me, frowning. "But your belly isn't big," she said.
"It's still small, but it'll be bigger soon," I said.
"Aurora," I heard from the doorway. I looked over to see Bennett standing there, his hands in his pocket as he looked at me expectantly. "We have business to handle."
Giselle skipped off at the sight of Saint and I sighed inwardly. Standing to my feet, I made my way to Bennett, ready to assume my role as queen. As a pretender. As a liar.
"Anything for the Family, right?" my alter said. It was a price I was willing to pay, but how much would it really cost in the end?
BENNETT
“Do you have everything set up for your ’meeting?’” Bruce asked as I led Aurora out of the bunker.
I cut my eyes at him and smirked. There was no meeting for us to attend; I'd just wanted to take her out of the house for a little while. Maybe I needed a break from this shit, too. After last night, I had a shit ton of ass kissing to do in order to get on her good side.
I couldn't even begin to explain the events of last night. It’d been years since I tapped into the volatile darkness that’d consumed me, as it was a place that even I didn't like to venture into. It was why I'd told Aurora to stay in the car. I needed to be sure that I could handle seeing Brian and not completely lose my shit. This was a man whose murder I fantasized about for three years. But just the sight of him sent me over the edge. The man that destroyed my life. The man that took the most important thing away for me stood only inches away, and there was no way I could fight the monster that waited to end him for three years.
Seeing him sent old memories to the forefront, as if I was reliving that night all over again. I saw Stephanie's lifeless eyes and her bloodied body littered with bullet holes. I'd felt the grief that I had experienced that night all over again. I knew seeing him would wake up old demons, but I didn't expect it to be in that magnitude. And fuck, was I paying for that after what I did to Aurora.
I didn't want her to see me like that. She already had her ideas of what kind of monster I was, but it was nothing compared to what she saw last night. It was the monster that didn't care. The monster that would destroy anyone in its path, even her—the very person I wanted to protect.
“Do I need to change clothes?" she asked suddenly, breaking into my thoughts.
I looked over at the jeans and white tank top she wore and shook my head. "You're fine as you are.” I looked down at her bare feet. "But you need some shoes."
She walked away when we reached the ground floor to get shoes as I stopped in the kitchen.
Savannah looked at me and smiled. “Hey! Are you missing something?” she asked.
“No. I just wanted to check to see if you were finished with the basket,” I said, frowning when I didn't see it. "Where is it anyway?"
"Oh, I asked one of the guys to put it in the car," she said with a sheepish shrug. "I figured you wanted to keep it a surprise."
"And everything is in
there, right?" I asked with a raised brow.
She grinned and nodded. "Of course. Sandwiches, drinks—"
"Non-alcoholic?"
"Of course. No alcohol for the pregnant woman." She was silent for a few moments, looking at me with dreamy eyes. "It's a really nice thing you're doing for her. She's going to love it."
I ran a hand through my hair. "I can only hope she does. She's a tough nut to crack sometimes."
"She likes that kind of thing. No matter what kind of woman she is now, I think she still likes when people make an effort to do something nice." Her eyes drifted along me and shrugged. "Maybe it'll mean more coming from someone like you."
Before I had a chance to ask her to elaborate, Aurora appeared in the kitchen again, her arms wrapped around herself.
"Are you ready?" she asked. I nodded and moved over to where she stood.
"Have fun at your meeting!" Savannah called out after us. Aurora glanced back at her briefly before looking to me. As we walked away from her, I pulled out my phone and opened the app tracking Aurora's chip. After the last hacking, I couldn't be too careful. It was risky to leave the house without my security, but I wanted her and I to do something normal for once, without others hovering over us. If they were to still hack it, her last location would be the house instead of where we were going. I disabled her chip, my chest tightening with worry when I saw that she was disabled again.
"Why's everyone being so weird about this meeting?" she asked with a frown. I shrugged and slipped my phone back into my pocket.
"Maybe they're just weird people," I mused, fighting the urge to grin. She frowned but didn't protest any further, only following alongside me as I led her through the rest of the house.
"So, where's this meeting?" she asked when we reached the garage.
"You'll see," I responded. She stopped walking when I strolled over to the Lamborghini. I looked back at her. "Are you coming?"
"You're driving?"
"Is that a problem?"
She looked around before setting her gaze back on the car. "I mean...you haven't driven since you drove us home from the safe house. It's weird to have you driving."
You Will Obey (Rules of Bennett Book 4) Page 15