A Woman's Empire

LVII

CHAPTER FIFTY SEVEN

After finishing a bouquet of flowers and dropping them off at the customer, Audrielle headed to Rebecca's house to pick up Orlando. As she drove through the quiet streets, her thoughts played through her head like a record. She replayed last night over and over again. She thought about running into Ben and his mysterious woman and anger would flood her body, her knuckles would turn white as the gripped the steering wheel hard, the image of her clinging to his arm vivid in her mind.

Then the intimate acts with Leo would appear suddenly like a tornado and she would clench her jaw, her cheeks turning red in shame as she thought about his fingers dancing along her skin. Pulling into Rebecca's driveway, Audrielle turned the car off and jumped out.

Hurrying to the doorstep, Audrielle knocked on the door and Rebecca greeted her with a warm smile. "Hey! Come on in!" She exclaimed and Audrielle followed her inside. Rebecca's kids ran down the hall, yelling at each other as they flew into a bedroom.

"Mommy!" Orlando shouted as he sprinted down the hall and jumped into Audrielle's arms. She embraced her son with a warm hug and kissed his cheek.

"Did you behave for Rebecca?" Audrielle asked and Orlando flashed a toothy grin.

"Of course mamma."

"Orlando's an angel." Rebecca commented and they headed for the kitchen where Rebecca had some tea brewing. Audrielle sat down at the table and thanked Rebecca as she grabbed the mug of tea. The mug was hot against Audrielle's cold hands and she savoured the feeling of the warmth it was radiating.

"Thanks for having Orlando last night." Rebecca chuckled and drank her coffee before clearing her throat.

"So, tell me every single detail about last night." She winked and Audrielle's cheeks glowed red.

"There's not much to say, we only went out for dinner at a fancy restaurant in the city." Audrielle lied and bit the inside of her cheek.

"Bullshit! You really need to learn how to conceal that purple bruise in your neck better." Rebecca smirked and Audrielle's cheeks flared a bright red as she reached for the hickey, rubbing it like it would suddenly disappear.

"Ok yeah, he did stay the night." Audrielle muttered looking away from Rebecca in shame.

"He did more than just stay the night." She snickered and Audrielle glared at her friend. They chattered some more as the children played with the toys in the living room.

"Leo has asked me to go to London with him." Audrielle suddenly whispered and Rebecca's eyes widened as she choked on her coffee, trying to not spit it all over Audrielle at the sudden announcement.

"Are you going to go with him? I mean it's London, that's pretty fucking cool."

Audrielle sighed and rubbed her forehead. She turned her head and caught a glimpse of an occupied Orlando. It would be nice for Orlando to meet his grandmother and Stella, but Audrielle wasn't sure if going with Leo was a good idea or not.

"It's not just London though. It's Italy to see his mother and for Orlando to finally meet her. Then he said that Orlando will stay with her while we head to London. But then he said he has something to sort out in Miami too." She explained. It was evidently clear that she was unsure what to do.