Muse [h.s.]

30. pure

🎵Nothing's Gonna Hurt You Baby — Cigarettes After Sex

Harry's POV

"I understand the circumstances, of course I do, Lyds," I sigh, running a frustrated hand through my hair. "I know she needs to go, but she hasn't spoken a word about her feelings."

Lydia lets loose a sigh of her own as she leans her head back against the door. She looks exhausted — I guess we all don the same look on our faces.

"You just said she spoke to you!" Lydia speaks in a hushed tone and I shake my head.

"She said two words, and that was it. I didn't push her," I reply. "I'm just saying, Lyds...you only heard about what happened in France with her father. I was there with her. She was so upset after that whole dinner that she came home crying, she wanted to leave the damn country!"

The last thing I want to do is to push Aurelia into speaking or coming face to face with her feelings — she's the only one who truly knows how she feels, and despite me so badly wishing I could see inside her mind so that I can help her, I know we need to take things at a slow pace; we all do right now. The situation is far too delicate.

My mind can't help but travel back to that trip to France over a year ago now, that night when Aurelia returned to the villa after the dinner at her father's with angry tears streaming down her cheeks.

The rain was pouring harder than I've ever seen before, but my eyes landed on the woman in front of me, the woman who so quickly stole my heart.

She angrily kicked at the pebbles and gravel outside the villa with her feet, only turning to look at me when I called her name. Her eyes were rimmed red — she had been crying.

"Baby, what's wrong? The call cut out—"

"I need to get out of here," Aurelia said with a shake of her head, walking around me into the villa as I stood there frozen for a second.

I couldn't catch my thoughts up to speed quick enough — what had happened?

What did she mean, she needed to get out of here?

"What?" I spun around frantically, not caring that I left the front door wide open as I followed Aurelia into the bedroom. She was already in the corner, grabbing her suitcase and flinging it open.

My heart began to pound. "Ella, slow down, what's going on?"

"I'm leaving, I just...I need to go home," Aurelia spoke, her back towards me as she tossed her clothing into the suitcase.

I walked towards her, my thoughts running with the speed of a mile a second. I tried to rack my brain, to think what possibly could have happened to have made her this upset.

"Okay, we can leave first thing in the morning, let's just talk, yeah?" I spoke hurriedly, trying to catch her attention so she could just look at me for a second. "Tell me what happened."

Aurelia spun around to head into the bathroom, almost as if she didn't even register my words as she grabbed her shampoo and conditioner from the ledge along the shower. I ran a frustrated hand through my curls as she walked back into the bedroom.

"I need to go now," Aurelia finally replied and I could see the tears beginning to well in her eyes.

I desperately wanted to reach out and hold her in my arms, to shelter her from whatever happened and keep her safe.

"He fucking disrespected my mother, Harry! Going there was a mistake and I just need to leave."

Realization finally hit me once the words escaped her lips, the blood boiling in my veins. That was why she was crying and upset, it was because of Henri and something he had said to disrespect Estelle's memory.