Aella

XLIV

I look back over at Giulia, then slowly stand from the chair and walk my way over to Aella, who holds out her hand for me and pulls me behind her, away from this woman. 

"Oh, Aella. Come on, Topolina, it's just me."

That word rings through my head. Aella calls me that. 

"How dare you enter my house and speak to my partner? I told you to never come around again."

Giulia takes a step towards us. At the same time, Aella pushes me backwards, away from the both of them, and closes the space in between them by taking the same step towards Guilia.

Giulia is slightly taller than Aella, maybe an inch or two. Her eyes have turned to a seductive tone, but not in a good way. 

Giulia chuckles. "My poor Little Mouse", she smirks. "So much intimidation for someone so scared of me."

Aella seems to not have a response, it takes her a second to come up with one. "Get out of my house. You are not welcome here."

Giulia takes one more step towards Aella, seemingly towering over her. It's like how I felt with Aella before I learned her for who she really was. It was all intimidation. 

"Big bad boss now, huh?" Giulia sneers. "Not too bad for a Little Mouse like you."

"I earned my place here, unlike you." Aella tries so hard to stand up to this woman, but it's failing her, unlike anything I have ever seen from her before. 

"Oh, Little Mouse, how I have missed you. My sweet Little Mouse has found her voice."

"I am not yours anymore", Aella raises her voice. "You cannot control me."

For the first time since she arrived, Giulia has lost all confidence in her stance. She seems to shrink under Aella, instead of the opposite happening just a moment ago. 

"You lost me when you decided to break my trust", Aella yells in Italian. "I was yours, and you broke me, and you changed me. You hurt me so badly, you changed the way I see the world, the way I think."

Even though Aella stands her ground, I can hear the trauma, the heartbreak, in her voice. This woman hurt Aella long before I was ever around. 

Something all of a sudden comes over me. I start to walk forward, step in front of Aella, ball my left fist, and punch Giulia square in the jaw. She stumbles to the side, her heel catches the carpet beneath her, and she falls to the ground. 

I start to step towards her again, But Aella's hand grabs onto my wrist. I spin around and pull myself out of her grasp. "Don't touch me" I sneer at her. 

I stand over Giulia, and she looks up at me with just a slight bit of fear in her eyes. "You do not come into my fucking house and act like that towards my partner. I am the heir to the Head of our family, I will one day run this goddamn family. You have no power in this house, and you will never walk into our family's house again and act the way you did. My father should have gotten rid of you a very long time ago."

Standing up straight again, I look back at Aella. I'm unable to understand her expression, but it's somewhere between shocked and impressed. 

Giulia hops to her feet, readjusting her suit coat. A large red welt already marks her now imperfect jawline. "I-I guess I'll be going now."

"No", I command. "Guards."

4 men of our family come walking in behind Aella and I.

"Poppy", I hear Aella. "What are you-"

I turn to the first guard. "Take her to Marcello. I will call him later."

He nods at me, then starts to walk over to Giulia. She starts to back away from them, but the four of them entrap her. The first guard puts cuffs on her wrists and ties them behind her back. He shoves her forward. "No, no wait. Please." She pleads. 

"I hope you enjoy your last few hours of your life." The four guards lead her out of the house, slamming the door behind them. 

"Penelope", Aella still seems extremely dumbfounded, stunned. "Pen-"

"I did what had to be done", I take a deep breath. "She was threatening you, and I will never allow such thing in my family. My father will take care of her. You will never deserve to be treated like that, and this family does not stand for that."

With that, I walk back into the main house and up to our room. My hand is throbbing, and I need to run it under cold water. 

I run up into my bedroom, then my bathroom. I turn on the sink to the coldest it can go and run it over my hand.

"Penelope." Aella stands in the doorway between our room and the bathroom. She looks worn out. 

"What did she do to you? Why did she call you Little Mouse? Why do you call me Little Mouse the same way she did?"

"Darling. I-"

I shut off the water. "What the fuck did she do to you? What the fuck is wrong with you?"

How dare Aella bring in that name to our relationship when someone who hurt her also called her that in the past? That's not a common pet name, like Baby, or Darling. That one is special. Or I thought it was special. 

Aella gulps. "I was just like you once. The submissive."

"Someone like me", I mock. "You better tread very carefully, Aella."

"Darling, it's not a bad term", Aella starts. She walks over to the towel rack and grabs a washcloth. She turns on the sink, soaks it in cold water, and grabs my hand, covering it in the towel. "Someone like you puts their whole trust in their partner to not only take care of them in the bedroom, but in general. I was like that with Giulia. I put my trust in her as my partner, and she did everything in her power to break me down, so I not only did not trust the world around me, but I did not trust myself."

"Aella", I look up at her. Her eyes are soft, like she wants to cry, but keeps it down to focus on me. "I didn't mean to say that." I take back when I asked her what was wrong with her. I was just angry at the situation, not even at her. I could never be mad at her. 

"I know, Darling." She leans over me and places a kiss on my forehead. "I understand where you're coming from. You never knew."

We stand there in silence for a few minutes, taking in each other's presence. The towel dries up and I give my hand another rinse in cold water and dry it. "Are you okay, My Love?"

I stare up at Aella, who studies my face. "Yes", I answer quietly. "Are you okay?"

"I have never been better, My Darling", she pulls me into her body. "Seeing you punch Giulia was hot as hell. I have never been more attracted to someone."

"I love you", I look up at her again.

Aella's fingers trail up the side of my arm, over my shoulder, and they gently grab my chin,  to keep me looking at her. She leans down for her lips to meet mine, very softly. "I love you so, so much, My Love."

Our kisses become harder and harder, more passionate. I wrap my arms around her neck, and she pulls me in by my waist. 

Aella picks me up and places me on the bathroom counter, her hands sliding under my sweatshirt. She stands in between my legs, holding me against her. 

A moment passes and everything becomes hotter and more intimate. It's like we haven't done this in years, and we had been drowning without it. I missed her touch. 

Even though it had only been one night apart from each other, she hasn't touched me like this since before the accident. She's been too scared to touch me, even the slightest bit, in fear it would go too far and something would happen to me. Her and I have both missed each other in this way for far too long. 

"Baby", she almost moans against my lips, gripping my hips. 

I kiss up her cheek to her ear, taking a deep breath in. "Fuck me."