Areston thinks he can shield me from his past, but what he doesn't realize is I'm already part of it.
The darkness that haunts him? It's the same one that's been chasing me for years.
I've given him everything-my body, my heart, my soul-and still...
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"Did Lev get my flowers?"
"He did. He's recovering well. He said he has been trying to reach out to you, but you haven't been responding to his calls or texts either," Shukura sighs, inclining in her seat and slurping the remnants of her iced latte loudly.
"I do not intend to either. Keep telling him I've been occupied." I continue going through the document on my iPad.
The night I returned from Morocco was the only time I talked to him. I feel bad for what he went through and is going through, but this time, for once, I cannot fake my emotions and pretend everything's fine when it's not.
I do not care what he did to drive a wedge between Zayd and me. We were doomed from the beginning, and I'd have done it myself without his help. What matters to me is that he broke my trust, even if it was for the only time. He knew how it affected me at that time, but he said nothing. I understand it was petty jealousy, but still. He not only invaded my privacy by deleting Zayd's call and text history on my phone, but he mentioned nothing about it even after all this time despite knowing I am the most forgiving kind and I do not hold onto grudges. This one time is an exception.
"Right. By the way, your husband left for London early in the morning. He'll return tomorrow."
Areston is being... Areston. He hurled me over his shoulder and carried me out of The Rothschild Mansion three days ago. Before I could give him a silent treatment, he slammed me with one instead. We didn't speak throughout the ride, after reaching home, and through all the days and nights that have followed since. He yanked me out of the car when I refused to climb out, carried me bridal style from the -5 level private lower level parking all the way to our home on the top floor in the elevator, dumped me in our bedroom, and left me there. I was way past my boiling point, and whenever that happens, which is a rare occurrence and something only my husband is capable of enticing, instead of having a hysterical breakdown, I slip into an absolute silent mode, so that's what I did.
He did not return that morning. I found out later in the day that he had not followed my demand—just like he hadn't followed any of the rest either—and gave me our bedroom while he moved to the one attached to his home office. I was informed by Mackenzie yesterday that he has been leaving for work early before I wake up at 6:30 AM and has been returning home late at night after 10 PM. He has been carefully avoiding running into me like I'd asked him to, but he's making his presence in my life known every hour.
I am getting my favorite flowers every hour. The cards have no message except a handwritten My lighthouse. Our chef ensures I'm not leaving for work without breakfast, his equally bitch of an assistant ensures I'm not skipping lunch, and my dinner arrives at the hospital at the same time every day because that's where I am, being next to Selene around dinner time. She finally got discharged yesterday. He's still having my lip glosses and lipsticks that are not red discarded every day, and I've been having them restocked every day. There is always a fresh box of my favorite Mariebelle chocolates on my desk every day, which Shukura keeps teasing me about. And every morning when I wake up, I find a subtle trace of his cologne. However, I don't need it to know that he hasn't been maintaining the boundaries I drew for him—he wouldn't be Areston De L'Aquila if he knew what boundaries are.
