" many years, same you. "
I SENSED A weird presence the second I saw Marzanna standing at my doorstep.
And Aurelia's words after she harshly swings my door open only tells me that the presence is indeed there.
"Marzanna is trying to expose us." She says in a low, breathy voice, holding up a familiar cellphone in her hand. I immediately stand up from my spot, slowly walking towards her as I reach my hand out.
"Where did you get this? Who gave you this?" I snatch the device from her hands, leaving her empty handed as she looks at me in disbelief.
"It was in the women's bathroom, okay? But that's not all, Rainer, you have to listen to me."
She's begging. Her tone is as sincere as ever and the way her innocent eyes glisten in the light tell me I should do exactly as she says.
"Sit down, Gold. Drink some water, then we'll talk."
Aurelia nods slowly and I guide her over to the couch, helping her sit down and making sure to take the phone with me as I call someone to fetch her cold water.
I look back to see her fiddling with her fingers, her eyes are focused on a blank wall and it's evident to me she's zoning out. I hate seeing her like this and I waste no more time before approaching her, immediately soothing her bouncing leg with my palm.
"It's okay, Sunshine. I'm here for you, don't worry." I say, placing a hand on her back and rubbing it up and down slowly. It takes her a moment to come back and when she does, she immediately buries herself in my arms.
"They— They called me names, Rainer.." She hiccups and I can feel her tears soaking my button up.
"Who, Aurelia? Who did?" I demand.
"Marzanna and Blair.. They called me a slut.. And that I'm a whore and—" She pauses, unable to contain her sobs. Her whimpers and cries are muffled by my body and I quickly motion for one of the employees to leave when they bring her water.
I don't know what to do.
My Aurelia is sobbing in my arms and I don't know what to do.
Part of me thinks it's my fault, while the other wants to just blame it on everyone else. But deep down, I know I have more than a quarter of fault in this situation.
Marzanna's here because of me.
Gianna and her little bitch friends insulted her because of me.
All of the things that have happened and ended up hurting her was because of me. I was with her through them yet I can't help but feel like I didn't do enough.
I wasn't enough. Like always.
Her sobs ring in my ears, her tears soak my clothes, her voice and babbles of sadness vibrate onto my body. I plant a kiss on her hair, running a few fingers through it in an attempt to calm her down.
It takes her a few moments to compose herself again. When Aurelia pulls away from my chest, I see her eyes are red and swollen, along with her nose and the tips of her ears are a matching shade.
Her cheeks are pink and she tries to hide her face as she wipes away the remaining tears. I smile at her, reaching out and tucking a strand of hair behind her ear as she hiccups once again.
"Can you tell me more, Sunshine?"
She nods. "I can.. Just, I need some time.."
And I'd be more than happy to give her all of the time she needs.
I'd wait days. Hours. Minutes. Seconds. Every single second of my life would be devoted to waiting for her if she ever asked.
I nod, moving my hand to her cheek and caressing it softly with my thumb. She smiles weakly and leans into the touch, resting her head on it and closing her eyes.
I lean down and kiss her on the forehead which immediately opens her eyes. I smile at her and she gives me one too in return before I pull away.
"She has the contract, Rainer. She knows, Blair knows, Angela and Zavana probably do too." She sniffles, covering her face.
"I'm so sorry, baby.. I— This is my fault! I should have confronted her." She sobs again, hitting her legs with her fist and I immediately try to stop her.
"Gold, don't."
She stops.
"I'm begging you, Gold. Don't hurt yourself. You can hurt me for not hiding it well enough but don't hurt yourself, please." I hold her fists in my hands, cupping them before opening my hands and revealing them.
"Your hands are made to love yourself, Aurelia, and to love others too. You shouldn't beat yourself up because of something so small as this—"
"Our careers aren't small, Rainer!"
"I know and I'll make it right, Aurelia. I swear to you, I swear on us."
Aurelia presses her lips against each other and tears are threatening to spill from her eyes yet again as she breathes heavily. I kiss her hands before pushing them towards her, placing them near her heart.
"I'll get rid of her."
────
"You're fired, Ms. Bianchi."
Marzanna laughs.
"You can't fire me, Rainer." Her voice cracks as she looks up at me with eyes fuming with anger.
"What will your parents say?" She says and I only scoff, rolling my eyes. They can say whatever they want about me firing my ex but I won't care, not when it's because of Aurelia.
She slowly gets back on her feet, with her heels and extraordinary height, she stands nearly the same height as me and attempts to threaten me with her gaze. Her lips harden into a thin line as she approaches me step by step, jaw tightening.
I return the murderous look but rather keeping my stone cold expression, the smallest smile tugs on my lips. I grin at her and tilt my head, amused by her portrayal of anger.
"I will ruin your fucking career, Rainer." She threatens.
I shrug her words off, "I couldn't care less. Now get out of my office."
She shakes her head quickly, a wicked smile plastered on her face. Instead of leaving, she starts pacing back and forth, running a hand over her mouth while doing so.
"It's because of your stupid secretary, isn't it?!" Her voice increases in volume and anger as she emphasizes the 'stupid.' I scoff, a flame starts to burn deep down inside of me and I'm hoping it stays there.
"Fiancée. And you have no right to call her—"
"Cut the bullshit, Rainer! I know about that sex contract. I know you're only "engaged" for your parents and I'm not scared to expose that to the whole world." She snaps.
She stops in front of me, leaning so close to the point that our faces are inches away from each other. Her breath fans my face and I can't help but scrunch my nose.
"If only you treated me nicely, I wouldn't have had to resort to this."
"You can ruin my career, Marzanna, but don't you dare lay a single finger on hers." I rasp, looking down at her with eyes filled with darkness.
Had I not been in the office right now, with tons of employees as witnesses, I would've killed her right now with my bare hands.
"Aw, and why shouldn't I? So you can live on with your cute love story and I get NOTHING after waiting for years?" Her voice is much louder, bouncing off of the walls and threatening to spill out of this room.
"Shut the fuck up, Marzanna." I snap.
My jaw clenches as I bring a hand up to her throat. I wrap my fingers around it, adding pressure onto my thumb and middle finger to cut off her airway.
Marzanna gasps for air, immediately bringing a hand up to my wrist to try and pry me off. I only chuckle, watching her cower under me in fear while my hand doesn't budge a single inch.
"If you do so much as to even think about exposing my fiancée and I again, or even just think about us in general, for the next few days, I will find you and end you with my very hands."
She's still gasping for air, desperately kicking her feet at my knees while still attempting to pull my hands off.
"For years, Marzanna, I had forgotten about you. Simply because I couldn't care less about you. I left for a reason which was to pursue my life and career here without having to deal with people like you from my past."
I pause to chuckle to myself, shaking my head before finally letting go and throwing her to the side. She drops to her knees, stumbling on her heels and nearly twisting her ankle.
"You have five minutes to leave this building or else." I glare at her, watching her pick herself up and get back on her feet.
"Fuck you..!" Marzanna yells before bolting towards the door, whining and on the verge of tears as she walks out and slams the door behind herself.
I deeply sigh, walking over to the couch and sitting on it, my knees growing weak. Resting my elbows on my knees, I bury my face in my hands, unable to think straight.
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