Aria's POV
I knew this was a dangerous game I was playing. I knew this was a huge risk to take being with Dom anyway I can and anyway he will have me, but I couldn't help it. He made me feel things again and stronger this time. He made me feel beautiful, wanted, needed, and desired. I haven't felt like that in such a long time and that bastard of an ex destroyed any bit of life within me. I meant what I said to Dom, if someone makes you feel alive again then isn't it worth the risk to be with them? That's how I felt. He ignited a flame in me that I thought had long died out.
As I descended the stairs, the front door opened and Andrea walked in leaving it open. I hadn't seen him since that night I found out the truth. I didn't like him though. He noticed me there and began sporting a menacing, smug smirk.
"Why, isn't it the prodigal lover," He said.
"Excuse me?" I looked at him incredulously.
"I see right through you, whore. Coming around here, strutting your past, making boss lose all his senses. But don't worry, it's actually a small blessing in disguise you know? This happy bubble you're in won't last very long."
By this time, he had walked over and was now standing in front of me, way too close for my liking.
"Are you threatening me? Because Andrea, let me make something very clear to you. I am not one to be fucked with. I am sick and tired of being fucked over by an egotistical, arrogant, piece of shit man trying to compensate for other things." I told him to his face, gesturing with my finger and thumb as I glanced down to his pants.
I stood my ground and watched as he gritted his teeth and balled his hands into a fist.
"I'm done with this bullshit. Come near me again and I will break more than just your nose, asshole."
I began walking away but he grabbed my wrist and pulled me viciously towards him. Once I was face to face with him again, he tightened his grip around my wrist and began twisting it. I couldn't help the whimper coming from me as he hurt me, all the while grinning.
"Maybe one day I will have my fun with you yet. Teach you a good lesson when I expose you to Boss and the rest of them worshipping the ground you walk on." He spat in my face.
What is he on about? Expose me for what? He tightened his grip even more but I tried putting the pain to the back of my mind as I looked him right in the eyes.
"Fuck... You!" I spat back.
His hand lifted and was about to swing across my face when a loud and deep voice bellowed through the foyer.
"What the fuck do you think you are doing, Andrea?" I turned to see Marcel walk into the foyer from the kitchen.
Andrea let go of my wrist and took a step back.
"She was threatening us, Marcel. I was trying to explain to her that those things don't go unpunished. She threatened Boss, rambling about some 'revenge is sweeter than forgiveness' bullshit. " He said coyly with his hands in his pockets.
My eyes widened hearing the words leave his mouth. I looked at Marcel who didn't take his eyes off Andrea, nor could I read his expression. It was all a lie. What if they believe this asshole? Where does that leave me?
"Punishment is not for you to take upon yourself and dish out as you see fit. Remember your place, Andrea!" Marcel warned him. "Now what the fuck are you doing here anyway?"
"I brought my sister. She wants to see Dom about a work proposition." He glanced at me for a split second and smirked as he said that.
"Did you prearrange this with Boss? You know he hates unwanted or unexpected guests." Marcel had a cold tone to his voice. He didn't like Andrea at this moment, that much was evident. This was also a much more serious version of Marcel and he looked pretty scary.
"He will be more than happy to see her. No invitation is required when it comes to her. They have..." He trailed off and rubbed his chin. "What should we call it? Mmmm... A mutual understanding." He finished off and gave me a wink.
Is he for real? Are a bunch of whores going to be popping up like this waiting for Dom to fuck them? Marcel was far from pleased and looked like he wanted to pummel Andrea. Before he could react or say anything Dom's voice was heard from the stairs.
"What's going on here?" He asked as he came down the stairs. Before Marcel could say anything to what he witnessed, Andrea cut him off.
" I brought my sister here for your...meeting." He emphasized and gave Dom a wink and smirk.
I watched as Dom narrowed his eyes at Andrea and his mouth was pursed.
"There will be no meeting of any sort with your sister. Get the fuck off my property Andrea, unless summoned." He seethed. I could see he wasn't impressed.
"He was getting handsy with Aria," Marcel added fuel to the fire for good measure.
Andrea glared at him then turned back to Dom with a calm face.
"Boss she threatened me. I was standing my ground. She threatened to break my nose again or worse then went on about threatening you and the fam-"
"ENOUGH!" Dom cut him off. He gave me a side glance trying to read me. Is he considering all this bullshit to be true? Is he on crack or something? I gave him a look as I rubbed my wrist. His eyes looked at my wrist then shot up to Andrea.
"I will deal with it accordingly. It is not your place, Andrea." He said cooly.
Before Andrea could say anymore we heard the tapping of heels against the marble floor. We all looked towards the open front door and in strutted a woman, who looked very much like Andrea, with dirty blonde curly hair that went to just below her shoulders. She wore a dress which was cut low in the front, exposing all the plastic work, and was so short that I'm pretty sure if I leaned back just a little I would be able to see her butt cheeks. Her face was caked with makeup and she wore a lot of shiny jewelry. Geez, Dom really knows how to pick them.
"Oh hey, baby! So glad I could find you so quickly. I have some business to attend to but you know you always come first." She said to Dom as she sauntered over to him. "I came here for a business proposition and to attend to your business." She said seductively as she ran her fingers down his shirt to the belt on his jeans. She grabbed ahold onto his belt as he just stood there.
That's when I felt that green monster consuming me. Jealousy. I couldn't watch this and yet I couldn't walk away and expose Dom and me in front of them all if there still was even a Dom and me. I began shifting on the spot and fiddling with my hair, trying my best to casually look away. Andrea caught me and smiled like the cat that ate the canary. What is with this guy? Something was off about him and he had his eyes set on me.
I got angry now. I was done with it all. Done with the games and lies. I narrowed my eyes at Andrea then proceeded to smile at him. He didn't expect it and it only pissed him off. I wanted him to believe that he and his bimbo of a sister didn't affect me. I couldn't look at Dom anymore though. It would only crush me further watching him as he allowed her to touch and flirt with him. Not once did he stop her hands from traveling their way down.
"Marcel, please escort the Rossi's off my property and tell those imbeciles at the front gate that the next time they allow people in without my authorization, will be the time they will meet their maker. I don't give a fuck who it is! If they do not live here, then they do not enter unless I have given the Ok or they are on guard duty." Dom ordered as he looked at Marcel while grabbing the woman's hands, turning her around and pushing her towards her brother.
"Baby, what do you mean? I thought you wanted me here. You have always told me so." She whined at him.
"Well, I revoke anything I have said in the past. What I say today is what goes. Now, fuck off!" He commanded.
Marcel got in between Dom and the woman and motioned for her to leave out the door with his hand. He, Andrea and his sister all left out the front door and I took no time to turn on my heel and leave the foyer.
"Aria, wait!" Dom called out to me as he ran, grabbing my hand to turn me around to face him.
"Dom, it doesn't matter." I tried to blow it off. I know he landed up eventually pushing her away and denying her, but why didn't he do it immediately?
"Of course it matters! I can see it in your eyes that it fucking matters! I know exactly what thoughts are running around in that pretty little head of yours rearing lies at you." He said as he rubbed circles on the top of my hand with his thumb.
I pulled my hand out of his grasp. His touch made me lose my bearings and right now I cannot falter.
"Oh really? Then answer me this. Let's see if you really know. Have you slept with that bimbo?" I asked him, with my hand on my hip.
He looked at me with a somber like expression and sighed.
"Exactly." I didn't need him to confirm what I already knew.
"Aria, you need to understand something. I have a past just like you. I never once denied it or hid it from you. However, I cannot change the past no matter what I say or do. You know this better than anyone. What I can do is choose my way forward into the future, to write a different story. I accepted your past Aria, and you are still the only woman I want. Why can't you accept mine?" His voice was soft and genuine.
I didn't know what to say. Deep down I knew he was right. Of course, he was. I cannot punish him for a past I was not involved in just like he cannot punish me for mine. The past is a funny thing though, it tends to hold so much leverage over your present and future. It can have such a stronghold that you either repeat past mistakes, inflict suffering upon yourself for past mistakes, or you are strong enough to move forward and forget past mistakes. The question is which one do you choose?
I always chose to move forward. I fought for it, even if it were to kill me. And I know it's what I should have done now. But jealousy is a nasty little thing. It makes one illogical and irrational. It forms all these thoughts inside your head that are not currently true and probably never will be. And at this moment, I had been bitten by it.
"I'm sorry Dominic, I can't do this," I said to him, with my hands shaking back and forth in the air.
I saw the hurt fill his face as I stepped backward and eventually turned and walked away. I made my way outside. I actually hadn't taken the time to look at the outdoors of this place, apart from the trees and garden. I walked out and saw Odette already in the pool with Dani. They were splashing the water around at each other and giggling. Odette wore Moana armbands to keep afloat and Moana swimming costume.
The patio was stunning. The pool wasn't massive but it was a perfect size and nestled on its own deck overlooking the beach and sea. It had stairs leading up to it from the patio. Below on the patio were outdoor couches and tables. Further down were tables and chairs.
"Oh, good! Nice of you to join us!" Dani shouted at me, trying to resonate over Odette's singing, after noticing me standing there. "Since you two want to play hide and seek most of the day, then you both can be tasked with getting my cookies out the oven and on a cooling tray for Odette."
You two? I looked around me and as I turned to my right side I noticed Dom standing a few steps behind. I huffed at the thought of being alone with him again so soon.
"How about I take over in the pool and swim with Odette like I promised this morning, then you and your brother can deal with the cookies?" I suggested, inwardly praying she would agree.
"Nope." She said with a grin. Damn it! "I'm wet and you're still dry. Makes more sense, no?"
"Ari, please can you get me my cookies? I helped mommy bake them this morning." Odette asked sweetly. Come on darling, you're supposed to be on my side here.
"Oh, alright," I whispered, followed by a deep sigh before walking into the kitchen with Dom right behind me. Marcel made his way back to the patio and sat down with Ruby as they clinked their beers together and drank.
I went straight to the oven and looked around for oven mitts. After putting them on, I turned to open the oven only to come face to face with Dom's chest. I moved around him, without making eye contact or touching him and finished my task of getting the cookies out the oven. I placed them on the countertop and turned the oven off.
Dom placed the cooling tray down and began taking the cookies out the oven tray and placing them onto it before I had a chance to. He didn't look at me once. In fact, he acted like I wasn't even there. What did I expect?
I sighed and took the oven mitts off. I leaned against the countertop with my hands and watched him as he continued. After some time I decided to help him. I reached for a cookie, only to have my hand smacked away by him like I was a child trying to steal. I looked at him, disbelieving what he had just done. I couldn't suss out if this was a joke or not. He had no emotion on his face and never once glanced my way.
Then I let my irritation, anger, and jealousy take the better of me and acted like a real child. I smacked his hand back with more force as I pouted my lips. I saw it took him by surprise at first, completely unexpected, but he was quick to retaliate. He grabbed my wrist and pulled me into him. My other hand went to his chest to balance myself a bit from the sudden movement. His head had now turned to me as he glared into my eyes. I watched as his eyes changed. His pupils became dilated and darker in color.
He then looked at my lips and licked his. I tried pulling back knowing where this was going, but his other hand wrapped around my waist giving me no more room to move as he crashed his lips into mine. At first, I tried stopping and pushing his chest away, but he only deepened the kiss. He tightened his grip around my waist and let go of my wrist to place that hand behind my head, tangling his fingers in my hair.
I was weak at this point as I gave in and kissed him back. The tingling feeling it was causing within my body made me weak. The feel of his hands on my body made me weak. Note to self, when you are fighting and trying to punish this man with silence, do not let him near you!
Our tongues met and twirled around each other as my hands stayed on his chest. Neither one of us paid attention to our surroundings and anybody could be watching us right now or walking in our direction. As good as this felt, the image of that bimbo and Alexa popped into my head. My mind fed me a picture of each of those women kissing him and placing their hands on his chest just as I was now. Then jealousy rendered its ugly self once again.
I pulled back abruptly and did something I didn't quite plan, but the smirk he had on his face got to me as he felt triumphant knowing I gave into him. So, I slapped him across the face. That smug smirk faded very quickly and now it was my turn to sport one. I turned and marched my way out of there towards the patio. I was so done with this day.
Hey my lovelies,
As you know I have been a bit quite trying to recuperate from being sick, but hopefully, next week all will be back to normal.
Thank you to all the awesome readers that have been voting.
Much love
Angie
xxx