by K E Osborn
“I know, and I’m sorry for not telling you where we really went.”
He furrows his brows. “What do you mean. Where did you go, Jeni? Tell me.”
“Don’t be mad, but Brielle took me to see a psychologist. She was really nice, and she completely gets me, but I didn’t—”
“Are you fucking kidding me? Don’t be mad? Jeni, I’m glad, no ecstatic, you’ve seen someone. But why wouldn’t you tell me about it? You’ve been keeping these secrets from me, and you go on and on about trust? Where’s your fucking trust in me? I have done nothing but trust you and love you since we met, and this is how you repay me? Jeni, can’t you see how completely fucked up this all is?” He breathes heavily out his nose. “I’m so beyond angry I just don’t know what to do. What else have you lied to me about?”
My bottom lip starts to quiver. “It’s not that I lied to you, it was just omitting some facts.”
“Oh, and so you think that’s okay? Do you? Keeping me in the dark, so you suffer in silence while I’m oblivious to the fact that you’re drowning in a sea of desperation caused by my asshole of a father. Jeni, remember the word ‘trust’ because you obviously have none in me, so why should I bother?”
“Aiden, please.” My chest squeezes so tight I feel like I can’t breathe.
“No, Jeni, this is ridiculous. What else aren’t you telling me? I want to know everything, and I want to know it all right now!”
Aiden’s so far beyond angry, he’s beyond reasoning with. I’m not sure if I should tell him or not, but I think if I don’t say anything and keep him in the dark any longer, it will break him. So, I decide to tell him absolutely everything.
“Okay. But promise me you won’t go in there and commit murder. I can’t lose you again, Aiden.”
“I can’t promise you anything right now.” He looks right through me, the disappointment is so clear. His body’s rigid, and his eyes are a glassy, stern pool of bitter anger. I bite my bottom lip and exhale, preparing myself to tell him everything.
“He’s been making me repeat stupid mantras like ‘I’m a stupid insignificant bitch,’ or something like that, and he’s been raising his hand to me or smashing it on the desk in front of me. I showed him fear, and he knows how to abuse it. Your father uses it to his advantage, and he corners me every chance he gets so he can belittle and abuse me.”
His top lip curls up as he turns his head away from me, but I continue, “The day I fell over in the Anderson meeting… yeah, that wasn’t a fall, Niall tripped me. Your father said that if I told you what he was doing to me that he would do all sorts of crazy shit. But the doozy was getting Jason released on a day pass. Honestly, Aiden, I don’t know how I’d function knowing Jason was out of that place. Aiden, I was trying to protect you from it all, and I knew once you found out, you would do exactly this. I was trying to protect your relationship with him. So, it’s not like I didn’t trust you per se, Aiden, it’s more about not taking the risk.” I take Aiden’s stiff hand in mine.
“Jeni, I love you, but sometimes you can be so naïve. Father doesn’t know the warden’s son. He made that shit up to scare you,” he says, making me frown.
“Oh…” I say as the realization hits me that maybe Niall has been playing me all along. Anger surges through me, pure unadulterated hatred toward him, and in this moment, I decide he no longer deserves my attempts to protect his relationship with his son.
Aiden needs to know absolutely everything.
“The worst part is yet to come.”
He glances at me sideways. “What do you mean the worst part?”
I inhale deeply. “That day, when you went to the Anderson’s, and I fell off the ladder in the kitchen…” his eyebrows furrow while he listens intently, “… Niall pulled me down from the ladder. He watched me fall and saw the box land on my stomach, and then he left me there on the floor to fend for myself.”
Aiden stops breathing, his eyes glaze over like he’s completely lost. It’s as if his soul has left his body, and he’s just a shell of a man standing in front of me while he processes the information I’ve just laid out in front of him. His lips tighten into a tight, thin line as I watch his face turn red. A small grunt escapes his mouth, while his nostrils flare. “Fuuuck!” he yells, making me jump.
Suddenly, he turns toward his desk, picks up his desk lamp and throws it against the wall, smashing it to pieces. I watch as he paces around the room, breathing heavily.
“Babe…” My breathing is rushed. I hate seeing him like this.
“Don’t. Don’t talk to me right now. How… how could you not tell me this, Jeni?” he yells at me for the first time.
Tears form and then run down my cheeks and pool at my chin. I’ve never seen him like this.
I reach out my hand to touch his, but he pulls away. Aiden’s breathing is erratic as he paces the floor, stomping his feet with every step. He’s so angry, it’s almost scary.
“He killed our baby,” he mumbles under his breath.
“Aiden,” I say, trying to gain his attention.
He shakes his head and storms over to the door, pulling it open with such force that when it opens, the door handle smashes against the wall behind it, leaving a gaping hole in the plasterboard. I run behind him as he stomps over to his father’s office and makes his way inside.
“Aiden, stop!” I yell, but he ignores me.
I make it to the doorway just in time to see Aiden pick his father up by the scruff of his neck and push him up against the wall behind him.
“Son, think about who you’re manhandling,” Niall warns as he’s thrust up against the wall, his feet barely touching the floor.
Aiden doesn’t say anything, but I see his right fist clench, and then in what seems like slow motion, he punches Niall in the nose, a resounding thwack filters through the air. Niall groans, falling to the floor, and Aiden hovers over the top of his father, landing blow after vicious blow into Niall’s face. Blood pools onto the floor as Brielle screams at Aiden to stop, but he repeatedly punches Niall into a bloody mess.
Numb—I feel numb.
I’m standing, not doing anything, but watching Aiden beat his father repeatedly.
Bree runs up to Aiden grabbing his arm. He glares at her with an intense burn in his eyes that sends fear into even me.
“Aiden, stop! Please, stop! You’re going to kill him,” Bree begs as tears run down her cheeks.
Aiden looks down at his father moaning on the floor and exhales. He glances over at me, and my bottom lip quivers. I’m shaking so much my vision is blurred.
Bree kneels to tend to her father as Aiden stands and storms out of the office in a huff. He pushes past me, making his way back to his office.
Feeling completely impassive, I follow slowly. I walk into his office and see him pacing the floor again. Biting my bottom lip, I stand in the doorway watching him.
“I can’t believe this,” he grunts under his breath as he stops and looks at me. His brows furrow as he takes in a deep breath. He shakes his head and walks toward me, bloodstains on his clothes. I feel completely emotionless as I watch him walk past me and toward the elevator.
I turn to watch him pressing the button over and over again. “Aiden, where are you going?” I ask with a weak voice.
“I can’t be around any of you right now,” he snaps sharply and then enters the elevator.
A sudden wave of panic rips through me, and I start to run toward the elevator. Aiden sees me but pushes the close door button. I feel physically sick. It feels like all the walls are closing in on me. “Aiden, don’t leave,” I yell across the room.
He lets the doors close. I reach them too late and Aiden is gone. I bang on the doors in frustration as anxiety overwhelms me. My breathing becomes erratic, and I can’t help the fresh tears that sting my eyes. I cry out some sort of shrieking sound, and an overwhelming sense of loss takes over my entire body. I turn and slide down the doors as the emotion overcomes me. I bring my knees up to my chest as Bree
steps out of her father’s office and looks at me. To be honest, I can’t tell if she is angry with me or not, but right now I really don’t give a flying fuck.
Aiden’s gone.
And I don’t know what that means.
I want to chase after him, but that will probably make things worse. I need to let him process the information on his own and deal with it in his way.
“What the hell happened to make Aiden so angry?” Bree asks, walking over to me. I sniff and look up at her. She seems conflicted as I guess she should be—having to deal with her brother and her father fighting can’t be easy.
“I told him everything, including that Niall pulled me from the ladder and left me in the kitchen while I was losing our baby.”
She’s shocked, but she nods. “Okay, that’s good. I’m glad you did. Give him some time. He’ll be back. He just needs to process. It’s a lot to deal with. Aiden needs some space. Don’t worry,” she says, pats my shoulder, and heads back in to Niall’s office.
Eventually, I get up and make my way to my desk.
Bree walks out from the kitchen with some ice in a hand towel, I’m guessing for her father’s nose.
“Is he okay?” I ask, wiping my tear-soaked cheeks as she walks toward his office. “He’s hurt. More emotionally than physically. He’s okay. I don’t think his nose is broken, just bruised and bloodied up. Surprisingly, Aiden didn’t do much damage, he must have held back.”
Niall storms out of his office, confusion written all over his face and blood on his shirt. “Callie, when’s dinner?” he asks Brielle.
She looks around and shakes her head. “Father, what’s going on?”
“Nothing, I’m fine,” he says bluntly, and then walks back in his office.
Bree glances at me, I shrug, not knowing what’s going on with him. She widens her eyes and shrugs as well.
Niall walks back out with his jacket. “Thought you would’ve left by now,” he says to Brielle, who looks at him furrowing her brows.
“It’s not five o’clock, Father,” she says.
“Of course it is,” he says, checking his watch. He seems confused when he sees the time. “I’m going now. Have a good night,” he says nicely, which is so out of character for him. I look at Brielle, who watches her father walk to the elevator and leave. I have no idea what’s just happened. Maybe Aiden’s hits were harder than we thought, and he has a concussion. He didn’t even look at me, which is weird.
Brielle walks over to my desk. “That was strange, right?”
“Yeah, it’s peculiar even for Niall, who I think is odd all the time,” I say as the elevator chimes. We both look over, and Aiden walks back in, and instant relief floods over me when I see him. I want to run to him, but I don’t know what state his mind is in right now. So, I stay where I am.
Aiden walks over, a stoic look on his face. “Bree, you and I need to talk, but it can wait. Jeni, my office, now.” He turns and walks toward his office, leaving us both staring at each other. Bree bites her bottom lip. I exhale slowly and walk into the room. He’s standing in the middle, one hand in his hair, the other on his hip.
He turns to face me. “Shut the door,” he instructs with no emotion.
I shut it with a click, my heart racing as it waits for the onslaught of yelling that I know is about to happen. Aiden walks over, and I tense, but he takes me into his arms and embraces me tightly, holding my head close to his chest. Instantly, I relax at his touch and wrap my arms around his waist. I close my eyes and hold on to him as tightly as humanly possible.
Thank God, this wasn’t at all what I was expecting, but I’m glad he’s not yelling at me right now. It’s a much better reaction than the anger I was sure I was going to face.
He sighs, leaning in and kisses my head. “I’m sorry, baby.”
I lift my head to look at him. His eyes are glassy and full of regret.
“No, don’t be. I should have told you sooner.”
“Yes, you should have, but let’s not dwell on that. I shouldn’t have left the way I did, but I needed to process and take everything in. I can’t begin to imagine how you must’ve felt after you lost our baby, knowing it was that bastard’s fault. I can’t even begin to describe how utterly devastated I am that he did this to you. To us. There are no words…” he trails off, swallows hard, then leans down to softly kiss my lips. “I’ve made a decision.”
I can see whatever it is, he’s not going to sway on it. “Okay?”
“I am leaving the business. I know you don’t want me to leave here, Jeni, but I don’t see any other option. I have more than enough money for us to start a new company, and I have plenty of clients who are loyal and will transfer. They deal solely with me, anyway. Plus, I can’t stand to be around him or even in the same proximity as him right now. Fuck, probably ever.”
Aiden needs this, I see it clearly. He needs time with me, and I really need some time with him, so I agree. His hand moves to entwine his fingers with mine. I look down at his right hand, and his knuckles are bruised and bloodied. I wince and bring his hand up to my lips to kiss.
“Let’s go home,” he says.
And with that, we turn and walk out of O’Connell Finance for the last time.
The past couple of days, we’ve slept in, spent a day at the park feeding the birds, and even managed to take a walk along the beach. After everything that transpired, we’ve definitely needed the quality time together.
I’m not looking forward to today, though. We’re going to see Dr. Lovett together, and for some reason, my nerves are back.
Instead of Mike driving, Aiden drives us to the clinic. An odd silence fills the air on the commute. For me, I know my nerves are amping up. I can only imagine what’s going through his mind.
Parking, we make our way inside holding hands. Upon entering the office, I say hello to Tracey, the receptionist, who warmly smiles at Aiden.
We haven’t been waiting for more than about five minutes before my attention is drawn to laughter, and I see Dee walking out with a patient. “You’re doing so well, Jane, keep up the good work. I don’t need to see you for another month,” she says, then looks over to acknowledge me.
She gestures for us to follow her, and we stand and walk toward her room, making our way into her office and the sofa.
“Jeni, it’s so good to see you again.” She glances at Aiden. “I’m Deanna, but you can call me Dee,” she informs Aiden.
“I’m Aiden, Jeni’s fiancé,” he replies, sitting on the sofa.
She smiles. “How have you been, Jeni?”
All I can do is exhale in disappointment at Niall, but mainly at myself that I let it go this far. I look at Aiden, and he smiles, comforting me.
“We’ve had a setback but otherwise, I’m okay.”
“Well, that’s a step in the right direction. But Jeni, I want to see you happy again, not just okay.”
“Me, too. I want nothing more than for Jeni to be happy. That’s all I’ve ever wanted,” Aiden laments. I take his hand and entwine our fingers.
Dee smiles and writes something on her notepad. “So, tell me what’s been happening since I last saw you with your sister-in-law.”
I look up at the ceiling and sigh. “So much has happened. Where do I start?”
“At the beginning,” she says with a kind smile.
I take in a deep breath. “Well, I admitted everything to Aiden about what his father was doing to me.”
“That’s good. Aiden, how are you dealing with all of this?”
He grimaces. “Not too good. I ahh… don’t know how to feel toward my father. I hate him for everything he’s done to my girl. I can’t believe the lengths he went to, to torment and abuse her, when she’s never done anything but be civil toward him. I have a lot of anger issues, and they all stem from him… I ended up hitting a client because he was flirting with Jeni, and I think my anger is getting the better of me. With everything that’s happened to us… well, I guess I’m starting to feel it. I’
ve left the family business, but I know Jeni doesn’t want us to. She has father issues of her own that stem from her father abandoning her, and she has some twisted idea that because I have a father, I should learn to deal with him and try to mend our relationship.” He takes a long, drawn out breath. “I can’t… not now. The damage has been done. I can never forgive my father for what he’s done to Jeni… to the both of us.” He tightens his hand in mine. “But I do love my job, and I can’t help but be sad at the thought of leaving.”
“Can you work there and not associate with your father?” Dee asks.
“No, it would be impossible. Our offices are next to each other, so I would still have to see him every day. I have no ties to him as father and son, that bond was broken ages ago, and it’s not Jeni’s fault. It’s his.”
“You are correct in that assumption, Aiden. Jeni, this is not your fault. Aiden’s father sounds like he destroyed his relationship with Aiden all on his own. He’s to blame, Jeni. Not you.”
I sigh. “In my head, I know that, but I just can’t help but think what if I’d never come into Aiden’s life? Would his relationship with his father be okay? My answer always comes back as yes.”
“But, Jeni, you can’t live your life with ‘what ifs’ and ‘maybes.’ Aiden has you in his life, and he doesn’t want to change that. Is that right?”
“Of course, without a doubt. I always want you in my life and by my side. And if losing Father has to happen for me to get that, then that’s how it’ll have to be. Don’t you see? I choose you, Jeni. If he threatens or abuses you mentally or physically again, and you don’t tell me—”
“I promise to tell you. Keeping secrets from you was the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do. I wanted to tell you so many times what was happening, but I could never find the courage. I’m sorry that I didn’t put all my belief in you.”
He takes my hands in his. “Baby, you don’t know how much that hurt me. I felt like you had betrayed me by not telling me the truth. You go on about ‘trust,’ and I give you mine freely. And after everything we have been through, you didn’t trust me enough to tell me... you broke my heart, Jeni. How can I trust you if you don’t trust me enough to tell me everything? We’re getting married. A marriage is based on love, commitment, and trust. If we don’t have that, then we have nothing,” Aiden says, ripping my heart apart.
