Page 76
The short bout of silence gave her false confidence that he’d quickly leave her alone—confidence that Cassius shattered only seconds later. “Open the door.”
“Cass.”
“Do not make me act an ass in this nice establishment by breaking it down to get to you. I know you’re not okay. Just open the door and talk to me.”
Withholding her snicker, she rolled her eyes. “They’re going to ban you and make you pay for it.”
“I’ve had better food at less expensive places and more than enough money to cover their little ass bill. Now, open the door. Please.”
Aella quickly realized that trying to push him away wasn’t working. Knowing he likely would break down the door to ensure she was okay motivated her to reluctantly unlock it and let him inside.
His thick brows were furrowed in concern as he stepped inside and quickly closed the door, locking it behind him. “What’s wrong? What happened?”
“Nothing,” she sighed, backing into the wall.
“Elle.”
“I don’t know, okay? And I’d rather not spend the night in a restaurant bathroom trying to sort it out.”
“Did I say something to offend you?”
He hadn’t. Not purposely.
“No, it’s not that,” Aella wrapped her arms around her body. She knew there was no way she could tell Cassius what Elio said to her without him going on a murderous rampage. She may not have liked Elio, but that didn’t mean she wanted him to die. “Everything you said was perfect. Tonight is perfect. But earlier, I got the unfortunate reminder that none of this is real. If circumstances weren’t what they were, we wouldn’t be here. You wouldn’t be here. And I wouldn’t have been traded to the highest bidder at the auction.”
The last sentence was delivered with so much bitterness that Aella surprised herself.
Slipping his hands into his pockets, Cassius hummed thoughtfully. “Before I respond, is that it? You got everything off your chest?”
“You’re asking ‘is that it’ like that’s not a lot.”
“It is,” he agreed. “I’m not taking any of that away from you. I just want to ensure you said everything you needed to say and feel seen and heard.”
Aella’s eyes met his. “It would be premature for me to answer that when you haven’t responded.”
“Yet,” Cassius extended his hand. Aella begrudgingly accepted, allowing him to pull her into his arms. “Who the fuck said something about you being up for auction? Elio’s stupid ass?”
That made her blood run cold; she was unaware that Cassius had seen their interaction.
“I—”
“Before you lie to try to save his ass, know that I saw from the time he sat down until the time he got up. Toward the end of the conversation, he said something that either offended you or pissed you off, and your fake-ass brother flew in to save the day.”
Aella snickered despite being in her feelings. “That was so unnecessary.”
Cassius ignored her. “Had there not been a room full of witnesses, I’d have broken Elio’s jaw then and there, but I opted to wait until later to ask you what happened. Obviously, later is earlier than I anticipated.”
“What was said doesn’t really matter.”
“The fuck if it doesn’t. Tell me.”
Rolling her eyes yet again, she shifted in his hold. “Long story short, I told him Ilaria wasn’t for sale, and he replied that I was.”
“Hmm,” Cassius hummed.
“Hey,” Aella gripped the front of his shirt tightly. “Don’t do anything stupid.”
“Defending you is far from something stupid, Elle. And if you think I’ma let that muthafucker get away with talking to you crazily, then you don’t know me at all.”
