Page 117 of Sacrifice (Corrupt Empire 2)

I fiddled with my jacket pocket again.

“Rick called me a siren and said I have Aiden wrapped around my little finger. He said I’m the one with all the control in our relationship.”

John raised an eyebrow.

“Did you tell Aiden he said that?”

“No. I didn’t believe Rick and I didn’t trust Aiden not to get mad about it.”

“He probably would’ve knowing Aiden.”

He leant in closer to me.

“Women always have all the power, Avery. All you have to do is tell him the truth.”

“What if he gets angry with me?”

He leant back again and gave me a look.

“Are you telling me he hasn’t been angry with you before?”

“Well no, he’s lost his shit with me on numerous occasions.”

“And you’re still with him.”

I shook my head, smiling.

“Okay, yes, I get it. You’re right. I need to grow a pair.”

He laughed.

“I wouldn’t quite put it like that. You’re a woman after all.”

I nudged my shoulder into his. I’d always liked John. My mum thought he had something going on with Esme, my nanny until she left when I was sixteen to go live with some guy she’d met on the internet. John had stopped working for my dad after that too. It’d always felt like too much of a coincidence for there not to have been some kind of affair going on between the two of them.

“I’ll talk to him. I don’t want things staying the way they are now.”

He nodded at me, giving me a tentative smile.

We rode the rest of the way back to Aiden’s flat in silence. He came in with me. Aiden was in his office, but he came out when he heard the door. He dropped a kiss on my forehead.

“How are James and Gert?”

“They’re fine. Gert has a new girlfriend, so we mostly talked about that.”

He raised an eyebrow. I’d forgotten to tell him Gert was bi.

“She likes girls and boys.”

“I see,” was all he said.

He looked over at John and I knew our little bit of small talk was over. Sighing heavily, I walked away into the bedroom, leaving the two of them alone.

I flicked the light on and stood at the end of the bed, staring up at the picture hanging above it. The one I’d painted of us. The representation of my submission to him.

Were Rick and John right? Did I really hold all the power? Could I fix the growing divide between Aiden and me?

There was only one way I could find out.

I walked over to the window and stared out at the dark city and its twinkling lights.

Aiden and I needed to talk.

And I wasn’t going to let him continue to pretend like nothing happened.

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