Page 95 of Revenge (Corrupt Empire 3)

Chapter Nineteen

Avery

I hated him. I fucking hated him. Rick fucking Morgan could go to fucking hell. I was so angry and yet, Aiden just held onto my hand and stroked his thumb along the back of it most of the way home. His touch soothed me somewhat. It reminded me he was there for me.

I felt like such an idiot for getting so worked up in a public place, but what Rick said made me see red. He’d known that Aiden would go after my parents. Probably long before it ever even occurred to Aiden himself. That’s what made me sick. That he’d counted on his own son becoming a murderer. It horrified me that anyone could ever think their child was capable of that. That they wanted their kid to turn into a cold hearted killer.

And now I was dreading getting home because I was pretty sure Aiden didn’t know why I was so pissed off.

We reached the flat long before I wanted to. I trudged into the lift with him, feeling completely exhausted all of a sudden. It felt like every day of my life had become a nightmare. There was always something lurking around the corner to catch me off guard just when I thought we had things under control.

Aiden unlocked the front door and we stepped in. He took my coat off me and hung both of ours up. He followed me into the bedroom, watching me strip down to my underwear. I took off my bra. He didn’t say anything when I stole one of his t-shirts out of his cupboard and put it on. It was huge on me but being wrapped up in something of his comforted me. The smell of cedarwood and pine filled my nostrils. Perfectly Aiden. He was right there and could comfort me himself, but I needed something more. Something to settle my racing heart.

I sat on the edge of the bed and waited. He teetered on his feet for a moment before he stripped out of his own clothes and sat next to me in just his boxers. He put his hand out to me and I took it.

“What’s wrong, princess?”

“He’s a bastard.”

“Well, that’s not news to me.”

“I hate him. I hate everything about him.”

He watched me carefully as if waiting for me to elaborate.

“I know you don’t think of him as your dad, but he is. And it makes me sick. Sick to think he wanted you to… to…”

I couldn’t get the words out. I couldn’t call him a killer even though that’s what he was. Heck, that was now what I was even though I hadn’t meant to kill Tristan. Not really.

“He knew you’d kill,” I whispered. “He expected it of you. How can a parent want that for their child?”

Aiden let out a long breath as if he’d been holding it in for a lifetime.

“That’s why you’re upset?”

I nodded, feeling tears pricking at the corners of my eyes.

“Not because it reminded you of that night?”

I shook my head. It had reminded me, but I dealt with it. I was done crying over what happened. Done feeling like my world was collapsing before my eyes every time I thought of my parents dying in front of me. I’d faced that the day I went to the penthouse. I’d relived it over and over again. I couldn’t stay stuck in the past.

“I told you Rick was a psychotic cunt. He doesn’t know the first thing about being a parent.”

He let go of my hand, reaching up and cupping my face in both his hands.

“You’re too fucking good for this world, princess. That you would even care so much about this… fuck. I don’t need him and neither do you. He might be the man who brought me into the world, but he’s never going to be my parent. Even if he paid for everything, he’s not my mother and he’s not Tina.”

“He paid for everything?”

He nodded.

“He told me that. He also said he regretted that my mother ever died. That he wasn’t there to stop it happening. I don’t know how I feel about any of that shit. I’m sorry you had to hear it though. I knew what kind of man he was, but you didn’t.”

I looked into his grey eyes. They were so full of compassion for me. How could I ever have thought that Aiden was a monster? How could I ever have seen anything but the man in front of me who loved me without any conditions? Who saw me for me and who cared for me the way he did.

“How did you know?”

He shook his head, dropping his hands from my face.

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