Page 24 of Revenge (Corrupt Empire 3)

Chapter Five

Avery

Present Day

The rest of the night passed by in a blur. Sitting in the back of the car with John driving, I gazed out of the window, but I wasn’t really looking at anything. I was exhausted. Talking to so many people, having to deal with congratulations for my engagement, becoming the owner of Daniels Holdings and it being my birthday, the whole night had taken a toll on me. All I wanted was to curl up in bed and go to sleep. Except I wasn’t going to get that option. Aiden and I needed to talk.

This felt like a running theme in our relationship. One of us would do something without telling the other and we’d fight over it. I wasn’t in the mood for that. We’d both done things this evening. Honestly, now I had time to think about it, this wasn’t exactly unexpected. This evening was always going to bring up challenges and surprises.

John dropped me off at the door and watched me go in. I was just thankful to be home. When I got upstairs into the flat, I realised he wasn’t home yet. I hadn’t seen him at the venue when I left so I assumed he’d gone already. Perhaps my assumption was wrong.

I let my hair down and removed my makeup before slipping into shorts and a t-shirt. I picked up my wedding ring from the bedside table and slipped it back on before crawling into bed and turning the lights out. I felt sort of exposed without it. Having it back on my finger made me feel right again. Whole somehow. It reminded me of how insanely special that day had been. Our wedding day.

I never thought I’d have a simple and quiet wedding, but even if we hadn’t done it in secret, I wouldn’t have wanted it any other way. Aiden and I had made our own family, free from the awfulness of our blood relations.

That day meant everything to me.

The day I’d become Aiden’s wife.

l

One Week Prior

“Gert, seriously, stop fussing,” I said, waving her away.

“But, Ave, it’s your fucking wedding day. You have to look perfect.”

I shook my head. I was nervous enough as it is without her readjusting my dress for the millionth time. We were standing outside the room together with James. I’d roped him into walking me down the aisle. Who better to give me away than my best friend who’d been with me through thick and thin? It’s not like my dad could be here. I shut down that thought immediately. He didn’t deserve it anyway. Not after what he’d done.

“He is here, right?” I whispered to James whilst Gert shifted on her feet in front of us, waiting for the music to start.

“Of course he is, why wouldn’t he be?” he hissed back.

“I don’t know. I haven’t spoken to him since last night… It felt weird being away from him.”

I’d stayed in my own flat with James and Gert. We’d all curled up together in my bed last night, talking about how insane this all was until we fell asleep. I woke up missing Aiden like crazy. I hated spending the night away from him. We promised we wouldn’t contact each other until we saw each other today. James took my phone away from me and hid it. I’d almost begged him to tell me where it was at one point because my heart ached so much. Perhaps it was nerves, but I wanted Aiden so fucking badly.

“Cold feet?”

“What? No. I want to marry him. I just don’t want him to bolt.”

James rolled his eyes.

“He hasn’t. Don’t forget, he asked you to marry him.”

I tried to keep that in mind. It didn’t help my nerves in the slightest. They coiled in my stomach, making my heart feel tight. I wanted this moment to be special.

The music started. Gert looked back, giving me a wink. Fuck. This was it. I was getting married. Shit. Who’d have thought this day would actually happen. That Aiden and I would make such a huge commitment to each other.

I tucked my arm into James’ as Gert went through the open doorway. I couldn’t see past the first row of empty chairs at the back of the room.

“You got this, Ave. You two love each other, don’t be scared.”

I nodded at him. It was now or never.

James knew the truth. We’d also had to tell Gert a little about what was going on because otherwise next week she’d be confused as to why I was announcing my engagement to Tristan Shaw. I hadn’t revealed the whole truth about my family, only that we were doing it to take down the Shaws. She wasn’t unhappy about it considering she hated Tristan just as much as we did. But she was also super excited about us having a wedding.

James squeezed my hand before indicating with his head we should move. I took a deep breath and then we both walked towards the door.

---