♥️

I dance with Aiden in confused yet fluid motions. Classical music swarms the room as the dance goes on even though inside I'm screaming, thirty-second intervals aren't enough time. I need to get Aiden off of this floor, now.

I fear I would slap him, if it weren't for the press taking pictures of the event and the high profile people taking up residency in our home.

I can't speak. My heart is shattered and I'm so broken. Aiden looks at me with glossy eyes, a slight smirk playing on his face. Does he not know he broke me? How does he not see it in my eyes?

He pulls me closer; my body is stiff. From heartbreak, fear, and the threat... or warning I received. I open my mouth to tell him, but he cuts me off.

"You are the most stunning girl in the room" He leans down, so only I can hear him. "I can't wait to dip my cock inside of you tonight." I can smell the whiskey on his breath. It stings my skin.

That's it. "Out of all the places, Aiden?" I try to choke back tears as he cocks a brow at me. "In the greenhouse? On our bed?"

He sways a little, stumbling on his feet. "What are you talking about baby?" I look around the room, noticing for the first time that so many are staring at us, this is our event after all, but I need privacy.

"I saw you kissing her Aiden!" I keep my voice low and make sure to fake a bright smile, but my words are clear.

He looks at me, and laughs. Throwing his head back slightly, my rage boils over. He laughs once more before grabbing my mom for a dance. What the freak is going on?

"Wait!" I say, but he's already into the next waltz. I couldn't see past my jealousy to tell him about the warning, and I realize it the moment the stranger grabs me again for another dance. Aiden's too drunk to realize it's the same person I was dancing with when he took me away. I look for Howard... but I don't see him.

My entire body trembles, "I'm not trying to scare you." He tells me, his smokey eyes look through me.

So many are looking at me as my eyes pan for Howard, I can't cause a scene. Who knows what would happen? "Then tell me who you are."

He shakes his head, "It's not important, I just need you to understand it's not over. It's just begun."

I stand a little straighter, "You know nothing about me and I don't trust you."

He nods his head towards everyone I love.

"That is your mother, Pamela Banks." She laughs as Aiden guides her through the dance, carefree and unaware of what her daughter is dealing with.

"That is your best friend, Ashley Walters." Ashley's blonde hair twirls as Ricky guides her in the dance.

"That is her guard and boyfriend, Ricky Morris."

He looks straight at me, "Your guard went to the restroom, Howard Nelson."

His gaze dramatically sweeps to my right. "And finally, the one who got you into this mess, Aiden Scott."

He twirls me out, my knees almost collapse. "This isn't Aiden's fault." I defend his name, even though he crushed me. Everyone changes dancing partners, not us.

He nods, a smile tilting on his face. "He's a good man, lacks direction, certainly not worthy of you but he does love you deeply."

"Are you trying to scare me?" .

He shakes his head; his dark hair moves with him. "No, I'm trying to show you. You're too comfortable. You need to be careful."

Obviously, if this guy knows all of our names, and he seems to especially know me, maybe he's right. "What do we do?"

"Lie low. For the love of God don't move again." I laugh, that's exactly what we're going to do and the fact that he knows are whereabouts sends a shiver down my spine. "I'm not playing around, the security here is top level. There isn't anywhere safer."

"You got in." I retort with narrowed eyes, trying to look beyond his mask to see his features.

He laughs, "Not everything is so cut and dry, Emilia. I got in because someone let me in." So, we have a rat? "And no, you don't have a rat. I'm close with someone in your circle, I'm not a threat or else I wouldn't be here."

"Then show me who you are." He shakes his head again at my request.

I need to extract as much information as I can from him before the next thirty seconds are up. "If you're not the bad guy... who is?" I try to lock every distinguishing feature of the man in my mind to tell Howard and Aiden.

"The man who took Aiden in Italy, he's coming back." His expression is grim, even through his thick mask I can see that. "Not tonight, but he's planning something."

All of the air leaves my lungs, so it's not people? It's one man? "Who is it?" I don't try to hide the tremble in my voice.

"It's-" Aiden grabs me again, musical chairs with Emilia. I turn towards the man one last time as he retreats.

I raise my voice slightly, "How can I trust you?"

"Remember the yellow roses, Emmy." My stomach drops. The only person who's ever called me that was... my dad. But that man isn't my father. I don't know who he is.

I try to move from Aiden's strong grip, but his hands are planted firmly around my waist.

"Am I drunk, or did you just dance with the same man three times?" He asks, his words slightly slurring. "And what did he say about roses?"

Our safety is more important than my seething disgust with him right now. "Something isn't right." I tell him and watch as his eyes pan back to the man who has slipped through the crowd... and vanished. "That man... he warned me... we're in danger Aiden."

His body envelops me like a shield as his eyes wander the dance floor. "Why didn't you start with that?" He straightens up, pulling me closer to him as we make our exit. I see him talk into his cuff, it's a mic.

The crowd claps as we step off the floor, donation time. Aiden's serious demeanor changes to a bright smile, calm and collected... I don't know how he does it. He writes a check and hands it to the woman at the counter. I wave to the crowd as we retreat, trying to keep my emotions in check.

My hands reach out for a glass of champagne that's floating around on a silver platter, accompanied by a man dressed in all black. Presumably, a guard hidden as a caterer with the way his muscles strain in his jacket. I pluck a long-stemmed glass from the shiny tray and down the bubbly liquid to steel my nerves as we continue our silent but deadly trek through the ballroom.

Aidens movements are quick as we walk into the kitchen and past the caterers. "Wait, why are we going in the pantry?" I ask when he closes the door behind us, but my question is answered when he reaches to the top shelf and pulls back a lever that's hidden inside of a box of cereal that would normally be too talk for me to reach, it's like something out of a movie as the wall begins to move back.

Aiden talks to himself in hushed tones as we descend the stairs. I pull his arm, "Wait, my mom!"

"She's safe. I promise, Howard's with her, that's who I talked to on the mic."

***

We round a corner and walk into a room, the walls are stone and it would be warmly lit and rather romantic if it weren't for the extremely bright lights overhead. The room looks familiar to a wine cellar. A few people dot the area. "Oh, by the way, this is my double." Aiden laughs but there's no humor in it. I look over to see the man, who looks exactly like Aiden.

The man stands tall, my heart heals when I realize it wasn't Aiden I saw in the greenhouse, it was him. A red lipstick kiss is stained on his neck. "Names Will." We exchange greetings as Aiden informs the unfamiliar men of what's going on. "And Will, if you're going to have fun with a girl... for your sake, don't do it where my girlfriend can see you."

Upon closer inspection, I don't miss the way fake Aiden - Will's- jaw isn't as sculpted as my Aiden's or the way his eyes are slightly more almond-shaped. If he were ever close to me, like this, I would be able to tell the differences with the way I've traced Aiden's features so many times.

Aiden pulls me close, wrapping me in a protective hug. I can't help myself, "Why didn't you tell me it was your double during the dance?"

"Why did you assume I would ever cheat on you?" . He leans in so only I can hear, "We'll discuss your punishment later." Even though so many things are happening, his words make my thighs clench together.

I look back at Will who really does look frighteningly like Aiden. "Where is my double?" I ask, curious if she looks as much like me as Aidens looks like him.

"Not here, we only needed mine tonight just in case. You were always meant to come down here if anything were to happen." I look around the brightly lit basement which is stocked to the brim with monitors showcasing every inch of the property.

"What did he look like?" Aiden asks, taking a seat in front of one of the computers. His eyes sweep frantically across the screens. "Was it fucking Leo?"

I shake my head, "No, he was older. American, tan skin, smokey eyes, maybe in his forties, dark hair, a little grey peeking through."

Aiden nods, taking notes, then he turns to me. "How did he get in?" he asks the question to himself, but I know the answer.

"Said he knows someone."

He runs a long hand down his face, "Fucking wonderful. This place is as secure as a maximum-security prison... but we obviously have someone we can't trust." he looks around the room, "Maybe it's time to switch locations."

The stranger's words run through my mind once more, we're safe here. "Aiden, I don't think he was trying to threaten me, he was trying to help." My voice is quiet.

He scoffs, "Are you serious right now?"

"I think... I think he knew my dad."

Aiden stands, his hands clamping gently across my shoulders. "How?"

I inform him of the full conversation to see if he can decipher anything I might have missed.

"You speak to no one of this, understand?" I nod, agreeing that this needs to stay low.

Ricky walks down the stairs alone, his expression is serious. "Do I need to make arrangements for us to move?" Howard must have filled him in. Aiden looks at me, thinking.

"No, we're done running. Fucking done."

***

Aiden turns to me, his eyes seething with rage. "Follow me." He instructs, not waiting for me to move, his fingers lace around my wrist as he guides me down the hall and into another room. Upstairs, it's brilliantly decorated and music flows throughout the space. In the other room, men's dress shoes tap violently against the stone floors as they pace while thinking. But in this room, it's silent.

Violently, he slams the heavy wooden door shut behind me, a warm light showers the room in golden tones. I don't have time to admire the stonework of the room or the peculiar box that sits in the middle of the floor.

"Where are we?" He doesn't answer, instead, he flips on a switch, nothing happens that I can see and he doesn't answer my question.

His emerald eyes bore into mine, anger swirls in his irises. "Control, Emilia. It's needed right now." His head dives to my exposed neck. "May I do what I want with you tonight?"

♥️

See y'all Wednesday!

Book Update! Everything is running smoothly, can't wait for publishing at the end of the month!

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