“I’m fine. Now leave,” I said as I pointed my finger at the door.
As he turned around and walked to the door, I called his name.
“Ian.”
He turned and looked at me.
“You’re right. There’s nothing fair in life. Life’s nothing but a game of who will survive and who won’t. I’m a pawn in a game of struggle and disappointments. A game that no matter how many times I go around and around, I’ll never reach the end.”
He didn’t say a word. He just turned and walked out, shutting the door behind him.
Once I was finished with my bath, I climbed out and put on one of the satin nightgowns Ian had bought me. As I was brushing my hair, I saw the laptop through the mirror of the vanity. I took it from the desk and sat down on the bed. I pulled up local job listings and saw an ad for a coffeehouse that was hiring. They wanted experienced only. I had more than enough experience, considering I worked at a coffeehouse back in Indiana for four years. Needing paper and a pen, I got up and opened the drawer to the desk. I breathed a sigh of relief when I saw some sitting there. I didn’t want to have to go downstairs and risk Ian asking what I was doing. I quickly wrote down the address of the coffeehouse and tucked it away in my new purse. As I climbed into bed, I reached over and turned off the light. My head was starting to throb and I needed to get some sleep.
“Stephen, is that you?”
“Help me, Rory. You promised you’d help me.”
“Stephen, where are you? I can’t find you. It’s too dark.”
“Rory. You promised me. You said you’d make me better and you lied. You lied, Rory,” Stephen screamed as he stabbed me.
I screamed as loudly as I could and I heard Ian’s voice in the distance. “Rory, wake up. You’re having a nightmare,” he said as he shook me.
My eyes flew open and I could barely breathe. I looked at Ian and then around the room, as I was curled up on the floor in the corner. My face was soaked with tears and my body was soaked in sweat. Ian was holding my arms and I was shaking. Suddenly, there was a woman standing in the doorway.
“Ian, are you coming back to bed, baby?” she whined.
I looked at her and then at him. I closed my eyes and slowly shook my head. “Go,” I whispered.
“Get out of here. In fact, gather your stuff and leave,” Ian said to the girl.
“But—”
“No. Don’t say another word. Leave my house now!” he said.
The girl turned away in a huff and, in an instant, she was gone. Ian brought his hand to my face and wiped away the tears underneath my eyes.
“Are you okay?” he asked.
“It was just a nightmare. I’ll be fine,” I said as Ian helped me up.
“What was your nightmare about?” he asked as he followed me to the bed.
“It was nothing. Please, just leave me alone.”
“Don’t tell me it was nothing. You were screaming at someone to stop.”
“It was only my imagination,” I said harshly.
Ian stood up and shook his head. “You know what? I’m done being nice to you or even trying to be your friend,” he said as he walked out and slammed the door shut.
I lay down and pulled the covers close to me as I grasped the edge and held on for dear life.
Chapter 5
The next morning, after I got dressed, I walked downstairs to the kitchen where Charles was making breakfast.
“Good morning, Rory. Would you like a fresh homemade blueberry muffin? They just came out of the oven thirty minutes ago. They’re Mr. Braxton’s favorite.”
I don’t know why he felt the need to tell me that. I didn’t care what Ian’s favorite muffins were. “I bet he makes you hand-pick the blueberries. It wouldn’t surprise me.”
“I heard that, Aurora,” Ian said as he walked into the kitchen in his dark gray tailored suit.
God, he looked good. I rolled my eyes and took my blueberry muffin and coffee outside on the patio.
“Where are you going?” he asked.
“Out on the patio,” I replied.
“Why can’t you eat that here, at the dining table?”
“I like being outside, if that’s okay with you.”
“Suit yourself. I really don’t care what you do.”
I sighed and sat down in the lounge chair. As soon as I was finished, I walked upstairs, grabbed my purse and, as I was heading out the front door, Ian stopped me.
“Where are you going?”
“Just into town to walk around. Don’t you have to go to your office or something?”
“How do you plan on getting to town?” he asked.
“I’m going to walk.”
Ian chuckled as he shook his head. “Do you know how far that is on foot? I’m heading to the office now, so Joshua can drop you off wherever you need to go after he drops me at the office.”
The last thing I wanted to do was sit in a car with him. I wanted to avoid him at all costs, especially after last night, but it was better than walking. At least, I thought it was.
“Fine,” I said as I turned around and walked out the door.
We climbed into the limo and both sat in silence. “Joshua, you can drop off Miss Sinclair first.”
“I thought you had to get to the office.”
“I do, but it’s no problem.”
“Where would you like to be dropped off, Miss Sinclair?” Joshua asked.
“It’s Rory, and here’s fine,” I said as he pulled up to the curb of an outdoor mall.
Joshua got out, walked around, and opened the door for me. As I was about to get out, Ian grabbed my hand.
“Here, you’ll need this.”
I opened my hand and looked at the wad of money he gave me. “I don’t want your money, Ian,” I said as I threw it down on the seat and got out of the limo.
I was still pissed at the fact that he doubted my past, but what really made me angry was how fast he went out last night and brought that whore to his bed. Who the hell does that? One minute, he’s taking me to dinner and giving me a laptop, and the next he’s f**king some girl in a room down the hall from me. The more I thought about it, the angrier I became. The least he could have done was have some common courtesy and respect. You would think that a well-bred man like that would have even an ounce of it.
I stepped inside the coffee house and looked around. It was crowded and all the tables were filled. The line of people was almost out the door. Behind the counter was a guy and a girl who looked like they were going absolutely crazy. The first customer in line was complaining that the latte she ordered wasn’t made right. I walked up to the edge of the counter and stood there for a moment until the girl looked up.