Love Me? The Trust Me? Trilogy (16 page)

"I'm so proud of you."

We stand there holding each other for what seems like an eternity, but in reality, it's only a few minutes. We make our way back to the car and drive to the airport. He never lets go of me.

Chapter 10

We both decided yesterday, when we got back from Vienna, that we would go to work today. It'll serve as a distraction for us both. Aiden spent a lot of time with me, but now he needs to concentrate and focus on his work again.

I get dressed slowly. I'm feeling very nervous about going back to work, back to Alistair and where our baby was taken from us. Aiden watches me closely; I'm extra quiet this morning.

I make my way to the kitchen where he's making breakfast. My nerves get the better of me, and I rush to the bathroom and vomit. I cough and splutter into the bowl as Aiden comes in behind me.

"Jeni, are you alright?" he asks squatting beside me and holding my hair. I take some toilet paper and wipe my mouth.

"I'm okay."

"You're not going into work like this today."

"We have to go. I have to push through it and get back into a normal routine. If I don't, I'll fall apart."

I stand up and wash my face. He exhales and accepts my decision.

***

When we arrive at work, Brielle runs to my side and hugs me tightly. I feel numb while she talks. I don't even really listen to her. It's as though I can hear her, but it's not registering. She talks to Aiden, who is holding on to my hand tightly. They finish talking, and Bree walks back to her desk. He starts to walk, and I follow him to my desk. I sit down and turn on the computer.

"If you want to leave at any time during the day, you let me know." He kisses my cheek and walks to his office.

I spend most of the day avoiding the kitchen; even looking at the doorway brings tears to my eyes. Eventually, though, my craving for coffee gives out, and I slowly walk toward the kitchen. Brielle says nothing as I stand in front of the doorway. With my eyes closed, I prepare myself. My breathing is shallow and quick and my heart races. Who knew going to make a coffee would be so heart wrenching? I swallow, mentally reliving falling on the table and hitting the floor. A single tear runs down my cheek. I feel arms wrap around my waist and open my eyes to see Aiden holding me from behind. He rests his head on my shoulder, and I exhale when I realize he's there comforting me.

"I love you," he whispers into my ear.

I inhale sharply as a small sob escapes me.

"You don't have to go in there if you don't want to. I can bring you coffee from now on. Think of it as a role reversal."

I clear my throat and turn to face him. I wrap my arms around his neck. "Thank you and I love you too. I need to try and move on. Anyway, if I keep avoiding the kitchen, how can I do my job, especially if Bree isn't here to help with meetings? No, I need to do this, but with your help," I stipulate.

"You're the bravest woman I've ever met." He kisses me softly.

He takes my hand and walks with me into the kitchen. The energy in there immediately fills me with sorrow. I swallow hard when I see the ladder leaning against the back wall. It looks like nothing disastrous has happened in here; everything looks the same. He looks down at my tear-soaked eyes.

"You're my world. Even though it feels like our world ended in here, we don't have to let it rule how we feel every day."

"I know. It's going to be hard reliving it every time I come in here though."

"Time will make it easier." He sniffs and wipes away my tears, fighting back his own. I exhale loudly, letting the emotions out. I walk with him toward the coffee machine and pull out two mugs from the dishwasher.

"We could always replace the bad memories with some new good ones?" He comes up from behind and kisses my neck seductively. I let out a small giggle. I turn and face him, throwing my arms around his neck as he holds me tightly around my waist, pulling me into him. I look up at him and he leans down, kissing me passionately while we wait for our coffee to brew.

***

It's time to leave work, to go to the mansion for dinner. Callie wants to talk with us about Aiden's birthday. I know he isn't interested in anything big. I'm thinking maybe heading to a restaurant or something. I don't feel like going, but I know I have to keep myself occupied. Brielle and I wait for Aiden and Alistair to come out to meet us. Eventually, he comes out, putting on his suit jacket and shutting his door. Alistair exits his office. We meet in the middle of the foyer and walk to the elevator. Aiden takes my hand in his as we walk into the elevator; Alistair looks down at our entwined hands and huffs.

"See you at home, Aiden."

We exit the elevator, and he completely ignores me as usual. Aiden shakes his head while we walk through the main foyer.

"Good evening, Mr. O'Connell," Josie calls out right on cue.

I roll my eyes. He waves to her and tightens his grip on my hand.

We head down the stairs to the parking garage where Mike and Bill are waiting for us.

"Good evening, Miss Taylor. How was your day?"

"Fine, thanks, Mike."

He opens the rear passenger door, and we slide in.

"And your day, sir?"

"Flat-out busy. We're heading to my parents tonight, Mike. They're conspiring something for my birthday."

"It's not conspiring if you know we're doing it." I giggle.

We make our way from work to the O'Connell mansion. When we arrive, Mike opens the door for us. We walk to the front door, ring the doorbell, and Callie answers.

"Hi, everyone." She calls out to Mike. "You don't need to sit in the car and wait. Please come in and have some dinner with us."

"Thank you, Mrs. O'Connell. I'd love to join you for dinner."

Callie walks over to me and embraces me tightly. "Oh, darling, you look pale and thin. Aiden, you need to take better care of her."

"I will, Mom."

Brielle and Bill walk in and take their seat on the sofa.

"How was your first day back at work, you two?" Callie asks.

I look at him as he takes off his tie and places it in his pocket.

"Jeni's doing really well. She's a great asset to have around."

I shake my head, objecting.

"Oh, come now, Jeni, don't be modest. I'm sure you're doing a fantastic job."

Alistair huffs as he walks past and heads into his study.

Brielle says loudly so her father can hear, "No, honestly, you're catching on quickly. Ask Benjamin. It took him months to do what you've learned in such a short time."

I smirk at her blatant obviousness. "Thanks, Bree."

The doorbell rings, and Bill stands up to answer it.

"That should be Nana," Callie announces.

"Oh, Nana's coming tonight? Awesome," Brielle says. She jumps up off the sofa and runs to the front door. We laugh at Brielle, a twenty-four-year-old woman who still gets overly excited to see her Nana; it's very cute. Nana comes into the room and greets us while Callie walks to the kitchen.

"Darling, you look tired."

That's just a nice way of saying that I look like
shit
. Aiden takes my hand in his, entwining our fingers.

"I'm doing okay, Nana."

I tighten my fingers around his. She comes and sits on the sofa opposite us.

"You two make such a gorgeous couple, don't they, Mike?" Nana asks casually.

"Yes, ma'am, they certainly do."

Aiden relaxes back into the sofa. I make myself comfortable, snuggling into him as he puts his arm around me.

Callie walks in. "Dinner's ready," she announces. We get up and walk to the dining room. The table is set beautifully. Alistair walks in and sits at the head of the table, ready to carve the roast. He carves it in silence while we all sit awkwardly waiting for someone to say something.

"Alistair how was your day at work?" Callie breaks the silence.

We all look at Alistair to see how he answers.

"It would've been good if I had competent staff." He stares directly at me.

At least he's acknowledging that I'm here I guess. Aiden rolls his eyes.

"Don't roll your eyes at me, boy, you know as well as I do that she's useless."

"Alistair, please be civil for once in your life," Callie says quietly.

"I'll be civil when
it
pisses off."

"
Father, really
?" Aiden yells.

"Yes. The only reason I don't fire her is because you would leave. Am I right?"

"
Yes, Father, you're right!
But you're dead wrong when you say she's useless. She's doing a fantastic job, and you know it. You're annoyed that she's doing so great, and you're taking it out on her."

"Brielle is the only one working her ass off out there;
it
doesn't even know how to hand out coffee. That's how useless
it
is?

"
It!
Why the hell are you calling her
it?
" he yells. "She's my partner, Father, and her name is Jeni. You would do well to remember it."

"What's the point of learning it, Aiden? She'll be gone soon anyway. You know she only wants you for your money, and that's it. Once she's had enough, she'll be gone. She would've used that baby to trap you."

My mouth drops open in shock. I can't believe he said that about me. My leg starts to agitate under the table as I feel myself getting upset.

"
For God's sake,
Father, she's right here. Don't talk about her like she's not."

"
Alistair!
You can't say things like that to her," Callie says loudly.

"Oh,
shut up,
woman! You would be on her side, wouldn't you?"

"How dare you talk to me like that, Alistair O'Connell? You've walked all over me for the past thirty-seven years, and I won't stand for it anymore.
Do you hear me?
"

"Thirty-seven years of my life I'll never get back, Callie."

Nana stands up. "
Alistair Patrick O'Connell
, I didn't raise you to be an asshole. Now apologize to Jeni and Callie."

"Mom, I respect you, but I won't apologize to either of them. Especially
that
." He points directly at me. "She
will
ruin your life, son. Jeni, as you want me to call her, is a tramp, a waste of space, and a complete moron. No one in their right mind would fall in love with her, so that must make you a moron as well. Get it through your head. If she was twice as smart as she is now, she would still be stupid." He looks directly at me. "You're a worthless dog. Go and lay by your bowl."

My mouth drops open and tears well in my eyes.

Aiden stands, his fists clenched, but I pull on his arm. He looks down at me, his face bright red with rage. I shake my head at him.

"
No!
Jeni, he can't talk to you like that."

"Aiden, please sit down. It's fine."

"No! It's not fine, Jeni, he—"

"Aiden, please!"
I interject.

He exhales forcefully and sits down in a huff. The room is completely silent. Everyone is shocked at Alistair's harsh words.

"I'll eat in my study."

As he leaves the room, my emotions hit me like a tidal wave. I exhale, tears streaming down my face. I put my head in my hands while he rubs my back.

"I could
fucking
kill
him," Aiden says under his breath.

"Mom, are you alright?" Brielle asks quietly.

Callie starts to dish out plates of food, trying not to let it get the better of her, although I see tears in her eyes.

"I'm fine. I'm used to his abuse. I'm sorry, Jeni, you don't deserve that."

Aiden pulls out a hanky for me to clean up my face as he holds on to me tightly.

Mike shakes his head. "Mrs. O'Connell, you shouldn't have to put up with that abuse."

"It's okay, Mike."

"No. It's not, Callie."

"
Mike!
" she says sternly.

Mike shakes his head but keeps quiet. Callie continues to serve up our meals.

I mainly play with mine, because I recently lost my appetite. I wonder why ...

"Is that what you've been putting up with at work?" Nana asks, watching me play with my food.

I nod. "But this was worse than anything he's ever said to me before."

Nana shakes her head. "I'm sorry that you had to go through that, Jenifer darling, and you know you're not any of those things he says, don't you?"

I swallow a lump in my throat while I fight back tears.

"And you know Aiden doesn't think any of those things, right?"

He kisses my head.

"I know."

Everyone finishes their meals in silence. I can't help but feel sorry for Callie; she shouldn't have to put up with that from her husband. I don't know why she doesn't leave him.

"Aiden, it's your birthday soon," Callie says quietly, trying to change the subject.

"I don't feel like celebrating, Mom."

She continues anyway. "We do something every year for your birthday, and it's your first with Jenifer. We should at least go out for dinner."

Aiden looks at me, and I smile at him.

"Let me know who you'd like to invite and where you want to go. I'll organize it for you."

Nana starts to collect the dishes to take out to the kitchen. I stand up to help her, so does Brielle.

"Brielle, how are you feeling, are you alright?"

"Yeah, why?"

"It can't be easy seeing your father acting that way toward your mom."

She sighs. "I'm used to it. When you live with them, you see this all the time. I don't know why she doesn't leave him to be honest."

"To tell you the truth, I was thinking the same thing."

"They don't even sleep in the same bedroom anymore. She probably doesn't leave because of me. She knows I wouldn't want to live here alone with Father. Father would probably fire me if I went to live with Mom. That's what I'm guessing anyway."

"Girls! Alistair might walk in. Be careful what you say. You don't want him having another outburst, do you?" It feels like she's telling us off.

"Sorry, Nana," we both say in unison.

"Don't be sorry, girls. I agree with you, but talk about it when he isn't within hearing distance." She gestures toward the study with her eyes.