Chapter 38: Scars of the Past

CYRUS

I stared at Ava, sleeping so peacefully. Her lips were slightly parted, and her dark lashes fanned out over her cheekbones.

I stroked her dimpled cheek with the backs of my fingers before taking her small frame into my arms. I thought about what she said before drifting off: ~“to get off Timothy’s radar.”~

That motherfucker had taken so much from her. He’d made her life a living hell, made her leave her friends and family behind, and even now that she’d finally gotten away, she was still living in fear of him finding her.

I grabbed her hip and pulled her closer to me. She mumbled something incoherent and rubbed her eyes before settling back down. I clenched my jaw. Was I putting her in danger by being with her?

I shook off the thought. She was safe with me. I’d break every bone in that guy’s sorry-ass body if he ever tried to get close to her again.

I slowly lifted the blanket from her, exposing her back. I trailed my fingers down her spine and back up over her ribs, gently tracing the outlines of the scars he’d left there.

It made me sick to my stomach thinking of the pain she must have been in when they were open wounds.

I put the blanket over her again, tucked her back in, and kissed her head softly. I buried my nose in her hair and drifted off to sleep too.

We woke up early the next morning and decided to get ready quickly so we could have breakfast at Georgia’s before work. We’d just placed our orders when my phone rang.

I winced when I saw my father’s name on the caller ID. I told Ava to excuse me, and I picked up.

“WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU THINK YOU’RE DOING?!” his voice boomed through the speaker.

“Can I help you, Roald?” I sent Ava a reassuring look.

“What do you think you’re playing at? Undo this ~right now~, boy.”

I took a sip of coffee and tapped my fingers on the table impatiently. “Are you done?”

I could practically feel the steam coming out of his ears. “You better think about what you’re doing, son. If you go through with this, I will make sure you will never see a single penny of your inheritance.”

I leaned forward, putting the phone right up to my lips. “Listen to me, old man. You can keep your fucking money.

“See how happy your cold, hard cash is going to make you feel when we drag the ‘and Sons’ part from your brand. When you get buried alone because your sons don’t want anything to do with you.

“You’ll have no one left.”

“What’s going on here?” Georgia’s voice suddenly cut through the tension in the air. “Who is he talking to?”

Ava was looking at me like she was about to cry. I reached over and grabbed her hand, trying to silently console her.

She gave Georgia a quick recap of what had happened while Roald and I quietly yelled at each other.

Georgia slapped her hand over her mouth in disbelief. She grabbed my phone and pried it from my hand to put it to her own ear.

“ROALD BRENTSTONE,” she yelled, earning a few curious looks from guests eating around us, “you ~despicable~ man! You should be ashamed of yourself!”

I raised my eyebrows. I’d never heard Georgia raise her voice, let alone scold someone.

“What do you think Eleanor would say if she could see you now?! You’re losing your boys! And for what? Money? Look at your son for once!”

She now lowered her voice dangerously. “You’re telling me you haven’t seen the love in his eyes when he looks at that girl? And vice versa? AND YOU TRIED TO PAY HER TO LEAVE HIM?!”

Georgia was bright red, her chest heaving. I was getting slightly concerned, honestly.

Ava got up and grabbed her arm. “Don’t waste your breath, Georgia. He’s not worth it.” My beautiful, smart girl.

Georgia took a deep breath. “Undo it,” she said. “All of it. Or you will lose us all.”

AVA

Cyrus drove us to work, and we walked into the office together this time. He stopped at his office, but I kept walking and didn’t look up when he stopped.

It made me feel a little bad, but I didn’t want to draw suspicion.

I glanced at him when I got to the coffee station, and he was still standing there, now talking to Martha, though he was looking at me.

I made coffee and drank it leaning on the counter, unable to bring myself to walk away from him.

“I love your new suit,” I heard Martha say to him, and I couldn’t stop myself from glaring at her.

August came over to get me, wanting my input on a project he was working on, and I was happy to be distracted.

After working for a while, my computer chimed, notifying me of a new message. It was Cyrus.

Cyrus

Roald just emailed me to come see him in his office.

Ava

Are you okay?

Cyrus

Yes. Want to join me? That’ll help me stay calm.

Ava

Sure, meet you there in 5?

Cyrus

I’m leaving now.

I locked my computer and watched Cyrus leave the office, shaking off Martha in the process.

I waited a few minutes and then went up to the top floor. He was waiting for me when I got up there. He pulled me to him and kissed me.

“It’s so hard seeing you and not being able to touch you all day,” he said.

I slid my hand into his, interlocking our fingers, breathing in his scent. “Don’t I know it. Let’s get this meeting over with.”

We knocked on Roald’s office door. He called us in, and Cyrus entered, pulling me with him. We sat down, still holding hands, and I made a point of looking anywhere but straight ahead.

Roald cleared his throat and crossed his legs, pushing himself away from his desk a little.

“Thank you for coming in, son. And for bringing Ms. Mayweather.”

Cyrus scoffed but didn’t reply.

“I’ll get right to it,” Roald said. “I must apologize for my behavior the past couple of days.”

I looked at him now, trying to gauge his sincerity.

“I got carried away in my need to protect the family name and our funds. I realize now that Ava has never given me a reason to doubt her, and it was unfair for me to judge her based on another woman’s actions.”

I stared at him, at a loss for words. “Thank you,” I managed.

Roald nodded at me, his face still serious. “Unfortunately, it took Georgia saying Eleanor would be disappointed in me for me to realize I was treating both of you unfairly.

“And she was right too. Eleanor would never want me risking my relationship with our sons. I let it get to my head, and I’m very, very sorry.”

Cyrus didn’t say anything, but I noticed his grip on my hand had tightened.

“I’m glad you said that,” I said, my thumb rubbing circles on Cyrus’s hands in a weak attempt to comfort him. “But I’m afraid it might take some time for the trust to be restored fully.”

Roald sighed. “I understand. My behavior has been truly awful. I lost sight of what really matters and let money cloud my judgment. I intend to do better from now on and put family first.”

Cyrus got up, pulling me with him. He paused at the door, his back still to his father. “Put your money where your mouth is, and then we’ll talk.”

He pulled the door shut behind us. I noticed how tense he felt as he pulled me with him, his large strides making me practically run to keep up with him.

“Cy,” I whispered, “slow down, honey.”

He looked at me as if he was just waking up. “Are you okay?” He lifted my chin, his eyes glazing over my face like he was inspecting me.

“I’m fine. Do you think he meant what he said?”

“I hope so.” He leaned in and pressed a soft kiss to my lips. “Like I said, let’s just wait and see.”