Chapter 35

Aurelio~

I had so much rage and adrenaline coursing through my body that I could barely function. From the second that Constantine had called me, I'd been pushing those feelings aside to do what was best for Savina. However, now that we were home, there was nothing stopping me from losing my fucking mind on the woman like she deserved.

As soon as we entered my bedroom, I asked the one question that'd been burning on my tongue since she climbed out that fucking window. "What in the fuck were you thinking, Savina?"

She let out a sigh as she sat on the bed. "I did what I had to, Aurelio."

The fucked-up thing was that I understood that. However, logic and emotion were not co-existing well together for me at the moment. Like that goddamn video, I couldn't unsee her injuries, and even if she had managed to kill Ashton, another man had put his hands on what was mine, and that wasn't something that I knew how to reconcile.

"That's not how this works," I bit out.

"How what works?"

"Us!" I roared, finally letting some of my anger out. "I avenge you! That's my job as a man!"

Savina stood up from the bed. "I didn't need avenging!" she yelled back. "I chose that life, Aurelio! I chose it!"

I ran my hands through my hair, then pulled. "Jesus fucking Christ," I swore.

"Everything that happened was because I had allowed it," she went on. "I had a choice to make, and I chose you. A million times, I'll always choose you."

Before I could say anything to that, my phone was ringing, and only because it was Morocco did I answer. "Provenza."

"I have everything covered on this end, and I also have every incident that's been recorded for the past two years," Morocco said. "Ashton's contract had a five-year surveillance vault, and he must have requested it because of all the high-profile people that came and went from his place."

"Aren't security monitoring companies supposed to report domestic abuse?" I asked, the very thought of them not doing so pissing me off more.

"Depends on the security company that you're using," he replied. "Besides, even if that were the law in all fifty states, without Savina filing a complaint, I can't see many businesses going up against a US Congressman."

"Can a lawyer subpoena the tapes?"

"All Savina has to do is take this to trial," he huffed. "However, with all the shit that I found, Stewart Oliver would have to be a fucking idiot to go after her."

"Well, since he ordered her arrest earlier, it's safe to say that grief is making him stupid."

"You got me there," he retorted.

"And you're positive that there's no way to recover the feed from tonight?" While I didn't doubt Morocco's talents, I needed to protect Savina at all costs.

"You want to say that to my face," he harrumphed.

"Keep me posted if you find anything else," I said, instead of putting a bullet through his head for being disrespectful.

"Will do."

As soon as I ended the call, I looked back over at Savina. Doing my best to get myself under control, I said, "I'm only going to tell you this once, and so help you God, you better fucking let it sink in." She arched a brow at me, daring me to bring it on. "If you ever, and I do fucking mean ever, sneak away from your guard detail again, I will lock you in this goddamn room and never let you out."

"You can't do that," she hissed.

"The fuck if I can't," I shot back. "Your life is here now, and we won't be going through this a second time."

"Going through what?"

"You fucking leaving me!" I thundered.

"That's not fair!" she yelled back. "I asked you to go with me!"

"Even though you knew that I couldn't!" I argued, something that we both knew was true.

Savina ran her hands down her face as she took in a shaky breath. "This…this arguing isn't going to get us anywhere."

"On that we agree," I snapped.

Her blue eyes looked up at me. "What do you want me to say, Aurelio?" she asked, her voice sounding so damn tired. "That I regret leaving you? Of course, I regret that. Hell, if you want to know the truth, I regretted it almost immediately."

That just pissed me off all over again.

"Then why in the fuck didn't you come back?" I snarled.

"Because I didn't think that you'd take me back," she replied honestly. "You were the biggest sacrifice that I'd ever had to make, and so I had to succeed without you, or else that sacrifice would have been for nothing." I watched her let out another shaky breath. "So, I decided to try to make the best of it and carve out a new life for myself."

"Yeah, and how did that work out for you?"

It was a cheap shot, and I knew it.

"Wow," she said, and the disappointment in her voice almost dropped me to my knees. "Yeah, okay…I guess you're entitled to that one."

"Savina-"

"Do you mind if I take a shower?" she asked, all business, and if I wasn't insane by the end of the week, I'd be surprised.

Letting go of my anger for the moment, I walked up to her, then took her face in my hands, saying something that I couldn't recall saying in decades. "I'm sorry," I told her. "That was uncalled for."

"Was it?"

I nodded. "There's no value in kicking you when you're already down, and that's not how you deserve to be treated."

"I'm not a victim, Aurelio," she stated vehemently.

"I didn't say that you were," I replied. "I'm just saying that women deserve better."

She pulled her face out of my hands before saying, "I need a shower."

"We're not done here," I pointed out.

"What's left to say, Aurelio?" she challenged. "No amount of arguing is going to change anything. No amount of arguing is going to undo what's been done."

She was right, of course.

"Nonetheless, I cannot allow you to get away with what you've done, Savina," I told her, something that she already knew, but it didn't hurt to remind her of that.

"Meaning?"

"I'll allow you the time to transition your clients to other real estate agents, and if you'd like to go back to the brownstone for your personal affects, then we can do that as well," I answered. "But moving forward, whatever you do, you'll be doing it as a Sartori."

"My parents-"

"Are irrelevant," I snapped.

"Aurelio-"

"Go take your shower," I ordered. "I'll get you something to wear."

"I'm not going to give up my career, Aurelio," she said as she made her way towards the bathroom. "I know that it seems trivial-"

"You can be a real estate agent here," I told her, interrupting her speech on independence. "If you feel like you have to work, then we'll figure it out. However, we'll figure it out here."

Savina eyed me, and she was obviously trying to decide if it was more important to her to argue with me or take a shower. It was obvious that she was exhausted, but despite how she had lived these past two years, Savina wasn't a weak woman. She wasn't the type to cower to a man, which just kept reiterating how it'd been a choice to suffer that shit with Ashton, and that she wasn't a victim.

"One of these days, you're going to learn that your word isn't law where I'm concerned, Aurelio," she finally said.

"Maybe," I conceded. "But today's not that day, baby."

The woman just arched a brow at me before making her way into the bathroom, and as soon as the door shut behind her, I dropped on the bed, then ran my hands through my hair. I wasn't sure how she was going to take it, but it was obvious that marriage was the only solution to her insolence, and even if she still turned out to be a pain in my ass, she'd be legally mine, and she'd never be able to leave me again, not that I'd allow that anyway, but still.