9. The Blonde Mistress

Aria’s POV

When I arrived at the breakfast table, I found Jones, Ben, Carter, and Matteo already seated. The mood was somber, the silence almost deafening. I noticed that Mrs. Fletcher had removed all the chairs from the far end of the table, leaving only the chair next to Matteo.

I took my seat, feeling exhausted and drained, but I had at least managed to take a long bath and fix my hair before coming to breakfast. I ate silently, matching the atmosphere already in the room when a blonde woman in heels walked into the room. She was beautiful, like a woman pulled right off the magazines. She kissed Matteo on his cheek and looked around the table, searching for a chair. She didn’t care if I saw or if I was present. She had claimed him in front of us all. I gulped anytime I took a bite of my food. I just wanted to leave. It was all so depressing. She kissed his hair and whispered into his ear.

“Let me sit with you, babe, and maybe we could finish up what we started” she said flirtatiously.

“That’s enough!”. Jones yelled. His perfect face red in anger. “You bring a whore on your honeymoon?”

“Don’t you dare call me a whore!”. The blonde lady yelled back.

“Oh shut up you cheap piece of shit!”. He turned to Matteo. “Why all this?! What the fuck do you think you’re doing?”

“Maybe he doesn’t like her face or her body or anything about her. I mean look at her and look at me. Any man would want me. No man wants that”. The blonde said, her voice sharp and irritating.

“I’m sorry. I can’t”. My voice was barely above a whisper and I left the scene crying all the way to my room.

As a young girl, I often daydream about what my future husband would be like. I imagined him as a dashing knight, rescuing me from all the troubles of the world. But now, he wasn’t. He was my worst nightmare. Someone I didn’t want to have anything to do with. When I left breakfast, I ran to my room to cry. It was all I could do. It’s all I ever did. I’ve cried everyday since I got here and it felt like it might never come to an end. Jones joined me in my room soon after but he didn’t utter a word. He respected the silence I desired.

“He’s not always like that”. He said, a sad smile on his face.

“I don’t know”. I answered.

“Hey, it’s totally okay for you to feel the way you do. Matteo’s a dick! We all know”.

“Yes, he is”. I laughed, wiping the tears away from my eyes.

“He’s a big fat beautiful di-”. Jones started.

“Ah! Enough!”. Ben joined in. “Stop saying dick”. Making me laugh.

“I’m sorry about what happened this morning, he's always like that. I’m even surprised he didn’t bend her over-” Jones cut him off.

“What the fuck, Ben!”. Jones exclaimed.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry”. Ben surrendered, his hands in the air.

Jones sat next to me, his green eyes shimmering from all the light in the room. He had his jeans and a jacket on. He looked amazing as always. He squeezed my hand and smiled at me.

“You’re sweet, and if he can’t see that. I don’t know, but he’s a doofus”.

“Matteo’s beyond cruel. He’ll never love her. Stop putting thoughts in her head!”. Ben said in the corner.

My heart dropped, but I didn’t care about it anymore. I didn’t even want to try. I hated him. He wasn’t worthy of my love. He wasn’t worthy of anyone’s love. He was meant to be broken and remain that way.

Taking my hand, Jones smiled at me and whispered “He’s human. All humans have a weakness. I believe you can make this work. I know you hate him right now for all he put you through, but hey-”. He gave a reassuring squeeze. “I don’t know, I feel you can do anything. You’re Aria Marino now”. He said, kissed my hair, and left with Ben.

His speech didn’t change the hate I had for him. He was disrespectful. He was cruel. I didn’t expect him to go to this extent, but he did. All he wanted to do was show me how unimportant I was to me, and he had proved his point pretty well.