Broken

Chapter 18

Rhys’ POV

To say that I was in love with Aurora would be an understatement. I wasn’t in love with her. I moved past that phase a long time ago. I wasn’t in love, I loved her. I loved her with my entire heart. I saw my future with her. I knew that she was going to be my wife. I knew that we were going to have kids together. I knew that I would grow old next to her and I knew that I would get to love her until my last breath.

But I was so fucking terrified that I threw it all away. She was angry and she had all the right to be angry. I should have told her. I should have made Sebastian tell her as soon as I found out.

I fucked up and she got hurt. I fucked up and I was so fucking scared that I lost her.

Sebastian opened the front door before I even got a chance to knock.

“You need to talk some sense into her,” Sebastian said angrily as he stepped aside so I could walk in.

Not even an hour had gone by before Sebastian called to tell me to come back. I was grateful, though. I was completely losing my shit at home. I needed to see her. I needed to hold her. I needed to tell her how sorry I was.

I furrowed my eyebrows and looked around.

“Why?” I asked. “Where are your parents?”

“They went to talk to your dad,” Sebastian said as he closed the front door. “I called you here so you can go talk to Rory. Maybe she will listen to you.”

I furrowed my eyebrows again.

“She doesn’t want to press charges,” Sebastian said, sighing loudly.

My eyes widened and a wave of anger washed over me.

“What?!” I exclaimed. “Why the fuck not?!”

Sebastian rolled his eyes and sighed again.

“Because she doesn’t want to go through the process,” he said, his voice laced with annoyance. “She doesn’t want to be questioned or examined. She said that she just wants to pretend that nothing happened.”

I saw fucking red. It happened. She couldn't just pretend it didn’t.

“Both my parents and I tried to talk her out of it, but she didn’t want to listen to us,” Sebastian said, crossing his arms over his chest. “It’s understandable. I am not her favorite person right now, and my parents struck a nerve when they suggested that she go with them to Los Angeles for a month.”

My heart stopped.

“Fuck no,” I muttered. “She isn’t going, is she?”

Sebastian shook his head. “Of course not. She loves my parents, but she doesn’t feel safe with them. She never did.”

I sighed in relief and ran my fingers through my hair. Sebastian was right. Aurora loved her mom and dad, but Sebastian was the one who made her feel safe and at home. She was rightfully angry right now, but I knew that she didn’t want to leave him. I knew that she felt safer with him than she ever would with her parents.

I just hoped that she didn’t want to leave me too.

“I was hoping that maybe she would listen to you,” Sebastian said after a moment of silence. She needs to press charges. They need to go to jail.”

I nodded and glanced toward the stairs. Would she even let me in? Would she even want to talk to me?

“I will be in the kitchen,” Sebastian said. “I will go make her something to eat and I will bring it up to her room.”