My Childhood Bully is a Mafia Boss-Chapter 54

Ivy, present time...

The memory of that day came rushing back, catching me off guard after they threw me back inside the musty room. The day Aidan disappeared from my life.

That day, when I was finally ready to tell him how I felt, he was gone.

He never reached out to me. No phone calls, no texts, not even a simple note. He never explained why he left so abruptly. He didn’t even wait to graduate high school! He was just...

Gone.

And Ellie...she was so cruel to me that day. How could I have forgotten about that? All those things she said to me about Aidan hating me. Where they all lies?

But why? Why did she lie to me?

He did come back though. Asking me to rekindle our friendship after a year but then....I was the one who had to leave. I was the one who broke things off.

I abandoned him just as he abandoned me.

But why am I thinking about that now? I had a bigger problem to worry about. I needed a plan to escape this nightmare.

I looked around the room. There was a small window, but it was too high up the wall, so there was no way I could get up there to escape. Besides, the window was too small for me to fit through anyway.

Just then, the door opened, and Ellie walked in. She was holding a tray with some food in it.

As Ellie entered the room, I couldn’t help but feel a surge of resentment towards her. I couldn’t forget about those harsh words she said to me that day.

"Here," Ellie said curtly, setting the tray down on the table beside me. "You must be hungry."

I eyed the food with a mix of wariness and suspicion, unsure if I could trust anything she gave me.

"I didn’t poison it if that’s what you are thinking," she barked.

"We are alone now, Ellie. So why don’t you tell me what’s really going on? Why are you so intent on being with Slava? That man seems like such a scum, so is he really worth betraying Aidan?" I asked.

"Aidan betrayed me first!" Ellie snarled.

"You keep saying that, but how did he betray you, Ellie?" I pressed on.

"He left me when I needed him the most! He left me...with him!" Ellie screamed.

I winced. I had a feeling she wasn’t talking about Slava. "With who, Ellie?" I whispered.

"None of your business, Ivy. Yes, Aidan came back and tried to have me live with him again, but he was too late because I already hated him by then," Ellie spat out.

Ellie’s words sent a shiver down my spine, the pieces of the puzzle slowly falling into place. So Aidan had returned, but it seemed he had arrived too late to salvage whatever relationship they once had.

"But why, Ellie? Why did you hate him?" I pressed, my voice barely above a whisper.

"Because he abandoned me when I needed him the most," Ellie replied bitterly, her eyes flashing with anger and hurt. "He promised he would always be there for me, that he would never leave me alone. But then he just...disappeared."

"I’m sorry, Ellie," I murmured, my heart aching for her. "It must’ve been hard."

Ellie scoffed. "Oh, come off it, Ivy. I don’t need your pity. You have no how hard it was to live in that house. When Aidan was around, I felt safe, but did he care? No. He left. And I fucking blame you for it!"

Me? "Why?" I asked. I felt like I could barely breathe. "Why do you blame me? What did I do?"

"He left because of you. He didn’t outright say it, but I know it. He was in love with you. God, it was so pathetic watching him brood over some rich slut who had no idea how he felt about her," Ellie said bitterly.

Ellie’s accusation hit me like a punch to the gut, the weight of her words crushing me with guilt and confusion. Aidan had left because of me? Because he was in love with me?

I struggled to process the revelation, my mind racing with a million questions and doubts. Had I been so blind, so oblivious to his feelings at the time? How could I have missed something so important, so significant?

"I...I didn’t know," I stammered, my voice barely above a whisper.

"Of course, you didn’t," Ellie scoffed, her tone dripping with bitterness. "You were too busy playing the innocent little princess, oblivious to the pain you caused others."

Tears welled up in my eyes, a knot forming in my throat as I grappled with the weight of Ellie’s accusations. Had I been selfish, so wrapped up in my own world that I failed to see the turmoil brewing beneath the surface?

"I never meant to hurt anyone," I whispered, the words barely audible even to my own ears.

"But you did," Ellie snapped, her voice laced with venom.

"I still think you are being a bit irrational Ellie. You can’t blame me for Aidan leaving. It was his decision. He never told me how he felt about me, so how was I supposed to know?" I asked.

Ellie opened her mouth to say something, but the sudden sound of a gunshot made her close it again.

The piercing sound of a gunshot shattered the stillness, causing both Ellie and I to jump in fright. Our eyes met, wide with terror.

"What...what was that?" I stammered, my heart racing with fear.

Ellie’s mouth twisted into a grim grin. "I guess Aidan has arrived to play the role of the hero and save you. That is so like my brother."

A wave of nausea washed over me at the thought. That was my worst fear - that Aidan would take the bait and come rushing to my rescue.

"I have to go to him," I said through sobs, already moving towards the door.

"Not so fast, Ivy," Ellie snapped.

My heart pounded in my chest as I pleaded with Ellie. "We have to stop them. I can’t let Slava kill Aidan." But she remained stoic, her expression hardened by determination.

In one swift movement, Ellie reached behind her and retrieved something from her back pocket. The dim light caught the blade of a knife, making it glint dangerously. My eyes widened at the sight of it, realizing that she was holding a weapon.

"You are not going anywhere," she spoke in a calm yet commanding tone, revealing her loyalty to Slava and his twisted plan. A shiver ran down my spine as I stared at the sharp edge of the blade.

I didn’t think Ellie was capable of something like this. She was such a sweet girl back then.

Well, sweet before that day after the Prom.

"Ellie," I said slowly and carefully. "What do you plan on doing with that knife?"

"I don’t want to hurt you, Ivy," Ellie said, her grip on the knife tightening. "But I will if I have to."

My mind raced, trying to come up with a way out of this situation. I couldn’t just stand there and let Slava hurt Aidan.

"Think about what you’re doing, Ellie," I pleaded. "Is this really what you want? To be a part of Slava’s cruel games? To hurt innocent people?"

Ellie’s face faltered for a moment, a flicker of doubt crossing her eyes. But then she shook her head, her resolve hardening once again.

"You don’t understand, Ivy," she said coldly. "I’ve been with Slava for a while now. He saved me from my miserable life and gave me purpose. And I will do whatever it takes to protect him."

I felt a pang of sympathy for Ellie, knowing that she had been through some difficult times in her past. But that didn’t excuse her actions now.

"You don’t have to do this, Ellie," I said softly. "You can still make things right. Help us stop Slava."

"Shut up! Just shut the fuck up, Ivy. If you want to see Aidan so much, I will take you there," she said and grabbed my hand.

Cold sweat dripped down my back. Ellie had a crazed look on her face. No matter what I said to her, she wouldn’t listen to me. I knew that now.

"Come with me, Ivy. Do you want to see how bad things can be around here? I will show you. And maybe when you see the darker side of Aidan, you will come to your senses and agree he should die," Ellie said as she dragged me out of the door and into the hallway.

I let her as she held the knife to my throat. For someone who used to be so small and frail, she was surprisingly strong.

No. I would never want Aidan to die. No matter what he is. Even if he had done horrible things, I couldn’t let him die.

Ellie pulled me through the dark hallway, her grip on my arm tightening with each step. I could feel the cold metal of the knife against my skin, reminding me of the danger I was in.

I wanted to scream for help, to run away from her clutches. But I knew it would be futile. We were deep within Slava’s territory, and there was no one around to come to my rescue.

Except for Aidan. He had come to my rescue, I knew it in my gut.

God...what an absolute nightmare this was!