My Childhood Bully is a Mafia Boss-Chapter 57

Ivy

"Aidan," I whispered as he took my hand and slowly led me out of the club.

But he didn’t respond or even look at me. His eyes were clouded with a daze, lost in some internal struggle.

I called out his name again, hoping to catch his attention, but he seemed detached from the present moment. "Aidan," I whispered urgently, trying to break through his trance.

Finally, he turned to me with a vacant stare and asked, "What?" His once lively eyes were now dull and unresponsive.

"Are you okay?" I asked.

A silly question to ask someone who was covered in bruises and blood, but what else was I supposed to do?

"I am fine," he said gruffly.

But I knew he wasn’t fine. I could tell that much. I mean, who could blame him? He had just lost his sister to his enemy. He was probably in the process of accepting that he essentially failed his little sister, the one person he was put on this earth to protect.

God, I couldn’t help but feel horrible for him even though he had been a shitty person to me.

"Aidan. Thank you for saving me back there. Thank you for..." I hesitated. "Thank you for choosing me."

Aidan grumbled, his voice low and rough. "Don’t thank me, Ivy. I’m not some fucking hero."

"I know, but," I tried to argue, but he stopped me with a sharp look.

"Just stop. I chose you, but in doing so, I lost my sister. Now, I have to accept the fact that I am living in a world where she hates me. She would rather be with a sleazy criminal asshole over her own brother’s protection." Aidan’s scowl deepened, lines of tension etched into his face.

I shivered at the raw anger in his voice, feeling guilty for being the cause of it. "I’m sorry," I simply said, not knowing what else to say. Did he regret saving me? The weight of his sacrifice weighed heavily on both of us, like an invisible shadow hanging over our heads.

I’ve never seen Aidan like this. I didn’t know he could look like this. This...vacant. He was still covered in blood from the two battles he’d been in during the last 24 hours, and he just lost the only person he considered family.

My heart ached for him despite everything he put me through, and I wanted to comfort him. But I wasn’t sure if he would let me comfort him right now. What if he resented me now?

The silence between us was heavy as we made our way to his mansion. But as soon as we stepped into his bedroom, I wanted to talk to him. I craved for him to open up to me, to pour out all of his pent-up feelings. I longed to be the one he confided in.

"Aidan," I pleaded, "can we please talk?" My heart raced as I waited for his response, hoping that he would finally let me in.

He looked at me, his eyes still blank and void of emotions. "What is it, Ivy? What do you want to talk about?"

"I..." I stopped as I didn’t know how to start. My throat suddenly felt dry.

"Just spit it out, for fuck’s sake," he said impatiently.

I couldn’t hold it in anymore and burst into tears.

Aidan’s blue eyes turned wide, and he quickly grabbed my hands. "What? What’s wrong?" he asked, his eyes finally showing some emotions. "Are you hurt somewhere?"

"Was Ellie right? Is it my fault that you became a criminal?" I sobbed.

Aidan’s expression softened as he reached out to gently wipe away my tears, his touch surprisingly gentle despite the hardness that had settled in his demeanor earlier. "No, Ivy," he said firmly, his voice carrying a hint of sadness. "None of this is your fault."

I sniffled, trying to compose myself as his words washed over me. "But she said..."

"I know what she said," Aidan interrupted, his tone tinged with bitterness. "But Ellie doesn’t know what she’s talking about. She’s angry and hurt, and she’s lashing out because of it."

I looked down at my feet.

"Ivy, listen to me," Aidan continued. He took my chin in his hand and lifted my face, his gaze intense as he locked eyes with mine. "You didn’t make me do anything. I made my own choices, and I have to live with the consequences of those choices."

I swallowed hard. "Is it true that I broke your heart back then?" I whispered.

He looked away from me. "It doesn’t matter now."

I could tell he was lying, and it quickly became obvious that he was the one who needed to be cared for right now. I broke his heart back then, and now it was up to me to heal it.

I mustered all my courage and confronted him. "Why didn’t you tell me you loved me then?" I pressed, refusing to let him retreat into his own self-pity.

Aidan looked exhausted, his breaths coming out in deep, ragged exhales. "Ivy, please," he pleaded. "I just had to fight off six men by myself to rescue you. Can we talk about this another time?"

But I wasn’t going to back down. "Not until you are open and honest with me," I declared firmly.

Aidan’s expression softened, but there was a fierce determination behind his eyes as he finally spoke the truth. "Fine, you want to know the truth? I loved you back then. Every time I saw you, my heart ached because I didn’t want to be just your friend. I wanted to be your boyfriend. Well, no, that’s a lie. I wanted to be even more than that," he growled, his voice raw with emotion.

The words hit me like a tidal wave, and suddenly, everything fell into place - the lingering glances, the protective gestures, the intense emotions between us that we had both been too afraid to act on before now. It was all so clear, so painfully obvious.

And those secret things we did to each other...it wasn’t because he wanted to use me, was it?

God, I feel so stupid right now.

His hands gripped my shoulders with a force that made me flinch in pain. His fingers dug into my skin like claws. "Yes, Ivy," he spat out bitterly. "I felt all of those things for you. But I was just a lowlife scum who wanted something I couldn’t have. Pathetic, right?"

My head shook instinctively, but no words could leave my lips. I desperately wanted to comfort him, to assure him that he wasn’t pathetic, but the lump in my throat prevented me from speaking. Tears welled up in my eyes and threatened to spill over at any moment.

His words were like a cold blade cutting through my heart. "I wasn’t a complete monster," he said, his voice low and filled with regret. "So I did the only selfless thing back then. And that was to leave and go as far away from you as possible."

The weight of his confession bore down on me. "You deserved better than me," he continued, his eyes searching mine for understanding. "I knew that then. And you knew that too, didn’t you? That was why you decided to move away even when I asked you to stay.

I flinched at the memory. I didn’t think too much about it when I made that decision to move out of state. I was thinking about my future, not trying to get away from him!

"No, Aidan. That wasn’t why," I argue. 𝐟𝚛𝕖𝚎𝕨𝗲𝐛𝚗𝐨𝐯𝐞𝕝.𝐜𝗼𝗺

"Like I said, it doesn’t matter anymore," he interrupted me as if my explanation meant nothing to him. "What matters is that I have you now, and I am not letting you go," he said with a tight jaw.

Well, then. I guess that settled it.

Carefully, I reached up to brush my fingers against his cheek, feeling the stubble on his skin. His jaw clenched under my touch as he tried to hold back the emotions threatening to spill over. His eyes were dark and intense, burning into mine with a fierce determination that both scared and thrilled me at the same time.

This was Aidan, after all—the boy who had held my heart since I was a naive teenage girl. The boy who had broken it once before.

A low gasp escaped his lips as my hand glided down his neck, fingers teasingly caressing his skin before tracing along the sharp lines of his collarbone. My touch lingered at the buttons of his shirt, tugging gently and slowly undoing each one. He grabbed my hand in a mixture of surprise and hesitation. "What...what are you doing, Ivy?" His voice was laced with uncertainty.

"Undressing you," I replied nonchalantly, though my heart was thundering in my chest. "Your shirt is ruined. I doubt the blood stains will ever come out."

The fabric of his shirt had torn in places, revealing glimpses of his toned torso beneath. I clenched my thighs together as it woke something in me.

"Ivy..." His low voice attempted to snap me out of my trance, but I shot him a warning look.

"Be quiet. Let me take care of you," I scolded sternly.

He chuckled, his lips forming a small smile. "Just like the way you took care of me after my dad beat the shit out of me?"

A faint blush rose to my cheeks as I remembered our intimate encounter. "You still remember that?" I asked, surprised.

He nodded, his voice filled with emotion. "How could I forget? It was one of the best nights I’ve ever had. One of the few moments of pure happiness in my life."

I smiled.

I carefully removed his torn shirt, revealing the bare expanse of his chest. My eyes traced over the defined muscles and scars, a reminder of the struggles he had faced in life.

"Let me take care of you now," I said softly, moving on to undoing his pants.

Aidan didn’t protest or try to stop me this time. He simply watched with intense eyes as I slowly removed them from his body, revealing a pair of black boxers underneath. His gaze never left mine as I tossed the pants aside.

He stayed completely still even after I removed his boxer.

Aidan stood before me naked now - vulnerable yet strong - and it made my own body tremble with desire.

I held out my hand to him, and he took it without hesitation, allowing me to guide him towards the huge marble shower stall.

Turning on the water, the sound of hot water rushing down was like music to my ears. His eyes never left mine as I took off my own clothes and stepped into the shower with him.

The warmth of the water enveloped us, and I couldn’t help but gasp at its delightful touch on my skin. I pulled him into a tight embrace, and I felt his muscles tense for a moment before relaxing against me.

He buried his face in my neck, inhaling deeply of my scent. Our bodies pressed close, chests colliding as he wrapped strong arms around my waist. It was as if we were made to fit together like this.

I took the bar of soap and gently rubbed it between our palms to create a lather before starting with his neck. With soft yet firm circular motions, I cleaned away the last traces of blood from his skin while trailing kisses along his jawline and down to his shoulder blades.

I moved lower, washing over his broad chest and flat stomach, taking note of each scar telling a story - some old, some new - each one adding character to an already perfect body.

He gave me permission to explore further, gently caressing him everywhere as if he were a fragile porcelain doll rather than a man who had just saved me from certain doom minutes ago.

"Ivy," he groaned suddenly as if in pain. As if my gentle touches were torturous to him.

He suddenly grabbed my shoulders aggressively, his eyes blazing.

"Goddammit, Ivy." His voice was hoarse. "I can’t take it anymore," he growled.