Page 106 of Lust and Honor

We spend another half hour in the oversized tub, splashing, laughing, forgetting everything else for a little while. It’s the first time I’ve truly laughed in a week. Now that the cuts on my face and hands are starting to heal, and my daughter’s tucked in beside me every night with no threats hanging over us, I’m easing back to normal.

Though I doubt the battered faces and broken bodies of those poor women will fade from my mind anytime soon. God, Daliah and the horror they unleashed on her because I won, April and her husband, the nightmares from that pit, I’ve got to leave it all behind me. For my girl. For myself.

After I dry Aurora off and tuck her in, I slip into jeans and a T-shirt, then head down the grand staircase of Carlo’s estate. Spotting Emily in the living room makes me smile softly, and I make my way over. A stack of papers is spread out in front of her, and she’s poring over them carefully. When she sees me, she sets them aside, concern flickering in her eyes.

“Is something wrong?”

“No, not at all. Mind if I sit with you?”

Her brows lift. “Of course not, darling. Tea?”

I settle beside her. “I’d love some.”

She pours two cups from the porcelain teapot on the table and hands one to me.

“Did Aurora fall asleep easily?” she asks gently.

“She plays with the boys so much during the day that by bedtime, she just crashes.”

She flashes a sweet smile and clinks her cup against mine. “To their nanny, the one who somehow survives our little earthquakes.”

I chuckle softly and take a sip of tea.

“Did you change your bandage?”

I lift my hand and nod. She studies my face. “Your cuts and bruises look so much better. I doubt they’ll leave a mark.”

This woman’s got a heart of gold. I pause for a second, then let out what’s been sitting heavy on my chest.

“Thank you, Emily. I don’t know what would’ve happened to me if it weren’t for you and Carlo. You took care of my daughter like she was your own, and Carlo pulled me out of that hellhole.”

She smiles warmly. “We’re family, Ava. No need to thank us. I’m sure you and Maxim would’ve done the same for us.”

At Maxim’s name, my brows draw together. It’s been seven days since the rescue, and I’m still waiting for him to show up so we can go home, but that coward’s been hiding from me. What’s he waiting for? Sooner or later, I’ll find him… and he’ll get exactly what he deserves.

Emily picks up on my shift in mood. “You’ve got every right to hate him. The men we share our lives with… they don’t do moderation. Everything’s extreme, zero or a hundred. They love too hard, and they hate just as hard. They trust deeply, right until they think you’ve betrayed them. That’s when…”

She closes her eyes and draws a long breath, like she’s reliving something awful.

“You’ve been through it too, haven’t you?” I ask quietly.

Her eyes open slowly. “Yes. I was punished for something I didn’t do. My relationship almost broke beyond repair. I tried to walk away from the man I loved, just like you… but in the end, Carlo and I realized we couldn’t live without each other. That realization came at a heavy price, though. One I hope you and Maxim never have to pay.”

Her words leave me a little lost. “I don’t want to leave Maxim.”

Her eyes widen. “You don’t?”

I shake my head. “No. Of course not.”

The surprise in her gaze makes me explain.

“When I was trapped in that house and saw his father, I realized something. Maxim might seem cool and magnetic on the outside, but deep down, he’s just like me, a shattered mirror trying to hold the pieces together, clinging to the illusion of being whole. A little boy who doesn’t trust anyone, who doesn’t believe someone could love him enough to stay. We’re alike in so many ways. Both from broken families. We watched our mothers die. We hate our fathers for it.”

A bitter smirk twists my lips as I add, “And like him, I’m a killer too. A broken puzzle only he can make whole.”

“But... but Carlo said you were screaming in the car that you never wanted to see Maxim again. You said you hated him.”

A disbelieving laugh slips from my lips. “I was drenched in blood from head to toe, beaten to a pulp, and had just killed a man, and it was all because of Maxim’s stupidity. Of course I said I hated him. But that doesn’t mean I don’t want him anymore.”