Acts of Redemption by Eleanor Aldrick
He’s not here and I feel the loss like a brick to the chest.
It’s Aiden’s day off and I’m missing him something fierce. I know a married woman isn’t supposed to feel this way toward another man, but there should be an exception for Aiden. My childhood crush and my accomplice, helping me escape my living nightmare.
Titus is here today, and no offense to him, but I just don’t feel as safe without Aiden. Like a blanket of safety, enveloping me in its warmth—Aiden always comes through. Always has, and I suspect he always will.
I’m at my vanity, getting ready for the day when a dark shadow eclipses me. My body stiffens, sensing the monster that lurks behind me.
“Who are you getting all dolled up for? It’s Sunday and we don’t have any engagements today.” Prestons voice is cold, lacking any emotion, sending chills up my spine and my stomach tightening in anticipation. What will his next move be?
Looking into the mirror, I see his facial expression matches his tone.
“Nobody, Preston. I’m just getting ready with minimal makeup. You know I always get ready for the day, even if it’s just tinted moisturizer with a high SPF. Gotta combat skin cancer, right?” I give him my best attempt at a warm smile, but it does nothing to change his sour mood.
“Liar. You’re just a fucking liar. That’s all that comes out of your mouth.” Finally, some emotion. Unfortunately, it’s not a happy one.
“Can we not do this today? I just want a peaceful morning. Please.” I close my eyes and suck in a deep breath. “Agh!” I yelp as Preston digs his fingers into my hair, yanking back forcefully.
“Do not give me sass, Charlotte. I am not in the mood.”
“I noticed.” I mumble, knowing this will only set him off further, but I just don’t give a shit anymore.
As expected, he doesn’t take kindly to my talking back. My shoulder is the first to hit the floor, followed by the rest of my body.
I quickly scurry away from him, making sure to never give him my back. Once I’ve gained enough distance, I stand and hold my ground. “Enough. Enough of you pushing me around and talking down to me, Preston. I will not tolerate it. You want to have this farce of a marriage, fine. I can play your game so that you can save face. But I will not allow you to keep treating me like garbage.”
Preston’s face is the depiction of shock. He never thought his precious little Charlotte would ever have the balls to talk back to him, but surprise-surprise, even I have a breaking point.
“If you don’t want to be treated like garbage, then don’t act like garbage.”
I close my eyes and shake my head in frustration. No matter what I tell him, he will always find a way to twist things in his favor.
“Look, think what you want, but I’m not going to be a part of it.” Grabbing my bag off of the night stand, I head toward the door. “I’m heading to my sisters. See you—”
His cold hand grabs at my hair, pulling me back toward him and slamming me against his chest. I can feel his breathing down my neck, my body reacting to his and freezing up as a form of self-preservation. “You aren’t going anywhere, my little doll. I’m not done with you.”
“If you don’t let me go right now, I’m going to scream so loud people three blocks down will hear. And we don’t want that, do we?”
“Fucking bitch.” Preston slams me against the door, ripping my bag from my hands in the process. “If you want to leave, then you’ll have to do it without this.” He waves my purse in the air like a maniac before throwing it against the opposite wall, his face contorting into a sneer. “I’ve given you everything. You are nothing without me. Everything you are, everything you own, it’s all because of me. So if you want to leave right now, then you’ll have to do it without clothes.” He rips at my blouse while his spittle lands on my face. “Your family doesn’t even want you. Your father couldn’t wait to hand you over to me. You think you get to call the shots now because you’ve suddenly grown a pair? Think again, Charlotte.”
My body gives up the fight and I fall limp in his grasp. His words have hit their intended target, my heart. It shatters and the silent tears start flowing freely down my face. I’m nobody. Nobody wants me.
Pounding on the door breaks me from my self-pity, throwing me into action. I grab at a dressing gown hanging behind the door and throw it on, hiding the torn silk underneath.
“Sir, Ma’am. There’s a disturbance in this wing and we’d like you to vacate into the safe room with our team.” Titus’ voice booms through the door, his sense of authority bringing me some sense of calm.
Aiden
“Why the fuck are they in the safe room? I didn’t get any alerts notifying me of any disturbances on the property.” My brows come together as I look at Titus, waiting for an explanation. I was pulled away from my Sunday with the boys because of this emergency, yet I’m betting it has nothing to do with an exterior threat and everything to do with my principessa perfetta and her husband.
He huffs out in frustration. “It’s the only thing I could think of doing to stop the yelling match that was going on behind their closed doors.” He runs a hand through his hair and this is no doubt stressful for the man who doesn't deal with emotions well—or at all, really. “Look, it was either put them in the safe room or let them go at each other until he did god knows what to Charlotte.”
My whole body bristles at this news. “What the fuck happened, and so help me God, you better give me every damn detail because I should’ve been called as soon as this shit developed.”
Titus cocks a brow but doesn’t comment toward my outburst of emotion. “We performed a sweep of the home earlier today and found these.” He hands me a small recording device before continuing. “We were going to install the cameras in the master bedroom, but when we saw that we were being recorded, no doubt by Mr. Rutherford himself, we decided it would be best to just finish the sweep and bring up our findings with Preston upon finishing. The last thing we wanted to do was alert him to the fact that we’re on to him.”
I nod in complete agreement. “Okay, I get not wanting to show our cards, but what does that have to do with what transpired with Charlotte?”
“Right when we finished our sweep, Preston requested we vacate the left wing, claiming that he wanted some time with his wife. We tried to bring up the devices we found during our sweep but he downplayed it, saying he would discuss it after his ‘family time.’ The best we could do is keep our ears on the area since we didn’t have eyes.” His lips purse to the side while he shakes his head. “I feel fucking terrible for Charlotte. You should have seen her when he finally opened the door. Thankfully, there were no signs of physical abuse, but her hair was a mess and her eyes were glossy, as if she’d just been crying.”
“Shit. We need to do something, Titus. This can’t continue.” I rub my forehead, knowing we need to come up with a plan right-the-fuck-now. “I spoke with Marcus earlier today and he confirmed having the same suspicions but that he never really saw anything that would, in his eyes, warrant further interference on their part.”
Titus smirks, “Well, it’s not like he has a personal interest in Charlotte like you do.”
“Careful,” I warn, my tone leaving no room for interpretation. I will not tolerate insinuations of that nature. Not only will it smear Charlotte’s name, but I under no circumstances will be at fault for causing someone to be unfaithful to their partner—regardless of how fucked up their marriage is.
Titus bites back a smile but adds no further comment. “So, what’s the plan, Hoss. You know I’ve got your back. I’ll follow your lead.”
“While they’re in the panic room, we go ahead and add eyes and ears to the dead zones. Then we let them out and catch him in the act. We then barge in and tell him to release her from his grasp, both physically and metaphorically, and we get Charlotte the hell out of here.”
Titus nods, “Very well. I’ll round the men and we’ll get right on it.”
I sigh a breath of relief. Soon this shit show will be over and Charlotte will be safe.
Will she, though?
Like the warrior she is, her scars will remain with her long after she’s left.
