Chapter 22

Lillian

"Where have you been, Lillian? Why did you leave the office? What's going on?" Aiden yelled from the other end of the phone.

  As expected, the news that I was a whore had spread like wildfire.

“ I'm at my house.” I couldn't help it, my voice broke.

He must have sensed something was wrong." Are..are you okay?“

I sniffed, tears beginning to cloud my vision.

" Are you crying?  What's wrong?”

I swallowed the lump in my throat." Can you come over to my place? Please.”

There was a pause." Well, yeah. I'll be on my way.”

I whispered a thank you before ending the call. 

    He arrived sooner than expected and I was already with my luggage outside waiting for him.

  "What happened?" He yelled as soon as he saw my swollen eyes.

I gave him a fake smile." I got kicked out."

He looked from my luggage and back to me. He reached forward, placing his hands on my face.

"Your face, why is it red and your forehead? Did someone hurt you?”

Great! I had completely forgotten that I had a bruise on my forehead when that woman banged my head on the desk.

I chuckled awkwardly."it's nothing."

He eyed me, obviously not convinced." You got kicked out?”

I nodded, embarrassed that I was about to ask a man to let me live with him.

" I just need a place to stay for a few weeks; I don't want to bother Jade. You're the only one I could think of, so please just...." I whimpered.

He only sighed ." It's already dark, you should have called me earlier."

"I wasn't expecting this to happen either."

He sighed heavily while I just fidgeted with my fingers." What about your other stuff." He asked." This can't be the only thing you own, right?"

I bit down on my cheek."It is. He said he was going to sell my couch and bed to make up for the rent."

Mr Finn had returned and taken my refrigerator. He said he would be back for my couch and bed and he was going to sell them.

Aiden frowned." That's not right, he shouldn't....."

I cut him off."Aiden, please let's just go."

He nodded and then helped me put my luggage in his trunk.

We rode the first forty-five minutes in silence before he finally spoke.

"I heard some rumours going around in the office. Oliver told me what happened; I didn't want to believe it until I heard from you." He said.

I was too numb to feel anything; I was barely even holding my eyelids up." Whatever you heard was probably the truth."

He turned to look at me but I avoided his gaze." The part that you kissed my brother or that you pushed the company's ambassador."

I suddenly tensed." Ambassador?"

He sighed." Sage is the company's ambassador but recently she's gone abroad to complete her education."

I remained silent.

" You pushed her, and she injured her gum;  she almost lost a tooth. She was hospitalised, Lillian."

Was I guilty? Yes.

Do I feel bad right now? Maybe.

Was I going to apologize to her if I was asked to? Absolutely not.

 

"She attacked me first." I defended myself.

"It doesn't matter, you'll answer to Zayden tomorrow ".

Tomorrow!

" I no longer have a job." I shuttered.

He scoffed." Were you fired?"

"Well, no but Oliver told me to leave."

" Zayden runs the company, not Oliver, so leaving without reporting to your superiors was an error on your part. You should have at least called me." He explained.

I didn't think he understood the humiliation I went through. I was slapped by a stranger, apparently he didn't know about that.

I didn't reply after that, and just looked out the window as we passed the streets.

We remained in silence for a few moments.

"By the way, I never knew you were interested in my brother." He hinted.

I rolled my eyes." I'm certainly not."

He chuckled." You don't have to hide it but be careful, be very careful."

My curiosity heightened."why should I?"

He sighed heavily." I know my brother way more than you do. Believe me when I say this: he is going to use you; he is not someone you should love."

I stared at him in disbelief. His expression was that of someone talking about his enemy.

But he was right, I did feel used.

  " I already told you, I have no feelings for him. We both just got carried away." I replied bluntly, ignoring the sting in my chest.

He only shrugged."if you say so."

   We drove the rest of the way in silence, and when we finally arrived at his place, I had my mouth hanging open.

  His mansion was beyond luxurious. When we pulled over, he had someone to open the door for him and some other people I assumed were his house helps, helped me carry my luggage to the guest room.

  The interior was bright, unlike Zayden's, And it was warmer, unlike Zayden's too.

At least it wasn't like there was a ghost living in it.

  

  I went into my new room and took a shower after which I was offered dinner in bed.

   I was about to drift off to sleep when my phone rang.

I bit down on my lip, not knowing whether to answer. I didn't want to talk to him but I can't avoid his calls forever.

After the second ring, I finally picked up and placed the phone on my ear.

"Where the hell have you been?" He said, cooly.

Of course, this was Zayden. I shouldn't expect a 'Are you okay ' from him.

"I...I left." I said simply.

"You ignored my calls, Mrs Ace. You ignored my texts." He gnarled.

"I'm sorry, I was told to leave." I wishered.

There was silence at the other end before I heard him sigh.

"We'll talk about what happened tomorrow, you might have to come extra early if you don't want to encounter anyone." His voice was softer now, I almost believed he cared.

"I'll try."

He cleared his throat."Or I could pick you up."

I immediately tensed." No...no...you can't."

There was no way I'd let him know I was currently living in his brother's house.

He snorted."you'd rather Aiden picked you up? Is that it?"

I paused, carefully choosing my words." Umm, that's not it."

"Then it's settled, I'm picking you up tomorrow." He said.

I sighed, anger rising in my chest on remembering what Aiden said." No, you can't."

"Lillian, If I'm not picking you up then you better not come to the office with Aiden."

I gritted my teeth; he can't tell me what to do. Not after he used me. The only reason I showed him respect was because he was my boss.

" I'll see you at work, Mr Kent." I simply said and ended the call.