It was almost a blur. Viktor was ripped away and slammed against the wall; Alessio held him tight against the wall as he landed a few furious punches into his face.
“Oh my God,” I squeaked, my hands going to my mouth in shock. “Stop!” I yelled.
Alessio’s face was filled with murderous intent. Viktor punched him back, but it only pissed him off. “If you fucking touch her again, I will kill you,” he hissed into Viktor’s face.
Running to them, I tried to pull Alessio off Viktor. But he was unmovable. Holding his arm, I pulled hard, finally bringing his attention to me. Alessio glanced up, his glare intense and fierce.
“Stop! Let him go, Alessio.”
I felt his tense muscles relax under my fingers. That was when I noticed my hand on his back, and without thinking, I was rubbing his shoulders, almost soothingly. Quickly removing my hand, I took a step back, and he pushed himself away from Viktor.
Alessio tried to wrap his arms around me, but I skirted around him, moving away from his touch. “What is wrong with you?” Without waiting for his answer, I turned to Viktor. “And you? Don’t ever do that again.” Glancing at Alessio, I continued. “Don’t lower yourself to his level. You are better than that,” I said, my words meant for Viktor.
I watched Alessio flinch at my words, hurt flashing in his eyes. I wanted him to hurt. I wanted him to feel what I was feeling.
Giving the man who held my heart in the palm of his hands a final glance, I walked away. I heard him call my name, but I kept walking.
I needed Maddie.
Making my way to the kitchen, I found it empty. It was still early in the morning. She probably wasn’t even awake yet. I walked back upstairs, where I knew her room was.
I heard a sleepy reply, and a few seconds later, the door opened to reveal a half-asleep Maddie. “Ayla?” she questioned. “Is everything okay? I heard yelling.”
“No. Nothing is okay,” I replied, walking inside and closing the door behind me. Her eyes widened, and she quickly grabbed my hand, pulling me to the bed.
“What’s wrong? Did Alessio do something?” she asked, her voice rising with alarm.
Taking a deep breath, I let everything out. Her eyes glittered with anger at my words, and finally she let out a tired sigh when I finished. She placed a comforting hand over my knee.
“This is a mess.” I agreed. “Why didn’t you let him explain?” she questioned.
“I don’t know, Maddie. I was just so angry and hurt. If I had let him explain, I would have probably not believed anything he would have said,” I murmured, looking down at my lap.
“I can’t believe he would do something like that,” Maddie grumbled under her breath. “What are you going to do now?”
I closed my eyes with a sigh. “I don’t know.”
I didn’t know how to feel. So I was just going to retreat back and lick my wounds, needing time to think and understand.
I needed to be away from Alessio. Until this pain disappeared and I could breathe normally again, without it feeling like my chest was being squeezed tightly.
***
I was sitting on my bed when I heard a knock on the door. “Come in,” I called out, placing my book down.
The door opened, and Viktor walked in, holding a tray of food. I winced at the sight of him. His face was multiple shades of red and purple. When I raised an eyebrow at him in question, he grumbled something under his breath.
“What is this?” I asked as he placed the tray on the nightstand and sat down on the bed beside me.
“I brought you dinner. I heard from Maddie that you didn’t eat anything since this morning,” he replied briskly.
“Oh.” I looked at the tray and then back at him again. “Thank you.”
“Did you talk to Alessio?”
My shoulders went rigid at his name. We hadn’t seen each other since this morning, when he fought with Viktor. It wasn’t because of his lack of effort. Alessio had tried to talk to me on numerous occasions, but I walked away every time.
“No. I haven’t talked to him,” I replied before taking the book in my hands again. I stared at the pages but couldn’t bring myself to read. My concentration was elsewhere.
Viktor and I were both silent for a few minutes. “About this morning, I apologize.”
Glancing up at him, I waited for him to continue. He was staring at the wall, and I saw his lips lift up in a small smirk. “Scratch that. I’m not apologizing for kissing you.” He turned toward me before continuing. “I never apologize for kissing a pretty lady.”
I mentally scoffed and looked down at the book again. “But I had my reasons for doing what I did. I needed to get my point across.”