27
Karina
The alarm jars me awake. I groan and realize Aurielo’s warm body is nestled tight against me.
Naked.
Did that really happen last night?
I can’t just sneak out. The alarm is blaring, which means he’s probably awake too. But he hasn’t budged an inch.
Reluctantly, I pull back from his embrace and climb out of bed, stealing the sheet to give me a little modesty.
“You look better naked,” Aurielo says.
“I knew you were awake.” I glance over my shoulder at him as I make my way to the dresser. He’s left me two drawers on the bottom and half of his closet, which is more than I expected. He also mentioned another dresser being delivered to the bedroom, but I’m not sure if he means that a new one was purchased or another piece of furniture is being shuffled around the mansion.
I grab a quick change of clothes and hurry into the bathroom. I can’t afford to be late again this week.
The dragon will breathe fire down my neck and roast me.
Maybe I deserve it a little.
It’s not like I’ve been myself lately. Sleeping with Aurielo is not one of my proudest moments. But I can’t compare what I did with him nearly six years ago to what happened last night.
I pinch the bridge of my nose and stare at my reflection in the bathroom mirror.
“Who are you?” I whisper. I don’t even recognize myself.
I dress as quickly as possible and hurry out of the bathroom.
“Can we talk?” Aurielo asks.
My stomach flops. Is he about to tell me that he regrets sleeping with me and wants to start seeing other people even though we’re married?
It’s not like we married out of desire. It wasn’t a choice.
Well, not much of a choice. Death or marry the mobster.
I chickened out and took the marriage route. Maybe I should have let him put a bullet in me and end my life. But wouldn’t that have been more selfish for Ashton? Perhaps it was selfish for me because Ashton’s life was in danger. If I were dead, he’d be safe.
“I have to head into work,” I say, avoiding what happened and talking.
I hate the ‘we have to talk’ speech. It never goes well. Ever.
“I’ll enroll Ashton this morning,” Aurielo says.
“You don’t mind?” I head for the door. I need to leave now if I make it into the city on time. Usually, I drop Ashton at school early before work, and he’s part of an early morning program that keeps the kids busy and entertained in the school gymnasium until classes start.
If I depended on Ivy to get him to school, he wouldn’t roll in until around lunchtime. Maybe an hour earlier.
“It’s not a problem,” Aurielo says. “Do I call his current school to get his information transferred over?”
“I’ll call as soon as I get into work and have them fax his transcripts. I mean, the kid is in kindergarten. How much paperwork can there be on him?”
He sits up in bed and runs a hand through his dark hair. “I’ll likely need his birth certificate and social security number,” Aurielo says.
“I can ask Ivy to drop those items off at his new school.” I open the bedroom door. If I leave now, I can still make it to work on time.