Page 66 of Merciless Queen
Caterina walked me to Serena’s office. We ended up sleeping a lot longer than we intended to and stayed in the guest house. It was nice just being the two of us with the puppies. I thought I needed to talk to Caterina about taking a vacation away from Chicago, away from everyone and everything. A few weeks just the two of us, our dogs, and peaceful serenity. I wondered if she’d actually do it. I felt like she would, especially if I asked her, but there was a lot going on for her to get up and leave for vacation.
I kissed her as I stepped into Serena’s office. Serena greeted me with a bright smile as she pulled her glasses up and placed them on top of her head. “Good morning, Harlow.”
“Good morning.”
“So, tell me what happened.”
I sighed, taking my seat across from her. “Healing isn’t linear, and I know that. Yesterday was just hard mentally. Vincenzo sent a video to Caterina, and I think it caused me to spiral, but that was a few days ago. I don’t know why it would affect me now.”
“We always have bad days, and that’s okay. Like you said, healing isn’t linear, as much as we wish it was. What did you do?”
“I went to the guest house with the boys and painted. I didn’t want to deal with anyone.”
She nodded. “That’s understandable. Do you want to talk about this video? Cat mentioned something, but she didn’t go into detail.”
I fiddled with my thumbs. Thinking about Vincenzo made me sick, but I knew I needed to talk to her. “It was the night he officially made me his and he took me home. He recorded us, but I didn’t know until the other night. He…He made me call him something, and Caterina and Malachi listened and saw what he did to me.” I sighed. “I told Caterina I would always be a whore and…” I paused, trying to find the right words to say. “She said I wasn’t, but I told her I was because of all the men that hurt me.”
“Harlow, you know that’s not true, right? Regardless of what you've experienced.”
“I know. I was embarrassed.”
“What else happened?”
How did I tell my psychiatrist that she called me her whore, spanked me, and I had one of the best orgasms of my life? “Uhm, well, Caterina said if I wanted to be a whore, I would be hers before she spanked me and then fucked me.”
Serena’s eyes grew wide. “How did that make you feel?”
“Scared because I liked it.”
“Don’t feel ashamed for liking certain things, okay? You are learning what you like and healing from trauma.”
I smiled. “I know. Caterina makes me feel safe and loved. I knew I was safe with her, and I enjoyed what she did. We talked about it and said we can discuss anything in the future that I want to try. She said I shouldn’t feel ashamed of sex.”
“And you shouldn’t. Learn and explore. We still have our weekly sessions, but always call or text me if you need me any other day of the week.”
“Thank you, Serena.”
CHAPTER 52
Caterina
I was late coming homeand wanted to see my wife. It was odd coming home to someone who was eager to see me. Moira always lectured me about something going on in the house and the rest of the staff scurried away from me. That was more Moira’s doing than mine. That woman was terrifying when she was angry. I wouldn’t trade her for anyone, though. She kept everyone here sane.
Harlow had her therapy session with Serena today, and said she was learning how to cook with Antonio tonight. I was stuck dealing with issue after issue at the club. The girls wanted to do something special for Angel’s birthday in a couple of weeks, so I was arranging that. Gianna also kept pestering me about the hotel opening back up. After Angel’s death, I closed it until further notice. Once we dealt with Vincenzo, I would get it opened again, but I wasn’t risking anyone's life for money.
Gianna and I made a plan to utilize the strip club for extra activities, but I told her we needed lots of security, and every client would be searched thoroughly before being alone with one of the girls. No one else would be hurt to get to me. If I lost one more person or if Vincenzo touched my wife again, I would starta war. We’d been monitoring and keeping track of everything, but other than a few shipments being destroyed, Angel’s death, and the video he sent of him raping Harlow, there were no other retaliation tactics, which told me he was planning something.
When I walked into the kitchen, Harlow was wearing an apron covered in flour and cutting pasta. Antonio looked the same. It looked like they both took a bath in flour instead of using it to cook. She looked up at me and beamed. Her face was also smeared with flour with streaks of it in her dark hair. It looked like Antonio had been in here for hours teaching her how to make pasta.
“Did you have a food fight?” I asked, examining the white blanket of flour on the floor and counter.
“Me and cappelletti pasta had an argument, and I slung it across the room.”
I shook my head as I walked closer to her. “And did Moira see this mess?”
“She stated, and I quote, ‘I will ring your tiny little neck if there is a speck of flour anywhere on my kitchen floor,’ and then she told Harlow she was an angel before she left in a string of curses,” Antonio explained. “I said it was worth it. I’ll deal with the cleaning later.”
“I wanted to learn, so I’ll clean it up.”
