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“Because, Outsider, you don’t know me enough to have your mind already made up about me. And for once it’s nice to have someone who looks at you differently than being a playboy jerk.” He tries to smile and joke, but he is hiding behind a mask. Like all of us. Louis is lonely. “Keeping up my reputation isn’t as easy as it appears. I owe my parents everything. They invested in me. You know, when people love you, they expect a lot of you, and most of the time I end up deceiving them.”
“You deserve better, Louis. And where you are today isn’t thanks to them. You are the one racing in that car, not your parents. You deserve to be happy too.”
I lean in to hug him and show my support, but he is hesitant to hug me back. “Your boyfriend is gonna kill me if he sees you’re hugging me.”
“Not if you tell him and Monica the truth.”
He starts to relax and hugs me back—without overstepping. Tonight, we both shared a secret to protect the one we love from us. In our loneliness, maybe we created a new friendship. An improbable one.
“Monica deserves better, and Aaron isn’t the forgiving type.” He clears his throat. “Even if I hate to admit it, he’s a good guy. At least, a better one, thanks to you.”
“He is. And you shouldn’t give up on Monica. Be worthy of her.”
“Elle. What the fuck?!”
We both jump when we hear an enraged voice screaming, slamming the door behind him.
Aaron.
Fuck.
My light in the darkness
“Elle. What the fuck?!”
I roar, watching my girlfriend in a compromising position with this fucker, Louis. I’ve been looking for her for God knows how long, and I catch her in a fucking old library with the man I despise above everything else? They both stare at me with wide eyes, and I don’t think twice. Anger contracts my face, my fists close, my blood runs hot throughout my body.
“Aaron. It’s not what you—” Too late. I grab Louis by his collar and shove him against the wall. Elle keeps begging for me to put him down, but I can’t. This bastard made a move on her, and I’ll punch him with twice the intensity I did when he hurt my sister-in-law.
“Aaron! Stop! He has done nothing wrong!” Elle clutches my arm, trying to get some sense into me, but I tighten my grip around Louis’ throat. He doesn’t even dare say a word, and for that, he knows me well. One word could set me on fire, and my patience is rather limited.
“What were you doing with my girlfriend?” This bastard stares over at Elle, like he’s waiting for her to speak. She shakes her head, a no. What the fuck? Her lips are shaking as her gaze drifts between Louis and me. “If you don’t tell me what’s going now, I swear my fist is gonna hit your freaking face,” I erupt at Louis.
“Stop!Let him go.” Elle’s eyes soften my rage, looking at me like a traumatized doe. I let go of Louis, and my eyes narrow at her for an explanation. She nods at Golden Boy, who stares at the both of us before leaving. “Louis kinda saved me.”
“Saved you? What the fuck were you even doing here?” I raise my voice, but when she rushes to hug me tight, her head on my chest, I know something is wrong. I relax and stroke her back gently.
“You have to promise me you won’t act impulsively, okay?” I nod, even though we both know ‘not acting impulsively’ isn’t my forte, especially with her. I’m a protective asshole.
And so, I listen to the whole story.
That freaking trash Stephan tried to abuse my girlfriend. Why did I ever leave her alone tonight? One thing is sure, Stephan is a dead man.
I storm toward the exit of the library to find him, ignoring Elle yelling after me to not do a thing. You bet I will. She’s mine, and he bruises a beauty like her because he’s a sadist. I search around the gala to find him, but I’m interrupted by people trying to have conversations with me. Luckily, when they notice the killer look in my eyes, they don’t bother. Finally, I find Stephan in a pleasant discussion with some old billionaires. Just the sight of him makes me want to destroy that microbe.
“Stephan.” He turns to face me, recognizing who I am. He swallows, his eyes filled with fear when he meets the rage in mine. I can’t help but smirk as I approach him, grabbing his jacket. “I’ve been meaning to talk to you. Follow me.”
Not that he has a choice. I tighten my grip and shove him outside. Nobody is in the back garden at this time of the night. I give a head sign to Thomas; I don’t want anyone to interrupt us. I bet he won’t approve, but he knows me enough to know that the only orders he can give me are the ones on track.And not always.
“You’ll stay away from Elle. I know everything you did to her, and I can promise you that you’ll pay for that.” I remain in control, but my low voice is terrifying him enough. I’m twice his height, twice his muscles, twice the man that he is.
“You can’t hit me. This event is full of important people. You can’t do anything.”
I burst into laughter. He might be a lawyer, but he’s not a smart one. And I’m definitely not the type to obey the rules, but to make them.
I shove my fist in his face, blood jerks off, a cracking sound resounds. A broken nose. He drops violently to the ground. His eyes bug out, stuck between confusion and terror—I believe he finally understands what man he has in front of him. I’ll do everything for Elle. Including killing that piece of garbage. He disrespectedma belle, he tried to destroy her, and that I will not permit. At this moment, I’m happy to be a monster just like my father. I pull him up with my fist, making him stand on his tiptoes. I hear Elle running in our direction and stopping behind me breathlessly before noticing two witnesses walking around the garden. I couldn’t care less.
“You won’t touch her anymore. I promise I’ll send you to jail, freaking bastard,” I roar as he curves his mouth into repulsion, incapable to move around my grip.
