Chapter 41 Lessons Gone Wrong

Chapter 41 Lessons Gone Wrong
(AURIANNA’S POV)

The past few days have been… tolerable, and quiet. Which is exactly how I’ve wanted it.

The awkward tension with Zayne has faded, not disappeared, just faded into something muted and unspoken. 

I call it a truce of silence. 

I still do my job. I escort him everywhere, clear people before they come within three feet of him, scan every room, every hallway, every car before he sets foot in it.

We don’t ride together anymore. 

I drive behind him in a second vehicle while his chauffeur takes him wherever he needs to go. And even on the days he insists I ride with him, it’s just silence. No chatting. No teasing. No… whatever the hell was building between us before everything imploded.

He doesn’t talk to me. I don’t talk to him. And honestly? I like it this way.

Today, I’ve finally taken a minute to myself. I’m out by the pool, stretched out on a float with the sun warming my skin, sunglasses on, sipping ice-cold orange juice like this is some resort and not a billionaire’s fortified mansion that could literally be attacked at any moment.

For the first time in days, my head is empty. No stress. No overthinking. No Zayne.

Just peace.

“Aurianna!”

Fuck.

I turn my head and there he is—Zayne Beaumont marching into the outdoor pool area like he owns the sun, the sky, and every problem on this earth. He looks pissed. Not irritated. Not slightly annoyed.

Full-on furious.

Great. What now?

I sit up slightly on the float. “What’s going on?”

He doesn’t answer me right away. He just storms closer, flexing his jaw, hands clenched into fists, those green eyes locked right on me like he’s ready to throw something at me.

“Why?” he snaps.

“Why what?” I ask slowly.

“I said no. I literally said no! But you still went behind my back and did the one thing I made very clear you shouldn’t do.”

I stare at him, confused as hell. “What are you talking about? What did I do?”

Zayne drags a hand through his hair, pacing once before turning back to me.

“Why did I just get a call from Brielle’s school,” he says slowly, his voice shaking with anger, “that she beat up a boy in her class and dislocated his fucking arm?!”

My heart drops.

Oh… shit.

“And when they asked her where she learned how to do that,” Zayne continues, his eyes blazing with anger, “she said, and I quote—‘my daddy’s spy taught me.’”

I close my eyes for half a second. 

Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.

Zayne steps closer to the edge of the pool like he’s two seconds away from jumping in and strangling me. “You had absolutely no right to do that!”

“Zayne, I—”

“No!” he cuts me off sharply. “You can do whatever the hell you want when it comes to me. Fine. I’ll take it. But where I draw the line—where I will draw the line every single time—is when it comes to my daughter.”

His voice cracks on that last part.

I slide off the float and swim toward the edge. The moment I pull myself out, water dripping off every inch of me, he’s still glaring at me but his eyes flick downward for a split second.

It’s fast, so fast he probably thinks I didn’t catch it, but I did. His eyes trail down my body in that bikini and for a moment, he forgets how mad he is. Then he rips his gaze away, clearing his throat and stepping back like he touched a live wire.

I stand in front of him, water pooling at my feet. “Zayne… I’m really sorry.”

He looks up, surprised by how serious I sound.

“I shouldn’t have gone behind your back and I apologize. I’ll never do that again.” My voice stays steady even though I feel awful. “But Brielle’s been talking about this Connor kid bullying her for weeks. I just wanted to give her something to defend herself with. So I taught her one or two things. I didn’t expect her to actually hurt him.”

Zayne stays silent, glaring at me for a long, heavy moment. His jaw works. His chest rises and falls sharply like he’s trying not to blow up again.

Then he finally says, “Go get dressed. We’re leaving.”

“Where to?”

He snaps at me. “Brielle’s school of course. Where else?”

And with that, he turns around and storms back into the mansion, practically vibrating with frustration.

I’m left standing there dripping pool water everywhere, thinking one thing.

…I seriously fucked up on this one, didn't I?