“You are no different from Louis! All you people want is to control my life. I am not a fucking child!” Lily screamed and stormed out of the dining table, her body shaking in anger.
‘Lily! Wait.” Rachael tried to stop her but Lily paid her no mind.
When Rachael turned to Tony, she saw a gloomy look on his face and immediately knew that he was hurt by Lily’s words.
“She didn’t mean it, Tony. You know that, right?” Rachael asked calmly and Tony nodded before running his hands through his hair.
“I know, Rachael but, there must be some truth in what she said for her to have voiced it out. Maybe she has been having that thought for a while.” He sighed, pain written all over him.
“Now that I think about it, she isn’t so wrong. We need to get her consent before doing things for her. It doesn’t matter if what we want is best for her. She is not a child that we can make decisions for. We still need to ask for her consent.” Rachael explained calmly, hoping it would make Tony understand Lily.
She could see the hurt on his face when Lily compared him to Louis and stormed off. Knowing how much Louis had hurt her, hearing her compare Tony to him must have hurt Tony badly as all he wanted was for Lily to be happy and free to live life however she wanted.
“She is only frustrated, Tony. You need to understand. We know that Louis never let her have any say in her own life so doing the same would be horrible of us, even though we have good intentions.” Rachael continued and Tony finally let out a loud sigh before standing from the chair.
“You’re right. I shouldn’t have done that.” Tony groaned and squeezed his face.
“She must have remembered her past with Louis because of me. Fuck! What have I done?” Tony exclaimed and hurried to her room.
When he got to her room, he placed a knock on the door, expecting it to be locked but, after a minute, he turned the doorknob only to realize that it wasn’t locked. Tony went in and saw Lily curled up in her bed with her duvet above her head. From where he stood, he could her silent sobs and his heart sank.
‘I made Lily cry.’ He thought. Tony felt a knot in his chest as he watched her duvet rise and fall from her sobs. He had only been with her for a few weeks and he was already making her cry.
Maybe he was no different from Louis since he was already hurting her just like Louis.
Tony took a deep breath and approached her intending to correct his mistake.
“Lily?” He called out in a calm voice as he walked towards her. He was still unsure of what he was going to say but one thing he knew was that he wasn’t leaving her side until she had forgiven him.
“Lily.” He called out again, louder this time and Lily’s sobs quieted down as she slowly came out of the duvet, meeting Tony’s eyes.
Her face was wet with tears and her eyes were red, an indication of how much she had cried. Seeing this made Tony feel even worse. It was the second time he had seen her cry and he hated it.
“God, Lily. I’m so sorry.” He started with shaky hands. “I should have never done that. I know doing that reminded you of your time with Louis and I am sorry for that. The last thing I want is for you to feel like you are still in a toxic relationship. You aren’t, Lily. You are now free and can make decisions for yourself. I’m sorry if I made you feel like you couldn’t. I really am.” He apologized, sitting on the bed so he could touch her.
Lily sniffed, taking her hands up to clean her tears. “I know, Tony. I know.” She started in a shaky voice. “I know you have my best interest at heart but, I couldn’t help but feel like I was still with Louis. I don’t think I have fully healed from him yet.” She confessed and broke into tears again.
This time, Tony pulled her in, wrapping his arms around her in a warm, soothing hug.
“Oh, Lily.” He sighed, caressing her back softly as she sobbed. “It’s my fault for making you remember. I am really sorry.” He apologized again and Lily suddenly pulled from the hug to look him in the eye.
“I shouldn’t have compared you to Louis. I am so sorry.” She said with eyes full of regret. “You are everything Louis wasn’t. Comparing you to him was really low of me and I am so sorry for that. You are a hundred times better than him, Tony.” She confessed and Tony felt a weight leave his chest.
Smiling at her with his hands now on her cheeks, he said, “You were just frustrated, Lily. I understand that.”
“Now, what do you want? Do you want bodyguards with you at work? Do you want to stay at home or do you want to face Louis when the time comes?” Tony asked and Lily spent a few minutes thinking carefully. Then, her eyes suddenly lit up.
“I think I’ll face him. That’s the only way to finally heal from him. I have to show him how strong I am.” She replied with determination and Tony nodded, satisfied with her reply.
“Alright then, Lily.” He said and checked his wristwatch. “We should get going now if you do not want to be late for your morning shift.”
“Wait!” Lily called out before he could completely move away from her. Biting her lips nervously, she leaned in and pressed a quick kiss to his lips, taking him by surprise.
“I’m sorry.” She apologized again with puppy eyes after pulling out of the kiss. There was a look of disbelief in Tony’s eyes, mixed with excitement.
With glowing eyes, Tony pulled her back in. “You have nothing to be sorry about, Lily.” He said and captured her lips in a long, passionate kiss.