“Stay with me tonight,” Lily whispered, clutching Tony’s arms like he would disappear if she let him go.
“You want us to spend the night together. Are you sure about this?” Tony asked, a small smile making its way to his lips. Lily was always running from him and avoiding times like this, but here she was suggesting that they spend the night together.
Lily’s eyes widened, and her cheeks reddened as she finally understood his words. “I didn’t mean it like that!” She gasped, letting go of his hands and shaking her head to get rid of the obscene thoughts.
Seeing her flushed face, Tony laughed. “I was only teasing you, Lily. I know you didn’t mean it in that way.” He clarified, chuckling at her. He then brought his fingers to her face and caressed her cheek, his eyes holding sincerity.
“That doesn’t mean it isn’t going to happen one day and believe me, Lily, that day is near.” He whispered as his thumb brushed her lip and Lily’s breath hitched, butterflies erupting in her belly.
Tony understood that Lily was yet to overcome the trauma from living with Louis for three years, so, he never made a move on her. He was only going to do it when he was sure she was completely healed from her past and the events of the last few days had shown him that she was far from that.
He wasn’t going to be inconsiderate and force himself on her just to fulfill his own needs. Even though his body wanted her badly, he had to wait until she was ready.
“Scoot over, Lily.” He said, and she obeyed immediately, letting him take the space beside her.
When he was settled in, he held out his arms, inviting her in, and she happily rested her head on his chest, finally feeling a sense of peace. Slowly, they both drifted to sleep in each other’s arms, pushing their worries to the back of their minds.
*
*
The early morning sunlight slipped through Lily’s window, casting a gentle glow over the bed. Her eyelids slowly fluttered open, and she moved her hands, reaching out to where Tony lay, expecting to feel the warmth of him beside her. But, his side of the bed was empty.
Lily sat up, her heart pounding frantically. ‘Where is he? Could he have gone to face Louis already? Oh, no!” Thoughts filled her mind, each one scaring her.
Without wasting another second, Lily jumped out of her bed, threw on a robe and dashed out of her room. She hurried down the stairs, her heart racing with each step, but her panic eased as she arrived in the dining room.
There he was, calmly setting up plates at the dining table with both his ears plugged with an AirPod. He was humming and dancing to whatever was singing in his ear, completely oblivious to the fact that he almost gave Lily a heart attack.
Sensing a presence in the room, Tony looked up. “Good morning, Lily. How was your night?” He asked with a warm smile and took off his AirPods as he noticed her.
Lily sighed loudly, clutching her chest as relief flooded her. “Goodness, Tony. You scared me.” She breathed out, her heart still pounding. “I thought you already left. I…I was so scared. I…I…thought you were-”
“Going to meet Louis?” He finished, his eyes now filled with worry as he saw the state she was in.
It was too early in the morning to be having those thoughts.
“No, Lily.” He shook his head and showed her the breakfast plates. “I just wanted to surprise you with breakfast made by me. I wouldn’t do such a thing without informing you first when I know it would only make you worry.” He said, hoping to calm her down.
Lily let out a shaky breath, sinking into the chair. She hated how much all of this was affecting her. She hated that Louis had put so much fear in her. Tony had gone out of his way to make a lovely breakfast, but she just had to ruin it by getting worried.
Tony set a plate of scrambled eggs, toast and strawberries in front of her before he went ahead to grab her hand. “I’m sorry, Lily.” He started, sitting down beside her. “It wasn’t my intention to worry you. Next time, I’ll let you know before leaving. I promise.”
She looked at the plate and smiled heartily. “You have nothing to be sorry about. I shouldn’t have come to a conclusion without verifying it first. She said and took a bite, savoring the taste of the eggs.
“This is really good, Tony. I had no idea you could cook. I thought being a billionaire doctor rids you of the ability.” Lily joked, causing him to roll his eyes dramatically.
“And who told you that, Miss Arnold? Most of my friends are better cooks than their wives, and they are billionaires.” He bragged with his chin up and Lily held her hand up in surrender, knowing that she was no match for him when it came to proving a point.
After their little banter, they ate in comfortable silence for a few minutes before Lily’s gaze wandered around the room.
“Where is Rachael?” She asked, noticing her rare absence at the breakfast table.
Tony’s smile faded slightly at her question, and he chewed on his food before responding. “She was out of the house before I woke up.” He answered and Lily bit her lips, guilt twisting in her stomach.
“I know she did that because of me.” She said quietly. “She doesn’t want to see me after what happened yesterday, which is why she left the house.” Lily added and lowered her head.
“This shouldn’t be happening.”
“Hey, hey.” Tony stopped her. “Don’t blame yourself. She just needs time. I’m sure that with time I’m sure she’ll understand. I know Rachael and I know that she cares for you as much as she does for me, but this is just a lot for her to handle. Believe me, Lily, she’ll be back.”
Lily sighed tiredly and looked down at her small hand in Tony’s. “I’ll have to speak to her. I don’t want to cause a rift between you guys.” She said, and Tony nodded with a faint smile on his lips.
*
*
Louis sat in the comfort of his living room, cigarette in one hand and a glass of whiskey in the other. The room was quiet, almost as quiet as a graveyard and, for the first time in a few years, he found himself missing Lily’s presence.
She would have been in the kitchen flipping some pancakes for him while he busied himself with video games. Now that she was gone, he had to prepare his own food, clean the house himself and wash his clothes.
Those chores belonged to Lily and not him.
He had even lost some weight since she left thanks to his inability to make proper meals for himself. Plus, he had been spending most of his nights out in brothels since there was no one to satisfy his needs but, no matter how many whores he fucked, he couldn’t get satisfied.
They weren’t Lily and only her body was capable of satisfying him even though he had to rape her ninety percent of the time.
“Fuck!” He screamed as he suddenly imagined Tony fucking his Lily while she gave him full consent, something he stopped experiencing two years after they started dating.
More like after he became abusive to her.
As he sat there, lost in his thoughts, his ringtone went off, calling his attention to his phone.
“What is it?” He yelled into the phone, pouring out his frustration on whoever was on the other side of the phone.
“What the hell, man? Chill the fuck out!” He recognized the voice of one of his mates from the gang.
“Why are you calling?” He asked in a calmer voice.
“You’re screwed, man.” His mate said, his tone filled with fear.
“Martin is back, and he wants you at the hideout immediately. I think Drogo heard about the shootout you ordered.”