Always next to you

Chapter Sixteen

NICOLE

It was 7 am when I decided I was ready to go home. After crying, I went to the bathroom and took a shower. Aiden had the hotel staff bring a change of clothes for me, but they were all so fancy. I had no choice but to get dressed since I would take it off when I got home.

The only problem is I wasn't going home.

"Where are you going, then?" I asked when he broke the news to me.

"My house,"

"Why didn't you just take me there yesterday so I could go home today?"

"Because someone went drinking with Jonas and got high as shit. You needed rest so brought you somewhere near,"

Aiden left the room to take a call, leaving me to my own shock. I understood we still had to talk, but I wasn't changing my mind. It would have been better if we just avoided each other. I was glad that Aiden didn't ask about Halo. I planned on dealing with it by myself.

Besides, the less he knew, the easier it would be for him to detach. Although I had to admit that his hug calmed me down this morning. I wanted to avoid him and hate him for putting a tracker in my phone, but when he was in the room with me I forgot everything.

When he returned, I tried to protest for him to take me home. I had to reply to Halo's messages and work on my pitch during the weekend since the presentation was on Monday.

"You can't deceive me, Nicole,"

"What do you mean by that? I just want to go home!"

"So you can cry yourself to sleep?" he asked, and I froze. "I don't care what it is you have to do, do it from my house so I can stop worrying about you,"

His words felt like a knife to my heart. I should have expected it even if he didn't ask questions. Aiden wasn't an idiot. He knew I was hurting, and I hated that.

"Don't pity me," I said.

"Then at least give me a chance to apologise one last time," he replied.

I didn't agree with what he wanted, but Aiden wasn't listening to me. Men like him annoyed me because they always did whatever they wanted and left us to deal with the consequences. Did he think about the gravity of what he did to me?

He did take care of me yesterday and wanted to do that today, but it would be too easy to accept his apology. I wanted him to let me out of the car, but I was enjoying watching him drive.

"We're here," he announced, parking the car.

I was so engrossed with how cool he looked that I forgot to note my surroundings. I had no idea how we got here but I knew of this area. It was very far from my apartment, but rich people enjoyed living here.

Aiden didn't live in an apartment or in a penthouse like I'd assumed a CEO would live in. He had a house. No, not a house; a mansion, if you ask me.

I opened the car door before he got to it and let myself out before he got to my side. It helped my self-worth when I showed him I could do things by myself. I looked around the compound and nearly gasped.

His house was glamorous on the outside with giant statues, fountains, and plants. He had green lawns in places I never thought possible. It was beautiful. I wondered why he slept in hotel rooms when his home was this beautiful.

"If you're that stunned, wait till you get inside," he bragged and dragged him toward the house.

I rolled my eyes and pulled my hand away to walk on my own. He made it seem like I'd never seen a house this big before, but I had. I grew up living in one too many. I was only surprised that this was his house when he was only twenty-five.