Love Wins Over Lust

"I am taking Aurora to Vancouver with me but Ralph is staying here to help you and control the streets," Liam said, while Aurora was sitting beside her father staring at him with tear-filled eyes. Thomas nodded. "Aurora is not fine, Liam. Try to divert her mind from Ethan's condition. I had seen her like this just once and that was when her mother died. She can't take this much stress." Liam glanced at Aurora. "She is my responsibility, now. Forget about her and focus on your streets. We are at war with Mexicans and The masked man. This Juan is working with the Masked man, it's bad. Very Bad!"

Thomas' eyes changed the instant Liam took Juan's name. "I will kill that man." He looked at Liam. "As Ethan told you on multiple occasions, you take care of..."

Liam knew what was to come in that sentence but now was not the time to think with emotions. He raised his hand to stop him from talking any further.

"Aurora is now married to, the deal I had with Ethan is almost complete now and as far as the matter of my hair is concerned, I will take care of it soon too, but now, I want to end the chapter of this Masked man and Juan. I have a plan but I have to wait twenty right days for that to proceed," he said recalling the thing he planned for Alexandri.

He was his trump card and the least he could do for the sake of his friendship was give him a month of happiness.

"A month? What if they attacked us again before that."

Liam shook his head. "They won't, not after hearing the news of my marriage with Aurora. That masked man never declared open war on Vancouver, he could have attacked my territory but they chose Churchill because they knew they wouldn't succeed in Vancouver."

The insult didn't go well with Thomas. "Are you saying we are weak then you!"

Liam gave him an unimpressed look. "No, I am just saying that they might think that. Ethan had no male heir and he was getting old. No hard feelings but you too and that made him look weak. Some things are still hidden from us, Thomas, and I plan to learn them. The masked man tried to harm me through Gorilla wars till now but suddenly he did an attack this big. There is something we are missing here."

Thomas understood what Liam was saying. He glanced at his niece once again. "Keep her happy and safe."

Liam shrank his eyes. "There is one more thing."

Thomas arched his brows. "I want Ethan to be in Vancouver, that would be safer for him."

"Liam! I can't allow that, this is his territory, he is the king of Churchill!"

"The same King is attacked in his own territory, look, Thomas, we are a team now, I know it may sound fishy to you but think about Aurora. If Ethan is treated in Vancouver she would be near him and you would be able to focus on the city, on business. You don't know who your friend or enemy is at this moment. The news of Ethan's attack is fired all over the streets, your men are in confusion... Do you want to lose all of this because of being emotional? Think with a rational and clear mind, Thomas, what is more important? You people's safety or your ego?"

Thomas stared at Liam for a moment, as if assessing him. His mind and heart were at war over the suggestion. He wanted to trust him, but he had learnt it a long time back, not to trust anyone in this business. Thomas was Ethan's counsellor, a position that was higher than every other position in the business. A counsellor only answered to the boss, and Thomas was no fool, he knew there was some benefit in this for Liam too. The man would do nothing if there is no gain for him in the situation. He understood everything but he understood one more thing precisely, that what he was saying was true too.

Thomas' whole focus should be on his business right now. Because no one was safe till Juan and the masked man died.

"I agree with you but a few of my most trusted men will be there for Ethan's security," Thomas saw the change in his eyes. Liam wanted to deny but Thomas raised his hand. "No, that is not negotiable, Liam. A King never travels without his army in a foreign land. My men will be there."Liam accepted it.

Aurora kissed her father once again. " get well soon, Dada."

Liam entered the room and rested his hand on Ethan's shoulder. He didn't feel anything for Ethan, no remorse, nothing. If it had not been the masked man, Liam would have attacked Ethan to make Aurora his, "it's time to leave, Little one."

Aurora turned her head to look at him. "I want to stay for longer."

Liam glared at her and shook his head. The look said it all, she couldn't stay.

Aurora gasped when she felt his hold on her shoulder tightening. "Liam!"

She whispered, "shall we leave, Mrs Knight?" He demanded but his tone was soft as if he was asking not demanding.

Aurora stood up to leave. She didn't want to suffer in her father's presence. It was a mind game, Liam was playing with the father-daughter duo.

To Ethan it was not less than the slap on his face that Liam was hurting his daughter in his presence and to Aurora, it was the lesson to her words, that her father would ruin him when would tell him the truth. Both of them hurted his ego and now both were going to pay for their sins, dearly!

Aurora said her goodbye to Thomas and in less than two hours she was in the air with her newly wedded husband, going back to the place which broke her heart. Vancouver!

Liam wanted nothing more than pull her into his lap and sate his inner beast with her heavenly body but he stopped himself because she was not in the right mindset yet, Liam was a bastard, he would have done it but it was his wedding night and the east he could do was give her a proper wedding night.

He would be gentle with her, this one last time then she would be dealing with the gentleman.

When they landed in Vancouver, Aurora felt humiliated, she left the city just a few hours ago with pride and returned back with a shattered ego.

A black limousine was waiting for them when they stepped off the stairs. The chopper opened the door for Aurora, Liam nodded at him and he stepped back, Liam held the door open for her, "Welcome back to my city, Mrs Knight."

Aurora once again swallowed the bitter taste of insult. He was not going to be easy on her, she knew that. Matching her brutality would be her biggest test, but the question was, would she be able to do that? Aurora didn't know? But she was going to fight tooth and nail to protect her remaining ego. The car stopped and Aurora eyed the penthouse, the same place where she gave herself to him, she had saved her virginity for her one true love and she submitted it to him on the silver platter, tears perked in her eyes thinking how he must have made fun of her after that.

How he would have laughed at her after taking her virginity. She was foolish to share her emotions with a man like him. Aurora took a long shaking breath while staring at the passing trees.

She recalled the day when she first came here with Susan and Emily. How happy she was then, she felt closer to her mother. Vancouver was her birthplace, she felt as if her mother was crashing her hair but today she felt nothing like that.

Then she was excited for a new beginning in her life and today, she was scared and anxious about the unknown. If she was given the power to change something in the past, she would go back in time and change the whole year.

She would change the meeting Gabriel James, the man who was the reason she came here to prove herself. She closed her eyes and sobbed silently, Gabriel was trying to control her, he wanted to change her but he was not this cruel.

If she would have to choose between Liam and Gabriel today, she would gladly choose Gabriel over Liam. With him at least she had a chance to get out of the relationship but with Liam, she couldn't do that. She was alone and powerless in front of Liam Knight.

I was never good at choosing the right man for myself. I ruined everything for myself!

Liam once again pretended to be the gentleman and opened the door for her, "welcome to your new residence, Little one."

Aurora stopped herself from reacting in any way. She silently stepped out of the car and walked ahead but Liam grabbed her hand, the chauffeur and the other security standing there looked down, making themselves invisible. They all know that if a single word of this went out, they all would be six feet under the ground.

Aurora looked with a questioning gaze, before she could ask anything, Liam spoke: "We are married now, you are my wife, you represent my name, my power. I will not tolerate if you take these things lightly or behave like a spoiled brat anymore, Mrs Knight."

He pressed on the words 'Mrs Knight' but Aurora was still confused over what he became so angry about.

Liam understood her confusion. Till now he dealt with her with kid gloves. He allowed her to do anything she wanted but now, she would be living with his rules, he knew that she was not aware of the rules, he never told her but now he was more than eager to teach her.

"You will not walk ahead of me when we are together. You will walk beside me, holding my hand, like a beloved wife. Do you understand me?" He demanded in a dark tone that a shiver ran down her body. Aurora frowned. He never asked her to behave in a certain way before. She was always like this. But then she told herself that it was all a lie, a deception to hold her in his clutches.

The man who held bags while she shopped for her friend's birthday party was a deception. The man who boosted her broken confidence was a lie. It was all nothing but a lie! This was real Liam, the controlling lying, deception bastard.

He didn't boost her confidence for her sake, no he did that because he wanted her body. He never loved her, he wanted her body to sate her animalistic desires.

It was not loving but lust!

"Do you understand me or not, Mrs Knight?" He snarled, making Aurora gasp as she came back from the memory lane and startled hearing him roar.

"Yes!" She replied firmly. He nodded, "Good, now hold my hand so that we can step into our new life together."

She gritted her jaw. New life my foot!

Paulina's soft smile welcomed them. "Welcome home, Mr Knight and Mrs Knight." She greeted them.

Aurora swallowed. Is she pretending to be nice too? No, it didn't seem so, she held the same warmth as Mrs Dolan, thought Aurora but then scolded herself for believing everyone at their face value.

They entered and Aurora felt as if she was in a foreign territory. She didn't feel the warmth she felt this morning here. Paulina asked for refreshment but Liam denied it.

"No need, Paulina. I prefer to have a different kind of refreshment tonight."

Aurora jerked and looked at him with wide eyes. He was smirking, proudly.

Aurora didn't give away any emotion. She learned her lesson well. Now she would not let anyone see her soul and if this lying deceptive man thinks he would get her, he had another thing coming because hell would freeze over before she allowed him to touch her.

He wanted to show her the monster, he would be meeting his counterpart halfway!