Double update again?

Enjoy this chapter ✨ Don't forget to vote and comment ❤️

~ Carson's POV ~

I should have swallowed my anger, pride, arrogance and every other freaking emotion and just spoken to her.

But unlike her I wasn't actually good at talking and getting people to talk. Last night when I was angry, she took every hurtful thing I said, she ignored every attempt I made at trying to shut her down. She somehow managed to ignore it all and she just kept pushing me to talk to her.

I didn't have her patience. I wasn't like her, I wasn't used to dealing with other people's emotions like that. I wasn't used to having my whole day and mood depend on someone else's. The moment I felt her become annoyed, it changed everything inside me. Just like when she smiled, anything bad that happened that day suddenly didn't matter anymore.

It was her. Somehow, at some point along the way my world suddenly began to revolve around her.

So I told her to leave, even though I didn't want that. I wanted to introduce her to my mom, I wanted her with me when I explained everything to my mom. Some stupid part of me didn't think she'd actually go.

I thought she'd just calm down and finish her damn latte and come upstairs when she was ready. But when the doorman downstairs called me at 2:40pm to tell me that my mom was here, Dani was nowhere to be found.

"Carson?"

When I heard my mom's voice call out from the elevator, I let out a frustrated sigh as I left the kitchen heading towards the elevator. I found Dani's purse on the floor with her empty coffee cup on the coffee table but apart from that, she was gone.

Rounding the corner, I saw my mother standing by the closed elevator doors giving me a glare. It wasn't one of those motherly glares that she gave me when she was telling me off, it was one of those glares that told me I'd hurt her.

And it just made the guilt I felt even worse.

"Mom. You're early." When she heard my words as I walked towards her, she let out a scoff putting down her purse and taking her jacket off to hang it up.

"Sorry to disappoint you, son."

"I didn't mean it like that, I just have something I need to deal with right now and-"

"Well whatever it is, it's going to have to wait. It's been five weeks since I spoke to you, so you're going to sit down and explain to me why."

Before I could try to stop her, she walked into the open plan area of my apartment, heading over to the couch where I'd left Dani sitting half an hour ago.

"You have a girl here?" Following behind her, I watched as she stopped, staring at Dani's purse and the coffee cup with the lipstick marks on.

"No, well, yes but-"

"You're too busy to talk to me because of a girl?" When she said it like that, the anger biting into her tone, I let out a frustrated sigh as I went over to pick up the two items.

"Just sit down mama." Putting Dani's purse to the side on the floor, I went into the kitchen, putting the cup on the counter before I grabbed two water bottles from the fridge. Heading back into the living area where my mother was sitting, I handed her a bottle before I sat down on the couch across from her.

I wanted to be able to concentrate on her and to give her all my attention after everything I'd put her through over the last five weeks. But I just couldn't focus, not when I could see her things everywhere.

I could see her purse on the floor, her new laptop and phone in the bag across the room, her shoes that she wore this morning when we got here-

"Carson are you even listening to me?"

"What? Y-yeah, sorry. What did you say?" When I gave her a confused frown, she shook her head putting the bottle of water down on the coffee table.

"Where the hell have you been? You used to call me a few times a week if you were too busy to see me, this is the longest you've ever gone without speaking to me. Did I upset you? Did I hurt you somehow Carson?"

Hearing the worry and the guilt in her voice just made me feel so much worse. So much freaking worse.

"No, mom you didn't, I promise you didn't. There's just...a lot has happened mom. I need to explain it all but now isn't a good time."

"Not a good time? You knew what time I was coming Carson, I was only twenty minutes early."

Letting out a frustrated sigh, I nodded my head. I was doing my best to try and control the anger that so desperately wanted to rise up inside me.

It wasn't even Daniela's fault, I told her to leave. I should have stayed and spoken to her but I didn't. She was upset and I guess she did have a right to be, we were just so different when it came to money - I wanted to spend on her to show her that I loved her and she wanted to be independent.

"Carson!" When my mom shouted my name I suddenly jumped, my mind once again being brought back to the current situation.

"You can ignore me all you like but I'm not leaving until you talk to me."

"But mama I need to-"

"Give me an explanation and I'll get out of your way. You may not want me around you anymore Carson but you're still my son, my eldest baby. Just tell me why and I'll go and you can go back to whatever or whoever you were doing."

When she so bluntly suggested it was sex that was distracting me, I instantly shook my head.

"Mom it's not that. I...damn." Running a hand over my face, I ached for her touch to calm me down. She was the only one who could do it.

But I just had to focus. She knew what she was doing when she left, now I just had to focus on my mother.

"I was kidnapped." When I said those words I lifted my head to look at her, noticing her silence until she just glared at me again.

"Don't treat me like an idiot Carson. Not after all I did to raise you, show me some more respect than this."

"I'm not lying mom. The night when you left to go to Paris, I was leaving a dinner meeting and I was run off the road and taken."

When she saw the truth in my eyes, her glare slowly began to soften before she frowned at me.

"You were kidnapped?" Nodding my head, I let out a sigh as I explained, reliving the memories all over again.

"I was held for almost three weeks and then I escaped. It took me a while to find my way back from Washington State, I went to Los Angeles for a bit and then came back here yesterday."

It took her a minute to process everything I told her as she picked up her water bottle taking a sip of it.

"Why didn't you call me? Why didn't you tell me Carson? Why didn't anyone tell me? I would have come back faster if I knew."

When I saw her eyes fill with tears, I got up from my place on the couch across from her, heading over to sit next to her.

"They didn't know where I was mom and I didn't want to worry you. I wanted to tell you in person."

Shaking her head she let out a sob as she moved into my arms, pulling me into a hug. I knew it would hurt her to find out the truth which was another reason I didn't want her to know.

It was easier for her to be angry with me than to feel guilty and hurt.

"Oh my baby. I knew you'd end up getting hurt one day, especially with your attitude you have too many enemies."

"Mom I'm fine, you don't need to cry." I rubbed her back as I held her in my arms while she continued to cry. "I'm so sorry for getting angry baby, I thought you were ignoring me. I thought you didn't want to speak to me anymore. But all that time you were being hurt, in a place that you didn't know. I thought you hated me."

"You're my best friend, that would never happen mom." When she pulled away I gave her a smile which she returned, reaching her hand up to place it on my cheek.

"Is that where you got all those bruises?"

Shaking my head, I shuffled away from her sheepishly avoiding her gaze.

"Oh...no. I had a fight with Grey last night but-"

"Carson Salvestro Agnello what did I tell you about fighting?" When I heard the hard edge in her voice I couldn't stop the laugh that left my lips earning me a slap to the back of the head.

"Ow! What the hell?"

"Language!" When she hit me again, I rubbed the back of my head sending her a glare which soon morphed into a smile which she begrudgingly returned.

"I love you mom."

"I love you too baby. So now tell me, what was on your mind? I haven't seen you this distracted for a very long time."

The moment she reminded me of what had happened earlier this afternoon, I let out a sigh shaking my head.

"I'm screwing everything up mama, it's all going to sh-"

"Carson." When she cut me off with a warning tone, I leaned forward placing my elbows on my knees as held my head in my hands. After a few seconds I felt her place her hand on my back, rubbing it soothingly like she used to do when I was younger.

"What's the matter Carson?"

"I left out a part of the story. I met this girl while I was gone and she's just...she's taken over my damn life mama. We had an argument earlier and I told her to leave before you came if she couldn't get herself together. I didn't think she'd actually freaking go."

"Well what did you expect? If a girl is already upset and you tell her to leave, she's going to leave Carson."

"But I didn't mean it. I was angry but I didn't mean it. Now she has no phone, or car or a way to get back home and into the penthouse. She's just alone."

When I shook my head, I sat up straight again, leaning back into the couch. "I just need to make it right and I don't know where she is. I just want her back."

When my mom didn't say anything for a few moments, I turned my head to look at her.

"Why are you smiling like that?" My frown only deepened when her smile widened and her eyes filled with tears again.

"I didn't think you would ever let yourself fall in love. You were always so closed off, trying to show the world that you're this cold hearted mob boss instead of my baby boy. I always thought that act of yours would stop you from letting a girl in."

"It wasn't an act." Even though I said it with so much conviction, she let out a laugh at my words. "Carson you're the sweetest man I know, with the biggest heart. I raised you, remember? I know you better than you think."

"I'm like that with you, but not with anyone else."

"What about her?" The moment she mentioned Dani, memories of all the things I'd done for her came to my mind.

When I held her in my arms every night when she got cold, when I massaged her stomach when she was on her period, when I held her while she cried after every time she got hurt in that stupid room. I freaking cried when George and Mark were hurting her and I was tied up and couldn't do anything. I went back to get her necklace from his dead body just for her. I carried her through the woods, I got on my damn knees to ask her to be my girlfriend.

Because she was my queen.

"I love her."

As soon as all the memories of the time we were locked in that room came flooding back I felt this surge of emotion run through me. I'd been trying to forget, trying to block out all the details of what happened while we were there.

Dani and I didn't even talk about it anymore. We didn't mention a thing that happened, like it never did.

But somehow my mom just brought them all back to me.

"Carson don't cry."

"I'm not." When I instantly denied it, wiping my eyes to get rid of the few tears that had formed she let out a laugh next to me, pulling me back into her arms. "I'll leave you to find her, but make sure you go now. She'll be waiting somewhere for you Carson."

"How do you know?"

"You said she was out there on her own. How else is she going to come back?" Giving me one last smile, she stood too her feet from her place on the couch, making her way back towards the hallway where the elevator was.

"Carson?"

"Yeah?" Turning my head to look at her, I watched as she stopped to put on her jacket also picking up her purse. "What's her name?"

"Daniela."

With one last smile and a promise to come and see me again soon to meet Dani, my mother left through the elevator leaving me alone to figure out what the hell I was going to do.

Letting out a breath, I stood up from the couch grabbing the water bottles to take them back to the kitchen. It was only when I was standing there in silence trying to figure out where she could be that my eyes landed on her Starbucks coffee cup from earlier. Her name was written on the side of the cup and there were some faint lipstick marks on it too.

"I used to go to one on 92nd street off Park Avenue whenever Ayden wanted me out the way, it was my favourite place. It was the only place I ever felt at home."

The moment her words from earlier that day came back to my mind, I rushed over to the elevator grabbing my keys as I went. When I finally reached my car downstairs in the parking lot, I let out a frustrated sigh when my phone started vibrating in my pocket.

Hitting answer on the car's Bluetooth without checking the caller ID, I focused my attention on speeding out of the parking lot.

"Boss? We have a problem, how quickly can you get here?"

When I heard Fox's cold tone come through the phone, I instantly knew he was calling me in front of other men otherwise he wouldn't have called me boss.

"I can't, I'm busy." It fell silent for a moment on the other side of the line as I drove through the streets of New York. Somehow I had to stop at every single freaking traffic light that I passed when they all turned red as soon as I got there.

"Carson it's important. The Hollande family are one of our biggest clients from France and they're here right now complaining that they're not happy with our service. If we lose them then we'll be losing half a billion dollars in annual profit. They're asking for you."

The Hollande family - I hated the lot of them.

Letting out a sigh I ran a hand through my head trying to think of a solution as I watched all the cars cross the intersection in front of me while I waited at the stop light.

"Can't Grey handle it?"

"Why do you think I'm the one calling you? He's already trying. Carson you haven't been here for five weeks, people know things are weird here and they're not willing to keep giving us their money if they don't know you're okay."

The moment the lights turned amber, I pressed my foot to the gas speeding down the road as Fox's voice sounded out in my car.

"Okay, listen. I want Grey to tell them I'll be there soon and then I want you to give them drinks, get them food or whatever the hell they want, just do whatever you have to do to appease them while they wait."

"How long are you going to be?"

"I'm in Manhattan right now and I have something to fix first and then I'll be there. Give me 90 minutes."

Fox mumbled an 'okay' before he hung up the phone just as I turned onto 92nd street, driving slower as I looked at all the different stores and shops among the few houses on the street.

It was only when I saw a quaint little coffee shop nestled between a few houses that I parked my car, something just telling me that was the one.

I just hoped she was there.

Crossing the road, I walked to the entrance of the coffee shop and when I opened the door a bell rung above me as the scent of roasting coffee invaded my senses. Taking a few steps inside, I could feel eyes on me as I looked around the dimly lit coffee shop, trying to find her.

All I could see were families, couples and friends sitting around laughing and talking as they drank the coffee and enjoyed the soft music playing around in the shop. It wasn't hard to see why she loved it here, it was so homey and comfortable compared to the harsh reality outside those doors in New York.

Just as I was about to turn around to leave, my eyes landed on a solitary figure sitting in the corner of the room on a leather arm chair, staring out the window. The closer I got to her, I saw the soft frown on her face as she stared off into the distance holding a mug of coffee between her hands.

"Is this seat taken?" When I spoke in a soft tone, pointing towards the arm chair across from her, her head suddenly turned in my direction.

At first her eyes widened, her lips parting as she stared at me in shock before she eventually frowned, finally nodding her head. She sat up straighter when I sat down across from her, leaning forward with my elbows on my knees.

"How did you find me?"

"You told me earlier this is where you used to come and that it was the only place that felt like home."

She held my stare for a moment before she looked down at her mug without saying another word.

"I love you Dani." When she still didn't say anything, refusing to look at me I gave her a moment before I spoke again.

"Come with me beautiful."

"I don't want to." She mumbled the words causing me to frown but before I could ask why she continued. "I'm nothing Carson. I don't have anything - a job, money, a passport, I didn't even have a bank account until a few hours ago. I don't have any family or friends to introduce you to, I'm nothing. Why do you want me?"

When she lifted her head to look at me, the tears in her eyes broke my heart.

"I love you. I don't give a damn about any of that stuff because it's not your fault. You'll find a job, you can get a passport and you'll make friends soon baby. I don't care about money, I just care about you. I just...my way of showing you how much I love you is by paying for things for you."

"But I wanted to pay, because I don't want to rely on you. I'm your girlfriend not your child."

Nodding my head, I reached my hand out to take hers when my phone started buzzing in my pocket catching her attention. At first I tried to ignore it but when she gave me an annoyed look, pulling her hand away before I could hold it, I finally took it out of my pocket to see it was Grey calling.

"You can go and take it Carson. I'm just going to stay here."

"No, I know what it's about but you're more important right now Dani." When she heard me say that, she moved a little closer to me putting down her mug on the coffee table next to her.

"I love you too Carson but-"

"But nothing. I'm so sorry for what happened today, I swear to you Dani I'm going to try harder for you, I'm going to try and be better for you."

"Carson-"

"This isn't how it was all supposed to go. We were supposed to come back and be together and just...I don't know, just be happy."

"Carson just-"

"I keep freaking hurting you and today I didn't even mean to. I never should have paid or told you to leave and-"

"Carson stop." When she very forcefully cut me off this time she quickly took the chance to speak before I did again. "I should be the one saying sorry to you, for the things I said earlier. I know you were trying to be nice in your own way, I just got overwhelmed and..."

When her sentence trailed off and her tears fell I instantly reached out to wipe them away causing her to lean into my touch.

"No baby, you don't have to be sorry for shit, you never have to be sorry. Let's just move on baby, it's frustrating that all this has happened and we haven't even been back a full day, but we're still learning how to deal with this. It's all so new, there's no need to carry it on." My words caused her to smile as she turned her head, pressing a kiss to