Broken Souls (18 page)

Marco released the cuff of his suit jacket and placed his hands
on Ashley’s shoulders. “You forgot this,” he grumbled, removing the jacket that covered her. “If you’re cold then you can have mine.” He draped his jacket over her shoulders and tossed Ben’s back with a smug grin.

The tension between both men was close to boiling point as they continued their
manly
pissing contest. It had been amusing at first, but it was now starting to get out of hand. The insults were flying between both men and Ashley could do nothing but watch on.

“
Stronzo
...” Marco muttered under his breath as he wrapped an overprotective arm around her waist.

She recognised the term for ‘arsehole’
straight away and giggled. It had been an Italian profanity that had stuck with her whilst living with Gabby over the last few years. Having heard it almost every other day from her best friend’s mouth, it hadn’t yet failed to raise a smile from her.

“What’s funny,
tesoro
?” Marco asked, catching on to her sudden amusement.

“Arsehole,
” she mouthed at him discreetly.

“
Si
,” he chuckled. “I take it Gabriela was cursing around you a lot?” He squeezed her arm and tucked her close into his embrace. “I’m sorry about earlier,” he murmured, lowering his head to gently brush his cheek against the softness of her hair. “I know we’re both hurting, but it isn’t an excuse for the way I spoke to you.”

A familiar feeling of warmth
tugged at Ashley’s heart. The impatient Italian man from earlier had disappeared and finally reunited her with the Marco she had been waiting for.

“I
’ve missed you,” Ashley whispered under her breath as they walked towards the chapel entrance. She kept her eyes straight ahead, trying to focus on the way Marco held his arm around her, and how the firmness of his body kept her tucked securely against him. This was what she had missed over the last few days. “C-Can I ask you something?” She wasn’t going to mention it yet, but she needed to be certain. While he was being open, she was going to take full advantage.

“Hmm?”

“Did anything happen between you and Sop—”

T
he sound of the chapel doors opening interrupted them. They swung open wide to reveal a young blonde girl. “No way! Is this the girl you were talking about, Marco?”

Ashley leaned nervously into Marco’s hold as she felt the young g
irl’s eyes roaming over her. She had no idea who she was, but she was stunning. Her slim frame and endlessly long legs were clearly her best assets next to her shimmering, long blonde hair. Judging by the fitted black pencil dress she wore, it was obvious that the girl knew how to showcase her features well.

“Sophia, I thought you were leaving today?” Marco asked
, seemingly surprised by her attendance. “Shouldn’t you be at the airport?”

Ashley
felt his arm tighten around her waist as she tried to pull away from him. “Sophia?” she hissed discreetly. “Oh, thank you. I’ve always wanted to play the third wheel in a conversation like this.”

“
Tesoro
, stay put,” Marco growled, the pressure of his hold keeping her in place.

“She’s prettier than what I imagined... I can see the birthmark y
ou were talking about, but it’s barely noticeable. She does a good job with covering it,” Sophia shrugged, tossing her hair a little as she continued to inspect Ashley from a far.

“M-My
birthmark?” Ashley stuttered, nausea swirling in her stomach. She turned towards Marco, a look of complete hurt and devastation written across her face. “Y-You told her about me? But why?”

“
Merda!
Ashley, it isn’t what you think,” he said, his eyes softening immediately with concern.

“He’s right. I’m
here to pay my respects,” Sophia offered.

“Ashley, come here.” She felt
Ben wrap his fingers around her arm and pull her away from Marco. “What the fuck is wrong with you? She is insecure enough about her birthmark, yet you just talk like it’s nothing?”

“Oh God! No, don’t get mad at Marco. I shouldn’t have said anything.
It’s just that I’ve heard a lot about you,” Sophia started to babble.

“
Tesoro
.”

“Leave me alone,” she whimpered
, her thoughts filling with image after image of Marco and Sophia. She had fought against it, believing that her own silly assumptions were nothing but jealously. But now she couldn’t hide it any longer.

“Ashley,” Marco pleaded, “l
isten to me when I say that you’ve got this all wrong. Just give me a chance to explain.”

Sophia stepped forward, but Marco held up his hand.

“Please, just leave,” he muttered. “There isn’t anything further for you to do here. I think you’ve done enough, don’t you?”

“Marco... I...” She stopped short and sighed. “Okay, I’ll go. I’m due at the airport shortly anyway. I’ll see you
in Milan?”

He grunted his acknowledgment whilst shooting daggers at the hold Ben had on Ashley. “This is all a misunderstanding,” he argued as Sophia passed them and headed towards
the chapel gates. “Please, hear me out? We have guests inside to greet. You can’t just shut me out like this without giving me the chance to explain.”

She listened to him and saw the obvious hurt reflected in his eyes. “Ben,” she spoke softly, releasing herself from his grasp. “Please can you leave us?”

“You’ve got no chance. I’m not leaving you with this prick.” He shot Marco an irritated glare.

“Please,” she asked again, her fingers stroking over his hand
reassuringly. “I’ll be alright. I need to hear what he has to say.”

With some
reluctance Ben let go of her. “I’ll wait for you inside.”

She waited for the doors to close behind him before she nervously turned towards Marco, her stomach churning with
anxious anticipation.

“
She’s flawless,” Ashley sniffed, tears filling her eyes. “Does she even realise how lucky she is?”

He stepped
forward and grasped her hands. “You are beautiful with or without make-up, which was exactly the point Sophia was trying to make. You don’t have to worry about what anybody thinks of you. I’m so sorry that she came here today. I honestly wasn’t expecting it at all. I thought that she would just leave and that would be it.”

“
Are you
together
?” The words hurt as they left her lips. She didn’t really want to hear the answer to the question.

“No,” he answered quickly. “I have been speaking with Sophia the last few days t
o try and convince her that I’m not the right man for her. Yes, she was upset. But in the end, she agrees with me. She knows that I can’t give her what she wants.”

“I understand,” she said, halting the subject from going further. “But why were you speaking about me?”

He squeezed her hands. “She wanted to meet the girl that she’s heard me talking about for so long. I always have a smile on my face after talking with you and Gabby.”

Ashley smiled
awkwardly as he mentioned both her
and
Gabby. He was playing the little sister card once again and it wasn’t what she wanted to hear.

“
This isn’t the right time to continue with a conversation like this, Marco. I think that we should go in and greet people before they start to leave instead,” she said, nodding to the doorway.

~

Ashley felt uneasy as she stepped into the chapel again with Marco at her side. She had barely made it through the funeral earlier, and now she was back in the same damn room looking at the faces of lingering people that she really didn’t want to talk to.

She wanted to go home so much.

“I know this is hard, but I really appreciate your help,” Marco murmured against her ear as an elderly couple approached them.

She didn’t respond. There were no words that could be said to stop the tears welling in her eyes at the sight of the deeply saddened woman clinging onto the older man
next to her. She didn’t know the couple personally, but their love towards Gabby was clearly evident as they spoke so highly about her. It made Ashley realise the magnitude of the task that she was in for. How was she going to get through the next hour without cracking? Her emotions were already running high from the conversation she had with Marco outside.

As
time slipped away, Ashley struggled to keep herself thinking straight. She had shaken countless sets of hands and accepted many offers of condolences, yet she couldn’t remember a single thing about any of the people she had met. Everything had been a large blur that she was grateful to have not remembered. She didn’t want to keep too many of the memories from today... It would be a day that she would add to the compartmentalised list of memories she already had in the hopes that they would never get chance to resurface again.

“You’re almost done,” she whispered to herself, inhaling a deep and steadying breath.

After thinking that they had greeted each and every individual, Ashley was surprised when Marco steered them towards a corner of the room that they had seemingly missed. They were heading for a couple that were stood away from the groups of guests who were now filing out.

“
I don’t think we have spoken to them,” she whispered, studying the man and woman who had their backs to them. Her eyes discreetly looked them up and down, taking in their long and stylish overcoats. “Do you know who they are?” She looked to Marco and met his serious expression.

“
Si
,” he replied. “I heard them introducing themselves as your parents.”

Before
Ashley had chance to speak or even digest his words properly, she heard him smoothly offer his greetings to her parents.

“
Signor
Akerman
, how are you today?” he asked coolly with a brief nod of his head.

Ashley
wasn’t prepared for the onslaught of emotions that hit her when she caught sight of her mother and father. There was anger, happiness, confusion and guilt.

She studied their appearance, the years appearing to hav
e been kind to them during the aging process. They looked immaculate. Their wealth was clearly visible and practically oozing from their pores as they stood together proudly, drinking in the sight of their daughter.

Ashley moulded into Marco’s side as her complexion paled. She felt his arm curl
tighter around her waist, his fingers splaying wide across her hip bone with reassurance.

“Mr Conti,” her father replied, “please call me Rupert. It’s a pleasure to meet you,” he finished, extending his hand in greeting.

Marco cleared his throat. “Rupert, please call me Marco,” he
said, reaching out to return the friendly gesture. He looked towards Ashley’s mother to extend the same courtesy, but found her eyes completely captured.

“My b-
baby,” she choked, her eyes brimming with tears.

Ashley flinched at her
mother’s words. Shaking her head, she fought against the growing emotions that were trying to suck her back in, and the crocodile tears that wanted to bring her to her knees. This was a way of paying her back over the years; she was going to kill her with emotional blackmail.

“Come here,” her mother begged. She stepped forward gingerly and opened her arms wide. “I’ve missed you so much, Ashley. Your father and I
... we both have.”

Ashley retreated with each step
that she took. “No!” She screamed loudly and withdrew from Marco’s grasp. Her breath was starting to catch in the back of her throat and she looked around for an escape. “Got to get out... Got to get away...”

“
Cara
?” Marco’s voice was filled with concern as he stepped in front of her. Placing his hands on her shoulders, he stooped down to look into her eyes. “
Cara, cosa c'è
?” When she didn’t respond, he shook her lightly and asked again. “
Cara
, what is it?”

Sweat beaded Ashley’s brow. It trickled along the back of
her neck before it fell in heated droplets down the length of her back. She needed to get out before her body temperature soared. As long as she was away from
them,
it didn’t really matter to her.

“It’s okay, s
he gets like this from time to time,” her mother reassured him, stepping forward to grasp Ashley’s chin in her hand. “Your father and I are both here for
you
,” she explained, her cheeks swollen and tear stained. “We understand what you must be going through today. Have you been thinking about Isabella?”

Ashley froze as her mother’s eyes burned into her.

“Isabella?” Marco turned towards the older woman
and questioned her further. “Who are you talking about?”