“God, you’re making me dizzy,” Mimi groaned for the umpteenth time as Arianna kept pacing up and down the room. She was beginning to regret leaving Victor’s side who was currently busy planning the party without her, however, she needed to check up on her friend who hasn’t been out of her room since she gave that glaring look at Marcel that obviously said, “I’m fucking mad at you,”
However, Arianna was obviously not listening and went ahead with her complaint, “All I ever did was to look out for him, I mean Niklaus hates his gut and would clearly kill me if he catches him sneaking into his place. But then...” She laughed mockingly, “He chooses the suicide plan by Winters over my safe and considerate one. Yeah, he obviously likes his female buddy over his girlfriend. Maybe I should just break up with him?”
“And go back to being his hostage?” Mimi raised a brow at that suggestion.
“I am still his hostage,” Arianna hinted at the fact she couldn’t leave this place without his permission.
With a sigh, Mimi shot up to her feet slowly. She then walked over to her friend and placed a hand on her shoulder, stopping her from moving around, “I’m not saying that Marcel did right by supporting Winters over you, you’re his woman for crying out loud, however, could you cut him some slack?”
Arianna’s brows furrowed and Mimi went ahead to explain, “I mean the man’s going through a lot right now with his sister, his crazy father, Clara, and then protecting his clan. Moreover, I have to admit, you’re a ticking time bomb whenever you’re angry and the best thing one can do is to get away from you at the moment, ” She confessed, yet added immediately, “But I love you nonetheless,”
Arianna managed to calm down and was able to see the truth in her friend’s words. Marcel had a lot going on right now and it was selfish of her to want him to focus on her entirely. God, she was stupid.
Mimi patted her on the shoulder, “So I have to go check up on Victor and his arrangements, he had this horrible idea of inviting female strippers only, and there’s no way in hell that’s happening without us getting a share of the male strippers as well. Equality to all sex!” She chanted, drawing a chuckle from her mouth. And just like that, the girl kept chanting that slogan and left her room.
Arianna shook her head, Victor doesn’t know what’s coming his way. Thinking of it now, it was stupid of her then to think Victor was not good enough for Mimi because of his occupation. His way of life was not something to be proud of but both of them were happy and that’s all that matters to her – just the same way, Marcel makes her happy.
.....
She and Marcel might not have met in the best circumstances, but perhaps, this was fate, and that is saying much considering Arianna was not a believer in fate and destiny. However, what were the chances that a common orphan girl would meet a lethally handsome Mafia Lord and fall in love. It wasn’t even cliché, although quite cheesy for the falling in love part. However, she’s made the first step already and there’s no turning back, which is why she would compromise today.
She deserved an apology from Marcel for that drama earlier, but as Mimi suggested, she’d cut him some slack. Perhaps, when he gets his sister back, they can go back to their bickering and she plays hard to get.
So Arianna left her room and went in search of Marcel. However, on the way, amid the busy preparation for the party tonight, she could sense a little tension in the air and happened to see some of his soldiers were injured. However, they straightened up whenever they passed her and didn’t look her in the eyes, but there was no denying the blood on them. At once, Arianna’s heart skipped a beat and a name came to her lips, “Marcel,”
With lightning speed, she found herself running to his room and pushed the door open, striding past his sitting room and entering his living room only for her heart to leap into her throat. There was Marcel, seated on the edge of the bed with his head thrown back and eyes closed. However, she could tell his features were disfigured with pain and as if he could sense he was no longer alone, his eyes shot open and their gaze collided.
“Shit!” Marcel cursed, a look of horror on his face as if he didn’t want her to see him like this. No, she was not supposed to know of this in the first place.
He shot up to his feet immediately, a hiss escaping his lips from pain though that didn’t stop him from walking over to her. His heart was pounding in his throat as he called her name softly, “Arianna...”
However, Arianna stood on the spot petrified, not because he looked horrendous with the blood on him, but with the fear that she almost lost him. While she had been angry with him for the rest of the day, Marcel must have been out there, doing God knows what that almost got him killed. He would have died out there and she wouldn’t even know. She felt so horrible inside of her. What if that morning had been their last time together and they spent it that way – with her being mad at him.
“No, amore mio, no tears,” Marcel was by her side, cupping her cheeks and wiping away the tears that wouldn’t stop flowing down her cheeks, “I’m so sorry, you shouldn’t have seen this. My bad, forgive me, ” He thought she couldn’t handle him being all bloodied.
But Arianna could handle him, but what she couldn’t handle was him dying. She was so tired of losing her loved ones; she was afraid of being left alone.
First, it was her father, then learning her mother abandoned her as a kid and now Marcel was in constant danger, no, he always lived with death knocking at his doorsteps. It was too much for her.
Hence, the more Marcel tried to console her, the more the tears kept flowing.