Mimi was the first person Arianna saw when her eyes opened and her throat felt parched. She wanted to demand water but her gaze roamed across the room searching for a particular person and when she didn’t see him, her heart began to pound loudly in her throat, hoping to God that it wasn’t what she was thinking.
A sense of unease filled her, there was no way Elijah could have attacked Marcel, right? Nothing happened, she told herself when though her heart continuously beat faster.
So she summoned the courage and asked about her boyfriend and Mimi came to sit on the edge of her bed. Now Arianna thought about it, she was lying on her bed instead of Marcel’s. If Marcel was here, he would want her in her bed, not here.
“W-where is... Marcel?” Arianna swore that she would stay strong and wouldn’t waver, yet her voice still broke off in the end especially when she saw the tears forming in Mimi’s eyes and her sympathetic look. God, this can’t be happening.
Mimi didn’t answer and only squeezed her eyes shut and Arianna felt her heart shatter into a thousand pieces even when her friend hadn’t confirmed it with her words. What was there to confirm when she could see written all over her friend’s face, not to mention that she has known Mimi the longest and right now, something was wrong.
“I’m s-sorry, Arianna,” Mimi finally choked out and she let out a wail that sounded like it was a banshee shrieking.
Arianna cried so sorrowfully and loudly that Mimi tried to pull her into a hug but she pushed her away. Right now, she didn’t need her comfort and needed to grieve raw for her loss. She and Marcel barely started, how was this possible? He couldn’t go! He couldn’t leave her just like that! She needed him! Arianna wanted him back, she couldn’t do without him especially now her life just found meaning.
But then, no matter how much she pushed against Mimi, she wouldn’t let go of her and was surprisingly strong. Hence, a struggle began between the both of them as she tried to push her away but Mimi pushed her to the bed and began to shout her name.
“Wake up, Arianna! Dannazione, Arianna! Wake the fuck up!” The ferocity in those words gave her a bit of clarity and she wondered when Mimi began to speak like that? Also, the voice was deeper and rougher and sounded nothing like her friend’s.
Suddenly, as if Arianna gained enlightenment of her situation, she rose with a gasp of life like a drowning victim. The moment she came around, her gaze connected with intense gray eyes, and the breath was knocked out of her lungs.
It was Marcel.
It dawned on Arianna that she had been dreaming all this while and without a second thought, she pulled him to her, wrapping Marcel in a hug so tight, that her body was pressed flush against him.
Arianna let out a relieved breath, hugging and pulling him impossibly closer and Marcel didn’t resist, letting her do whatever she wanted. From what he saw so far, Arianna had a very bad dream to have been frightened to this extent and he had a gut feeling it involved him.
He melted into her hug, running his hand into her hair while the other rubbed circles on her back, soothing her.
“Don’t worry, you’re safe now,” Marcel spoke comforting words to her. He didn’t know what she dreamt about, but he was here now and would keep her safe. No one would hurt or steal her from him. He was a selfish bastard and Arianna was the only person he would ever be good to.
He would rather die than let anything happen to Arianna. Marcel had never felt this intensely protective of a woman aside from his mother and daughter which spoke volumes of Arianna’s importance in his life.
It still felt a bit surreal to Arianna, hence she broke the hug and cupped Marcel’s cheeks in her hand as she stared at him. She felt his face which was warm and much alive, and a tear of gratitude slipped down her cheeks. Even though the dream was over, the thought of it still scared her to the bones. Arianna was afraid that she had fallen hard for Marcel and couldn’t lose him right now. Aside from Mimi, he was the only family she had left – a different yet special kind of family.
Hence, she pressed her lips softly against him and kissed him. She gasped slightly upon feeling his warm lips move against his, this was real and no dream. Arianna wanted to feel that this was no dream, hence she deepened the kiss, slipping her tongue inside and exploring his mouth while her hand threaded into his hair and yanked tight. Marcel groaned against her lips, his hand moving to her hips to explore her soft curves.
She moaned loudly, lowering her head to kiss his strong jaw and then his throat, earning a satisfied moan from him as well. This was the first time Arianna was taking the lead during a make-out session and Marcel hoped to God it didn’t end anytime soon. There was something sinfully arousing about his woman taking the lead and he wasn’t against her dominating him in bed – as far as she doesn’t let it get to her head. He still needed that control over her.
Arianna trailed the kiss up his throat and snatched his lips once again. However, the kiss this time was passionate and hungry, she clearly wanted more than this. Hence, she fell back down on the bed, bringing Marcel with her while their lips were still joined.
Marcel communicated his need for her as well by grounding against her and a moan left her sweet lips which he devoured. Arianna scared the living hell out of him when she fainted and he was too distracted with Victor to notice – how stupid of him. It wasn’t until he saw the sudden commotion that he returned to the scene only to see her unconscious on the floor with Luca trying to revive her and his heart ripped apart.