“Would you believe me if I said otherwise?” He asked. Natalia whimpered, staggering unsteadily.
“I’m willing to take all the blame. I kissed Selena that day. I’ve been cheating on you with her behind your back. I wanted you to date me so I could play you.”
“Shut up!” She screamed and tumbled to the floor.
“I only dated you to get into bed with you. I selfishly stole your first kiss. I only wanted to be with you because I found you attractive. I didn’t tell you the truth about Selena because I wasn’t yet done with you.” She sobbed uncontrollably but Arian wasn’t done.
“I didn’t tell you about the engagement party because I wanted to humiliate you. I acted like a selfish asshole because I wanted to see you hurt and broken.” He squatted and forcefully took her hands in his, hot tears burning down their cheeks.
“My love, now that you’ve heard all you wanted to, can you please forgive me? Now that I’ve taken the blame for our failed relationship, can you forget it all? I’ll confess anything you want me to just so you can give us a chance to be together again, my love.” He softly whispered…
~~~
Arian sat on the floor of her bedroom with his back to Natalia’s bed. He placed kisses on her hair and gently brushed it at the same time.
Natalia laid on him, clutching his left arm. Their tears had stopped an hour ago so she had time to recollect her thoughts. Something felt wrong.
Despite the tempting situation, her heart painfully acknowledged the realisation and she gently pulled away. Arian noticed the disconnection and looked at her.
“My love, are you alright?”
“We’re doing something wrong.” She muttered and stood up. The blanket dropped from her shoulder and she let it.
Natalia walked over to her work table opposite the balcony and stood, backing Arian.
Arian stood up after her and encircled her waist, drawing her closer. His breath tentatively fanned her skin as he placed feathery kisses down the side of her neck.
“What do you mean we’re doing something wrong?” He murmured distractedly, nibbling on her left ear.
Natalia could feel her reasoning slowly slipping away, feeling the hot sensations on her skin. When his hands seductively slid up her body, she used the last of her resolve to break free.
“Arian, please stop.” She took a few hasty steps from him and pushed her hair away, trying to steady her emotions.
“This is not right. We’re not supposed to be together.” She turned to meet his face.
“I love you and you love me. There’s nothing wrong.”
“Everything is wrong! First of, you’re still engaged to someone else. I can’t be your mistress. This isn’t me.” Arian walked over to meet her.
“The wedding is the wrong one, not us.” He took her hands but Natalia released them and walked back to his previous spot.
She couldn’t loose herself, her focus and her priority. A lot was at stake and she had to protect him as well.
“Arian, I’ve forgiven you for what you didn’t do… But I don’t love you anymore.” She confessed, giving control over to Alexis, the ice Queen.
Natalia’s heart lurched painfully as she backed him, because she didn’t want to see the look on his face. Suddenly, Arian appeared in front of her with a small smile and lifted her chin.
“I don’t believe you.” His enchanting eyes met hers and she almost got spellbound all over again.
Natalia looked away and pushed his hands off coldly.
“I don’t love you anymore, Arian. Whatever effect you have on me comes from pure lust. Anything that might happen between us will only be a fling. Besides…. I love someone else.” Natalia was surprised at her audacity but she had to be convincing.
Arian seemed to believe her because he suddenly went paler from shock. She fought to keep her gaze neutral despite the shattered look in his eyes.
“Is it that person from the party? Has he been….”
“It’s none of your business what we’ve been doing together. It’s my personal life which I don’t have to share with outsiders. All you need to know is that I’ve moved on and I suggest you do the same.”
Arian’s eyes bulged and completely drained of color. His hand dropped weakly to his sides.
“I.. I.. you… wh…”
“Since I didn’t do it before, I’ll officially say it now.” Natalia continued with an icy voice.
“No…” He tearily choked.
“Henceforth, I’ve broken every relationship I have with you, Arian De’ Argent…”
***
Elva watched quietly, waiting hypertensively for Natalia to yell and scold her for the stunt she pulled with Arian last night….. But it never came.
Instead, Natalia flipped through the documents on her desk with her usual mean and cold appearance. Jake knocked and walked in.
“Empress, Mr Brown made contact. He’s right outside, waiting to see you.” She looked up immediately.
“Send him in.” Jake nodded and talked into his transmitter. Later, a guard walked in with a middle aged man.
Elva immediately recognized him as the man who had bowed and called Natalia a princess at the seaport before their school trip to the island!
Natalia stood up and shook his hesitant hands.
“Mr Brown, I’m grateful to you for honoring my call. Did you encounter any problem on your way here?” She courteously asked.
Even though the ‘Mr Brown’ looked like the typical example of a man from the slums, he was well composed. He bowed again.
“Empress, with everything your family has done for mine, I wouldn’t have been able to ignore your invitation even if I’d wanted to. And no, I had no problem on my way here.” She nodded and walked back to her chair.
“Please.” Elva acknowledged politely and offered him some tea. He sat across Natalia while Elva returned to her seat next to him. Jake took his place behind the Empress.
“Mr Brown, how long did you work for my parents as a royal chauffeur?” Natalia was straight to business.
“I worked for the Royal family for twenty years.”
“And in those years, did you notice anything unusual about the rest of the chauffeurs?” She asked. He thought for a while.
“Not really. Each driver had a daily schedule. The head of staffs was responsible for our coordination.”
“Were you part of the entourage assigned to bring in my parents back from the airport that fateful evening?”
“Yes, I was.” He nodded.
“And did you find anything suspicious or unusual?” He remained mute for a while.
“Empress, I knew this day would someday come.” He sighed. “Yes, there was some unusual happenings that day.”
Elva looked at Natalia who never for once took her cold eyes off him.
“It was my shift to drive the limousine your parents were to use on their return journey to the palace. So the morning earlier, I went over to the garage with the engineers about to do the regular checkups when the Head of staffs stopped us.
“He updated that it had already been taken care of and denied us entry. I was about to wave it off but found it odd when he also denied me access from taking it out on a testing spin.”
“That evening, I got more suspicious when he’d suddenly changed my shift with a substitute when we were about to leave for the airport! I found it strange because the driver was a newbie. And usually, newbies sat next to the royal head chauffeurs during a ride to learn the ropes. But he didn’t!
“I reported my doubts to the then Head of security who took certain precautionary methods alongside riding with your parents in the limo. They had other guards too with them so I was comfortable riding with the entourage behind.”
“Halfway back to the palace, I noticed some abnormalities with the limousine. It was acting weird like it’d lost control. Before the other cars could help, it’d sped off the highway and crashed into a tree.
“Security tried to break them out of the horrible wreck but the limo exploded before we could get to it. The blast was too much that it blew up the other cars surrounding it, including mine… I almost died.” His voice became heavy, like he’d aged ten years in one second.
“The storm that broke out next must’ve been a mercy from God because the rain was able to put out the fire before the paramedics and cops came. No one else survived but me.
“I knew my life was in danger when I was almost assassinated at the hospital. So… I ran away. The neighborhood I chose to hide in is safe for people like me and so, I was protected.” He concluded.
Elva touched her chest feeling goosebumps pop up all over her skin. Natalia’s heart softened but Jake had more questions.
“Did you notice anything peculiar about the substitute driver which can give us a clue? It’s obvious the car was already tampered with and he was sent on a suicide mission to make sure the job was completed.” Mr Brown strained his brain again to remember.
“Yes!” His eyes lit up. “It was a quick glance but I saw something. He had a tattoo. A tattoo at the back of his neck.”
“What kind of tattoo?” Natalia breathed expectantly and he looked at the three of them…