Adrenaline left Natalia as her fingers went cold and limp.
“Mo…” She started to stutter but images and memories from the past flooded into her head at the speed of light.
~~ … Mom works a lot and barely have time to see me. So I live alone… ~~
~~ …. She works all round the clock outside the continent even though she’s the only one I have…. ~~
When Arian beat up Leo and he skipped school for a week, Natalia had gone over to visit him. The woman she couldn’t see clearly at the garage, the woman her guts kept telling her seemed familiar, the woman with the elegant tight bun like the workers in the Palace…. was his mother?!
“Have this.” Leonardo still held out the glass of water. Natalia stared at the liquid absentmindedly. He was the son of a murderer!
Did he know??
Esmond and Jake said the kelions had no family. Did they know? How was he still alive?? Were they going to kill him too???
But Leo wasn’t dead!
They couldn’t be that stupid, right? Was he one of them? Was he also a murderer too?? Her heart stopped beating.
Then like an answer to all her questions, a weasel eyed man walked into the room and bowed so low in submission. Leonardo dropped the glass.
“Tell me.”
“Boss, the special shipments just came in. Security was tighter around the ports but we’re good. The insiders did their jobs well and smuggled the goods across the borders.”
“And the buyers?”
“They’re waiting for the auction to start. The Russians are more interested in the nuclear weapons than in the priceless artefacts from Africa. I can tell there’s going to be another bloody ruckus tonight from their side.”
“Deploy more men to the arena and take charge of the bidding. I don’t want surprises.” His cold grey eyes turned the room several degrees lower.
“Yes, Don.” Jackson bowed and left. Leonardo gently picked up the water glass again and passed it to Natalia’s pale, lifeless body.
“Have this.” The infamously impatient Mob boss repeated icily, leaving no room for arguments.
Natalia dazedly stretched out her hand to receive it. But suddenly, she stopped midway blinking back into focus. Feeling the burning adrenaline back, she slapped it out of his hand with a murderous rage!
No wonder he wasn’t dead.
He wasn’t just one of them, but head of them! The bastard who killed her family and scarred her for life! North America’s most wanted Mafia Don!.
Lady Rosa, the ex highest ranked royal assistant, smirked in satisfaction seeing the two living descendants of Astheria shoot each other bone-chilling, blood curling death glares!.
For a moment there, Natalia thought he was gonna hit her but Leonardo indifferently walked over to a table in the classic makeshift living room and poured out another glass of water.
“I’m not usually hospitable. Have this or it’ld be the last you’ll get.” He graciously passed it to her.
In the same gracious manner, Natalia delicately stood up from the bed, careful not to rest all her weight on her sprained ankle and looked him in the eye standing straight, even though his frame was much more taller.
Then without wasting much time, she slapped the glass out of his steady hand again making sure a good percentage of the water splashed on him!
Leonardo yanked her arm into a tight grip but Natalia remained unfazed, staring back with a vicious glare.
“I’ld rather die than accept your ‘hospitality’.” She spat, with all the bitterness she could muster at that time.
And that was everything in her heart.
A pleased, chilling smirk curled a curve of his lips. “We’ll eventually get there. But till then, try not to make me lose it.”
“Is that how you felt a year ago? Sparing my life so you could enjoy killing me later?”
“Perhaps. Or maybe I wasn’t yet satiated seeing your world crumble.” Natalia resentfully raised her hand to his face but Leonardo stopped her and casually flipped it away.
As effortless as it seemed, the strength behind his grip threw her off balance and she crashed to the floor. The broken glasses cut her skin and blood seeped out but Natalia was too furious to notice.
“Generations apart, you’re still the pathetic loser your ancestor was.” She glared up at him.
Leonardo squatted to her level.
“That also makes the two of you. Naive and indiscernibly stupid. You definitely took after that weakling.”
Natalia chuckled freely, which had vicious spiky thorns around it.
“At least, I don’t hide behind closed doors backstabbing those that made me!” She spat. He raised his hand in a split second but Natalia didn’t flinch.
His cold eyes smiled as his fingers gently swept down to her tender face.
“It’s been over a year since we last met. Where are our manners?” Leonardo stood up and forced her up. The glass shards pierced her skin the more but Natalia refused to show her pain, stumbling behind him.
He inelegantly flopped her on a couch and went over to the opposite one. The Royal picked up the poker face and icily glared back at him…
***
( Beverly Hills, California. )
The broken Ashley Dan groaned and turned around in bed. Her tired eyes fluttered once when a hand slid across her slim waist, cozily pulling her closer. She lazily wriggled away and slipped out of bed, completely nude and half asleep.
Her nightie was lying around in a messy heap. She wrapped it around herself and stumbled her way downstairs into the kitchen.
The house was dark and quiet, just like it was these days. Ashley found the bottle of whiskey and emptied the rest of the content down her throat. The liquor burned but yet, she took out another bottle and swayed to the window.
Nicole, her neighbour from across the street was a party freak! But they had gotten closer over the past few days. She was insane to a point of going a little over the edge sometimes, but cool.
She sighted Ashley at her window and waved from across their lawn before jumping into a convertible filled with other wild guys. They made some kind of party noise and zoomed off down the one way street, tearing through the dark night.
Ashley glanced over at the wall clock. It was barely an hour they’d gotten back from the third club they had tried out that night and she was off to another?.
Like was said, Nicole was insane to a point of going over the edge sometimes.
Ashley took another drink and looked away. The night became quiet again noting the absence of a restless soul. Suddenly, a black jeep with tinted glasses caught her attention.
It was parked a couple of metres away and Ashley cocked a brow. She didn’t know the neighbors loved their security with their level of poke nosing!
“What are you doing down here?” He muttered sleepily with a sexy voice and wrapped his arms around her waist.
Ashley turned around and took in his profile for the first time while the hottie emptied the rest of her drink. His hair was bedroom messy with only a pair of shorts hanging loosely below his waist in a lazy fashion.
Ashley tossed the bottle away and pulled him down to her lips. A car started somewhere in the street and drove away as he lifted her up and made their way towards the nearest couch, tearing away their flimsy clothes…
***
Arian slowly walked back into his mother’s ward to meet her hypertensively wide awake.
“Arian, where did you go?! You promised you wouldn’t leave for a minute. But you’ve been gone for hours!” She panicked.
The unfilial son absentmindedly sat beside her, not knowing what to say. All he wanted was a hug. Mom Rose took one good look at him and fulfilled his wish.
Arian held her back and fought to hide his tears. She kissed him and gently touched his hair.
“Pumpkin, is everything okay?”
“My life is so complicated.” He was exhausted. Mom Rose held him closer, warmly.
“Do you wanna talk about…” Arian smiled and nodded. The last thing he wanted was to disturb her health again.
“We’re going home soon.” He announced and smiled, taking in her hands. Her eyes slightly bulged.
“You… you’re…” Arian nodded again.
“Oh, Arian! You’ve made me so happy. I was planning on staying right here on this hospital bed if you weren’t gonna change your mind and come back home with me!.” She disclosed.
“Mom, you can’t occupy a hospital room anyhow you please. It’s not morally right.” Arian stated and she scoffed.
“Watch me!”
“And you say I’m the stubborn one?”
“Yes! You, your dad and Tommy have all ganged up to kill me! I wonder what grievous crime I committed in my last life! By the way, I haven’t seen Tommy all day.”
“He’s staying with Ricky. I wanted him away because he’s been seeing too much of a hospital lately.”
“I know.” She muttered sadly. “My baby is all grown up now.” She smiled and fondly touched his cheek. Arian cringed and was about to roll his eyes.
“But not too old to smack you!” She threathened. He stopped midway and she chuckled.
“Where’s Natalia? I haven’t properly thanked her for keeping her promise.” Mom Rose smiled and happily looked around. Arian looked up.
“What promise?”
“She promised to bring you back home and she did.” Mom Rose sighed.
“She’s the perfect daughter any mother could wish to have. She values me too much and took a lot of risks to bring you back. Living with you and all…”
“Wait! How did you know she was with me??” He was stunned. The patient on the bed casually shrugged.
“A mother’s intuition. Besides, you’re not doing a good job of hiding it either. Just look at you! All glowing and healthy and…” She kept teasing him. Arian made a face and his mother chuckled cheerfully.
Color returned to her pale cheeks and he smiled.
“I ran into da… father… at the hallway.”
“And?” Her smile faltered and she seemed uncomfortable all of a sudden. Arian noticed it.
“Is there something I should know, mom?” Mom Rose took her face away and muttered something under her breath.
“Mom.” He narrowed his gaze but she still didn’t respond.
“Okay.” The French heir breathed out and stood up. Mom Rose hastily grabbed him before he could leave and forced him to sit.
“Mom, I’m really not in the mood to be pushed back and forth! Just tell me the…”
“Your father and I are getting a divorce…”