Chapter 32
Ariel
The injury on my arm stung like hell and the iodine that Fedor was applying tripled the pain. It would have been more complicated than this if Fedor hadn’t stepped in when he did.
I didn’t know what I was thinking when I confronted a killer without any weapon or means of protecting myself, but all I knew at that point was that I had to ensure that Liora was safe and I didn’t mind putting my life on the line.
Luckily, the bullet only grazed my arm and not pierced it as I thought.
The overwhelming feeling of protection I felt towards Liora was strange and surprising, but I didn’t try to ignore it.
But then it almost cost me my life.
“Boss will have my head once he returns,” Fedor began a conversation.
I offered him a smile so that he wouldn’t feel bad. “Are you scared of that?”
He shook his head and his lips stretched to form a ghost smile although it disappeared almost immediately. It looked like the made-men weren’t allowed to smile. I wished they knew how handsome they looked when they weren’t trying to seem intimidating.
“No, I’m not,” He replied and dropped the stained cotton wool on the small stainless steel tray. “I’m just worried about him,”
I tilted my head to the side in confusion. “Worried? What are you talking about?”
“His late girlfriend died the same way. From what I heard, she was trying to protect their daughter’s life, but she ended up giving hers,”
Within me were flames of anger burning intensely and my curiosity heightened. “Who tried to hurt her? The both of them?”
He didn’t have the chance to reply because the door flew ajar and Dmitri stormed in, approaching me hastily. “Leave now, I’ll take care of her myself,” He ordered.
Without any hesitation, Fedor got up from the stool and bowed, then left the room. Dmitri settled onto the stool Fedor was earlier seated on and gazed at me.
I didn’t know what to say to him so I just stared into his dark obs and discovered how scared and agitated he was.
What I wondered was if those feelings were about me. If he had a fleeting ounce of concern for me and not only his daughter.
“Why did you do it?” He finally asked after taking a deep shaky breath.
I decided to feign ignorance, after all, he had left me at the party all by myself. If he had been with me all the while or at least made me feel important, I wouldn’t have wandered to the restroom and we wouldn’t be having this conversation.
“Do what?”
“Take a bullet for someone you didn’t give birth to? What gave you the right to do that, huh?”
His question was more annoying than inquisitive so I jumped up from the bed with a wince. “It’s my life and I can decide what I want to do with it. You should be happy that your daughter is safe, and if you don’t have anything else to say to me, I’ll suggest you leave. Or don’t worry, I’ll leave so you won’t remind me that you own the house,” I replied sassily.
I picked up my cell phone from the bed stand and headed for the door, but he pulled me back to himself gently and did the last thing I expected him to do.
He snaked his arms around my waist and embraced me tightly, his hands caressing my back softly and I could swear that I heard him sniff silently.
Even though he had been acting like the human representative of the devil, I didn’t want to move away from him, at least not now. Strangely, I liked the warmth he exuded and I enjoyed the weird comfort I got from being wrapped in his arms a little too much.
It felt so good to the extent that it became frightening and I jolted away from him. Our eyes were locked, black to blue, and we didn’t have to communicate for me to know that what just happened now had just unlocked another level of our relationship, but I wasn’t sure I was ready for it.
“I’m sorry for being rude to you when I should be concerned about your health. How’s your arm?” He questioned softly and reached for my wounded arm.
My skin tickled and my body warmed to his touch. He stared at it meticulously and led me back to the bed, this time I didn’t bother to object.
I just allowed him to lead.
“Did you check on Liora before coming here?”
“No, I didn’t but I know she’s fine. You were the only person that made me break all traffic rules while returning to the hotel. You were the only person on my mind,”
My heart expanded at his words and I was sure that if he said any more words, it would explode.
“But Liora needs you now,” I persisted.
“No, Ariel,” I could hear the weakness and sadness behind his words and I wondered if he’d tell me about his late girlfriend right now. “I wanted to be sure that the woman who attempted to give her life for my daughter was fine,”
It felt like fireworks were exploding inside of me and I couldn’t even sit still. “Come on, I wasn’t going to die. Fedor was there to protect me,”
“You don’t understand. That’s how Anya died. She thought it was all over until my shitty father attempted to murder my daughter and Anya had to die for her sake. Now you did the same thing,”
Tears prickled the crook of my eyes and a deep feeling of empathy stirred in the pit of my stomach.
It was then I understood why he was always cold and distant; why he didn’t want me to fall in love with him. It was because of his father.
I realized how similar his father was to mine. My father gave me away for an alliance, not minding how I’d feel and his father hurt the people he cared about without batting an eyelid.
“But why did he do that?”
He sniffed again and ruffled his hair. “Probably to punish me for not marrying the woman he wanted and he hated that Anya gave birth to a girl instead of a boy. But since he was a sadist and a masochist, he couldn’t understand that Liora was the proof of our love,”
Though his face was masked, I could still see how broken he was by merely looking into his eyes and now it was my turn to comfort him.
I wanted to cup his cheeks and tell him that I was here. That he could cry his eyes out and it wouldn’t be embarrassing at all, but I doubted a man of his rank would want to show such vulnerability.
“Do you want to know why I have this mask on?”
“Yes, I do,”
He inclined his head and sighed. “It’s because I promised her while she was dying that she would be the last woman to see my face and to have my heart,”
“Then I guess I sounded stupid for always wanting you to take off your mask,” I muttered, feeling slightly disappointed.
This man knew what love was all about, but his father took away his chance of enjoying it, and so did my father. Another similarity they shared.
“No, you weren’t. You’d be insane not to have wanted to see my face and I was cruel to treat you like that, so tonight, I’d do what I’ve never done in years,”
My heart thumped with anticipation and I clenched my fists which were clammy with sweat, my lips twitching nervously. “What’s that?” I whispered.
“I’m going to show you my face,”