Chapter 33
Ariel
My eyes nearly popped out of their sockets and I shook my head instantly. “Wait, Dmitri, you made a pact with your late girlfriend that no woman would ever see your face and now you want to break that vow for me?”
Deep down, I desperately wanted to see how he looked without his mask, but his decision didn’t sit right with me as I tried to put myself in her shoes.
“It’s my choice, Ariel. Just allow me to do it, besides, I’ve caught you staring at me several times with the desire to see my face, even that time at the club,” He noted and my cheeks turned red.
Did he remember that?
“Okay,” I replied in a still small voice, having no choice but to agree.
“Close your eyes,” He ordered and I obeyed without hesitation.
My lips trembled with expectation as I shut my eyes tightly until I heard my name leave his lips softly. And then my eyes opened to a stunning revelation that caused my jaw to drop and my lips to remain parted for as long as I could remember.
I’d expected to see a scary and sinister-looking man glaring at me, but damn, he was hot as hell. I couldn’t wrap my mind around how beautifully handsome a man could be.
He had an arrogant but cute masculine nose and a sinfully, beautiful mouth that beckoned for my touch. How I wanted to trail my finger along the line of those dark red luscious sensual lips of his. Even thought of it made my knees buckle.
“You’re so gorgeous,” I commented, astounded by the angelic beauty staring right back at me.
“I know, now stop drooling,” He teased me and his lips formed a smirk.
I snapped my lips shut and swatted my face to be sure that I wasn’t drooling, then I cleared my throat and bared my arm to him. “You aren’t done with the treatment,” I reminded him.
“Oh,” He picked up the cotton wool, soaked it into some ointment, and then applied it to my skin. “How did you know that Liora was going to be in trouble?”
I cleared my throat and held back a wince. “After you sent me that annoying note, I didn’t know what else to do but rush to the restroom so I could scream my lungs out, unfortunately it wasn’t empty and I didn’t bother to go in. I’d have left immediately but I heard someone talking about us and Liora especially. It was a woman and when I confirmed that Liora wasn’t safe anymore, I ran back here,”
“It was a woman?” His brows climbed his forehead and it felt nice to see his reactions without a mask covering his face.
“Yes, it was. I should have barged in to know who she was but at that point, nothing was more important than saving Liora,”
“It’s better you didn’t confront her. She might have been armed and that would put you in a worse situation. I’ll take care of it, just get some rest ahead of our flight tomorrow. We have to return to Seattle,”
I nodded slowly and retreated to the bed. “Will you join me here tonight?”
He lowered his head as if in thought and when he peered at me, I already knew what the answer would be. “I’m sorry but I have unfinished business to attend to,”
“That’s alright. Good night,”
BY afternoon, the next day, the servants were rolling our boxes into the house while Liora clung onto me like a second skin. Ever since the incident yesterday, she’d refused to let go of me any time we were together.
The good thing about her clinginess was that Dmitri didn’t make a fuss about it. He still kept the mask on his face, but the shift in our relationship was still evident.
My wish was for her to start speaking again. I couldn’t wait to her talk to me and blabber about everything that goes on in her head.
Getting her to speak would be a herculean task, but I’d always been known for my resilience and I wouldn’t give up on her.
Guilia raced toward the both of us and engulfed me in a hug, fiddling with Liora’s cheeks. She squinted her teary eyes and looked at me for assurance.
“It’s alright, baby. She won’t hurt you,” I said to her.
“What’s going on with you?” Guilia asked, passing glances at both Liora and me.
I dropped Liora onto the floor so that Irina could change her clothes while I followed my dear friend into her room.
Dmitri had barely said anything to me since last night and I guessed it was because he had a lot of things to do.
“A lot of things actually, but I’m not so ready to share. So tell me, what was it like staying alone with Vladimir throughout the day? And remember you’re yet to tell me what happened at the club that night,”
The smile on her face vanished and she sighed anxiously. “You’re right. Something happened but I don’t know where to start. It’s so overwhelming and I feel so foolish,”
I sat upright on her couch and stared at her attentively. “You can lay it all out. You know I won’t judge,”
She ran her fingers through her hair and sighed again. “I kissed him,” She bit her fingernail and looked away while my eyes widened in surprise.
“You did what?” My voice climbed a high pitch and she nudged me to lower my tone.
However, I was too shocked to stay relaxed. Out of all the men she saw at the club, it had to be Vladimir. Someone I couldn’t even stand.
“How could you let that happen? Your father must never hear about this,” I rasped.
“I know, but there’s something else,”
My heart flew to my mouth and I didn’t even know when I clutched onto my chest. “Oh, Guilia, you haven’t stayed up to a week and everything is going haywire. We shouldn’t have gone to that club,”
“I agree, but the thing is, I’ve not been able to get him out of my mind after that kiss and since he had to be my bodyguard for the time you all were out, we kissed again,” She confessed and sprang to her feet while I gazed at her in a daze.
Dmitri and I just had our first embrace yesterday since we got married one month ago, and here was my friend, making out with a man who didn’t give a shit about her.
If only knew that Vladimir was worse than Dmitri, she wouldn’t go close to him.
She was going to be the death of me and it was more annoying that I couldn’t intervene.
Or maybe I could.