Chapter 34
Ariel
While marching to the foyer where Vladimir and some of the men were having a conversation, I kept contemplating returning to my room or going ahead to confront him.
But with the intense disdain that boiled in my chest, I went ahead with the latter option.
His annoying smirk faltered as I neared them and immediately he dissolved the meeting.
“I need to speak with you,” I voiced out with a very harsh tone whilst hoping that Dmitri wouldn’t bump into us.
I didn’t want to explain myself to him.
Vladimir folded his arms and shrugged. “I can see that, sister-in-law. So tell me, what crime did I commit now?” He asked nonchalantly, further infuriating me.
“Why does it have to be her?”He fixed me a blank look and I raised my hand. “No, don’t look at me like you have no idea of what I’m talking about. Back at the club, why didn’t you push her away when she came to you drunk?” I intoned through gritted teeth.
Talking to him with the carefree expression on his face tugged at my self-control. My fingers itched to leave scars on his face, but that would cause a scene and it would put Dmitri in a tight spot.
Dang it! When did I begin to care about Dmitri’s feelings?
“Come on, Ariel. Guilia isn’t a child that you have to keep watch over her like a mother hawk. She can do whatever she wants,” He replied, his lips stretching into a haughty grin that he knew annoyed me.
“Which includes kissing you at the club and yesterday? That means if given the opportunity, you’ll fuck her too. Do you know that she’s a virgin?” My voice was rising with each word that left my lips, but I was too livid to care.
The indifferent look left his face and his eyes flickered with an expression akin to possession. “If this is the reason you came here then I suggest you leave and stay within your boundaries,” He replied coldly.
“Boundaries? Alright, I’ll just do as you said. I guess I’ll have to snitch on her and find someone worthy to marry her. That should solve this problem before you mess up her life,” I flailed my hands into the air and spun around.
He caught my wrist, prohibiting me from taking another step. “You’d better not do that,” His deep angry voice echoed in the air.
I snatched my hand away from his grip and glared at him. “And why do you care if she gets married or not? Guilia is kind and loving, she doesn’t deserve to be with a man like you. My fate had already been decided and I had no choice but to be with your brother so I could protect the people I love, but I will never allow the same thing to happen to my best friend. Her heart has already been broken by the likes of you so I won’t let you grind the remnant bits of her heart into dust,”
My legs carried me quickly out of his sight and I was thankful for that because I was bound to get violent if he touched me again.
How he treated me back at Freud’s cafe was still fresh in my mind and I would never forget how an innocent man was murdered because of his innocent feelings for me.
On entering my room, I found an agitated Guilia stomping her foot incessantly on the tiled floor, her thumb stuck between her teeth and her gaze was trained on the beautiful view overlooking my window.
A sigh flew past my lips and I sank onto the bed, suddenly feeling exhausted. “What is the matter, my dear friend?”
Her gaze left the view and landed on me. “You shouldn’t have gone to him,” She replied calmly.
I cocked my head to the side in disbelief. “Wow,” I gasped. “So I went to put Vladimir in his place and remind him that he isn’t worthy of you and the only thing you can say is that I shouldn’t have done anything? Can’t you see that he wants to take advantage of you?” I flared up.
“But I didn’t ask you to do any of that for me. I’m a full-grown woman, even older than you, and I can handle my issues by myself so please, stay within your limits,” She fumed.
It was more irritating that she had to be in sync with him. What guts did they have to tell me to stay away?
The temperature of the bed suddenly climbed to a higher degree, making it uncomfortable for me to continue sitting on it, so I got to my feet so that she could look me in the eyes while ranting like a lovesick puppy.
“What happened to the love you had for Raphael? Wasn’t it real?”
She sniffed and that was when I noticed that she had been crying. She dabbed her face with the back of her palm and when I tried to get closer to her, she moved away swiftly.
My heart sank at her reaction, but I did not comment.
“Just keep yourself out of my business and focus on keeping your family together,” She stalked off, closing the door with a bang so loud the walls shook.
My eyes became watery but I willed myself not to cry. There was no need for that. She was going through a phase and once she realized that Vladimir was only toying with her emotions, she’d run away from him.
But then, her words were harsh and we’d never had this kind of fight before. Sadly, my mother wasn’t present to make me feel better and there was no daddy’s study for me to barge into.
The only person that kept me sane was mad at me and I couldn’t help the feeling of helplessness that spread through me.
I crouched onto the floor and tucked my head between my thighs, allowing the tears to flow freely, my resolve broken.
However, my moment of respite was cut short by the beep of my phone. I’d barely received any messages since we moved to Texas so I was more than eager to know who tried to reach out.
I hissed in disappointment when I skimmed through the message and my lips parted widely when I got to the last sentence of the text.
Spontaneously, my eyes flitted to the bed and I realized that a shopping bag and a red box had been sitting pretty on it without my notice. All of them for a dinner.
Dmitri wanted to take me on a date tonight.