Chapter 43
Ariel
I flailed my legs into the air violently after I crashed on the bed, angry at myself for allowing these strange feelings to flood me-the ones that made me extremely jealous and possessive of Dmitri.
The door was opened slightly and he poked his head in. I’d never seen him this laid-back and remorseful.
A few months ago, he used to be extremely cocky and rude, but the sullen expression on his face showed that he had a lot of things to say to me.
“Can I come in?” He questioned softly.
Quickly, I sat up, folding my legs and resting on my knees. “You don’t have to ask. This is our room,” I reminded him.
He strolled in, his shoulders slightly slouched and he leaned against the wall with one of his hands tucked into his pocket.
“Forget about everything she said, they aren’t true,” He urged me.
I did a little eye roll and sighed, like forgetting all about how he made her fall in love with him was that easy. And now he was doing the same thing with me.
He was making me play the dangerous game of giving him my body and not my heart, and I wasn’t sure how long I’d last before falling into the abyss of unrequited love.
“She said a lot of things and I don’t know whether to be mad at you and feel bad for her. She’s in love with you, do you know that?” I rasped.
He sighed and gently smacked his head on the wall. “I do, but she’s aware that I can’t reciprocate her feelings, Ariel,”
Suddenly feeling uncomfortable on the bed stirred to my feet. “I know that our relationship is more physical than emotional right now, but I’d like to know some details because I’m your wife and whatever happens to you will affect me no matter how careful you are,”
“That won’t happen,”
“But why is your business having issues because of me?”
His eyelids shrank into a little squint as he fixed me an incredulous stare. “That’s not true!” He exclaimed exasperatedly. “Did she also tell you that?”
I bit my lip and ran my fingers through my hair. “She did and seeing how she left so confidently, I’m very sure she’s right. And then she mentioned that you have insane fantasies, I know you’ve broken up with her but what are you going to do when you need someone to scratch your itch?”
He looked away. “I’ll take care of myself and my business. You don’t have to be bothered about that, Ariel. Our relationship has been going smoothly, we shouldn’t allow anyone to butt in and cause a rift between us. Margaret will never have to disrespect you like that again, I promise,”
Knowing that he was a man of his word, I nodded, giving him the benefit of the doubt. “Then can I ask you what business you’re into that is putting you in so much stress?”
“Let’s not talk about that, Ariel. I don’t want to burden you with the details of what I do. You’re too innocent to know that,”
“Right! But I’m not innocent to know about lovemaking, right?” I arched my brows.
His lips curled into a playful smirk. “Sex and drugs aren’t the same, baby. Like I said before, don’t try to stress your pretty head about anything. I’ll take care of this,”
I couldn’t help but giggle. “I’m just worried about Liora. She’s beginning to get stable and if anything happens to you, she might relapse,”
He reached for my wrist and pulled me closer to himself. “Are you truly worried about Liora or me?”
An involuntary shudder worked through me as I avoided his gaze. “It doesn’t matter,” I muttered.
Truly, it didn’t matter. I didn’t want to make myself more vulnerable if it was only going to bring me tears at the end of the day.
“Anyway, I wasn’t expecting you to be home at this time. Weren’t you supposed to be having a cup of coffee with your friend right now?” His playful choice of words snapped me out of the depressing thoughts that I was plunging myself into.
However, remembering how Vladimir’s actions hurt Guilia caused a fresh wave of rage to surge through my veins. “Your brother is a douchebag,”
His hand which was formerly on my shoulders dropped to his side, his brows knitting in confusion. “What happened?”
“We found him sleeping with another woman in his car at a parking lot. How could he hurt Guilia like that? He raised her hopes and dashed them like they didn’t matter. I know that he’s cold and unfeeling, but then he should have respected her,” I ranted, feeling relieved to finally let out all the resentment I’d been keeping in my chest.
His eyes turned dark and he palmed his lips; one of his hands propped against his waist. “Did he touch her?” He asked in a deceptively calm tone.
“I’m not sure, but they have kissed twice, that’s why she’s so affected,”
Guilt gnawed in my chest at how I snitched on my friend but it was for a good cause. If Dmitri could help in ensuring that Vladimir never came close to her again, then I’d snitch on her over and over again.
“Shit!” He cussed, pacing to and fro restlessly.
I understood his distress very well. Guilia was put under his watch and if she got defiled while she was here, it could cause a serious dispute between our families.
A tired sigh left my lips. What was she thinking when she allowed her emotions to run freely for a man who didn’t give two cents about values and honor?
“What are we going to do about them?” I asked, my heart thudding fast in trepidation.
Sadly, I already knew what the answer would be before he said it.
“I’m going to confront him about it, but to avoid this from repeating Itself, Guilia will have to return to Chicago,” He replied with a tone of finality and I felt my heart breaking into little pieces.