Safe with him

Book:Arranged To The Masked Mafia King Published:2024-11-26

Chapter 71
Ariel
Mama’s eyes bored into mine as I licked my lips and gulped.
My throat was parched and I scrunched my face at the soreness I felt after swallowing while wondering when the doctor would show me mercy and allow me to take a cup of water.
“Are you alright, my child?” Her voice was soft and melodic, soothing all the build-up of heartache and trauma I experienced in the past two days.
I shook my head and gulped again in preparation for my response.
“Please, don’t talk if you aren’t up to it,” She suggested and gently lowered herself to the space on the bed.
Feeling too helpless on my back, I hoisted myself up and Mama drew nearer to help me sit up properly. “Of course, I have to talk. There are several things I have to say, but where is Dad?” I spoke slowly.
She regarded the door for a moment and sighed. “He’s with the doctor and I guess he went to look for Dmitri as well. We have all been searching for you,”
I snorted in irritation. “Why is he looking for me?” I muttered under my breath.
“Do you want to eat anything?”
I ignored her question and asked something else. “How did you find me? The last thing I remembered was being shot in the dark alley. I thought I would bleed to death,” I chuckled drily.
“Don’t say that, Ariel,” She tried to shun me.
“But that’s what happened. I was almost raped by three vicious men at the order of the woman I thought was Dmitri’s mistress. At the end of the day, I found out that it wasn’t her but someone else who couldn’t cut ties with him. When will all this end, Mama? Why do they keep coming after me?” I was exasperated.
My body trembled with numbing rage and all I wanted right now was to go far away where no one would see me. I wanted to be alone. I had to be alone, or else, I’d lose my sanity.
But it was quite tedious, looking for a way to tell my parents that without sounding crazy.
The door was opened gently and my gaze flew to the door. My breath ceased when I locked gazes with the man who was responsible for my present mishap.
He barreled toward me, his eyes coated with genuine worry. He looked worn out and his chin was covered with hairs as if he hadn’t shaved for a while.
My heart bled for him, knowing that he had been through a lot, but I was so unsure of everything currently.
He leaned closer and cupped my cheeks tenderly. “Oh, Ariel,” He sighed deeply and his arm went around my neck as his body engulfed mine for an embrace.
I stayed still and let him hug me while the room remained silent. After a while, I pulled away and darted my eyes away from him. “Thank you for coming. Where’s Dad?”
My father came closer and this time I reached out to him. He ruffled my hair and held me with one arm. “I thought I’d lose you,” He sniffed.
“I thought I’d die,” I croaked and my orbs became misty.
He released me and stroked my hair fondly. “No one can hurt my daughter as long as I’m alive. We are going to find that killer and I’ll make sure to send the perpetrator to the worst place in hell. Your husband is already working on it,”
My chest tightened immediately he referred to Dmitri as my husband. I’d almost forgotten that I had one after what happened between us.
I was beginning to wish that he didn’t get the recording so that he’d have a stronger reason to send me away, but he behaved as if he had found out the truth. Or maybe he was feeling guilty and had been threatened by my father.
But Dmitri wasn’t one to be threatened by anybody apart from me.
Argh!
My thoughts were messing with my mind.
“That’s cool. I want to have a glass of water. My throat is quite sore,”
Dmitri turned to the door. “I’ll get you one,”
Father intercepted. “No, don’t worry. We’ll ask the doctor if it’s fine for you to take anything then I’ll get you a bottle.” He looked at Mama who stood with a look of longing that was directed at me. “Come, Ilaria, let’s get her some water,”
I rolled my eyes because this was their subtle manner of giving Dmitri and me some privacy that I didn’t want.
He shut the door after they left and strode to the bed without sitting on it. “How are you feeling?”
I fiddled with the cannula that was stuck in my vein and stared at him. “Apart from the soreness of my throat and the stabbing pain from the stitch on my stomach, I think I’m good,”
“That’s good to hear,” He paused and inclined his head. “You didn’t do it,” He blurted out as if he wasn’t sure of what he was saying.
I gave a slow nod. “And how did you know that?” My rude reply gave off the annoyance I’d been trying to suppress.
“I listened to the voice note,” He dropped to his knees immediately and grabbed my hand and my eyes widened. “Look, Ariel, I’m so sorry for not trusting you. I should have known that it was a setup, but I was too quick to judge you,”
I snatched my hand away from his. “Then why did you judge me? Have I ever given you any reason to doubt me? If you had listened to me, Margaret wouldn’t have kidnapped me and we wouldn’t be having this conversation right now,”
“I know, I know. I accept all the blame because I’m at fault, but, please, give me a chance to fix this,”
“What if I don’t want you to fix anything?”
His eyes dimmed and a ray of hopelessness fell on him. “What do you mean, Princess?” His tone held a note of fear.
“I’ll ask my parents to get me discharged as soon as possible, and when that happens, I’ll go back to Chicago with them,”
His shoulders drooped and he cocked his head to the side. “I don’t understand what you’re talking about,”
“It’s as clear as day, Dmitri. Everything seems blurry presently, but one thing I’m sure of is that I don’t want to be in the same space with you… At least for now,”
He gradually rose to his feet and shook his head as he schooled his face into a calm mask. “Margaret is dead and I know for sure that she wasn’t your kidnapper which means that your captor is out there running free,”
“So what are you trying to say?” I asked in agitation.
“I’m saying that the only place you can be safe is with me, and I care about you too much to allow you to get hurt again. It happened before, I won’t let it happen again,” He said firmly and walked away before I could gather a response.
Damn it.