Chapter 85
Ariel
I collapsed on one of the couches as soon as my feet touched the living room. My eyes were swooning and through my blurred vision, I could see the white furry objects passing through the clouds.
A drunk chuckle burst out of my lips.
“Oh, Dmitri… You’re such a party pooper. I didn’t even get to tell the stranger goodbye,” I giggled.
He shook his head in disappointment, his arms propped against his waist. “We aren’t going to have this conversation right now. I’m going to take you to bed and once the alcohol wears off, we’ll talk,” He said with a tone of finality and scooped me into his arms effortlessly as if I was a piece of paper and made for our room.
Gently and carefully, he placed me on the bed, sheathing my fatigued body with the duvet. How I’d missed sleeping here last night.
He spun around to leave and I latched onto his wrist, prohibiting him from taking any further steps.
“Don’t go…” My voice sounded like a pur as mother nature beckoned onto me.
“I won’t leave,” He assured me and I gave a dazed nod.
Comforted by the reassurance of his presence, I allowed nature to take its course, my eyelids meeting each other for a temporary embrace. I slept off.
~~~
A splitting headache chased the fitful sleep away from my eyes. Frustratedly, I grabbed my head and stirred to the side. “My head hurts,” I whined, forcing myself into a sitting position.
“Take this,” He handed me a glass of water and two pills that resembled aspirin tablets.
Without asking what it was, I took a sip of water and dropped the tablets into my mouth. I scrunched in disgust after gulping the drugs and rested my head against the board.
“Thank you,” I croaked, wiping the drop of water that hung around the corner of my mouth.
He nodded and crossed over to the vanity table, returning with a tray. “Have you had anything to eat apart from breakfast?” His voice was more gentle than I expected and it gave me the creeps.
The fact that he met me in a drunken state in a bar, where almost everyone’s senses had momentarily gone on leave due to the heavy influence of alcohol or any other substance they’d taken and didn’t scold me was alarming.
His silence on the matter made me jumpy and even the nicely prepared lunch in front of me wasn’t appetizing.
“I haven’t, but I don’t think I want to eat now,”
“Alright then, I’m out. I have some things to take care of,” He dropped the tray and covered the plate.
My eyes watched him intensely as he steered toward the door and tucked his pistol into his holster. He reached for the doorknob, twisting it slowly when his name slipped out of my mouth.
“Don’t go, please,”
He halted, his shoulder becoming taut as he cocked his head to the side. “Give me one reason why I shouldn’t,”
This was it, the scolding I’d been expecting. At least I wouldn’t walk on eggshells around him anymore.
Feeling less dazed, I crawled out of the bed and ensured that my legs were firmly planted on the ground. “I’m sorry,” I blurted, unsure of how to placate his annoyance.
He spared me a backward glance, his jaw set stubbornly. “Sorry doesn’t solve anything, you know,”
I dared to go further so I asked, “What exactly are you angry about?”
“I’m pissed that you had to go to my brother’s house to try to solve my problems. Who asked you to do that?” His tone was extremely calm.
“Well, I got to see the Nikolai who has been causing you problems. He’s cute though,” I tried to lighten the tension.
He grunted, a frown pulling at his face as he clenched his fists so tightly his knuckles almost turned white. “What if he had hurt you?”
“Vladimir was there. I know that we don’t see eye to eye, but he wouldn’t allow his brother to hurt me, besides, is Nikolai that bad that he would want to hurt his sister-in-law?” I asked, quite perplexed.
He paced around furiously, ruffling his hair backward. “You don’t know anything about him so please stay away from him,” He demanded, his tone rising to a high pitch.
The anger emanating from his body caused me to stagger away from him. “Dmitri, I didn’t plan to speak with him, but I just couldn’t help it. If you know what it means to be an only child, you’ll appreciate every moment you spend with your siblings,”
He stopped pacing and walked to me in angry strides, grabbing my arm firmly. “Nikolai isn’t that sibling I’d wish for. He betrayed Vladimir and me in every worse manner possible and once I find a way around this mess, I’ll ensure he doesn’t leave unscathed,”
My jaw dropped and I shoved his hands away from me. “Are you going to hurt your brother?”
He palmed his lips and heaved a sigh. “I’ve said too much,” He turned to the door. “I’m firing Fedor. Expect a new bodyguard soon,” He announced and jammed the door behind him.
Hot tears gathered in my eyes and I blinked hard, refusing to let them fall. I replayed our conversation in my head which was more of an argument over and over again, wondering when it became a wrong thing to try to protect your family.
I’d never felt so hurt as I was presently. Every time our relationship took a step forward, a problem would pop up from nowhere, pushing us five steps backward.
A few days ago, I was so close to confessing my feelings to him but then, he didn’t even care about me.
He was to leave for Russia, not minding my feelings about it. How could I have allowed feelings to sprout for someone like him?
My phone rang, jolting me away from my train of sad thoughts. I headed in its direction and found it tucked at the edge of the bed.
Guilia’s name was blaring on the screen and I picked it up swiftly, mentally cussing at myself for being so negligent to my best friend.
“Hey, girl, what’s up?” I implored a cheerful tone so that she wouldn’t sense my unhappy mood.
“I’m as fine as I can be. I won’t be able to speak with you for so long because I’m on my way to the airport right now. I convinced my father to allow me to take a flight to Paris today,” Her announcement was like a sharp dagger slicing through my chest.
“What!” A tear finally tricked down.
“I’m sorry it has to be this way, Ariel. I’ll contact you as soon as I’m settled,” She said and the line went dead.