Chapter 88
Ariel
It’s been exactly three weeks and four days since Dmitri confessed his feelings for me in an unusual manner.
I’d been giddy with excitement through out that evening, but his next line of action reminded me that it was easier to say a thing than do it.
Seated on the bed while wallowing in despondence and depression, I wondered what I was going to do with my boring life. If I wasn’t married to him, I’d have graduated from culinary school, but he wouldn’t even let me do anything for myself.
He was too paranoid about my safety and he felt I was well catered for. What he was ignorant of was that I liked to look out for myself as well.
Being in this house all day as a routine drove me nuts and I was sick of it.
A faint knock rapped on the door and without having to guess, I already knew who it was.
“Come in, Liora,” I tried to sound cheerful and luckily, my voice didn’t betray me.
She pushed the door open and bounced in like a well-fed cat. “No one wants to play with me and I’m bored,” She whined.
I pinched my forehead, an embarrassing sigh escaping my lips. How could I have forgotten that I had a child to take care of? I was so caught up on Dmitri’s confession that I forgot about her.
“I’m so sorry, Liora. Let me make it up to you,” I offered as a bright idea dropped into my mind.
“How?” Her mouth pulled into a pout and she folded her hands, stomping her foot impatiently on the floor.
Sometimes she acted like a brat and other times, she was an innocent angel.
“Let’s go get some cake,”
She threw her hands in the air, jumping in delight. “I want vanilla flavor,” Her happy scream resonated in the room.
“We’ll get whatever you want,” I assured her. “Now ask Irina to dress you up. I have to change my clothes and I’ll come get you…” I’d barely completed my statement when she ran out of the room as if in a race.
I never knew that something as simple as a cake could brighten up her day and mine too. Her happiness was mine as well and even though I was going through the shittiest moment of my life, I wouldn’t allow it to rub off on her.
A wave of dizziness hit me the moment my feet touched the floor, causing me to totter. I leaned against the wall for moment, allowing the haziness to wear off.
After a while, I felt better so I traipsed to the wardrobe and picked a floral print dress that had a split running to my mid thigh. I brushed my hair and wore it in a tight ponytail as I wasn’t ready to fight with my hair to stay in place.
I wore a pair of black slides and a black shoulder bag to match my outfit. Soon I was done and an excited Liora was already waiting for me by my door.
“Come on, let’s go,” She tugged at my hand, dragging me to the door.
The new bodyguard whom Dmitri had sent to me opened the car door for Liora and me. I didn’t bother to ask about his name because I was still angry at Dmitri for firing Fedor. The both of us were already bonding and now I had to go through the stress of getting acquainted with this man.
“Cake Treats,” I said briefly and he nodded, driving off immediately.
Today’s drive was the worst I’d ever experienced. For the first time in my life I felt car sick for a journey that wasn’t up to thirty minutes.
Suddenly, the air in the car seemed contaminated even though the air conditioner was put on.
By the time we got to the location, bile had risen to my throat and the urge to throw up everything in my system enveloped me. Liora, sensing that I wasn’t feeling too good patted my shoulder and pecked my cheek.
“Don’t worry, mom. If anything happens, I’ll call daddy,” She smiled at me.
“I’m fine, sweetheart. Let’s go in,” I urged her.
We strolled in and the sweet aroma of pastries drifted to my nostrils. My appetite spiked as I began to salivate.
I went to the counter with Liora and selected two different flavors of cakes-vanilla and red velvet. Impatience ate at my guts while I waited for the waiter to serve my order.
“Can I get them now?” I asked, growing tired by the minute.
“Here you go, ma’am. I’m sorry for the delay,” She slightly inclined her head and handed the tray holding the cake to me while I scoffed and walked away.
I dug into the red velvet as soon as I got to my seat, enjoying how the fluffy and tasty cake sated my cravings. Liora was still halfway into hers when a familiar woman approached us.
My eyes swept through her fit while I drank in her charming lavender scent. She was the same woman I had some drinks with at the bar.
“Stranger?” I peered at her and she giggled softly.
“It’s Chiara,” She chuckled. “Mind if I join you?” She pointed at an empty chair adjacent me.
“Sure, you can. I’m Ariel Mikhailov,” I paused, thinking of the best way to apologize for leaving the bar abruptly without telling her. “I’m sorry for the other day,”
She waved her hand and shook her head. “There’s no need for that. I’m sure your husband wasn’t comfortable that you were drinking at such a weird time of the day,”
“You’re right. Till now, I don’t understand what prompted me into doing that,” I finished the remnant of the cake and turned to her. “Do you want some?” I questioned.
“No, I don’t.” She glanced at Liora who had abandoned her plate and focused on her phone. “Your daughter is so beautiful, she reminds me of my late daughter,” Her eyes turned sad.
“Oh, I’m so sorry about that,”
“It’s fine, I like her…” She trailed off.
Her words suddenly sounded faint and vague and my stomach was unsettled. A metallic taste filled my tongue with a wheezing sound in my ears that induced more drowsiness.
I grabbed the edge of the table and tried to get up, but my vision became blurry. “I don’t feel so good,” I admitted.
“Mom, I’m going to call Dad,”
I felt an arm around my neck, keeping me steady so that I wouldn’t slip off to the ground. “What’s wrong, Ariel?” Concern rang hard in her voice.
My lips parted while I struggled to give her a response, but my brain wasn’t supporting the act.
“Mommy,” Liora’s voice jolted me from my dazed state, but it didn’t eliminate the weakness, instead it only got worse.
“I can’t stand up, Liora,” I slurred and shut my eyes, the world going dark before me.