“Happy?” Ken asked Moon with a smirk.
He knew she wanted Ariel to kiss him in front of Aiden to make him mad at Ariel; unfortunately for her, there was no kissing and there was no Aiden by her side either.
No doubt, Ken would have loved to kiss Ariel and would still love to kiss her, but not when she was drunk and not under someone’s manipulative instructions.
He would love to kiss her when she would be conscious so that she wouldn’t miss the amount of feelings he’d be pouring into it.
Moon sprang up and pointed at Ken, “Mind your business, Kenneth,” she warned.
Ken smiled, “I mind my business quite alright, it’s you who has an attention deficit disorder, Moon. My cousin has a great friend who can help you out,” Ken replied calmly.
“You!” Moon stepped forward ready to slap Ken.
“Oh, come on, Baby girl, not again,” Viktor was quick to catch her hand mid-air.
“Let go!” Moon pushed him away, glaring at him.
“Easy, I was just trying to calm you down,” Viktor raised his hand and moved back.
Ken just stood beside the bench, looking pitifully at Moon. He wasn’t entirely joking when he offered to take her to Carla for a psychological recommendation; he believed losing her parents that early also played a role in making her become the way was.
Sure, Moon has done terrible things to him, but it was long ago, he only wished she would learn from her mistakes.
“You! I suggest you warn your friend to stay away from me,” she was talking to Ken but pointing at Viktor.
“In fact, both of you, stay away from Aiden and I. I’ll get him to realize his feelings for me in the end,” She informed angrily.
“But, I’m right here, Moon, my feelings for you long realized,” Even though tipsy and slurry, Viktor still managed to tell her how he felt.
Ken sighed, he had always known it’d be hard for Viktor to get over Moon.
Moon went quiet for a while, staring at Viktor, but she suddenly scoffed and glared at him.
“Don’t fool yourself, Viktor; I had only agreed to date you because I thought it’d have made Aiden jealous,” she replied scornfully.
Viktor staggered toward her, standing in front of her but not touching her.
“I knew that, but I started to doubt it when you made love to me like you loved me,” Viktor whispered.
“Get away from me!” Moon pushed him out of her way and stormed out.
She was angry and embarrassed that Viktor could say that kind of thing in front of Ken.
“Don’t go searching for him, love, he might be busy making love to the girl he loves,” Viktor warned Moon loudly, smiling sadly.
Ken heard what Viktor said, and his mood immediately turned sour, “Aiden can never love Ariel, Viktor, don’t ever joke with that,” Ken grabbed Viktor’s hand and led his drunken friend out of Aiden’s house.
As Ken pushed Viktor into the car, Viktor chuckled and held Ken’s hand, “Aren’t we just pathetic?” He asked.
Ken frowned. “What do you mean?” He asked, removing his hand from Viktor’s weak grip.
Vicktor sighed, “We’re just men with unrequited love,” He slurred, moving around the backseat to find a comfortable position for his uncomfortable body.
Ken shook his head, “Mine is not unrequited, yet…” he muttered, closing the door and entering the front seat.
As he drove away from Aiden’s home, he thought of Viktor’s words.
Was Ariel going to fall for Aiden in the end?
His heart hurt from just thinking about it. He wouldn’t give her the space to fall for Aiden. He was going to increase his effort in his pursuit, Ariel had to see that he was the best man for her. He would never make her feel less; he swore to make her feel like the most beautiful woman on earth because she was.
***
In Aiden’s home, he carried Ariel into their room, his face still marked with anger and concern.
He gently laid her on the bed, removing her shoes before taking her legs up to the bed.
He balanced her head on the pillow, making sure her neck wouldn’t hurt, and when he was sure she was comfortable enough, he placed his hands beside her head and stared down at her.
Her face looked so beautiful, her cheeks flushed from the alcohol she drank, and her lips were so red and plump, tempting him to lean lower and have a little taste.
“I don’t love you,” he whispered as if he was trying to convince himself.
His eyes scanned over her body.
“But, why was I almost dying when you wanted to kiss Ken?” He asked the sleeping Ariel.
“Damn… this is getting more fucked up,” He removed his hands from her pillow and sat down beside her.
“Mom…” Ariel suddenly whispered incoherently.
Aiden heard her whisper and immediately turned to her. Seeing the huge frown on her initially calm face told him that she might be having a nightmare or remembering a hurtful past.
“Mom… come back…” Ariel murmured, clearer this time.
Aiden heard her and frowned. ‘Was she missing her mom at home?’ He thought.
He saw her start to slowly move her head from side to side, her frown intensifying. He was worried and didn’t know how to calm her down, but he still tried.
He moved closer to her pillow and placed a hand over her forehead, placing his other hand across her chin, his elbows supporting him.
“Hey… shh, don’t be scared, Ariel. I’m here with you,” he whispered beside her ear, using his thumb to massage her creased forehead.
He should not be worried by her problems but something kept tugging at his heartstrings as he saw her murmur and frown in her sleep. Maybe because he used to be that way before too.
But whatever the reason was, he didn’t want to see her stressing over such issues.
“Mm… Mom…” Ariel whispered, softer this time, her head steady and most of her frown gone.
Aiden wondered why she was missing her mother, and then he suddenly realized that he didn’t even know anyone from her family. It was just like she had appeared out of nowhere and become his wife, and he hadn’t cared, but now, for some reason, he cared.
He knew she was Hudson’s daughter; he’d never seen the family, but he’d heard a little about them; they owned a very small business, and her father was known for always seeking greener pastures in businesses, he wasn’t a kind of person he could ever do any business with.
The mother? Heard nothing about her. He only knew that they had one daughter, who they spoilt to the core, but as he gazed at Ariel’s face, he was starting to doubt if the rumors were true. Ariel had never acted spoilt, in fact, quite the opposite.
She was always apprehensive about buying things or using them. Like the phone he had given her, he knew she didn’t want to take it because he had asked her to pay for it, and out of the many clothes he’d prepared for her, he had only seen her wear a few.
Aiden shook off his thought when he felt Ariel’s hand on his arm; he looked down and saw her hand wrapped around his arm like a koala. Her face was crease-free now and her breathing had evened out.
Once again, her beauty magnetized his eyes, he slowly traced his finger across her face, and when he reached her lips, he felt himself leaning closer, just a taste, he wasn’t going to do anything to her in sleep, but he needed to kiss her lips to quench the need that was starting to overtake his thoughts and body.
Knock! Knock! Knock!
Aiden paused, his face an inch away from Ariel.
He frowned; he thought he had asked them to leave. Why were they coming to disturb him?
He stared at Ariel’s face and felt like he would be missing something if he didn’t kiss her now, so, before he went to answer the door, he covered the space left between their faces, placing a soft kiss beside her lips.
He sighed in contentment as he felt her warm skin against his lips. Now, he could go see who was knocking.
He got up from the bed and walked toward the door, opening it.
“Moon?” He called, confused.
What was she doing here, in front of his room?
They were siblings, but they were the kind of siblings who respected each other’s privacy; he could count on one hand the number of times he’s entered her room since they were kids, same with her too. And when they became adults, no one dared to visit the other’s room.
So, seeing her here was a surprise to him, he started to think that were was an emergency for her to be standing here.
“Aiden, about what happened earlier this evening, I want to apologize again, and-”
Aiden raised his hand to her, frowning.
“Moon, is that what you came to tell me? Up in my room?” He asked, stepping out and closing the door.
Moon tried to peek inside, but he had already closed the door. But, she wasn’t sad; she could still see that Aiden was still in the same clothes he wore to the poolside, so Viktor was just bluffing when he said Aiden would be making love to Ariel.
And she had succeeded in luring him out of the room; next, she would ask to sleep over at his place, and then find a way to keep him beside her for the rest of the night.
“Come on,” Aiden held her hand and led her downstairs.
“I know you still don’t believe me, but I can swear to you that-”
“Moon,” Aiden paused at the foot of the stairs, holding her shoulders and looking into her eyes.
“You’re my sister, and you know nothing’s ever going to change that, I know you’re scared that I might stop loving you the way I do, but I didn’t, and I won’t. No matter what you do, I will always accept you with open arms because that’s what family is: a safe place. I just hope you chose the right paths,” Aiden assured softly, thinking his words were soothing Moon.
He didn’t know his words were doing the opposite of soothing. She didn’t want to be his sister! They weren’t even related by blood!
But, she put her fake face on and pretended to understand what he was saying.
Moon sighed, “Alright, Aiden, I’m happy now. I thought my only brother wouldn’t love me anymore…” She suddenly threw herself at him and hugged him tightly.
“It’s alright, Moon, nothing can ever come between us,” He whispered.
Moon heard his words and slowly pulled away from him, looking up at his face.
“Even Ariel? She can’t come between us, right?” Moon asked innocently.
Aiden paused, he wasn’t expecting that question. But now that she asked, he just realized that, indeed, he was no longer giving her his maximum attention like he used to, but this was supposed to happen. Soon, she’ll find herself a man too, and then stop seeking his attention every time.
“You know that’s different, the way I love you, is different from the way I love…” he paused, realizing what he was about to say.
Moon’s face turned ugly for a split second but she immediately masked it. “What Aiden? Do you love Ariel?” She asked quietly, her fists clenched beside her.
Aiden cleared his throat, “I’m saying, soon, you’ll find the person you love, as Viktor said, and you’ll see you won’t want me around you anymore, that’s the reality about siblings; we’ll separate at some point, but our love will always be the same,” Aiden explained.
Moon wasn’t happy with his explanation. She needed him to answer her question.
“I know, Aiden, but, I just want to know… do you love Ariel?” She pressed.
“Ah, Gregory, please drive my lovely sister home, see you later, Moon,” Aiden patted her head and quickly walked up the stairs.
“But, Aiden…” Moon turned to look up the stairs but Aiden was long gone.
“Ms. Moon, please follow me to the car,” Gregory politely bowed to her.
Moon balled her fists and stumped out of the house; her anger toward Ariel knew no boundary, she was going to deal with her. Just a matter of time… just a matter of time.