Ariel was uncomfortable with the awkward atmosphere. Aiden never took his eyes off her, he kept staring at her as if she had wronged him in some way.
“Aiden, you didn’t have to go through the stress of coming over to pick up your wife, I was about to bring her back,” Ken explained.
Aiden scoffed, “Don’t worry. I’m not here for my fake wife, and you don’t need to cover up; you weren’t about to bring her back; it was more like you were about taking her to your bed,” Aiden’s tone was scornful, and he was looking upon Ariel with disdain.
“Aiden!” Ariel stood, glaring at him.
“Am I wrong, wife?” He asked, his tone mocking.
“That’s enough, Aiden. You’re better than this. We were just hugging, nothing more. You don’t have to talk to her that way,” Ken stood, holding Ariel’s hand to calm her.
Aiden didn’t say a word, he was boiling in unexplainable rage. He knew Ken was telling the truth; they were only hugging, but when he saw them, he felt like ripping her away from Ken.
And right now, as Ken was holding Ariel’s hand, he felt his heart sinking deep in his stomach from the sight.
All the questions of what he hadn’t done right flooded into his head, or perhaps he was just the type of man who Ariel could never love.
“I’m leaving. I can’t be in the same space with a narcissist,” Ariel removed her hand from Ken’s hold and walked out of the house.
“Ariel, wait, I’ll drive you home,” Ken was about to go after her when Aiden’s voice stopped him.
“No need, I’ll be on my way now. I just came to remind you about our business trip next week, be prepared,” Aiden stood and calmly walked out of the house.
Ken and Viktor shared a confused look.
Aiden was never one to visit his friends, not even if it were on their birthday. But this morning, he had driven all the way down to Ken’s house just so he could remind him of a meeting.
Something wasn’t right.
“My instincts are never wrong, and right now, it’s telling me that those two are deeply in love with each o-”
“Impossible!” Ken interrupted Viktor’s speech, he didn’t want to hear it.
“Oh, right… of course, impossible, Ariel will only love you. Don’t worry, I’ll be the captain of your ship. I got you covered,” Vicktor went over and patted his shoulder.
Ken was deep in thought. “They can never love each other. Haven’t you seen the way they interacted?” He asked with a deep frown.
“And, you and I know how Aiden views women and why he viewed them that way. He swore never to love them, so why would he suddenly fall in love with Ariel?” Ken questioned with a frown.
Viktor looked at Ken and sighed. “Love doesn’t ask why, my dear friend…”
Ken stared at Viktor, his mind trying to fight off the ideas that were starting to form in his mind.
***
Ariel was walking down the street, hoping to see a cab. But, so far, she hadn’t seen any.
Ken lived in an estate with only rich people as neighbors, and rich people didn’t need cabs; they had their own cars.
She gave up on finding a cab and just decided to keep walking until she reached the busy area.
This was just like yesterday when Ken had found her walking aimlessly.
She had left Aiden’s car and was walking about anywhere to clear her head, and by the time she realized where she was, she was already lost.
She tried to retrace her steps but couldn’t since she had been too busy thinking about Aiden to take note of where she was going.
However, she did not panic for long as a car slowly stopped beside her and out came Ken.
He had offered to drive her home, but she had refused, asking him to take her to his home instead. She was grateful when he agreed without asking questions.
Suddenly, she heard a honk beside her, thinking it was Ken who had come to take her back to Aiden’s house. She slowly turned with a smile, but her smile fell from her face the moment she saw Aiden’s car.
She ignored his honking and increased her speed, walking away from him.
Inside the car, Adien frowned when he saw Ariel walking away from him.
Why was she trying to trek home?
He got down from the car and strode toward her.
“Ariel, get in the car,” he ordered sternly behind her.
Ariel scoffed, “Leave me alone, Aiden,” she replied without looking back.
In the next second, Aiden grabbed her hand and pulled her to his side.
“What do you want from me?” Ariel asked agitatedly, staring up at him.
Aiden chuckled silently. “Get in the car.”
He had her hands held in one of his hands, his cold eyes piercing her soul.
Ariel shook her head, laughing humourlessly.
Looking up at Aiden, she had to squint her eyes as the sun was rising and the rays were pouring down on her face.
“Why are you following me, Aiden? We have nothing with each other, and I know I mean nothing to you, so why are you following me?” She asked him, her voice bitter.
Aiden slowly moved his body to block the sun that was causing her to squint her eyes; he quietly stared at her face for a second, taking in her features, which he had missed last night.
“Don’t fool yourself, Ariel. True, you mean nothing to me, I came here for Ken,” Aiden spoke indifferently.
Ariel chuckled sadly, what a monster. “Good, now, let me go.”
Aiden shrugged, “No.”
Ariel was exasperated. “What do you mean No? Aiden, it’s clear we don’t love each other, and you clearly do not respect me as a person. Therefore, I don’t want to associate myself with you; please let me go,” Ariel tugged her hand, but his hold only tightened around it.
“You forget you’re still my secretary, or do you want to quit that position too?” He asked lowly, leaning his face down to hers.
Ariel reeled back from him; she didn’t want to be close to his handsome face; nothing was going to sway her from her resolve.
But what he said was true, even if they kept their distance at home, at work, she was answerable to him. He was her boss.
“Right. Is there something you need me to do as your secretary? If yes, you can release me, and I’ll follow you to the car; if not, then please let me go and be on my way,” Ariel replied.
Aiden was looking at her lips and eyes as she spoke; he noticed she’d gotten more tense around him, and her eyes were starting to get relaxed around him, now looked extra guarded.
Was it because of what he said to Ken on the phone last night? Did she hear it?
Why would it even bother him if she did?
“Then, get in the car, secretary, you have tons of work to do,” He ordered coldly and released her, walking back to his car.
Ariel rubbed her wrist which Aiden had gripped as she walked to the car. She entered the front seat and fixed her seat belt, her mind racing back to yesterday when they had had the conversation which led them to where they were at the moment.
The ride was quiet, extremely quiet.
She couldn’t help but wonder what their relationship would have been like if she had accepted his feelings yesterday.
Well, it was too late to think about what would have been; she had made her choice, and she was standing by it.
Aiden’s fingers gripped the stirring, he was holding himself back from asking Ariel to explain what she did with Ken last night.
His mind was coming up with all sorts of scenes, causing his pulse to race.
He said he didn’t care, yet he wanted to know every tiny detail about her when she was away.
He barely slept last night as his mind kept him busy with images of Ariel in Ken’s arms.
And strangely, he felt empty without Ariel by his side.
That morning, before he drove over to Ken’s house. He had woken up early and showered, not wanting to miss when Ariel would come back.
But when he saw no signs of her or Ken, he got frustrated, with himself and Ariel.
He thought of just driving to Ken’s house and dragging Ariel back with him, but that would make her think that he cared about her.
So, he waited, but not for long. Viktor and walked in, talking about some business they had with Ken and how he wanted to go visit Ken later.
Immediately, he offered to drive him there without thinking; now, here he was, driving Ariel back home with him.
But his mind wasn’t still at peace; he needed her to explain what she did with Ken and how she had ended up in his home.
“Aiden! Watch out!” Ariel screamed as she saw a huge van speeding toward them.
Aiden hadn’t realized that he had removed his eyes from the road and had been staring at Ariel until he saw the panic in her eyes.
He immediately looked ahead, but it was too late; in the next second, their car collided with the huge van, causing darkness to evade the bother of them.