Aiden was the first to wake up; thankfully, he felt better.
His headaches were all gone and he was as good as new. He paused when he felt someone lying on his arm and slowly, he opened his eyes.
It was Ariel.
She was sleeping so peacefully in his arms. But, He frowned and tried to recall how they ended up together on one bed last night.
He didn’t need to think much, because soon, memories of everything he did last night came back to him.
He remembered all the things he did and said, and he could vividly remember when she called him a liar.
He had kissed her, even if she didn’t kiss him back, at least she didn’t push him away.
He smiled as he stared at her sleeping form.
What was he supposed to do with her now? He didn’t think he wanted to let her go anymore.
But he knew Ariel would never have that, she hated him so much by now, and trying to ask her to stay beside him was like going on an impossible mission.
Doomed to fail.
But then, what was so special about this particular female? Why was he so attracted to her? He had tried to not let himself get involved with her, but he always found himself wanting to be entangled with her.
He was really curious to know what it was about her.
Ariel felt someone staring at her from her sleep and slowly opened her eyes. She was surprised to see Aiden sitting up and staring down at her.
“Good morning, little wife,” Aiden greeted softly.
Ariel quickly sat up and placed her hands on his cheeks, his forehead, and his neck.
Aiden let her; he was calmly looking at her worried face as she fussed over him checking for his temperature.
Ariel saw that he was fine that morning and sighed in relief.
“You’re fine now,” She smiled to herself.
Aiden felt something soften within him; he couldn’t help but engulf Ariel in a warm hug, softly holding his hands around her.
Ariel wasn’t expecting that hug; she almost melted into him for a second; his arms were so tender around her body, but this was a new dawn; she wasn’t about to get played so early in the morning.
She placed her hands on his chest and pushed, but he didn’t let her go.
“Aiden, let me go,” Ariel sighed, she had no single strength to struggle with him that morning.
“Just let me hug you, as a thank you for taking care of me last night,” Aiden spoke quietly as he lay his head on her shoulder.
Ariel blinked, “Last night? I can’t really remember what happened last night,” Ariel replied.
Aiden frowned and detached himself from her. He stared at her face, not believing what she just said.
“You’re lying,” he smirked.
Ariel shook her head and got down from the bed.
“Believe what you want, Aiden, you’re entitled to your choices and beliefs,” She shrugged and poured herself a glass of water.
“I don’t know about you, but I’m going home this morning,” Ariel informed and headed toward the door.
Aiden was about to say something to stop her when someone pushed the open door from outside.
“Aiden! You’re awake!” Moon ran into the room and went straight to Aiden and hugged him.
Ariel stood aside and watched how Moon threw herself into Aiden’s arms and Aiden held her so tenderly with the same arms he’d just held her with.
“Oh, Aiden, I was so worried about you, I couldn’t sleep a wink last night and kept thinking about you,” Moon spoke in a very soft voice, resting her head on Aiden’s shoulder.
Aiden patted her head, “It’s alright, I’m fine now, Moon. Ariel took good care of me,” Aiden kissed her head.
Moon pouted, “But, I was still worried about you,” She hugged him tighter, nestling her face on his neck.
Ariel scoffed, she couldn’t cope with the sight. She decided to leave the room and leave the loving siblings alone.
“Good Morning, Princess,” Ken greeted the moment Ariel turned to the door.
“Oh,” Ariel stepped back into the room as she made way for Ken to enter the room.
“Good morning, Ken,” She replied.
Ken was smiling at her as he took her hand and kissed the back of it. “You look more beautiful this morning, Ariel,” He whispered into her ear.
Ariel blushed, “Thank you, Ken, you flatter me,” She replied.
“Shall I drive you home?” He asked, his eyes looking her up and down in an attentive manner, his arm gently placed on her lower back.
Aiden slowly pushed Moon away so he could properly see what Ken was doing. He saw how he was holding Ariel’s waist and suddenly got angry.
“Aiden, are you okay?” Moon asked, touching his face.
Aiden didn’t respond, his eyes were focused on Ken and Ariel’s interaction.
“Don’t they look good together?” Moon asked quietly beside Aiden.
Aiden’s frowns intensified. “Don’t say what you’re not sure of, Moon,” Aiden coldly corrected Moon.
Moon scoffed quietly, “But it’s true, Ken told me himself,” Mooon whispered.
Aiden looked at Moon with a curious expression. “He told you what?” He asked.
Moon smiled, “He said he loved Ariel, and he couldn’t wait for you to divorce her so he could marry her,” She whispered to him.
Aiden’s features hardened.
So Ken was already spreading news about his upcoming divorce with Ariel? He couldn’t wait to have her to himself right?
Aiden nodded slowly; he was about to make Ken see that once he’s decided on something, he’ll get it in the end; he always got what he wanted.
“Is that not good though, Aiden? She’ll finally leave your side and everything will go back to how it used to be between us, just you and I,” Moon smiled, tracing her fingers along Aiden’s arm.
Aiden didn’t like the idea, he didn’t even want to start imagining how everywhere would be without Ariel, he didn’t want to imagine it. He had witnessed how it was going to be two nights ago when he didn’t have her by his side.
“Come on, I drove all the way down here for you; it’s not a bother, Ariel; it’s my pleasure,” Ken smiled at Ariel as he tried to convince her to let him drive her back to Aiden’s house.
“Okay, thank you,” Ariel was all smiles.
She knew Ken was trying to make it up to her for what he said to her yesterday and she didn’t want to make it hard for him. She would only end up making things awkward and difficult between them.
She understood that he was just jealous, he had already made her know how he felt about her, and she understood the feeling one could get when you watched someone you loved in someone else’s arms.
Ken leaned down and kissed her cheek, “Thank you, and I’m sorry about yesterday; I shouldn’t have said those things to you,” He whispered and proceeded to hug her.
Aiden was brewing hot and raw anger within him.
How dare Ken kiss his wife? And in front of him too.
He slowly got down from bed and walked toward them.
Ken saw Aiden approaching and gently released Ariel.
That morning, he decided he wasn’t going to sit back and watch whatever it was Aiden and Areil had manifest between them.
And that was why he was taking the bull by the horns; he was going to start claiming his territory, to make Aiden understand that Ariel had someone stand by and ready to take her the moment he was over with her.
He was also ready to face Aiden’s confrontations, maybe it would even help him understand what Aiden really felt for Ariel.
“Hello, Aiden, you look ready to leave the hospital, mind if I drive you home?” Ken asked politely, knowing Aiden would refuse as Moon had specially driven down to the hospital to take him home.
Aiden paused beside Ariel as he replied. “That’d be nice, Ken, let’s go. Moon, get my belongings from Carla and drive home with them,”
Ken and Moon exchanged a worried look. They had each wanted to spend some time alone in the car with the people they loved, but now it wasn’t going to be so.
Ken had thought Aiden would refuse his offer and would prefer to ride with his darling sister, but he surprised him and gladly accepted his offer.
Moon was devastated; all her plans had failed; she had planned how she was going to drive Aiden to her home in the pretense of nursing him to health for a few days just so she could keep him away from Ariel.
“Are you sure you don’t want me to drive you?” Moon was beside Aiden in the next second, making a puppy face at him.
Aiden shook his head. There was no way he was about to let Ken drive Ariel alone.
What if he took her to his house like the last time?
“It’s alright, I want to ride with my best friend,” Aiden insisted.
Moon glared at Ariel who was busy standing by the side of the door, looking uninterested with what they were saying.
Ariel felt Moon’s glare on her body and suddenly had an idea.
“It’s alright, Ken, since your best friend wants to ride with you, I’d like to ride with my sister-in-law instead. I’d like to bond with her through the ride too,” Ariel smiled and walked over to Moon, wrapping her arms around her.
“Come on, sister-in-law, let’s go home,” She smiled at Moon.
“What?!” Moon asked in shock.