^^^THE DELICIOUS HUMAN (CHARLIE HUNNAM), PLAYING ARAMIS VAN DE WOODSEN 😍😍😍

"We look absolutely shady right now," I commented as we pulled our hoods up.

So, this crazy man that I've let kidnap me, had led me back to my apartment to change out of my dress and into a more comfortable outfit, before driving me to the conference hall where my father's memorial was being held.

The hall was packed, and upfront was a really old photo of my father when he was still healthy. In the first row, I could see my 'family' sitting together, 'mourning'. I was shocked when my eyes landed on a bruised Zayn, and Aramis, noticing my expression, shrugged it off.

Speaking of the brute, he'd given me a hoodie of his to wear, and we were sitting in the corner of the filled hall, surprisingly going unnoticed. He stressed that we couldn't be seen, but also that he didn't want me to miss this.

"Ladies and gentlemen, if you would please take your seats," some lady announced.

Everyone moved off to their seats, and luckily for Aramis and I, no one sat in our row. I could see some familiar faces that my father did business with, and I was taken aback to see family members I hadn't even seen in years.

"Is Melanie still not here?" the lady asked.

"We told you that she doesn't care enough to be here," I heard Zoey say.

"You need to stay calm and not react," Aramis whispered to me.

"I am calm," I told him.

"My arm would beg to differ."

I looked down to find that I was cutting off his poor circulation. I let go and quietly apologized before turning back to the ridiculous scene before me. I watched as my husband and sister helped my mother go up to the podium.

"On behalf of my family, I would like to thank you all for being here with us right now. Gordon's death has come as such a shock to us. We were all so sure that he would make a recovery. I know that our divorce was messy, and I was perceived to be someone who hated his existence, but I wanted him to get better; if not for me, then for our daughters. As you can all see, my eldest daughter isn't here. Her husband has reported to us that he saw her earlier, and she was in a bad state. Gordon's death has really taken its toll on all of us, so we are appreciative of your never-ending support," my mother said, tears rolling down her face.

"What a load of bull!" I mumbled.

Aramis shushed me. "Why are we here anyway?"

"Your dad's will is about to be read," he informed.

"What?" I whisper yelled.

"This is why you need to leave the country. Pay attention," he said as I watched my father's lawyer go up to the podium.

"My name is Bernard Wellington, and I was Mr Payton's lawyer. I will now be reading out his very short will. He said, and I quote, 'I leave every single thing in my name to my only child Evie.' Evie in this regard, refers to Melanie Blandel."

I watched humorously as my whole 'family' went into an uproar, my husband included. The other guests watched on in horror as these people revealed their true colours, throwing around profanities in my father's name.

"She's not even here! She didn't have the decency to attend her own father's memorial!" my aunt spat.

"She probably forged that will herself! We must get it verified," my mother declared.

"I can assure you that Mrs Blandel had nothing to do with this will. It was finalized in her absence, and it has been this way for the past five years. I asked Mr Payton when he was on his deathbed if he wanted to change anything, and he requested that nothing change. He signed it again in the presence of myself and three other witnesses You cannot contest the will. Good day."

I watched Bernard walk out, leaving my family to go crazy. Aramis grabbed my hand, and I fought the butterflies I felt as he led us out of the conference hall. He led me straight to his car, where he proceeded to open the passenger door for me.

"That was insane," I commented once we got on our way.

"It was also expected. I wanted you to see just how serious I am about these people coming after you," he replied.

"Can they really do anything?" I asked.

"They can sure as hell try, which is why I need to look into your father's past and make sure that they won't come after you," he said.

"Why are you so adamant to help me?" I asked.

"It's my way of redeeming myself," he said dismissively.

Or at least I knew that's all I would be getting from him.

I didn't say anything and instead kept to my thoughts. It was a silent ride to the airport since he didn't even bother with the radio. We eventually made it, and he came around to let me out, before we proceeded to a part of the airport that I was all too familiar with – where the private jets are.

"Who does this belong to?" I asked after we'd boarded.

"It belongs to me. My services are highly sought after by a lot of high profile people, and when I realized how much I have to travel in the name of business, I decided to get this for myself," he replied.

I was surprised that he'd even bothered.

"So you're the younger son," I commented.

"I am. My older brother, Artemis, is who I was on the phone with when you were trying to leave. I need his help if I'm going to crack this," he informed.

I was confused. "If you're the lawyer, doesn't that mean he's the business man? How is he going to help you?"

"You don't need to worry about that. I'm pretty sure that you're tired, so get some sleep in. We're going to be in the air for a while," he instructed.

"Still not telling me where we're going?" I asked.

"No," he said, ultimately killing any chance of continuing the conversation.

I was tired anyway as he led me to the room on the jet. He informed me that he'd be working, so I had the room to myself the entire flight. I didn't see the point of arguing since I'm quickly learning that arguing with this man requires a special kind of patience that I didn't currently possess.

Left alone, I could only toss and turn as I thought about where I was in my life. How I'd reached this point was beyond me. I felt empty, and the last bit of life that I had in me died along with my father, leaving me hollow.

I thought I felt lonely before he died, but now I was truly alone. I had no friends since they all left me when I stopped spoiling them, and it was the very same money that had my life in danger now that my 'family' was after it.

For a moment I considered ending it all.

I don't mean taking my life or anything like that. I just mean giving up all the money. Maybe letting them have it would be good for me. I could take just some of it, move to a different country and just start afresh with my life.

"You're not doing it," he said before I could even speak.

I had just left the room to tell him what I was thinking. "You don't even know what I was going to say."

"You were about to tell me that you want to give in and let them take the money, which is another reason why you need me with you. You're doing nothing of the sort," he said, still glued to his laptop.

"I don't even want to know how you knew that that's what I was thinking, but it would make my life a hell lot of a lot easier than it is now," I pointed out.

He looked up to face me. "What about your father's legacy? Are you sure that he worked so hard for you to turn around and just hand all his hard earned money to people who didn't care for him when he was alive?"

"Well no, bu-"

"Do you have any idea how highly he thought of you? He believed that you're an angel. He believed that you were destined for greater things, that you were the most amazing person he knew. He believed that you are one of the strongest people, that you would be able to fight this. I know I haven't known you all that long, but I believe him because believing in you was probably the truest thing your father ever believed in. Prove him right and fight to keep his legacy in its rightful place."

I could only stand there in shock. My father always told me that he believed that I was truly destined for greatness, but he was the only person who ever believed that, and when only one person believes something that you don't even believe, it's hard to think anything of it.

"How do you know that?" I finally asked.

He looked up at me, confused. "Know what?"

"That he believed in me," I replied.

"He told me," he responded.

"When?" I questioned.

He sighed and shut his laptop. "I told you that this was a chance for me to redeem myself, and only because I was allowed the chance. I have known your father my whole life. Whereas you were hidden from my family, he knew ours. I failed him greatly in my first year as a lawyer, and I lost all his trust. Two weeks ago, I received a call from Bernard, telling me that Gordon was requesting my presence. I was shocked since we hadn't spoken in nine years. Anyway, I went and that's when he told me that he knew he'd be dying soon and he needed me to fix things in his past so that no one would hassle his only daughter once he was gone. He spoke so fondly of you that I didn't have the heart to stop him as he went on to tell me about you. I'd obviously heard about you, but because of my past with him, I never crossed paths with you."

"I still don't understand any of this," I admitted. I'd joined him in the seat next to him.

"While his will simply states that he leaves everything to you, there are things and people that are potentially threatening to you. As I'm sure you know, men like your father don't become as great as he was without making a few enemies, and that's where I come in. Bernard handled your father's finances, but that's all he's equipped to do. I on the other hand, have many other specialties to my name, so in return for his forgiveness, I promised your father that I would do everything in my power to ensure that you are given everything that belongs to you, and that no harm comes to you," he explained.

It was a lot to process, especially because growing up, I'd had my suspicions about some of the people my father was doing business with, but he always assured me that I had nothing to worry about, and that he was being legal and safe.

I guess that was a lie.

"Evie," Aramis said softly.

I looked up at him, briefly distracted by the way he said my name, and that's when the first hot tear left a trail down my cheek. He sighed and took my hand before leading me to the couch. I thought he'd just leave me there, but instead he pulled me into his chest and let me cry.

For the first time since I received the phone call from Bernard about my father's death, I cried.

I'd been heartbroken about his death, but it took Aramis' words to trigger my tears. I guess I just couldn't fathom why a man who claimed to love me so much would end up putting me through so much.

Not only did I have to deal with the fact that he was gone, but I had to deal with all of this nonsense to do with his inheritance. My life has just never had any peace in it, and it didn't look like I'd be afforded any peace any time soon.

I just want to be happy.

"He loved you, even though right now you're probably angry at him," Aramis commented after a while of silence. I'd stopped crying and we were just sitting on the couch with me cuddled into his side.

Something that hadn't gone unnoticed by the side of me that secretly has a crush on this man.

"You need to stay out of my head," I said lowly.

"It's pretty easy. You're an easy person to read, but that's not the point here. Your father loved you Evie, and I promise I'll make sure that you only have good memories of him," he said determinedly.

"I'll take your word for it," I whispered.

I don't know when it happened, but I must've drifted off to sleep. When I woke up, we were still in the air, but what surprised me most was that Aramis and I were still in the same position, with his arms around me.

He was fast asleep and I looked up to take him in. He looked so tranquil, nothing like the brute he comes across as. If anything, this passive man looked like someone who wouldn't hurt a fly, which had me all kinds of curious about him.

He speaks with a lot of conviction, which makes him come across as confident. He's very closed off and he doesn't give away much through his emotions or facial expressions for that matter, which obviously leads me to believe that there's a reason he's like that.

Deciding not to ruin his sleep, I settled myself back onto his chest and instead went back to sleep. I was more at peace in that moment than I'd been in a very long time. I couldn't even remember the last time I was like this.

When I woke up again, I was laying on the bed with a blanket over me. I sat up and looked up to find that we'd landed and it was dark out. I was confused about how I ended up where I was and why I was alone, when Aramis walked in.

"Oh good, you're awake," he said.

"How did I get here?" I asked.

"Well, I woke up just before we landed, so I carried you to a seat and got you strapped in. Since you were still asleep when we'd landed, I brought you in here. By the way, you're a very deep sleeper," he commented.

I on the only hand could only blush.

"How long have we been on the ground for?" I asked.

"Two hours. When it became evident that you were nowhere near getting up, I went to finish up arrangements. I ran into some problems, but all is sorted now, so if you're ready, we can go," he replied.

I nodded and got off of the bed. He informed me that we'd go shopping for my clothes the following day, so I had nothing to worry about. He led me to a black SUV and greeted the driver in a language I'm pretty sure was Greek, before we took off.

"You speak Greek?" I asked.

He nodded. "My mother is Greek. She goes by the name Grier because it's an alias. Her name is actually Amalia Van de Woodsen."

"And your father?" I asked.

"He's half English and half Spanish," he replied.

I nodded but kept any other questions in. I didn't want to irritate him, and neither did I want to upset him, so I saw it wise for me to keep my questions to myself. We drove for a while before we reached a huge gate.

The mansion we drove up to once the gate was opened had me gawking at its magnificence. My father owned a lot of properties and I've seen some lovely things in my life, but this house was all kinds of breath taking.

"Where are we?" I asked as we headed to the door.

"This is one of my parents' houses," he replied, opening the door.

The last thing we both probably expected was to walk in on two moaning women.

"For fucks sake Gigi!" he shouted.

The two women jumped up, startled. Granted they were laying on the floor with a blanket covering them, it wasn't that hard to tell what they were doing. By the looks of things, it was a blonde woman with long hair and a tattooed brunette with short hair. There was something really familiar looking about the both of them.

Clearly unfazed, the blonde giggled as she looked at us. "Mimi, what are you doing here?"

"I asked to be here. Would the two of you please put some clothes on?" he requested.

"Aramis, always lovely to see you," the brunette said with a surprisingly deep voice.

Aramis just rolled his eyes and left the room, leaving me with them. "Hey there."

"Evie! What are you doing here?" the blonde asked me.

"You know who I am?" I asked bewilderedly.

"Of course I know who you are, but you clearly don't know who I am. I'm Gigi Smoke," she introduced.

That's why she looked so familiar to me. She's the Van de Woodsen's third born child, and she's an internationally famous model. The brunette in the room with us is her partner by marriage, model, fashion designer and entrepreneur, Max Smoke.

I can still remember what a big deal their wedding was globally for the LGBT community.

"Oh my God!" I said, shielding my eyes when the both of them decided to stand.

"Have you never seen a naked woman before Evie?" Max asked, sounding like she was actually teasing me about this.

"Of course I have, but that has nothing to do with this," I replied, keeping my hands on my eyes.

I was mortified when I felt two pairs of hands touch me seductively. "You're a very beautiful woman Evie."

"We can tell that you either don't see that, or you don't believe it," the other voice said in my other ear.

"For the love of all things, leave her alone and get dressed," Aramis saved me as he walked back into the room.

I unshielded my eyes when I heard their laughs fading down what sounded like a passage. "I'm sorry about them."

"That was..." I trailed off.

"I know. I wouldn't have brought us here if I knew they were here. Gigi and Max can be overwhelming when you're not used to them," he replied.

"Are they always so..." I trailed off once more.

"Out there?" he finished off.

I nodded and he laughed. "Since they were kids; they have no concept of the word shame, and they don't hold back on anything. If they tease you, it's generally because they like you, which I guess you now know. What did they tell you?"

"Just that I'm beautiful and that they can tell that I either don't see it, or I don't believe it," I replied.

"Well they're not wrong about that much," he said.

I think he surprised us both because his eyes widened as though he hadn't meant to say that out loud. I flushed and didn't make things any more awkward by adding to the conversation. Instead, he cleared his throat and told me to follow him.

I followed and he led me to a beautiful room with white and lavender themed décor. It was apparently going to be my room for the duration of our stay here. I was also informed that this would be our only destination until he'd resolved everything.

He left me in the room, promising to bring me food. I sat and just had a moment to myself. I didn't know how long we would be here for, but the longer I thought about it, the more I didn't mind it. I couldn't remember the last time I went on a vacation, and perhaps this time away would do me some good.

I couldn't help but think about my sister. Zoey and I have never been close, despite my many attempts to make peace with her. She just never acknowledged my existence and given the opportunity, she would normally lead the insults coming at me.

I remember how shocked she was the day Zayn asked me out. I was out shopping with her, another one of my attempts to connect with her, and she saw him come in and thought he was the most handsome man she'd ever laid eyes on.

She was absolutely bowled over when he ignored her and instead came to ask me out. I refused, and I refused the next ten times. She couldn't fathom why he was so insistent on pursuing me, and to be honest, I never understood it too.

Until that day seven months ago that is.

"Evie," I was brought out of thought by Aramis' soft voice. I looked up to find genuine concern plastered on his face.

"Sorry," I quickly apologized, wiping away the escaped tears.

"You don't have to apologize for missing your father," he replied.

I cleared my throat. "I wasn't thinking about my father."

"Who were you thinking about?" he asked.

"My sister," I mumbled.

He looked highly confused. "And she made you cry?"

"What do you have there?" I deflected.

He looked concerned by my deflection but said nothing about it. "There's actually no food in the house, which baffles me because those two have been here for a week according to my sister. So, I could only manage to make you a sandwich."

"Thank you," I replied.

"You're welcome. Will you be ok here?" he asked, to which I nodded.

He looked like he wanted to say more, but settled for giving me one last look before leaving the room. I ate in silence, and when I was done, I remembered my phone. I didn't have any cell service, but by the looks of things, I'd received some messages before we left the States.

Zayn: Boo, where are you?

Zoey: You missed your own father's memorial?

Mother: Where are your father's ashes, and where are you?

Zayn: Where did you take your father's ashes?

Zoey: Wherever you are, you need to stop being selfish and come back.

Vivienne Altor: I expect that Malone report on my desk tomorrow.

Mother: You selfish excuse for a human being! You'd better hope I don't find you.

Bernard: The money is in a separate account set up for you by Mr Van de Woodsen so that Zayn can't have access to it. I'm aware of the plans as I was there when they were being made. I hope you're safe Mel. Send me a message to let me know that you're ok.

I could only sit there with a blank expression on my face. Bernard seems to be the only one who actually sent me a message I was interested in. I didn't even know that he was concerned about me. We've spoken a couple of times, but that was it.

Before I knew it, I'd thrown the phone at the wall, causing Aramis to run into the room.

"What was that?" he asked.

"My phone," I replied plainly.

He looked over at it before looking back at me. "Do I want to know why it's in pieces?"

"No," I replied before getting into the bed.

Thankfully he took the hint and left the room, allowing me to cry myself to sleep. By the time I woke up, it was bright out. I had no idea what time it was, and quite frankly, I didn't care. I sat up to find a box at the end of the bed and went over to grab it. There was a note on top.

It's not much, but for now it should be enough until we go shopping later.

Aramis Van de Woodsen

I rolled my eyes at his close. Only Aramis would bother with putting his full name at the end of a note. I opened the package to find a sundress, a hat, underwear, a pair of cute sandals and a toiletry set. I could only wonder about how he got my sizes, which the note I found on the dress addressed.

Before you think I'm a creep, Max and Gigi put this together for you. Max can guess things like people's sizes, or so I was told, and Gigi insisted on getting everything else, something to do with getting our valued guest only the best.

Aramis Van de Woodsen

I shook my head in amusement at the note. I don't know whether he even knows it, but he was kind of a dork through this note. He wasn't kidding about Gigi wanting the best for me as I looked through the expensive toiletries packed.

I got out of bed and headed towards the en-suite bathroom with the box in hand. The bathroom was just as magnificent as everything else I'd already seen from this house. I set the box down and started by brushing my teeth, before going for a shower.

I didn't take too long getting ready, and by the time I was done, I smelled fruity thanks to everything Gigi packed for me. I looked to where I'd thrown my phone to find that it wasn't there anymore. I guess Aramis must've taken it and all the pieces.

With nothing more left to do in the room, I headed out to find some civilization. I couldn't remember the route we'd taken to get to my room, so I had to follow the voices I was hearing. They led me to what looked like the dining room and Gigi and Max were setting the table.

Oh great, these two again.

Max was the first to notice me. "Good morning gorgeous."

Gigi turned and beamed when her eyes landed on me. "Good morning beautiful."

This is not awkward at all.

"Uh, good morning," I replied.

"We're sorry about yesterday. We honestly just can't understand why you don't see what we see," Gigi said honestly.

"Like you said, I don't believe it," I said lowly, hoping they'd leave the topic alone.

"Grab a seat. Aramis will be joining us soon. I'm Max by the way," Max said as she took the bait.

"Melanie," I responded.

"Why do Gigi and Aramis call you Evie?" she asked me.

"We've always known her as Evie because that's who Mr Payton called her," Gigi informed.

"My father was the only person who called me Evie. Everyone else calls me by second name Melanie," I said as I took a seat.

"How come?" Gigi asked.

"My mother hates the name Evie and demanded that I be called Melanie. My father only called me Evie out of defiance," I said, laughing at the memory.

"I'm sorry about Gordon," Gigi said as she held my hand.

I squeezed. "Thanks."

"So, we only made enough food for two," Max informed me.

"But there are four of us," I said confusedly.

An evil smile adorned Gigi's face. "Oh, we know."

"Morning," Aramis greeted as he walked into the room. This time he was in a t-shirt, shorts and boar shoes.

"Gee Mimi, you could pour some goodness into that morning," Gigi told her brother, earning herself a glare in return, which made me giggle.

Something tells me Aramis wishes to throttle his sister more times than normal.

"Good morning Aramis," I said to him.

"See? Evie gets it," Max jumped in on the torture.

Aramis looked downright annoyed as he turned to me. "We're leaving."

"The poor child hasn't had anything to eat," Gigi scolded.

"We'll eat out," he retorted.

"What if she wants to eat in?" Max questioned.

He turned to me. "I'll be in the car."

"The two of you are horrible," I said once he'd left the room.

"He's too easy to mess with. You'd better get going before he leaves you behind," Max suggested.

I guess that's why they only made enough food for two.

***
Elo Smurflettes!

Thank you so much for your support so far! Please continue to support as it spurs me on! Love you guys! ❤️😊😘

Katee (^^,)