As I was about to slide into the limo behind Arabelle who already made herself comfortable, Leo grabbed my hand and pulled me towards him, away from any eager ears. "I'll be in the car right behind yours, so don't worry. Just have me on speed dial if anything happens, alright?"

"You're already on speed dial, Mr. Pepperoni," I smile up at him, gaining a smirk in return.

"Not in front of my men," he laughed as he pulled me further away from the door. "Call me if necessary, okay?" He then kissed my right temple and grazed his thumb over my cheek sending a warm, secure sensation bolting through my body. "I'll see you on the other side, love."

He closes the door as I slip in next to Arabelle. The limo begins moving with the pounding sound of my heart echoing in my ears. His kiss didn't make me feel giddy or excited like some new crush, instead I felt safe in his arms. He gives me a sense of security that is rare; nothing like I've felt before. His mere touch brings me immense warmth that I perceive not only in my heart, but in very inch of my body. Deep down I wished Leo would ride with us, but this talk is much more crucial and needed to be done without him.

          "You tickle his fancy," her voice startled me out of my thoughts as she looked out of the window and up at the clear, sunny sky.

          "Excuse me?"

          "I mean he likes you, princess."

          "How would you know?" I arch my brow as a smile erupts on her face while her shoulders slouch into her seat.

"It's obvious. Don't you see?" She scoffed. "Why would he protect a girl like you when he doesn't have to and wage war on his own friend? It's because he fancies you," she shook her head and looked at the mirrored ceiling of the limo that reflected the different illuminated shades of blue and violet. "He loves you."

I let out a nervous laugh and look out of the window. "I don't know. He's never said it or anything." I know that he cares immensely for me, however love? I can't be sure about that. I know what I feel for him, but the idea of someone like him loving me, humors me. She had good points though. Why would he risk it all if he didn't feel strongly for me? Casual flirting has always been the only thing that we've had so far but if he feels more, then I need him to man up and say it to me. Maybe I should heed my own advice and do it myself.

"He shows it in things that he does for you. It's hard for him considering everything he's been through and it's not my place to lay out his past for you. Hopefully, he'll tell you one day if he decides to keep you in his life and not push you away for your own good, princess."

"For my own good?" My eyes surf back into her direction.

"Yes," she sighed and continued, "the last time I saw him like this was a couple years ago and it... well," she paused and shook away her previous statement. "With you, he's so much more happier."

A smile graces my face thinking about Leo. Only if he knew how happy he makes me; what his earth shattering smile does to me and my body. I want to scream it out loud and declare my love for this man but that would be too much considering I haven't even told him yet.

          "Hello?" A see a pale hand wave in my face, retrieving me from my thoughts.

          "Huh? What?" I look at her.

          "You completely zoned out on me, princess."

          "Okay, why do you keep calling me princess?"

"Arie? Ariel? The little mermaid? Princess Ariel?" She hit me with the duh face with her brows high up creasing her smooth forehead.

"Don't. Just don't. Arie will suffice. And we're here to talk about something else, so how about you begin your explanation."

"Well, here goes nothing then." Her jaw tightened as she took a deep breath. "Approximately two months ago, I heard Astor and his brother talking about you. They were very hush about it but your name kept coming up time and again during the conversation. I couldn't very well hear what they were saying but I tried and I also couldn't exactly ask them. So, the next day I pulled up everything on you. Your family, life, work, school, bank account. Everything."

"My bank account? Seriously?" My eyes narrowed on her face that revolted me at this point. "Did you find a massive cobweb that decorated my almost empty account?" I snarl at her.

"Yes, in fact I did." The smug smile on her face made me want to knock the bitch out and throw her right out of the moving limo. "Back to what I was saying, I looked up everything on you. You were clean. No connection to our world, no history of crime at all, good grades, full scholarship to Columbia University, and you even got into their medical school. I didn't know what it could possibly be so I reached out to your brother."

My hands ball up into fists at the mention of Ashton. She played him to get to me and she's going to have it coming her way one day. A confined space like this wouldn't be the best place for it.

          "I found out where he was and went to that party dressed up as a sleazy sorority girl." She let out a groan in disgust as she travelled back to that memory. "I began talking to him but he was drunk out of his mind so I gave it a rest that night and came back the next morning to the same stinky place that reeked of cheap beer and filthy sex. Absolutely disgusting. I never had to deal with such vileness back in England."

          "Well, that's a frat party. I don't know what you expected, but this is how it goes here."

          "Well, it's a good thing I didn't go to any schools here. I'd have to carry a jug of sanitizer with me."

          "Jesus," I sigh and roll my eyes at her sense of preeminence, "just get your explanation over with."

          "How about you don't interrupt me then, yeah?" She scowled at me and turned to her left to gaze out the window again. "When I got there, I found him passed out by the poolside of the house, drenched in beer and sweat. I couldn't talk to him like that so I just left to get my own things done. I pretended to run into him the day after and gave him my number so that we could talk. The more I got to know him, the more I began to like him. I was getting attached, however not in a love kind of way, but in a friendly way." I noticed a smile emerge on her red lips as she paused for a brief second before promptly continuing, "I couldn't get any information about you from him and it had almost been a month. It never takes me a day, let alone a month to extract information even with me spying on you at times. You can say I'm a very curious and insecure person."

          "More like stalkerish, but go on," I give her a sarcastic, encouraging smile.

          She turned to her right and shot me a glare before continuing, "so, one day we were hanging out at another filthy party that he invited me to, when your auntie texted him and he kind of told her about me. She immediately assumed that we were dating and wanted us to come over for dinner. Ashton refused saying it was nothing but I pushed him and said I could pretend to be his girl. I wanted to meet you myself and he agreed."

          I'm in no place to judge him for introducing us to a fake girlfriend of his after all the intricate web of lies that I have entangled both him and Aunt Wendy in. The lying is for their wellbeing is what I try to convince myself with. All for their wellbeing.

          "When I finally met you, nothing seemed off," her voice hauled me back into reality again. "You were too nice and I couldn't understand why they'd be so interested in you until I saw that scar on your head and I knew something was up by the weak lie you told us about getting drunk and hitting your head."

          "Yeah, nice catch by the way. You have a good eye."

          "Thank you. I was trained in certain fields." She swallowed hard and looked away promptly as if trying to shake away some bad memories. "Moving on, I lied to your brother a lot. He couldn't know, but I made things clear from the start. I told him there could be nothing between us. Ever. But I couldn't stop him from liking me in that way."

I laugh and shake my head at his stupidity. "Out of all the girls in the world, he had to like you."

"I know," she scoffed and held her head in her hands. "I know. I hate that he did, but I did make my intentions clear from the very first moment."

"That's not the part that pisses me off. Aunt Wendy liked you a lot, but you and Ashton, both played with her feelings."

"And I'm sorry for that too. She's a lovely woman. However, continuing on with the story," she sighed again and clasped her hands tight in her lap. "Then I saw you at Leo's party. I was shocked. I didn't understand why you'd be there and somehow you knew Ray."

"Dr. Ray Marino? Yeah. I do know him and I'm guessing you know him very well."

She looked up at me with guilt lingering in her eyes and closed them for a second before speaking up. "Yes, he's a friend and he also works for Leo."

A frustrated laugh escapes my lips in the form of a defeated groan and my fists clench up. Of course he does. Everyone and everything is connected here. I bet he told Leo everything I said to him in that room. Each and every piece of information I trusted him with has probably already reached Leo's ears and he's going to regret doing that the next time I see him. Leo on the contrary will regret it as soon as I get out of this fucking limo.

"When I asked Ray what he knew about you, he told me everything and that's when I connected the dots together. The day you were raped and the day Astor and Alicio were fighting over you. I knew right then that he was the one who..." she looked away in shame and crawled to the seat in front of the bar. Pulling out a shot glass from a small cabinet, she sets it on top of the illuminated bar. After retrieving a bottle of tequila from another cabinet, she poured the bitter liquid into the glass and chugged it down. "I can't do this sober," she coughed and let out a little chuckle.

Great! Today has been fifty shades of Arabelle. Let's see what a drunk one does. "I dropped all the plans immediately and texted Ashton saying I couldn't see him again because I was leaving for London and wouldn't be back. He was upset at first but then eventually got over it. Trust me. He's too good for me," she smiled to herself after pouring herself another shot and downing it at once.

          "If I remember clearly, he said that you guys would go to London together. What was that about?"

          "I don't know," she laughs out, swallowing another shot. "I have no bloody clue where he got that idea from. I told him that I'd be going to London to meet my so called family then he just blurted it out at the dinner. Later he told me that he was improvising."

          I laugh and lay back in my seat. "He can be immature at times."

          "All the time, you mean." She snickers and stares straight ahead at the bar. "But he's still too good for many women out there."

"He sure is." I smile at the thought of him and lower my head. I missed him, my best friend. He has always been my person. Not Aunt Wendy or Sophie, but him. From my first crush to my first kiss, he knew it all. Before mama and papa's death, we fought a lot, not even resting for a second, but then it all changed in a blink of an eye. We no longer had parents. They were gone without even saying goodbye.

          I still remember the day we got the call like it was yesterday. A memory that I can never forget; a tape that plays every now and then. They said that they'd be gone for ten minutes, but those ten minutes turned into ten years and they still haven't come back.

We realized that life is too short for fighting and crying over silly things and that it also isn't fair. It throws things at you that you can't handle and we learned it the hard way. But we were glad that we had each other and especially Aunt Wendy. If it wasn't for her, we would have been thrown into separate foster homes, possibly never seeing each other again which is why we became inseparable after the tragic incident that no child wishes to go through.

          I wipe away the tears that welled up in my eyes and look at Arabelle who had her eyes shut with her head turned upwards. "Ashy's so chivalrous and beautiful. If I had met him earlier, I would have held on tight no matter what, but my heart has already been taken."

          "You're still in love with Astor?" I ask her surprisingly.

          She let out a chuckle and shook her head no. "I never was. My heart belongs to someone else." I notice a fog of tears blurry her vision before she blinked them away.

          "Are you okay?" I ask hesitantly.

          "Would you be okay if your husband tried to kill you?" I motion my head no and shrug. "That's what I thought. I just can't believe he actually did it." Imagining my own husband doing it to me sent chills down my spine. My heart wanted to shed some tears for the woman who married a man like Astor; a vicious man who had no regard for friends or family.

          "Why would he do that to you?"

          "Arie, there's a lot about this family that you don't know. Marriages aren't perfect, and ours sure as hell wasn't." She slammed her glass down onto the bar and slid back into her original seat, next to me. "Each one of us is broken with problems embedded in us. Our world isn't sunshine and flowers, it consists more of evil and darkness. Me, for example, I was born into it. I didn't have a choice and I sure as hell didn't get to pick if I wanted to be here or not. I was thrown into this world and I just managed to put my feelings and soul aside for the most of it."

          "How could your parents not protect you from that? They are supposed to keep you safe, not force you into a world that will haunt you forever and rip your innocence away."

          "Well, I lived in England while my entire family moved to the states when I was just eight in order to keep me safe from their sadistic world. It's not like they picked up everything from here and just started a new life there. Father would always come back to take care of his businesses here, the legal and the illegal ones while I studied in prestigious boarding schools and then finally completed my studies in Oxford University. Our family is rooted everywhere; in all the major countries."

          "And what family is that? The Aguillards?" I query.

          "The Aguillards aren't as powerful as us. They only have their place in Ireland and some parts of New York."

          "Then by us you mean the Bonferronis?"

          "Who else?" She laughed and studied my features. "Oh," her face lit up with amusement. "You didn't know?"

          "You're Leo's sister." I sigh in dumbness. Of course, she's the other sister. Now this explains a lot. Their eyes are basically the same and their bickering is very sibling-like. Her British accent and the sprinkle of British accent in him. Well done, Arie. Always late to the party.

          "Bullseye!" She laughed and looked at me with surprise dancing on her face. "I can't believe you didn't realize that right away. Why do you think Leo would let me live after what Astor did to him? I'd be six feet into the ground by now for being Astor's wife if I weren't his sister."

          "Well, it sure does explain a lot and probably why Astor tried to get you killed."

          Her features soften as she looks into her lap. "It's all very complicated, but I'm going to kill him though. Since Astor likes sticking his cock in things it doesn't belong, I'm going to cut it off and stick it in his throat, shoving it down until he chokes to death on it."

          "You really are Leo's sister." She bursts into a fit of laughter followed by mine. After simmering it down, my eyes travel out the window admiring the beautiful greenery off the side of the road that swooshed past us in a blur when I feel a warm hand cover mine. I look over and notice Arabelle with a sympathetic smile etched onto her face.

          "I'm really sorry for what he did and for you being dragged into our fucked up world. I really am sorry." She squeezed my hand one last time before turning away.

          "I wanted to kill you earlier today, but you really aren't that bad." I chuckle gaining one from her.

          "I'm worse than Leo at times if you're on my bad side, be glad you aren't. Being away from family when I was younger has made me extremely bitchy towards everyone." Her lips curl up to form a little smile. "You're a good girl, Arie. Don't let my world snatch that from you. You better hold on tight to it because the darkness tends to rip away everything good." Her body shifted a little towards me as her hand finds mine again. "Lastly and most importantly, don't let anyone walk over you, not even my brother. Hold your ground and fight for what your heart tells you is right, yeah?"

          The vehicle came to an abrupt stop in front of the same estate, lifting us a little off our seats. "The driver needs some lessons on how to use the brakes," she shot a mischievous smile at me before someone opened the door for her. "It was a good chat, Arie and I'm glad we had it. I hope you forgive me for my part and we can be friends. By the way, have fun meeting the rest of the family if you haven't met them already."

          I watch her as she walks behind the vehicle, over to my side and into the mansion with four men behind her. My door opens up to reveal Leo standing with a cautious smile plastered on his face. "I guess it went well."

          I step out onto the round driveway with my shoes suffocating the gravel beneath. "Yes, it did," I respond curtly as his brows frown in confusion.

"Are you okay? Did she say something?" He questioned worriedly.

"Honestly, she was a delight the entire time." I paste a fake, sarcastic smile on my face and look him right in his intimidating eyes. "It's just about Dr. Ray Marino. You know him very well, don't you?" An expression of guilt flashed on his face for a second before ricocheting back to his infamous smug one.

"I have a good reason for it and we'll talk about it inside," he said before placing his left hand on the small of my back and escorting me into the lavish mansion. His face showed no remorse or regrets for his doing. He was almost proud of it. I may love this man but he is going to answer for it. He isn't getting the easy way out.

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I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter and hopefully it wasn't too boring. And for those of you who guessed Arabelle being Leo's sister, good job! 👏 👏👏

How do you guys feel about Arabelle now?

How do you guys predict the confrontation with Leo will go? Good or bad? Or sexy? 😏

Much love ❤️
~Reet