Page 141 of The Diávolos: Part Two
That man is infatuated. Aria seems like it too.
“What about your fiancé?” I ask her.
She shakes her head. “I haven’t seen him.”
I watch Aria as I sit across from her, lost in a distant gaze. The sparkle that once danced in her eyes has dulled. Her hands fidget with the edge of her blanket, a telltale sign that something is bothering her.
I reach out, placing my hand gently on hers, offering silent support. She glances at me, and her look betrays a mixture of vulnerability and sadness.
When Philip died, we thought the arranged marriage would too. But her fiancé, Andrew, decided to still go ahead with it. Though it’s clear to everyone that he doesn’t care for her either. It’s simply a business transaction. In the time that they’ve been engaged, he and Aria have only interacted a handful of times. She has no idea who he truly is or what he’s like. And that scares the shit out of her.
Aria takes a deep breath, her eyes welling up with unshed tears. “I tried to get mymamato talk him out of it, but he won’t budge on his decision. Why does he want me, Angie? I can’t offer him anything. He won’t even have access to my clan because Dimo has taken over.”
Dimitri, her now twenty-year-old brother, has become the new head of the Kastellanos clan. He’s the youngest Godfather in history, but the title was rightfully his as the next male heir.
“Was Dimo not able to annul the agreement?”
“No. It was signed and sealed in blood. The only way it can be canceled is if Andrew decides he no longer wants the marriage,” Aria says, solemnly.
I wish I could alleviate the heaviness in my friend’s heart and bring back the joy. Before she was forced into the arrangement, before her father died.
Her sadness about the impending wedding is now compounded by the recent loss of her father. I see the pain etched across her face, the lines of sorrow deepening.
I think what pained her the most was the realization that people are not always who we perceive them to be, even those closest to us. Something that I still struggle with as well.
I squeeze her hand. “We’ll get through this together,” I promise.
Sometime later, the door cracks open and Dion’s head pops in. “Godmother,” he says with a smirk.
I roll my eyes. “This is why Evan gets annoyed with you. Enough with the formalities.” I wave him off, and he chuckles.
I look at Aria to make sure she feels comfortable being left alone with him, and she nods her head.
“Alright, I’ll see you when you get home next week,” I tell her, placing a kiss on her forehead. “Love you, Ri.”
“Love you, Giegie.”
Aria’s recent life events have left her emotionally vulnerable, and all I can do is be there for her, a steady anchor amidst the storm.
The next day, Evan and I walk into the Black Bean café. The same little coffee shop he accompanied me to when I still had no idea who he really was. When he was only a fantasy, unattainable, a mystery.
It was the day after I’d made a fool of myself at Academia, letting myself be touched by a stranger just to make him jealous. I internally grimace at the thought of that creep putting his hands on me, but my plan worked. Evan shut down the entire club and dragged me out like a caveman.
He even gave me the best fingering orgasm I'd ever had in my entire life that night in the passenger seat of his car while hedrove me home. The memory of that moment still makes me feel hot.
“What are you thinking about, my dirty little angel?” Evan asks as we sit at our usual table.
“Oh, nothing. It’s just really warm here.”Fuck you, pregnancy hormones. It’s true, though. It feels like I'm overheating. But it could also be the nerves of telling my husband that I'm pregnant with his baby. I know he’ll be happy. He’s been trying to impregnate me ever since we got married. He even self-proclaims to have a breeding kink.
I pick up a menu and fan myself.
Evander’s eyebrows furrow. “The A/C is on full blast and you’re wearing a t-shirt.”
“Yes and? A girl can feel hot. Besides, I’m sitting next to the hottest man ever. This is your fault.”
Evan’s cheeks turn red. It always surprises and delights me when I’m able to make him blush. TheDiávolos nevergets shy.Except for me.
“Tell me what’s really going on, Angelica,” he says, not buying into my bullshit whatsoever.
