Taken By The Mafia Lord

235 She Would Ditch Elijah

She was faking it? Arianna had been pretending all this while? It took Marcel more than a minute to comprehend what just happened.

He was filled with so much shock that he took a step back from her as if she was death herself. Arianna didn’t move either, however, the defiant look on her face spoke volumes – this wasn’t ending soon.

“I should be grateful?” Arianna scoffed derisively. She rolled her eyes towards heaven yet she admitted afterward, “For sure, I’m grateful for you being the one to ‘capture me’ ” there was deep sarcasm in her tone, “Thanks to that, I’ve not been turned into a sex slave except for a few harassments.” Arianna emphasized her last words – she has not forgotten that spanking incident.

She took a step towards him but Marcel took one back. He didn’t do it out of fright, but because he couldn’t understand Arianna’s motive right now. When he tried to be gentle with her, it turned out she was faking it all along. Who knows what game she was playing this time?

And his doubt was evidenced when in the next minute, her expression became cajoling as she said, “Although I’m too stubborn to admit it, sincerely, you have been good to me. Even when I pissed you off....” She trailed off as if thinking of the right word to use, “You only educated me in your own way...” Seriously, she said that? Arianna felt like face-palming.

She went on, “And like you said, you are different from other lords. Since you have been doing good, continue with it,”

“What?” Marcel was seriously not getting her point.

Arianna grabbed both of his arms, keeping his attention on her and Marcel was honestly surprised she was the first to initiate contact between them. If it had been him, she’d probably scream assault! Well, not that he was complaining.

“You could let me go, Marcel,” She whispered and as expected, his face turned sour.

.....

“No, listen to me!” Arianna kept her grip on him when Marcel tried to move away. It was obvious that the issue of her leaving here was undebatable but she had to try.

“I would move away to a faraway place where Elijah wouldn’t be able to find me!” She suggested hurriedly knowing his patience was running out.

“And what about my weapons?!” He practically growled at her face. It was a miracle he hasn’t broken out of her grasp already with the way his body was vibrating beneath her touch.

“You can make Elijah believe I’m still with you, Marcel. You have the resources and you have the upper hand here as well and I can promise you that Elijah wouldn’t stop searching for me.”

“And what if he stops?” Marcel suddenly asked.

“W-what?” Her voice suddenly broke. That question came out of nowhere and took her by surprise – and was quite sensitive.

“What if this Elijah you have so much confidence in gives up on you?” Marcel asked her confidently this time.

She let go of him, shaking her head in denial, “No, he wouldn’t,”

But Marcel smirked, he found this situation interesting, “You are willing to ditch him just to secure your future, that shows how deep your love for him is....” He said ironically, “What if Elijah comes to that same crossroad and decides you’re not worth it. What happens to my shipment then?”

Arianna was in a dilemma, no, she was more confused than ever because Marcel’s question put her in a hot seat. She then said, “You saw what happened at the wedding, Marcel, it was all his doing. Elijah is not going to give up on me -”

“Yet you would,” Marcel said pointedly.

“He’s a mercenary and I’m still a young, innocent woman trying to find my footing in this world. He would surely understand.”

Arianna had a hard time swallowing after saying those words. She indeed sounded like a betrayal. But could you blame her? She has had enough already. All she wanted was her freedom and to rest. Surely, Elijah would understand why she had to make this decision if they eventually meet one day.

“Your speech is inspiring,” Marcel spoke up, “and you did make a lot of sense.”

Hope flared inside of Arianna, Marcel was really going to listen to her this time? She prayed so.

“However....”

At the mention of that word, Arianna knew things had begun to go downhill. Yet she still fostered expectation in her heart that Marcel would somehow grant her request. The anxiety ate deep inside of her.

“I’m a businessman and I deal with facts, not sentiments. The fact that Elijah would come for you means that he has his eyes here. In one word, I can’t let you go even if I wanted to, that is as good as delivering you directly to him. Or don’t you know this saying,’ a man who kicks a frog doesn’t deter it from its destination rather, he helps it arrive faster, ”

Her face fell at once, he was not releasing her even when she suggested logically. Why had she even bothered trying to get to him? Her opinion doesn’t matter to him anyway.

Marcel was the one to step towards her this time, lifting her crestfallen face. He wiped away the tear that slipped down her face with his thumb gently, “Don’t be so sad, Arianna. It’s just your bad luck being caught in the middle and as much as I would love to give you that freedom you want so much, you’re my insurance. And you of all people should know what happens to a business without insurance?”

“But then,” Marcel went on, “If you promise to be on your best behavior, I could take you out of this pit hole...” He referred to this current room, “And you would be able to roam the grounds freely, although with security on you all the time,” He offered her a small portion of freedom.

But when Arianna didn’t respond for a long time, Marcel knew intuitively that it was a “no” and took that as a cue to his leave. On the bright side, he was able to have this conversation without threatening her.

Grabbing the knob, Marcel was prepared to rub his success at Victor’s face only for Arianna to say, “I would kill myself then if you don’t let me out of here,”