Third Person's POV:
The night before:
Antonio and Leonardo came late at midnight. They both went to their rooms, freshened up and ate dinner. Then they thought of checking upon Ariana. So they went to her room but they found that she wasn't there. They panicked a little as to where she would have gone as she wasn't in the right emotions today. So they decided to check every room.
First they went to Gabriel's room. She wasn't there but Gabriel woke up and he also went with them. And just like that they checked everyone's room and everyone came to check. Finally they found her in Matteo's room and saw that they were sleeping peacefully in each other's embrace.
They sighed in relief and they also decided to sleep there with them. So they found the places and slept there.
*****
Ariana's POV:
I was feeling confused and saw that Tony fratello was waking up. So I went to him.
"Buongiorno fratello."
(Good morning brother)
"Buongiorno principessa."
(Good morning princess)
"Avete dormito bene?" He asked me.
(Did you sleep well?)
"Sì, fratello." I replied.
(Yes fratello)
"Why are you guys here?" I asked.
"Well when we came home last night and didn't see you in your room we searched everyone's room and found you here. So we thought of sleeping here."
"Aww. You guys are too cute." I said.
I saw that Tony fratello visibly flushed and his ears were also getting red.
I smiled and he glared at me. I still chuckled at his cuteness. I can't believe how a grown up man could still blush at his age.
"Go and freshen up fratello. Then let's have breakfast." I said.
He nodded and went to his room. I was feeling a little much better today and could feel the heaviness leaving me a little.
I know that it would take some time for me to go back to normal and my mental state to be in a better state just like before. I just have to strive for better and with my family supporting me, loving me, it would be much easier.
I also went to my room. I left all of them sleeping there as I knew that they were all exhausted.
I went to the dining room after getting ready. I saw that only Tony fratello and twinnie were there.
"Morning twinnie."
"Morning."
"They aren't up yet?" I asked.
"No, they are still sleeping so I left them there. Let's have breakfast." Twinnie said.
"Okay. Tony fratello, did you find anything yesterday?" I asked.
"No, we are still investigating but I am sure that there is a mole in our mafia. So don't trust anyone easily in the future." He said.
"Yes fratello we know." Twinnie said that. Tony fratello nodded.
After that we had our breakfast and Tony fratello went to his work. I went to my room to try and locate the enemies behind the attack.
I started hacking in the nearby surveillance and tracked them everywhere they went. I started tracking their tracks and was being intercepted. Someone had erased the video. The enemy was quite smart in this but... hehehe.
They didn't know that I am the one who is doing this and would be able to recover the footage completely. So I started repairing the footage.
After some time the footage was recovered and just as I was going to see it, a maid came and informed me that someone was here to see me. I was puzzled as to who it was. Then I thought that maybe my friends came so I went down excitedly.
When I reached down I saw that there was a man sitting and from his back view I could tell that he was Valente.
I was surprised that he was here but also felt a little bit happy. I went towards him and when he saw me approaching he stood up.
"Hello Ariana." He said and there was a gentle look in his eyes that was almost unnoticeable if one didn't look closely.
"Hello Valente. Please sit down." I said.
A maid came and placed some refreshments on the table in front of him. I gestured to him to have some.
"You are here to..." I trailed off as I didn't know why he was here.
"I came to meet you." He said straightforwardly.
I was stunned to hear that. He was here to...see me. I looked at him wide eyed.
"Umm...why?" I asked hesitantly although my heart was beating wildly.
"I heard that you were attacked yesterday so I thought to come and check on you. Are you all right?" He asked, concern visible on his face.
"Yes thank you for your concern. I am fine." I got a little dazed when I thought of the killing that I did for the first time.
He noticed my dazed expression and was observing me.
"Is something the matter? I know that we aren't that close but if you are comfortable telling me about this then maybe I can help." He said cautiously.
"It's...It's just that when we were attacked yesterday I had to do something that I didn't do before. I...I killed someone." I said and looked down.
I don't know why but I couldn't bear to see his expressions at this time. I don't know what he is thinking or what his expression is like but I don't want him to look at me differently from before. I felt my heart thumping wildly in my chest and I clenched my fists tightly.
"I see." He said and stopped at that.
He didn't say anything else. I felt a little bit disappointed at that response. I know that I liked him and was anticipating something. What I was anticipating I also don't know but not this response.
"Why did you kill that person?" He asked, looking at me.
I looked up slowly to see that he wasn't looking at me differently. It was the same as before.
"Because he was aiming at my twin." I responded.
"And if you didn't kill him then?" He asked back.
"Then he would have killed him."
"So you killed him to save your twin?"
"Yes, if not then what." I said.
"So do you think that you were wrong?"
"No. If I didn't kill him he would have killed my twinnie. It was him or my twin. After killing my twinnie he would have also aimed at my papa and me. It was either them or us." I said confidently.
"Then why are you feeling down? You saved your family and yourself."
"Because even though they were wrong and I killed him to save us, that was still a human life. I killed many after killing the first one. They were all living and breathing people."
"You know Ariana, there are many people in our world that take human lives like garbage. They don't think that killing is wrong and kill people as they please. They don't feel guilty or remorse. But you, you feel it. Even though you were not in the wrong you still feel remorse. This shows that you are a very kind hearted person. So stop blaming yourself. In this world we have to be alive to keep our loved ones happy and safe."
After he said so many things I felt immediately better. Although I knew all of this I still felt guilty and remorseful.
"Thank you for saying all of this. I also know these things but I can't stop feeling this way either."
"You know Ariana, when I killed someone for the first time...I didn't feel anything and that scared me more. Slowly I adapted to it. And you are already feeling something and that shows that you are a very kind girl but if you are good to your enemies then you are being cruel to yourself. Even, you are pitying your enemies and are thinking of them kindly, who will think well of you? If you are not good to yourself then no one will be. Especially not your enemies."
I was stunned to hear this. Yes, he was right. If I was being good to enemies then wouldn't I be cruel to myself. Would my enemies think of me and not harm me? No. They would at any chance think to kill me and harm me. So ultimately I would have to be kind to myself first and not to my enemies.
I suddenly feel as if I have been enlightened. I understood completely that being kind to enemies was being cruel to oneself. So I didn't have to be this conflicted about this.
I looked up at him with bright eyes and knew that my mentality had changed significantly. I wouldn't be hesitant in the future when it comes to my close one's life or mine.
"Thank you Valente. You have really opened my eyes. I now understand this completely. I won't feel conflicted anymore." I said with a bright smile.
He also nodded and had a gentle look in his eyes. After today, his impression in my heart became even more powerful. The respect that I have for him grew several fold. The feelings that I have for him also grew. I know that these feelings were more intense than I have ever had for someone else.
I just didn't know if he felt the same way as well. How about I find out? Hmm...
I looked at him thoughtfully and saw that he was a little confused as to why I was looking at him this way.
"What happened Ariana?" He asked.
"I have something to ask you." I said.
"Yes, what is it?"
"Do you have a girlfriend?" I can tell that he was surprised by my question.
"Why are you asking this suddenly?"
"Just answer me. It's okay if you don't want to." I said after thinking that we weren't that close so he might be awkward.
"No. I don't have a girlfriend. You know that, don't you?" He said.
"Yes but I thought that maybe you have and just do not want to tell your family yet."
"No I don't." He said calmly.
"Oh I see. Then do you have someone that you like?" I asked.
"Why are you asking all of these questions suddenly?" He asked with a slight seriousness on his face.
I knew that he was getting suspicious now as to why I was asking these questions.
"I was just curious." I said in a quiet voice.
"If you want to know so badly then yes. I have someone that I like." He said and there was a gentle look in his eyes as he said that.
I felt my heart sinking a little. Who could it be? Maybe he also liked me. I wasn't some romance novel's weak and pitiful girl that wouldn't think that the man could also like me. But still I can't be too sure either because I haven't seen him show any special feelings to me or maybe I was just ignorant.
I just don't know what to think anymore. Should I confess to him that I like him or...not? I felt my heart racing and my fingers were trembling again. I was lost in my thoughts when I heard him asking me a question.
"What are you thinking?"
"If I should tell you that I like you or not." I said subconsciously.
Boom. I felt my mind explode. What did I say? When I realised what I had said my eyes widened immediately in shock. Fuck Ariana. How could you blurt something like this out. I covered my mouth and looked up at him to see that he was also stunned. He was looking at me wide eyed.
I blushed so deeply out of embarrassment that I wished to crawl into some hole and never come out in front of him. Have you ever seen someone confess to someone they like like that? I haven't seen it in my entire life but in fact I have done it.
What a wonderful feat. *Sarcasm*
He looked at me silently for some time and then he stepped towards me suddenly and came very close. Then he bent down and...
*****
Hello dear readers.
Here's another chapter.
Happy reading.
Love, Stella.