Chapter 490
490 The Devil Staring At Her
Arianna was bored at the base, but the loneliness multiplied the moment Marcel left for his job. There was no Mimi to gossip with and Winters to annoy because they had each gone on their mission as well. Even Victor, who she could bother for more details on Marcel’s past, was away to help the girls in their mission in case things go wrong. To make it worse, Beatrice was on leave, she wanted to spend more time with her family since becoming a grandmother and Arianna was not close to any other staff in the house but her.
In one word, it was just her and Luca. However, there were just so few things Arianna could discuss with Luca whose loyalty firmly belongs to Marcel. Arianna wanted to keep some secrets to herself considering she and Marcel lived together anyway and were a couple, he knew many things about her – both the ones she told him and the ones he dug up about her. A girl gotta keep some secrets and there were things Marcel shouldn’t know – like how she intended to seek out Elijah.
Hence, Arianna spent most of the day making herself familiar with the phone and laptop Marcel gifted her, and to be honest, her mind couldn’t go past the fact that both devices were bugged meaning that whatever she even researched on the internet would be known to Marcel. But then beggars couldn’t be choosers and Arianna believed that with time, when she gained his trust, she would get another phone that wouldn’t need his supervision.
But even with her phone and laptop present, Arianna got bored real quick. It was not like there was someone to call since the only contacts on her phone were Marcel, Victor, Mimi, Winters, Luca, Beatrice, and a few staff she had gotten acquainted with, mostly female, knowing how possessive her boyfriend could get. She refused to become the reason why some poor dude lost his job – and his life.
Arianna longed to have her old life back where she didn’t have to be scared of making friends, especially the males without an alpha male breathing down on her neck, not to mention questioning their intention. Marcel had warned her to be cautious of what she ate and where she went to even in his base because there might be double agents among his men.
Nonetheless, in Marcel’s words, not hers, “Luca is here to take care of you,” in one word, if push comes to shove, Luca was to die in her place. Arianna was so dumbfounded by the ridiculousness of the situation that she didn’t say a word – she didn’t need anyone dying for her. This was not the past or some fantasy movie where a guardian was bound to a higher personality and meant to die in their place.
However, Arianna had learned that there were some things you don’t argue with Marcel, especially regarding her safety. Marcel was so obsessed with keeping her safe aka locking her up like rapunzel except that this wasn’t a tower but a fortress. The only difference between his place and Daniel’s was the fact that his men were more behaved and respected women.
Silence was better than words when dealing with Marcel on certain issues, and until the scene he fears played out, Arianna would do whatever came to her mind. Nobody was dying in her place, especially not her handsome gay guardian, Luca.
Time trickled slowly and in the end, Arianna found herself in the vegetable garden. Lately, she found gardening an interesting hobby alongside bonding with that tomato she named Marcel. Unfortunately for tomato Marcel, he was harvested days ago, and guilty or not, Arianna had enjoyed that salad – may his soul rest in peace – and now it was time to plant a new one. Yeah, several new tomatoes Marcel.
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Arianna got tips and guidelines from the female staff in charge of the garden and persuaded her to let her plant the next seedlings. To be precise, she merely suggested it and the woman let her. If there’s anything Arianna learned since becoming Marcel’s woman, it was the fact that nobody here refused her anything she wanted. It was nice and exciting at first, but got boring real quick. What would be the fun if she could get everything she wanted easily? Arianna wanted the staff to stand up to her once in a while. She needed a good challenge, you know.
So she spent time plugging the seedlings into the soil and dribbling a stream of water over the top to ensure a good seed-to-mix contact while the staff watched with approval and pride bloomed in Arianna’s chest. She was doing it right. When the tomato grew, she would name them according to each of Marcel’s moods; angry Marcel, happy Marcel, moody Marcel, and did she forget to add, sexy Marcel – only the juiciest tomato would get that title.
Arianna laughed inwardly at the silly thought, this was stupid yet fun. The staff left her alone at some point and she had the chance to explore the rest of the small garden. Arianna was taking note of the next vegetable to learn its planting method when her phone rang and she ignored it. She knew instinctively that it was Luca wanting to know if she was okay there. Although he followed her around, they established boundaries, and Luca was supposed to give her space to do what she wanted.
She ignored his call and focused on the task at hand. He would probably come to check up on her anyway in the next few minutes since she didn’t pick up. His call came again and Arianna annoyingly switched off her phone. She wasn’t a child but a grown-ass woman for Christ’s sake and they should stop worrying about her like a two-year-old.
Arianna went back to work until she heard footsteps behind her and sighed, this was beginning to piss her off real quick and she would have to discuss this with Marcel before she retaliated badly. She needed to be alone sometimes for crying out loud. What does a lady have to do to get space around here?
Arianna had her back turned to Luca and didn’t even look over her shoulder when she said, “And now you’ve seen that I’m well and alive, can you leave me alone now?”
“Of course not, considering I came here for you, little girl.” said a voice that didn’t belong to Luca and fear crawled up her spine.
Arianna turned around immediately only to see the devil staring back at her and her blood ran cold.