66: TAKE IT INARIEL’S POV It was another beautiful morning, a wonderful Saturday, and a good time to get some rest. I had not seen Luke since he took me away from that restaurant yesterday. He didn’t spend the night at his house; probably steamed up or something. As I made my way to the kitchen, I saw Mariam cooking. It looked like she was preparing breakfast. But that was kind of strange. Of all the maids in this mansion, this woman was the one who decided to cook. A grumpy witch, for that matter. kept on staring at her as she hummed, pressing on with her cooking. She didn’t even realize I was here.As the minutes passed by, I stood still, and then Mariam’s eyes finally caught me.“You?” was what she vocalized that very moment. “Yes, it’s me,” I responded. “What are you doing?” “What does it look like I’m doing, you idiot? I’m cooking!” She snapped, grabbing a knife, and was ready to cut down some of her ingredients. “And since when did you start cooking?” She glared at me. “You’re just a stranger here. Plus, you know nothing about me. So it’s best you mind your own business.”“Hmm, okay,” I answered calmly, moving backwards. “Happy cooking. I can’t wait to get a taste of your food.” Mariam chuckled after I said those things, and then I left her. 1201212/0 A few hours later, I walked downstairs only to see Luke seated at the dining table. Riley sat close to him. He was in a normal shirt and not putting on one of those suits. Luke’s eyes met mine, and we stared at each other till Mariam came, holding a tray of plates. “Okay, here comes breakfast,” Mariam said, dropping the tray on the table. The food smelled nice; I won’t lie about that. The face Luke gave his aunt was not a good one, but she was just smiling and dropping the plates on the table, like there was no dispute between them.LUKE’S POV I sat down, watching my aunt, Mariam, as she placed the plates of food on the table. She had prepared veal chops, and although the food had a nice smell, I didn’t want to get a taste of it. After my wedding, Mariam had been nice to everyone, which was really creepy and kind of suspicious. Now, she had prepared food and wanted us to take it into our stomachs. I never wished to do that, although Riley had been telling me to. It was even because of her that I was sitting down right now. And damn, looking at my aunt with that smiling face, had me on the angry side.After Mariam had finished what she was doing, she went back to the kitchen. I looked at Ariel, who was standing not too far from us. My expression toward her was blank. What happened yesterday was still in my mind, seeing her with that man, whoever he was. I was kind of choleric. And I didn’t want to say I was jealous. It’s not like I like her or something. “Big brother,” Riley said, and I set my eyes on her. “Aren’t you going to eat your food?” I slowly fixed my eyes on the plate of veal chops, observing it very well. I took a hold of my knife and fork, still giving the dish an angry look. The people in this mansion were just making me sick. “Don’t!” Ariel shrieked as I was about to eat the food. Riley and I both turned to her as she took some steps forward. “Don’t eat that food, alright,” she told us, and I couldn’t help but give her a confused expression, mixed with curiosity. “Why not?” Riley asked “Because it’s poisoned,” Ariel answered. “Poisoned?” My bafflement got harder. “What did you just say?” Mariam asked the moment she came back. Ariel looked at her. “Don’t start lying now. I saw you. Seer S “You saw me? Poisoning the food?” Mariam looked surprised. “Why would I want to kill my own nephew?” “Please, there are so many reasons,” Ariel replied coldly. “You never liked him. Now you want him dead.” “That’s a lie!” Mariam snapped. “Why are you doing this, huh? Tell me!” “Sorry, but I’m only doing what’s right. I’m not going to stand here and watch you murder my husband.” I looked at the two of them. Their attitude was totally out of line. Absolutely different; now I didn’t know who to believe. Who the hell was saying the truth? “I can see you’ve finally revealed your true colors. From the very first day I saw you, I knew you were nothing but a liar. But I didn’t know that you were going to carry this disgusting attitude of yours too far,” Mariam spat. “That’s enough!” I shouted, and they both turned to me. I looked at Ariel. “Are you sure you’re telling the truth? Did she really add poison to this food?” “Yes, she did,” Ariel answered. “And if you think I’m lying, I’m going to prove it to you.” “What are you going to do?” Riley asked. “Just watch,” Ariel replied, and walked closer to me. “If it means sacrificing my life just to save you, I’ll take this food in.” Ariel looked into my eyes. I couldn’t grasp what was going on around here. She grabbed part of the food from my plate, staring at me, and then she slowly took a bite of it. She looked me in the eyes again and took another bite until everything went down in her stomach. After that, she fixed her hand on her belly and began to cough. “Ariel?” I spoke lowly, and the moment her cough became harder, I got up. “Ariel!” I bawled the moment blood started coming out of her mouth. She closed her eyes and was about to fall down, but I swiftly grabbed her. “Ariel! Ariel!” I tapped her face, trying to see if I could open her eyes. But no, she had already lost consciousness. I glared at Mariam. “You cruel woman!” Her mouth was partly open. “But…” “But what, huh?” I snarled and carried Ariel in my arms. “I’ll get back to you,” I told Mariam bitterly.After that, I left the house, making my way to my car, so I could drive Ariel to the hospital, Riley wanted to follow me, but I told her to stay at the house.“You don’t have to worry, sir; everything’s going to be alright. She’s all good now,” the doctor assured me. I had taken Ariel to a hospital, waiting patiently for quite a long time for the doctor to give me feedback. And here he was, telling me that she was going to be okay. Thank goodness. I didn’t know why, but I was really afraid of losing her. “Thanks doc.” I shook hands with the doctor before he walked away. I looked at Ariel through the door as she lay unconscious. She was willing to take poison, willing to sacrifice her life, all because of me. I couldn’t understand what was going on. Where do the both of us stand? Was this relationship filled with love or not? Why would she take the risk of losing her own life only to save mine?
