The Heiress' Revenge

Chapter 200: He Loves You

Ariana’s POV

After the incident, I moved to one of the houses Ares got me, one which I haven’t used in a while. I just needed to hide away and wrap my head around everything.

Ares arrived this morning. He flew in from New York, and he came alone. He didn’t tell anyone where he was going. He just showed up at my door with a bag and a worried look on his face.

I let him in, knowing he must have heard from Dante.

Now we were sitting in the small living room.

Ares was looking at me with a serious expression. His eyes were tired. "You look good," he said. "Considering everything."

I laughed in a bitter sound. "I look like I’ve been hiding for two years. Don’t lie to me."

He smiled. A small smile. "Okay, you look tired, sad. You look like you haven’t slept in days, but you’re alive, and that’s what matters."

I looked down at my hands. "Is it? Sometimes I wonder."

"This was what I was afraid of; you shouldn’t have taken the risk in the first place."

"I know"

Ares nodded. "He canceled the wedding, and he’s been running mad searching for you... Trust me, I’ve never seen him lose his mind."

I felt the tears come, forcing me to blink them back. "He shouldn’t be looking for me. He should have married Natasha and moved on. He should have forgotten about me."

Ares laughed in a bitter sound. "Forgotten about you? Ariana, you’re the only woman he’s ever loved. You’re the mother of his children... do you have any idea what these years have been for him? I don’t know, but surely you’re the only woman Dante would ever love... and now he knows you’re alive. He’s not going to stop until he finds you."

"He needs to stop. I already told him I’m not Ariana. Why can’t he just get that and move on? I’m not good for him. I’m not good for anyone."

Ares stood up and walked to stand beside me. "That’s not true, you’re good for him."

I turned to face him. "Every time I get close to someone, something bad happens. I’m cursed, Ares. Everything I touch falls apart."

Ares grabbed my shoulders. "You’re not cursed but a victim. Melissa is the one who did those things, not you. You’re not responsible for her actions."

I shook my head. "I should have seen it coming. I should have stopped her. I should have—"

"Stop"

I felt the tears fall. "Then why do I feel so weak? Why do I feel so broken? Why do I feel like I can never go back?"

Ares pulled me into his arms he held me tight. "Because you’ve been alone for too long, you’ve been hiding for too long, you’ve been carrying this burden by yourself for too long, but you don’t have to do that anymore.. You have the family and me."

I pulled back. I wiped my eyes. "What about Dante? What about my children? What about my family?"

Ares’s face was soft. "They’re waiting for you... I know it may be hard for them to digest the news, but they’d eventually warm up."

I shook my head. "I can’t, I’m not ready. I don’t know if I’ll ever be ready."

Ares grabbed my hands. "Then when? When will you be ready? When will you stop running? When will you let yourself be happy? Please, Ariana, don’t hurt yourself anymore."

I didn’t have an answer. I didn’t have anything.

"I don’t know," I whispered. "I just know that every time I let myself get close to someone, something happens. Every time I think I can be happy, something tears it all away. I don’t want that for Dante. I don’t want that for my children, heck, I don’t want that for anyone I love."

Ares squeezed my hands. "Ariana, you can’t live your life in fear. You can’t keep running from something that might happen when you just have to trust that things will work out."

I pulled my hands away. "Trust? I’ve had trust, and where did it get me? It got me a dead baby and a broken marriage and two years of hiding from everyone I love."

Ares’s face crumbled. "I know you’re hurting, I know you’re scared, but you have to believe that things can get better."

I walked back to the window and stared out at the rain. "I don’t know what I deserve anymore. I don’t know anything anymore."

We stood there for a long time, and kept falling.

Ares broke the silence. "Dante gave up everything for you, you know, the company and everything he owns, his mother gave him the choice, and he chose you."

I pulled back and looked at him. "What do you mean? What happened?"

Ares sighed. "When he canceled the wedding, his mother threatened to take everything away. Fortune is everything. She told him he would be left with nothing if he didn’t marry Natasha. He told her he didn’t care, he said he would give it all away just to have you back."

My heart ached. "He shouldn’t have done that; that’s stupid of him, he should have kept everything and should have moved on."

Ares shook his head. "He can’t move on, Ariana, and you need to accept that."

I felt the tears come again. "Why? Why won’t he just let me go?"

"Because he loves you and you know that, just stop all this already."

I wiped my eyes. "I don’t know."

Ares grabbed my face, forcing me to look at him. "You’re hurting him. Every day you stay away, you’re hurting him. He needs you, Ariana... heck, he’s lost without you, and the only way he can find his way back is if you come home."

I pushed his hands away. "I don’t know Ares."

Ares’s face was desperate. "Then what are you going to do? Stay here forever? Hide here for the rest of your life? Never see your children again? Never hold your husband again?"

I didn’t have an answer.

"I don’t know," I whispered. "I just know that every time I let myself get close to someone, something bad happens. Every time I think I can be happy, something tears it all away. I don’t want that for Dante. I don’t want that for my children. I don’t want that for anyone I love."

A voice came from behind me.

"And what about what I want?"

I spun around.

Dante was standing in the doorway.

His clothes were wet from the rain.

He looked messy

Area lets out a sigh, staring at Dante, then back at me. "I’ll give you two a minute."

He walked out of the room.

The door closed behind him.

Dante didn’t move.

He just stood there looking at me.

"Ariana," he said, his voice barely a whisper. "Please. Just talk to me."

I opened my mouth, but no words came out.