IT'S MY BIRTHDAY!!! Just turned nineteen and it's just another day lmao 😂😂😂😂 Closer to drinking I guess, though I don't do that *ahem* 😉. It's thundering outside, so definitely a great start.

Point out my errors. Vote, share, comment, and ENJOY!!!

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"What the hell?" I mumbled under my breath and turned to face Lina for an explanation, but she was busy grinning from ear to ear, looking right at the woman standing at the door.

          Ashton leaned down and whispered in my ear, "Ghost?"

          I nudged his side and watched Lina slowly step forward. "You're here!" she squealed in excitement.

          "I am," the woman retorted. "You shouldn't be in here though. You know how your nonna gets."

          As she spoke more, I could make out the Italian undertone in her American accent. It was very subtle, hard to notice, but with certain words, it was quite prominent. I would've imagined Leona to have more of a British accent like Arabelle, but seeing her standing there, that too very much alive, talking and walking, proved me wrong, and everyone in this family to be liars.

          Leona smiled as Lina laughed to herself. "You wouldn't tell her now, would you?"

          "And throw my favorite baby under the bus? Never!" Leona giggled and opened her arms wide. "Can I get a hug or are you too cool for those?"

          Lina jogged in the women's direction with a laugh and immediately embraced her tightly, holding on for dear life. "I've missed you so much."

          "I've missed you too, baby," Leona whispered back and pulled away. "Look at you. You get more and more gorgeous every time I see you."

"And you get more and more sexy every time I see you," Lina chuckled, combing a finger through the woman's hair. "I'm digging the blonde look. You're definitely pulling it off."

"It was Summer's idea," Leona muttered, looking at her short strands and twirling them around her finger. "I was a bit skeptical, but wanted to do something different for Wren's wedding, and this turned out well." She smiled and glanced in my direction. "Unless you two want to get in trouble, I suggest you come out too."

Ashton and I scurried out of the room instantly, allowing Lina to close it behind us. "Sorry," I apologized and cleared my throat.

Being so close to Leona, I noticed every little feature of hers. Her bright blue eyes definitely matched Leo's. Her sharp, thin nose and perfectly manicured brows were one to be admired. The smile on her lips was another thing that Leo inherited. Wide and warm. Compared to the old photo that I saw of the young brunette Leona inside the room, the one standing in front of me was a mature blonde version of that girl, but she looked as great and vibrant as ever. And very much alive.

          "Cristo! Stop staring at her like that, Arie," Lina laughed and jerked me out of my daze. I narrowed my eyes a bit in confusion, but stayed silent and let her continue. "This is my zietta."

          "Zietta?" I wondered what the hell was going on and continued to stare at the woman like an infatuated idiot.

          "Zietta means aunty," the woman informed and stepped forward with a hand out for me to shake and I didn't waste a second to comply. "I'm Aria Marino, not Leona, if that's what has you so pale."

(Mädchen Amick as Aria Marino.)

"Twins, you see." Lina squeezed my shoulder lightly.

"Oh." I flashed a smile, pushing out the doubts from my mind. So definitely not Leona. That fact that I was so quick to deem everyone liars in the family made me shake my head. I, myself, was no saint either. I had lied before on many occasions to the people closest to me. I certainly had no right to judge others and jump to that conclusion, but I wasn't informed she had a twin anyway, so not my fault. Now I knew why Athena said Aria was the closest thing to Leo's mother despite Amelia. "I'm Arie Noelle."

"Is that so?" Aria arched a brow, retracting her hand from the long-held handshake. Her blue pools studied me quietly, fanning over my features slowly as I stood there awkwardly. "You're much prettier than I was told."

          I chuckled. "Thank you."

          With a nod my way, she faced my brother with a subtle smile. "You're Ashton Noelle, right? Giants?"

"You know your football," Ashton chuckled and shook her hand before pecking the back of it slowly. "I'm impressed."

My nose scrunched up at Ashton's a-little-too-forward gesture which caused Aria to giggle and Lina to look at him a bit stoically. "Charming, aren't you?" Aria complimented. "The only reason I know this is because my son is a football fan, and so is my husband."

"No, I'm not." A deep, gravelly voice bellowed through the long and tall hallway as a man walked past the two guards and came up behind Aria, laying a hand on her back. His hair was a shade of brown just like his eyes, but his stubble was a mixture of white and black pricks peppered all over his jaw. He stood tall, definitely over six feet with a nice built under the suit he wore. A handsome gentleman indeed, just like everyone in this damn place. "I don't enjoy that silly sport. No offense, buddy," he said.

"None taken," Ashton snickered.

The man laughed and shook my brother's hand, introducing himself. "Carmelo Marino." By his name and the proximity between Aria and him, he had to be her husband.

(Jeffrey Dean Morgan as Carmelo Marino 😍)

"Ashton Noelle."

The man nodded and turned to me. "And you must be?"

"Arie Noelle," I answered whilst shaking his hand.

"Ah," he smiled. "I see."

"And what? I just get ignored when new people come along?" Lina crossed her arms over her chest and cocked a brow at Carmelo, a bit annoyed.

"How could I forget our little principessa?" Carmelo laughed and hugged Lina tenderly. "You keep getting bigger and bigger, Evelina."

"No," Lina backed away with an arched brow, cockiness embedded into her features. "You're just getting old and short, zio. Your time is near. Better get that casket ready."

"Ha." Carmelo forced out a bark of laughter, awkwardly looking down at his giggling wife. By the looks of it, it seemed Lina struck a nerve and her uncle just wanted to laugh it off. "Well, she's certainly turning out to be like her mother now."

"Maybe I'll rule the empire one day just like her and be the Queen," Lina smirked, sliding her hair away from her face. "But first, I'll have to kill Leo and everyone in the line of succession after him until I can finally claim the throne." She made a fist and raised it in the air. "Victory shall be mine."

"You desperately wish." My wretched heartbeat sped up at Leo's voice before he sauntered into the hall with Mike and Verona.

"I was kidding," Lina faked a laugh before staring at her older brother dead in the eye as he neared us. "Not really."

          Leo snorted at her comment before looking at his aunt with a warm smile. "You made it."

          "And so did you." Aria raised a finger, stopping Leo in his tracks when he stepped forward to embrace her. "I want to meet her first." She forced a smile to her face, her eyes tearing up a bit. "Verona."

          "Zietta," Verona smiled, beaming a little with happiness to see the woman.

          Aria stepped forward and hugged her tightly. "Oh, sweetheart." The woman went on in Italian as a couple of silent tears escaped Verona's eyes while Mike and Leo greeted Carmelo. I could tell that this moment was quite emotional for the two ladies. The distressed energy radiating off them clearly engulfed us all as everyone fell silent for a long minute.

          Aria finally pulled away and wiped her own tears before brushing away Verona's. "You're okay, sì?"

"Sì." Verona nodded as Leo ran a comforting hand up and down her back and pulled her closer to him protectively. It warmed me inside to see the love and care reflected in his eyes for his wife. Truly an endearing sight, although I had to admit, it stung a bit. What did I expect anyway? He was always a good man deep down, and clearly a good husband.

          My mind couldn't help but think of the possibility of marrying him. How different my life would've been without the complications of our current partners? How crazy it would've been? Adventurous and exciting, sure, but I wasn't too sure about my kids and putting them in that kind of environment. Maybe Leo could protect them, but the danger would always loom over their heads like a dangling sword.

          I probably would've never come across Lucian if I stayed with Leo, and imagining my life without that little boy is impossible. He and Ana became my life. However, I knew Fred would always be better for me. He was safe and the best man a woman could ever ask for. Certainly husband material. Even though I hadn't admitted it to him, I did love him. He was another person I couldn't imagine my life without.

          Slamming myself back to reality, I watched Aria embrace her nephew delightedly, letting the hug linger for a while. "I'm so glad to see you." She distanced herself a bit and cupped his face like a mother, warming her eyes with all his features. "You look so much like me than Ray."

          "And I wonder why," Leo laughed before Aria kissed his forehead, causing him to groan. "Really?"

"What?" Aria laughed with everyone upon seeing the red lipstick mark she imprinted on the man's forehead. I couldn't help but chuckle with them which momentarily caught Leo's attention. His eyes hovered on me for a second, sending my heart into overdrive again before he looked away and shook his head.

Verona giggled to herself as she turned Leo's head to face her. Slowly and gently, she began wiping away the mark with a grin as Leo smiled and spoke in Italian, leaving me and Ashton out of the loop.

          "Should we learn Italian?" Ashton whispered, scooting closer to me.

          Before I could say anything, Lina butted in. "I could teach you," she grinned. She had the ears of a moth, sharp and enhanced to pick up on every word we said.

I decided to ignore the two and look at Leo who was now getting his forehead cleaned by Aria as Verona smiled at me sweetly. Guilt panged ruthlessly in my chest. Verona didn't know about my former relationship with Leo and the way she smiled at me with sincerity glimmering in her blue eyes made me want to dig a hole and die. Yet, I flashed a smile back and glanced away at Mike who was hugging Aria now.

          "Zietta," Mike stepped back a foot, laughing, "I think I'll do just fine without lipstick on my cheek."

          Aria chuckled. "Fine. It's almost time for dinner. We shouldn't keep Marsilia waiting. You all know how cranky she gets."

          "She isn't that bad," Mike teased.

          "Oh, shut up, ass-kisser," Leo chided and turned around, interlocking his fingers with Verona's and pulling her close to him as everyone laughed. Aria strode ahead while the rest respectfully walked behind her except for Lina, Ashton, and I. We were standing and watched them fade toward another hall talking and laughing just before Leo shouted over his shoulder. "Lina, you coming?"

"Yeah, I'm just going to show them my room," she lied through her teeth, and Leo definitely didn't buy the excuse by the way he looked over his shoulder.

"Stop lying," he warned her, stilling in his tracks.

"Just go. We'll be there in less than a minute," Lina argued. "I don't want to get yelled at by nonna now, so go. I promise we'll be there." As soon as everyone left us alone, Lina turned on her heel and grinned. "Do you guys want to see the throne room?"

"You guys have a throne room?" Ashton gawked at the girl.

"Of course, we do." She hooked her arms around each one of ours and dragged us toward the massive double doors on the end. "We have crowns too. All the princes and princesses do. The King and Queens's crowns are magnificent though." Releasing her hold on us, she placed her hand on the scanner beside the door, but the blue screen turned red and dinged. "What the fuck?" She frustratedly turned around, propping her hands on her hips. "Sorry, guys. Nonna removed me and probably everyone else from the system. I'm guessing only she, Leo, my dad, Aria, and Raffaello have access."

Groaning, she trudged out of the area with us right behind her. "Don't you have pictures?" I queried after a long minute of absolute silence.

"We can't take pictures of them," she sighed. "It's a rule."

"That's so cool though," Ashton admitted, fascinated by the whole royal concept and absolutely infatuated by Lina.

Lina flashed him a smile and lead us through several hallways. This was a good cardio, but damn, I didn't know I'd be getting a workout in instead of a wedding cake. "Okay so, everyone is going to be in there. Family from both Drago and Bonferroni side which consists of uncles, aunts, and a lot of cousins. And Sophie's side of the family is here too." We turned around a corner and stopped to see a bunch of men in black suits guarding a large entrance which was probably our destination, but perhaps it was empty because I couldn't hear any voices bellowing from in there even with the doors open. "Just stick with me and don't wander off."

          "Lina!" An excited voice whipped our heads around to see a girl standing there, grinning like a Cheshire cat.

          "Heaven!" Lina beamed in happiness before sprinting in the girl's direction and tackling her to the floor. Ashton and I hurriedly came to their rescue and helped them to their feet as they continued to giggle and hugged each other again. "I thought you were going to come tomorrow."

          "Surprise!" Heaven laughed and pulled away. "I told Leo not to tell you."

          "He knew?" Heaven nodded to Lina's question. Lina pouted for a second, then chuckled. "I like the surprise very much." She turned to us, wrapping her arm around Heaven's shoulder. "Babe, this is Ashton and Arie Noelle," she introduced us to the girl who smiled. "And guys, this is my best friend, Heaven. She's my other half, my soulmate."

          "Hi!" Ashton and I greeted her in unison, but the girl's hazelly green eyes lingered on me for a while. Her pearls shined bright under the lights and against her rich caramel skin tone, her curly hair dangling past her taut shoulders.

(Ajiona Alexus as Heaven Díaz.)

          "Hey!" She shook our hands with a great smile. "I know you both. Hopefully, you guys get to know me too."

          Lina instantly pulled her into a conversation with Ashton as I looked around. The walls were white as usual with paintings decorating them. The guards stood completely still and silent next to the hall entrance, and all that made me want to do was go over and mess with them. The temptation was strong but I refrained.

A couple seconds later of me watching that silent entrance, a kid wobbled out on his little legs. If I were to guess, I'd say he was about three or four years old. His brown eyes twinkled when they laid on me, prompting him to get closer to me. I strode forward and met the kid halfway, crouching down to his level.

          "Hi, sweetheart," I whispered and shook his little hand.

          He grinned, flashing his crooked teeth. "Hello. My name is Bruno," he declared in a soft tone and his cute British accent melted my heart on the spot. Everything about him was adorable. He was definitely a lovable kid with his chubby cheeks and that toothy smile. He was well dressed too with his white shirt and black bow that contrasted against his light brown skin. If only I could steal him I would.

          I giggled to myself. "You can call me Arie."

          "Hi, Arie," he grinned again, but shied away a bit which immediately tugged on my heart. He kept getting more adorable, and I just wanted to cuddle him up in my arms.

          I rose to my feet, glancing over my shoulder to see Lina and the other two people in a deep conversation. She wouldn't notice if I took a stroll for a minute. Turning to the boy, I smiled down at him. "Where are you parents? Take me to them."

          "Okay." He latched onto my finger and lead the way into the humongous dining hall. My heart skipped a beat to see the ridiculously long table with countless people sitting on either side dressed formally in dresses and suits, whereas I was wearing a t-shirt and jeans with sneakers. My body wanted to go back and stick with the courageous Lina because my heart was pounding frantically as the kid pulled me further into the room. Thankfully, they had their eyes closed and were saying grace which made me laugh uncomfortably on the inside. What the hell were these criminals praying for considering most of them were notorious?

          I tiptoed beside the kid as discreetly as possible and watched the many new faces. Scary, strong, and intimidating features of both men and women squeezed my heart. This was a bad idea because I knew each one of them sensed my presence, yet they all kept their eyes shut as many repeated the words Marsilia was blurting out in Italian. A second later, everyone opened their eyes and my heart almost lurched up my throat. Along with hushed whispers, their brooding eyes stared at me as Bruno and I kept walking beside the fucking table that wasn't ending and we were getting closer to Marsilia. Fuck. Fucking shit. Motherfucker!

"Mum!" Bruno yelled, grabbing everyone's attention, even the people that weren't originally looking. Great! Just what I needed.

          "Bruno?" Arabelle scooted her chair back a little and looked down at the boy. "Baby, what are you doing out here?"

"Mum, I made a new friend." He pointed to me like a shy little boy which made me giggle, but I stifled it. Although I knew that Arabelle couldn't have her own kids, it elated me to see that she still became a mother to this adorable boy. Astor destroyed all our lives because she couldn't get pregnant and give him a child. Only if he realized that that wasn't the only way to have kids and supported his wife, maybe none of us would be here. None of the bad things would've happened.

Arabelle fixed Bruno's collar with a wide smile before Marsilia broke the peace with a crude remark. "The boy has no sense of time or manners."

          "I heard you," Arabelle gritted her teeth without looking at her grandmother who sat at the head of the table.

          "I wasn't trying to be discreet, Arabella," Marsilia said before she made eye contact with me. I was bewildered by her rude comments regarding the sweet boy. It made me uneasy. She gave me chills, her intense gaze alone did that, and combined with her confident and strong posture, it just made it worse. A part of me was upset and the other half wondered if she was like this with everyone.

"It's Arabelle, not Arabella." Her voice raised up a notch as Alicio, who was sitting next to her, grabbed her hand to calm her. "He's only four, nonna. Spare him, will you?"

"It-"

"That's enough, nonna." Leo's voice echoed through the hall, cutting Marsilia off as his presence was almost palpable on my bare skin, creating goosebumps on my arms when he came up from behind me, glaring at his grandmother. He smiled down at Bruno and bent over a bit. "Hey, buddy. Come with me." Leo scooped the boy up in his arms happily and  started walking away.

          Bruno let out a little giggle and peered at me over his uncle's shoulder. "Bye, 'Ri." He waved, subtly mispronouncing my name. I waved back and slowly started walking behind him to reunite with my savior, Lina. Bruno turned to Leo and grinned. "I like her. She is pretty and nice."

Laughter bursted out among everyone at Bruno's comment which also had Leo chuckling. He pecked the boy's head and let him go in the room to the side. "Keep an eye on the kids. Make sure they don't just wander out," he ordered a few men as I kept my head low and tried to slip out of the room as quickly as possible. But I probably looked like a girl with a severe case of diarrhea, trying to make her way to the bathroom with her ass clenched tight while taking short, quick steps to get there.

          I was almost there when Marsilia's voice sent my heart into a frenzy. "Where are you going?" Her question halted my footsteps and forced me to turn around. "Sit and eat with us," she offered, but it felt more like a threat.

          I gulped and glanced at Leo to the side who slowly blinked. That little gesture calmed me down immensely, and I finally started to feel my heart slowly regain its normal pace. Yet, deep down I knew this was going to be one hell of a dinner with powerful criminals. Athena didn't exactly put in a good word for anyone. I needed supernatural saving from this hellhole.

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Yay or nay?

I'm pleased to announce that everyone was way off with guessing who the person at the door was 😂😂😂😂😂

Do you guys think Aria will like Arie? Will they get along?

Who remembers Heaven? Who do you guys think she is?

What's up Marsilia's ass anyway?

How do you guys think the dinner will go? Good or bad?

Much love ❤️
~Reet