I wake up well rested and deliciously sore on Sunday morning.

Shoving two altoids in my mouth as I make my way to one place I know where I'll find him at this hour of Sunday morning.

It's where I find him.

In his gym, looking like a temptation.

I lean against the doorframe, admiring him afar. "Can I suck your cock while you do bench press, your highness?"

His eyes scan my body dressed in nothing but his half unbuttoned shirt. He is swallowing in the display of my body with hunger burning in his eyes, as though he has never witnessed anything so tempestuous in his life. I can't help but remain mesmerized under the intoxicating spell he is weaving on my senses. He stands in silence with his ripped arms crossed against his well-defined chest next to the pommel horse drenching in sweat from his workout.

Mr. Testosterone-On-Legs is dedicated to his grueling workout schedule every single day. He doesn't even give himself weekends off unlike I do. There's no other explanation for that brain-numbingly hot, edging-you-to-orgasm-like ripped physique of his. His ripped biceps, the veins popping out of his forearm, his chiseled torso... everything about him is just so arousing. The tattoos on his chest and triceps area make him look more of a rugged baddie than the suave royal prince he is.

"Sleep well?" His lazy drawl drags me out of my reverie and I'm forced to notice the intensity with which his deep turquoise blue eyes are glued to mine.

My breasts suddenly start feeling heavy and I ache with the need for him. "I did, yes."

"Need something?" He settles the weights back in the stand and rises up.

"In dire need of a wakeup call," I grin, looking around.

I catch my reflection in one of the mirrors and wonder what it would feel like having sex in front of it. I imagine him pounding deep inside me while I'm arched between the holders of the pommel horse and making me come in front of the mirror. What do I look like in the throes of passion? A delicious sensation courses through my veins.

"I am wondering how it would feel like to watch you fuck me in front of the mirror," I say boldly, walking into his arms.

He kisses me, clamping my body to him, ravaging my mouth with an intensity that bombards me with so many exciting sensations and a compulsion to be filled by him. My fingers clasp his head, my breasts pressing so hard against the hard wall of his chest. I am acutely aware of his erection nudging my stomach. His hands slip to my back, lowering to grab my butt and squeezing it. 

Breaking the kiss, he turns me around so that I'm facing the mirror.

"Do you know how hot you are?" he mumbles, trailing lazy kisses down my nape.

"So are you, your highness. I must have done something really good to get to be so lucky to have you as mine," I confide, curling my fingers around his jawline as I watch him in the mirror.

His ring on my finger gleams. The sign of ownership and his possessiveness.

"Let me worship you and work for every moan that comes out of your mouth, tesoro," he breathes in my ear, his delicious request in his dark husk knocking the air out of me. "Can I?"

"Yes," I bite the corner of my lower lip, his eyes not leaving mine as I rub my thighs deliciously slowly putting on a show for his eyes. "Lubricate me with your fingers first in front of this mirror and then plow me hard and fast on that pommel horse."

"Is that your fantasy?" he chuckles, moving both of his hands inside my shirt, his fingers teasing my bare skin as they slowly crawl upwards to cup my breasts.

"Mm. Hmm," I close my eyes and throw my head back against him.

"Keep them open," he growls deliciously, "Your breasts are sore from last night."

"Yes."

"Do you still want me to play with you?"

"I love when you play with them."

"They're the best tits I've ever seen," he smiles.

I let out a surprised sigh when he tightens his grip over my aching breasts, pulling my body closer to him so that my back can feel his hard ridge poking against his pants. I watch his actions through the mirror. Damn it's so erotic.

"I like it when your hands crush my breasts rough and hard... during make out... and when you fuck me hard holding my breasts," I say, unbuttoning my shirt so that his hands squishing my breasts are clearly visible to me through the mirror.

Christ! I can already feel so wet between my legs.

"Keep telling me what you want." His voice is almost an urgent whisper as he lowers his face to nibble the skin on my shoulder.

"I want you to finger fuck me... right here in front of this mirror until I milk your fingers in my cum... and then I want to take your cock in my mouth and suck it until you empty yourself and let me swallow every bit of your cum... and then I want you to take me to that pommel horse, lay me down between the holders, spread my legs so wide and fuck me hard, rough, fast and deep... keep fucking me all over again until I scream and become too sore to stand."

I am breathless by the time I'm finished speaking. Areston's pupils are dilated a shade darker, a scorching hot desire blazes in his eyes as he looks at me.

"You're the sexiest woman to exist, Belle," he smirks, grinding his pelvis against my butt. "My cock is aching hard because of you."

I dip my head in the crook of his neck as I kiss his damp skin. "I love it."

"Watch," he demands in a hoarse voice, sliding his fingers down my body until he reaches my pussy.

His eyes hold mine, and I gasp in pleasure, as I watch his fingertips move against my clit. I tremble in response and hold onto his arm for strength. He strokes the lips of my pussy, the bundle on my clit, moving his index finger around and on my clit hard in a circular motion.

I watch him in a trance state of my mind as he slips a finger inside my pussy and my walls clench around him.

"So fucking wet already," he rolls my left nipple hard between his fingers, pulling and pinching the hardened bud until it starts aching.

He angles his mouth against the back of my neck and trails kisses along the length of my shoulder, tracing the goosebumps rising on my skin with his tongue. His thumb massages my throbbing clit, his fingers moving in and out of me. I feel his cock rubbing against my back in delight. I whimper with desire for him... the need to be fucked hard. He wants me as much as I want him. Madly and violently.

He pushes himself against me, slipping his other finger inside me, making me shudder and sway on my feet as I feel my hot juices drowning his fingers that slide deeper into me. Lifting me up with one arm around me, he settles on the adjustable weight bench opposite to mirror with me right in front of him.

"Spread those thighs for me, tesoro. Let me see your beautiful cunt," he breathes into my ear, his desire-glazed blue eyes spearing mine through the mirror. "Lean back and sling your thighs around mine."

I willingly comply by parting my thighs just as he has instructed. My legs are slinging around his thighs. His feet are firm on the floor. My pussy is glistening from all the wetness as it sucks his fingers greedily in and out. It's such a hot sight.

I almost close my eyes in pleasure, overwhelmed with his hips moving against mine, his cock nudging my back.

"I won't let you come if you close your eyes," he threatens. "Watch my fingers fuck you and get flooded with your orgasm."

I drop my head back against his chest, my fingers buried in his damp hair, moaning loudly and squirming, as I watch him fuck me. I watch myself writhing as the pace of his fingers fastens.

I am about to touch my other breast that is bereft of his touch. His eyes only gleam with appreciation as he watches me play with it.

"Mm. good girl. Tug your nipple, baby. Pull it. Imagine it's me," he whispers in a dark husk, his fingers doing the same to its twin, teasing, pinching, kneading, and rubbing them.

"Oh, fuck. That feels so good, your highness. Fuck me harder," I gasp, starting to move my hips against his hand, matching the urgency of his strokes.

A wave of magical and overpowering sensations begin forming inside me. He's looking like a god of sex, pleasuring me, his slave at his altar. I could just come from watching this scene. I bet it's hotter than a porn movie.

"Come for me. Let it go, tesoro," his tone a dark, velvety caress.

I let out a strangled loud moan calling his name as I shudder with an intense orgasm hitting me, soaking his hands with the oozing cum. My entire body trembles as he holds me tight with one hand and fucks my pussy until another wave of pleasure hits me and subsides, leaving me tired and breathless.

"Two down. Several more to go, my slutty heiress," he beams arrogantly, slowly and deliberately pulling his fingers out of me and putting an index finger into his mouth, his eyes not leaving mine. "Mmm. Like nectar," he hums in delight and pushes another finger gently into my mouth making me taste my own cum. "Taste it."

My cheeks flush pink as I move my tongue boldly around his finger, wiping every bit of the liquid on his finger, and looking into his eyes utterly mesmerized through the mirror.

"My turn now, I think," I lower my feet on the floor, they're trembling from the aftermath of two back-to-back orgasms, and turn to face him.

I straddle him, curling my arms around his neck, and rub my breasts against his chest earning a low groan from his mouth.

He buries his fingers in my hair, twisting them in a tight hold around the stands, and pulls my head back making me face him in the eye. Excitement sizzles in my blood as I match his gaze with mine.

"My mouth wants to please your cock," I whisper, teasing his mouth with mine.

He slants his mouth and kisses me deeply. The kiss is scorching hot, demanding, and hard. I moan, wrapping my hands in his wet hair wanting something to hold onto as his tongue dives deep inside my mouth, devouring it, infusing his rich flavor into mine. We kiss each other with such an intensity as if we can't get enough, no matter how much we try. I'm burning for him and my pleasure heightens as I feel his pulsating cock poking my pussy.

"You need to hold your sultry kisses for later, your highness," I pull my face from the searing hot kiss and trail my fingers down his hard torso traveling all the way down to his thick length straining unbearably hard against his black sweatpants.

Wow. My mind is giving me delicious previews of his cock being fucking my mouth rough and fast, gagging me as I deep throat it while watching myself in the mirror as it happens. He swears, gritting his teeth hard when my fingers curl around his balls, cupping him.

"I hope you have insurance for this particular anatomy of yours. It's one of my favorite parts of your body, your highness."

"What are the other favorite parts, tesoro?" A wicked smile appears on his lips as he holds my wrist from continuing the torture and guides my hand up, placing it on his chest.

He keeps holding my wrist, circling his thumb on the inner side, sending ticklish sensations all over my body.

"Why don't I show you?" I chuckle, taking deep breaths, I free my hand from his hold and run my fingers around his smooth waxed chest, halting at his nipples, brushing my fingertips over them, and tilt my head lower to capture his right nipple between my teeth while pinching the other one with my other hand.

I lift my eyes, continuing what I am doing, and watch him licking his lips in hunger. A sharp breath escapes his lips as I roll my wet tongue around his nipple, teasing him, and tugging it between my teeth.

"Belle," he groans.

"Ssh. Relax." I murmur, tracing my tongue and sucking the skin on the muscular planes of his torso as I lower myself down on my knees. "You taste like salted caramel, your highness. Mmm... I could go on tasting this gorgeous specimen." I beam in pride.

I plant a series of kisses horizontally above his waistband, before grabbing the waistband along with briefs and pulling it down his hips, freeing his rock-hard cock that's pulsating with need. The pre-cum of oozing on his shining piercing that rests on the entrance of his penis is simply a sight to behold.

Instead of taking him in my mouth, I tease him a little more. I run my fingers down the inner side of his thighs, feeling his fine muscles under my fingers as I lower his sweatpants and briefs further down, helping him to get rid of them, and throw it aside.

"I love this piercing," I speak, brushing my thumb against the tip of his veiny hard cock. "So arousing... and the fact you're a suave prince on the outside and a baddie on the inside who hides his tattoos and piercings in three-piece Brionis makes it even more sensual."

I hear his breathing growing labored as I cup his balls in my hand.

"Belle... take me in your mouth and suck me or so help me," he warns.

"Trying to threaten me, your highness? That won't work," I smile, biting my lower lip.

His jaw clenches. So do his fingers around my hair. God! Why does he have to look so sexy all the goddamn time?

Tilting my head sideways to look at myself in the mirror, I curl my fingers around his cock and kiss his balls, taking it into my mouth and feeling its weight.

Fuck. I look like a porn star. A fucking fabulous pornstar.

My fingers continue running up and down his cock, stroking the length, as I continue sucking his balls earning a rewarding groan from him. I plant one more kiss on his sack and kiss my way through his shaft and open my mouth wide, bringing my tongue out to lock him, and take his cock inside my mouth. It is throbbing so furiously that I can feel the blood running in the veins of his shaft. His skin feels so warm on my tongue as I suck it gently.

"You look so good with my cock cramming your mouth full, tesoro," he groans, his voice a getaway to dark pleasures. "So fucking good."

I lift my eyes and watch the flash of hunger burning in his mesmerizing blue eyes. His beautiful eyes. They have fucked me forever. His expressions are clearly displaying how hard he's restraining himself from fucking my mouth forcefully. The feeling of my mouth being filled up by him is a major turn on for me. I feel in control and quite powerful. His Highness Prince Areston De L'Aquila, the man who is so powerful that everyone fears him, is right now at the mercy of my mouth. The thought of him choking my pussy for an equally hard fuck almost gets me dripping from the beneath.

Holding him with both of my hands, I twirl my tongue around his piercing. The steel feels cool against my tongue. I move my head up and down, massaging his length with my tongue. His hands curl around the strands of my hair in a fist and he pushes himself deep inside my mouth until his head touches my tonsils and spears past it causing me a gag reflex.

I moan, overcoming it excellently, as my mouth continues to pleasure him just the way I know he loves.

My eyes are trained on him as I suck him harder and notice that he closes his eyes. The groan that escapes his throat and the vision of him sitting with his eyes closed while he's being sucked by me deep inside my mouth is so erotic that a heated pool of liquid forms in my pussy.

I am not sure how he manages to smell and taste so good. No wonder why a massive fleet of women goes frenzy for this deliciously massive royal cock.

I increase my pace, sucking him harder and faster, cupping his balls hard and caressing them.

"Good girl," he hisses, taking control of how my mouth works around him, starting to fuck it with his own pace and I dutifully adhere to his silent demand. "You put on a deliciously slutty vision, swallowing my cock whole just like that."

He moves in and out of me with a pace that eventually starts growing. I am enjoying the feel of him inside my mouth, especially the feeling when his piercing is hitting my throat. Matching his every thrust with my mouth, I keep sucking him harder and harder, my fingers massaging his balls, twisting around the base of his cock.

My eyes drift to the mirrored wall next to me where I once again notice the vision of Areston plowing my mouth with his sock. It is so fucking sensual that it makes me lose my mind. The way his hands are buried inside my hair, the way he is stretching my mouth wide, filling me stroke by stroke looks so mesmerizing. My goodness! Tears of pleasure. are coming down my eyes.

I take him inside me as deep as I can without choking and move my mouth around his thickness as fast as I can while looking at myself in the mirror.

"Christ, Belle. I am going to shoot my come into your mouth," he growls, his cock twitching, his tightening his hold around my scalp.

I continue sucking him harder in the answer. He understands that I want him inside my mouth so he starts thrusting himself inside me at a feral pace which is sure to leave my mouth numb for at least some time if not forever.

He is fucking my mouth in a way so erotic that every living Cinderella would make a wish to their fairy godmother to find the dark and dangerous Areston De L'Aquila rescuing them off the streets and fucking them into oblivion. Rather than needing some vanilla prince charming dancing with them at a stupid ball and ending it with a sweet kiss.

"Take your hands off me and lubricate your cunt. DO IT. NOW," he grunts, moving inside me with wild, animalistic thrust and I keep sucking him as if my life depends on it.

In a trance state of mind, I reach my pussy and use my one hand to separate the lips and start circling the area around my already wet clit with the index finger of my free hand. I start with a light rubbing and caressing the point, but I'm already so turned on from sucking him that I moan, overwhelmed by the tingling sensations that course through my body. Without wasting any time, I push two fingers inside me and start fucking myself. My neck has started hurting by now, my knees are aching, I feel exhausted already but I don't care. His pleasured groans are keeping me up.

We go on and on until I feel myself on the verge of orgasm and his cock starts jerking violently in my mouth. I can feel his body stiffen and his grip in my hair harden. He drives one powerful thrust inside my mouth and empties himself inside me without a loud groan. My mouth is filled with his thick and creamy semen.

His slows down his pace, continuing to pump his seeds inside me and I swallow it all. It is warm and tastes a combination of slightly sweet and salty but oh so delicious. I continue swallowing the second, third, fourth, and fifth spurts that fill my mouth until my own orgasm floods me, smearing my own fingers with my thick wet cum.

I slow down my sucking and he pulls himself out of me.

"You taste like you're mine, your highness," I wipe every drop off him with my tongue, and lick the last ones resting at the tip of dick while looking into his eyes and smiling. "Not surprised, because you are."

I fall on my back with a thud, grinning, my chest heaving of all the heavy oral workout, feeling all content, and relaxed. I straighten my knees that are almost numb by now and watch Areston watching me with a satisfaction gleaming off his face and in such a manner that he's watching not a human but some exotic creature one reads about in fairy tales, possibly, sirens.

I wait for him to speak but he doesn't. Instead, he keeps looking at me without any goals.

"What?" I chuckle, offering him my hand, which he graciously accepts and lowers himself down next to me on his front.

"I love it when you're exhausted from serving my desires, tesoro," he murmurs and pulls my mouth in a hard kiss.

I am too exhausted to put up a competition so I let myself relax into his kiss and let him lead the way.

"Your pretty little mouth shows me heaven," he smiles, breaking the kiss, and kisses me one more time at the corner of my lips before taking my wet fingers I fucked myself with, in his mouth. His tongue sucks my fingers in lazy, slow strokes, wiping my orgasm off my fingers. "Mmm... you followed my instructions like a good girl."

I curl both of my hands around his neck, pulling him closer to me. I entangle my fingers in his hair and look into his eyes. I don't know if it's me or there's something really beautiful watching your man post orgasm. It becomes even more enthralling when you watch him looking at you with so much love as he does.

"What are you thinking?" I ask, playing with his wet hair on the back of his head.

He doesn't answer immediately. He keeps staring into my eyes, his fingers brushing my lower lip, as he lies propped up on his elbow facing me.

"Nothing. Just how much I love you," he sighs, speaking all in seriousness. "I will never let you go away from me again, Belle."

"Never let me," I smile. I have figured it out now that he needs reassurances every now and then on this matter.

His face is bare of emotions but the depth of his eyes speaks the length of some unknown turmoil brewing inside him. When I try to look deeper in his eyes, he shifts on his back, as if he's trying to hide his demons from appearing in front of me, and entwines his fingers with mine in a close-knit, and throws his other arm over his eyes, covering half of his face in the process. I detangle my fingers from his hold and use the same arm as my pillow, curling closer to him. He slides his arm around my back in a possessive hold without removing the other one from his face.

Deciding to lighten up his mood, I remove his arm from his face and make him face me. "I don't think my blow job skills are good. Are they? Because if they are, I might start charging you, your highness. That would also make a nice roleplay wouldn't you say? I can be the hooker like Julia Roberts from Pretty Woman and you can be the hot and handsome prince who has hired me for the night."

"What am I going to do you, prezioso," he barks out a soft laugh and in one pull I'm on top of him.

It is so sudden that it almost knocks the breath out of my sore limbs. I make myself comfortable atop him and cross my arms over his chest, resting my chin on them, as we lay silently looking at each other, me smiling like a loon and him staring at me with his mesmerizing gaze thinking god knows what like he usually does.

"What would it take for me to wash away all your darkness from the past?" He pops the question out of the blue that almost stops my heart from beating.

I swallow. I'm almost at a loss of words. Where's this coming from? He didn't hear me last night, did he? No. There's no way he'd have been so calm if he did.

He cups my face, his thumb stroking either side of my face, his dreamy eyes locked with mine. The look on his face, the unreadable emotions playing in the depth of his eyes, the sudden change of atmosphere in the surrounding pushes me in the sea of the past.

"What is it that I have to do to claim your pain, past, and your demons as mine?" Looking into my eyes with his captivating blue gaze is the younger 17 year old version of him.

"You should know by now that I will prefer dying before I let anything, be it my pain, past or demons ever haunt you, Areston. You love me," I smile, cupping his face.

"You love me, you mean?" he smiles with sincerity burning in his eyes.

I nod, "You love me."

He smiles. "I know you love me. You're my religion and the answers to my prayers, tesoro," Positioning his cock at my entrance, he holds my thighs up, causing my hips to arch upwards, and in two thrusts rams himself to the hilt.

🦋✨💗✨🦋

"Focus on the target," Ares instructs me, his voice calm and steady, his hands on mine, adjusting the angle of the bow in my hand. "Take a deep breath, tesoro. Now release."

The string snaps forward, its sound sharper than I was expecting, and it hits bulls-eye. I am greeted by applause from Areston's nonna who is sharing our table.

"Oh, my god. Did you see it? That's the fifth in a row, baby!" Too excited to take a notice of the public setting, I throw myself on Areston, hugging him.

"You're a natural," he grins, wrapping his arms around me, equally uncaring of the surroundings and kisses me.

"Get a room," August drawls playfully, announcing his arrival. He's in a faded olive shirt and white pants in accordance to the garden party's theme of muted color outfits.

With an arm possessively encircling my waist, he guides me back to the table. There are thousands of guests who have gathered into the immaculately manicured grounds of the Meadow Lane property belonging to the De L'Aquila family that's no less than a castle. I wasn't aware that my Bubbeh and my parents have been regular attendees as benefactors of many philanthropic initiatives being run by the retired monarchs. This time they've skipped because Bubbeh's still in Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat and my parents have other engagements.

"Juliette, you love burgers, right? Try one of these," August says, settling on the chair next to mine and offering me a cute little burger that's barely the size of a finger. "It's a salmon burger."

"I don't like the taste of salmon."

"You were just sucking my brother's mouth. I am certain there would be nothing worse tasting than that. Try it," he grins, earning a glare from his brother and nonna.

I roll my eyes, picking up one from the small plate and taking a bite of it. "Mm. This is good."

"I don't blame you. You've tasted my brother. Everything else would taste better than the fucker," he bumps his arm against mine.

"Fuck off and don't touch her," Areston retorts, putting his arm around me and pulling me to him, away from his brother.

"Possessive fucker," August grins, "C'mon. Nonno wants to see you, me, and Ari in his study."

"I am so grateful you convinced my brontolo to show up," Queen Valentina whispers, placing her hand on top of mine once Areston is gone. "He would have never come had it not been for you. Thank you, my darling girl. Adrianna is the happiest I have ever seen her."

Her mention of her daughter-in-law takes my attention to her standing at a distance. She's talking to a couple and her attention lands on me. She shoots me a warm smile and I return it. My mind is still reeling from the revelation Areston made at midnight about Althea. Somehow he's considering Adrianna more of a culprit compared to her sister. I want him to see how wrong he is but it's going to take time.

Areston wasn't keen on coming here, but I am glad he did. His mother has been overjoyed to see her son. It didn't stop her from making a playful remark of being an attention stealer by deciding to dress up against the dress code, though. He is the only one in a pair of dark navy T-shirt and a pair of light blue jeans that makes him stand out from the rest as if he doesn't already. There has been a 360-degree shift in his mother's behavior towards me. Not only she showed up in Boston to invite me, she has been so warmly welcoming of me.

I lean closer to whisper so only she can hear. "I want to fix things between them. I don't know how."

Her smile only widens. "This is a good start. Just keep loving him the way you do and perhaps try bringing him in the vicinity of his mother more often. Things will automatically fall in place."

"You think so?"

"I know so. He's a bull-headed man, a trait he borrows from his older ancestors, believes what he wants to and refuses to see otherwise, but love will melt him just like it did to them."

"I hope it does."

"I noticed the anklet. He's more like his earliest ancestor than I would have imagined him to be," she winks, causing my cheeks to heat up. Oh my goodness! "Now I have embarrassed you, I apologize," she lets out a soft laugh.

I stiffen in my seat as my eyes travel to Lev's tall and commanding presence approaching us in measured strides. He's dressed impeccably in a beige linen unlined suit jacket, ivory slim fit trousers, a light blue dress shirt, and a pair of light brown sunnies covering his eyes.

He bows from the neck in a curtsy, "May I have the privilege of joining Your Majesty at the table?

"Of course, Lev. Come sit with us," her face lights up with warmth.

"Hi," I manage.

"Do you two know each other?"

"I am a friend of Juliette, your majesty," Ben says, slightly emphasizing on the 'friend' part, a word packed with unspoken context in the light of how our last meeting ended. I feel guilty.

The air between us seems to thicken with unsaid words. I feel a knot in my stomach. My hands clench in my lap beneath the tablecloth.

"I must excuse myself," she announces with a regal dip of her head, "I see Duke of Belington and I have yet to congratulate him on his seventh wedding. Who knows if seventh time could be the charm," she says with a playful sarcasm, "Lev, Juliette, do enjoy. I will see you around."

With that, she rises, leaving behind an awkward silence between my childhood friend and I. The weight of unsaid words hang between us like a chasm. Lev shifts in his seat, leaning forward, his gaze searches mine as if for a sign of where to begin. I feel my chest laden with guilt and regret for not having stood up for my friendship in front of Areston's insane demand.

"This is awkward," I decide to be the one breaking the palpable silence. "It's like I am meeting a stranger."

"Sunshine, I," he pauses, his rasp softer, carrying a mix of sincerity and apprehension. "I know another drama is the last thing we need, but I couldn't allow myself to avoid you after what happened."

I feel a twinge in my heart. I shift forward in my seat. "I am glad you didn't."

He sighs, running a hand through his thick, dark hair, "I am sorry, Juliette. I am not sorry for being worried for you, but I sincerely want to apologize for not being the friend you needed. I was so overwhelmed with my protective instincts for you that I failed to see how you must have felt."

"I am glad you understand." My eyes sting with tears as the gravity of our situation settles in. The lawn around us buzzes with the chatter and laughter of guests who are oblivious to the thick tension brewing between us.

"I'd forgotten for a while that you're back with a man you've devotedly been in love with since forever. It was insensitive of me to say the things I said," he says, placing his hand on mine.

"It's alright," I add my hand on top of his and give him a little squeeze. "I hope I could explain to you what Areston means to me but words would never be enough. I love him, Lev, and I really want your support. There has never been a time when I haven't had your support..." my voice trails off as I struggle to articulate my emotions into words. "You have been my constant since we were kids. Every time I have felt stuck, I've found you by my side without questions. I cannot afford to lose you. I don't believe Areston has a problem with you per se." 

"Sunshine..." 

"No, listen to me, Lev. He is fiercely protective of me. He loves me and he can't bear that you disapprove of our relationship. Given our past, it's understandable for him to feel fiercely paranoid. Besides not just him, even I wouldn't be comfortable in the company of a close friend knowing he doesn't like the guy I'm in love with."

"I know," he nods, his tone heavy with regret. "I never meant for you to feel that way."

"I know. I missed you."

The ghost of a smile appears on his handsome face. "I know. I missed you too," he mimics.

"Let's go," Areston's quiet, yet menacing tone interrupts us out of nowhere. His fingers close over my wrists and he snatches my hand gently from Lev's hold.

Crap. I can see a glint of furious contempt in his gaze fixed on Lev before it collides with mine. It drives me to defend myself.

"Areston..."

"Not now," he warns in a thin voice.

I swallow, licking my lips, and turn to Lev who is eyeing us impassively. "I'm glad we talked, Lev."

🦋✨💗✨🦋

Areston is a figure of stoicism, brewing with a silent storm beside me. 

We are standing with August, Arion, and Selene. We found ourselves in their company immediately after we left the table. 

His grip on my waist isn't just possessive to mark his territory in public, it's an invisible leash, not wanting me to leave me on my own as if he fears I'll go back to Lev. It belies the cold fury I can sense in him. There's an emotional dichotomy I can feel that sends shivers down my spine.

I understand his explicit distaste for him, but he can't just expect me to behave like a stranger to my childhood friend. I need to have a conversation with him about this, but he won't let me. 

Usually, he wouldn't think for a second, dragging me alone in privacy and having his wicked ways with me, but right now he's deliberately avoiding being with me in private. It's as if he's trying to punish me in his own cruel ways.

"Areston, please. Can we go somewhere private and talk?" I implore in a whisper, my neck craning up to look at him.

I just want to bridge this chasm that has sprung up between us.

"Later," he replies in a clipped tone, representing a controlled calm.

He's a master when it comes to repressing his emotions and keeping them barricaded behind a veneer of indifference. His clenched jaw is the only visible sign of the state of turmoil that roils beneath.

I avert my gaze and it lands on my best friend who's eyeing me with a slight frown as if she has been reading the situation. Her one eyebrow lifts up in a smooth curve, silently questioning me what's the matter. I roll my eyes, giving my head a gentle shake to show my frustration.

"Pumpkin, do you know what happened to this hot music producer Claire has been dating," she questions with a conspiratorial glint in her gaze.

Huh? When did that happen and where did this come from?

"Did she kill him with an overdose of sex?" Kaden mocks.

"Overdose of ecstasy," August adds, laughing.

"Music producer? I thought she was dating a..."

"He saw her talking to a friend in a café on Sixth," Selene cuts me off. "He was fuming. Throw a public fit and demanded she shouldn't have met him or talked to him. He has a problem apparently with every male species she interacted with that possessive piece of shit. Can you believe the nerve of that entitled jerk?"

I barely contain a gasp as I realize she's making this up in a calculated dig towards Areston. So, she has been observing all of this. That's why she deliberately interrupted us. I glare at her but she's in no mood to stop. Areston's hand on my back tenses imperceptibly. Of course, he knows this is meant for him. There's no way he doesn't.

Ari, always the protector of storms, chuckles, nuzzling the head of his wife. "I would be jealous too, heaven."

"Don't get me started. It's about respect," Selene retorts, elbowing him softly in the ribs, "You won't stop me from talking to a friend. You trust me enough to respect my choice to talk to a friend and not get worked up over it. I am glad Claire dumped his pathetic over possessive ass," she says, deliberately with her eyes on Areston, silently challenging him to say something.

Areston lowers his head, his mouth reaching my ear, "I am going to kill her one of these days."

I push my chin up to look into his eyes. There's nothing. It's all blank.

"Maybe he loved her and was possessive about her. I don't see anything wrong with loving so passionately and being so into the girl that you cannot stand the thought of her in any other man's company," August defends his kind, indirectly defending his brother without even knowing.

"Yeah, me neither," Kaden supplies.

"What about you, Res? Do you agree with these two losers?" Selene pokes him, eyeing him through the rim of her glass.

"Why not. If I could, I'd have Belle in my arms all the time. That's how possessive I am of her. Too bad she's a Rothschild who can't be manipulated into leaving her job and social life to be able to do that," he says with a straight face.

"So, you want her on your leash," she argues.

Arion squeezes her waist, aiming her to stop. "Heaven, do you need another drink?"

"This just got interesting." August exchanges a silent grin with Kaden as they look at Areston for an answer. "What's your answer, Res?"

It infuriates me. "There's nothing for him to answer. I am possessive of him too. More possessive than he is and I tend to get more jealous and insecure when he's in the company of women... some of them with questionable history. Yet I don't imagine having him on my leash to be able to prevent him from being in their vile company. I'm certain he extends the same courtesy or we have a problem, don't we, your highness?" I force a polite smile.

Areston glares at me, the tension between us tangible as a live wire.

The arrival of Adrianna is like an escape I didn't know I needed. "Juliette, sweetheart, would you accompany me, please? There are some acquaintances of mine I'd like to introduce you to."

Areston's grip tightens momentarily around me in a silent protest. His mother takes notice of it and chuckles.

"I won't keep her for long I assure you," she smiles.

My eyes lock with Areston's smoldering gaze. There's a reluctance mixed with something darker I can't decipher. It's as if he fears letting go of me. Not because I'll be gone away from him for a while, but fearing that he might lose me to this gulf which has opened up between us. First because of Lev and then the conversation we just had. He reminds me of a scared child who is scared of losing his favorite toy.

Oh my poor Mr. Testosterone-On-Legs. He can be so consuming and so vulnerable.

"I'll be back soon," I rise on my toes to touch my mouth briefly against his to assure him that nothing can part us and that arguments and misunderstandings are a part of a relationship.

With his hand on my waist, he presses me against him and kisses me softly, moving his lips against mine slowly, marking me so it's him I feel even when I'm away as if I don't have enough already, and then loosens his hold on me.

"I need to be inside you, Belle, hard and deep," he whispers against my ear. "I have to have you. I need to feel you around me. Now."

He's a jerk who's doing this on purpose so I don't go away. This man is deranged so am I to be in love with him.

"Later," I grin, mimicking his tone from earlier when I asked him to talk to me in private.

It only adds to his fury, his gaze darkening.

"I do not appreciate this defiance. I'll make you pay," he breathes in a hushed tone, pulling away.

🦋✨💗✨🦋

"Thank you for bringing my son here, Ms. Rothschild," Adrianna says as we promenade with our arms entwined, greeting everyone we meet on the way.

"I am glad he's here, your royal highness."

"Are you enjoying yourself?"

"Very. It's a beautiful party."

"May I speak to you freely about something if you do not mind?"

"Of course."

"This may sound intrusive, but know that I have no malice in my heart, Ms. Rothschild," she says, stopping in front of a stunning fountain. "It's good that you and my son have decided to give each other another chance. I love my son regardless of how he may feel about me. I couldn't be around him to help him through his suffering because he hated me just like he still does, but I have watched his suffering enough to know that it shattered him. I am happy, but I just want to make sure that you have thought things through and are working out things that didn't work out the last time. Because a house whose walls already have cracks does not sustain earthquakes."

Her words leave me spellbound. Has Areston ever seen this side of her? She is a mother hell-bent on protecting her son. Does he even know how much she loves him?

I smile, staring at the fountain ahead of me. "It's true. A house with cracked walls does not sustain earthquakes. We tore down ours when we parted in Italy. What's happening now is we're rebuilding it. Brick by brick," I turn my head to face her. "I know the extent of his suffering because of me. You have my word, you will never have to witness that again. I intend to make him happy all my life just as happy as he makes me. He's my everything. We are both two women who made a mistake concerning the guy we're deeply in love with, but it doesn't mean we'll repeat it again. We have both well and truly learned our lessons."

She slightly frowns. "We have both made mistakes?"

"You made a mistake of trusting your sister to be your surrogate. I made a mistake of letting my suffocation from everything that was happening to me pile up until it became unbearable and not knowing what to do, I ended up blaming your son for everything. I did not love him any less than I do now, but I was naive and didn't think things through. Just like you wanted to have him so desperately but didn't think it through while trusting your own sister."

She drags a shuddering sigh, looking away from me. I don't miss the water in her eyes. "You make a fair point."

"Can I ask you something?"

"Of course," she presses a smile on her face. A lone tear slips her eye and she isn't afraid to let me see it.

"I just keep thinking... how could it have been possible that your sister was raising a son who looks like your sons, especially your youngest, and borrows strong traits of the De L'Aquila family, none of Althea's, and yet no one ever saw through her lies? I know she never allowed you to meet him, but you didn't try to know why and just bought the lies she kept feeding you?"

I feel her stilling. "Sometimes... you choose to unsee the truth right in front of your face because you have too much faith in your blood."

I recall what Areston said about Adrianna and her brother's belief in blood relations. "Blind faith even if it costs you everything?"

"I was raised by a set of parents who engraved it deeply into our systems that blood relations stand above all. When there shall come a time you're completely alone, it'll be them you'll find by your side. My siblings and I shared a bond deeper than blood for me to ever have doubted my elder sister who was no less than a mother-figure to me." Her face is a reflection of the melancholy erupting deep inside her.

"Do you hate your sister for driving your son away from you to a point that he still is far from your reach despite being in front of you?"

She smiles sadly, shaking her head. "I couldn't hate her, even if I tried. I should. Deeply so. But I can't. I drove her to do what she did. If it weren't for me, none of this would have happened."

My heart is thudding wildly under my chest. "What do you mean?"

"She was madly in love with my husband. It was she who was betrothed to marry him, but the king and queen did not approve of her wild lifestyle and appearances in gossip tabloids so they chose me. I thought she held no grudge until it was too late. I don't blame her. I had the whole family and she had no one. Her husband died in a car crash within six months of their wedding."

"She was married?"

"Yes. He was a duke. A very nice man. He had been in love with her since we were kids. She didn't like him, but decided to marry him when he proposed. Poor thing. No one deserves to die so young," she takes a shuddering sigh, gently wiping a tear. "My sister suffered a lot. The day he died, she found out she was pregnant. It gave her hope, but it didn't last either. She gave birth to a still child and it broke her. That's why I couldn't deny her when she offered to be my surrogate a year later when I was struggling to conceive. She just ended up becoming too selfish."

"Shouldn't you hate her?" Areston's voice comes from behind, quiet and steady, and yet causing my heart to leap out of my chest. 

which part you loved the most?

do you agree with Adrianna's thoughts?

did Belle do the right thing my trusting her instincts and not abandoning her friendship just because Areston asked her to? 

what do you think is going to happen next?