Ariana noticed the servants moving around doing their regular chores but her presence made them halt their work and their eyes fell on her.
With so many eyes falling on her Ariana suddenly became anxious. She avoided meeting their gaze and silently followed Fret. She was too intimidated to even smile politely at anyone.
Walking past the living room, they headed upstairs. The mansion was too big and she wondered how many people stayed there.
'But you haven't seen anyone yet' she told herself and realized that except for Fret and a few servants she hadn't seen anyone.
Lucian Donovan, the man who was supposed to be her only distant relative was nowhere to be seen. She wondered if the man was aware of her arrival or just like the other time, he would only communicate with her through Fret.
After a few steps, they finally stopped in front of a door. " This is your room, Miss Ariana," he said and opened the door for her.
"Please make yourself comfortable until then I will inform the master about your arrival" Fret placed her luggage inside the room and walked out, slowly closing the door for her.
Standing in the middle of the room Ariana heaved out a sigh and raised her head to look around the spacious room which was two times bigger than her orphanage room.
A king-size bed, with decent color walls and curtains, gave the room a simple look. Even the furniture around was well furnished.
Ariana wondered how much money this relative of hers earned to own such a lavish mansion.
The moment his thoughts crossed her mind her body stiff." Fret said he was going to inform his master about her arrival. Does it mean he is already at home?" her eyes widened in shock and suddenly her heart skipped a beat.
This was the first time she would be seeing him face to face and that thought itself was making her nervous.
Don't know what had gotten into her but she quickly roamed her eyes around and found a dressing table at one corner of the room. Taking a few quick steps. Ariana stood in front of it and examined her appearance.
She didn't know why she had to cross-check herself but she had to look good in front of her people.
Ariana was too small when Martha found her and since then orphanage was the only home for her and the people she grew up watching were her only family. But with this sudden revelation, everything seemed to change and now she had to make space for this new person in her life.
Her thoughts were occupied won how she would be communicating with her guardian when someone knocked on the door and her thoughts broke.
Quickly composing herself, Ariana walked towards the door and opened it. A maid came to her view with her eyes curiously staring at her. She could tell that everyone around wanted to know who she was and why was she brought here.
"Is there anything you want to tell me to miss?" Ariana asked the maid politely and she watched her snap out of her thoughts.
The maid was bewildered by her words and she quickly composed herself before she lowered her head and said," Master Lucian has summoned you to his study"
Ariana's heart stopped for a second listening to her words and she stood on a spot like a statue. She was finally going to meet the man, but what was she supposed to call him, she thought.
'Master would be better' she told herself and returned to her normal self before she hummed.
Closing the door behind her, Ariana followed the maid. Walking through a round hallway, they finally reached the study.
The maid took a step behind making way for her. Ariana stood in front of the closed door, staring at it for a while as she tried to segregate her thoughts. She could feel the coldness on her palms showing now much nervous she was.
'You can do it, Ari. Didn't Martha say the man is a very kind person and she would feel comfortable around him' Ariana recalled Martha's words and rubbed her palms together before she took a few deep breaths and knocked on the door.
"Come in" she heard a stern voice from inside and carefully opened the door.
Ariana kept her eyes downcast as she walked inside the room and shut the door behind her before she turned around.
Her heart began to pound against her chest. She felt like she was on the verge of passing out when the same stern voice broke her trance.
"Do you wish to stand there for the whole day" She raised her head and her gaze met the most beautiful pair of blue eyes and she felt her heart skip a beat.
She wanted to shake her head but the way his eyes were staring at her, she felt her entire body freeze at his penetrating gaze. Neither she could move nor she could think properly.
Lucian Donovan, the man who was supposed to be her distant relative was an extremely handsome man. His deep penetrating blue eyes intimidated her but in a good way. If it was some other man she would have turned around and dashed out of the room but with him, she felt a sense of comfort.
Maybe her heart and already accepted him as a person close to her or it came naturally to her.
Lucian who was sitting in his seat eyed Ariana for a few more seconds before he moved his eyes ahead and looked at Fret who had been standing there all the time and motioned him to leave.
He was the one who came to inform him about their arrival and also to discuss a few more things.
Understanding his master's gaze Fret gave him a bow before he turned and walked out of the room.
The moment the door shut closed, the sound pulled Ariana out of her stupor and she flinched on her spot. Her eyes looked at the man and a blush crept through her neck reaching up to her cheeks until they turned pink.
'Why do I suddenly feel hot' she thought feeling extremely uneasy unexpectedly.
Lucian observed the girl who seemed to be lost in her thoughts and cleared his throat. "Have a seat" he didn't repeat the same question but instead asked her to take the chair for herself.
He was the one who was supposed to pick her up from Angel's eyes Home, but due to some emergency, he had to ask Fret to fetch her instead. He already discussed it with her warden and the old lady didn't seem to have any objection to her staying with them, but that doesn't mean he shouldn't have to be careful around her.
This was the very first time, he allowed someone into his mansion but there was nothing he could do. Sooner or later, she was going to come here and he had to mentally prepare himself for that.
As if this time she heard his words, her feet moved on their own and she walked towards his rectangular desk pulled a chair for herself, and took a seat.
Ariana didn't realize but all this time she forgot to blink and her eyes had been looking at the man. It was only when she came to face him she remembered what she was doing.
'Ariana you shameless girl' she scolded herself in her mind and quickly lowered her head. Her fingers fidgeted together as she found it hard to look back at him.
'What would he think of me? A pervert who is shamelessly drooling over him with a blush on her face
Lucian smirked when he noticed the pink taint on her cheeks. Something about Ariana made him feel intrigued as she was the very first girl who managed to amuse him without saying a word.
His eyes then moved from her cheeks down to her lips and suddenly he felt the urge to kiss them. How tempting they looked when she bit them anxiously.
'You can't scare her Lucian' a voice within him spoke and he quickly broke his gaze from her.
Pinching the bridge of his nose, Lucian tried to suppress his emotions. He knew the girl in front of him was beautiful but he also knew they weren't on the stage where he could disclose a few things about them to her.
Composing his thoughts, Lucian returned to his normal self and averted his attention back on Ariana.
"I know you must have a lot to ask about what is your relationship with me and why after all these years I chose to come looking for you" his words snapped Ariana's attention to Lucian.
Ariana gave him a confused look as she tried to read his expression but never once she saw the muscle on his face flinch a bit.
'Does he read mind' she thought and gulped a mouth full of saliva before she bobbed her head agreeing with his words.