When he looked at the ruby Adrian too, felt enchanted by its appearance. It was blood red with wisps of gold around the edges. The golden shade around it gave the impression of a burning flame. An all consuming, devouring flame.
Adrian reached out and held Arella's hand. He didn't know why he did that. But he felt an insecurity settling inside his core. He felt that if he did not reach out to her now, he could lose her forever. As if she would just burn up and disappear, leaving nothing behind!
Sensing his tightening grip, Arella looked at him. He had a frown etched on his forehead.
"It was my mother's," Arella whispered lightly.
"When I was younger, she had shown it to me once. She said that she would give it to me when I grew up. But before I could grow up, she passed away." Arella flipped the box to check the sender's name.
It was from the Stone Bank. Perhaps her mother knew that her father wasn't reliable. That is why, instead of trusting him with it, she had given such a precious stone to the Stone Bank for safekeeping.
"It looks very beautiful. I have never seen it before." Adrian looked at the enchanting stone in her hands. He could feel a faint sense of aura protecting it.
"I asked her about its origin once. But she said that it was I who had found it in the wilderness while playing." Arella laughed softly.
She knew that her mother was coaxing her. She did not have any memory of either playing in the wilderness or finding the stone.
But the stone felt very familiar to her. Its color was hypnotic. The more she looked at it, the more lost she felt. Sometimes, she felt afraid of it, as if it could devour her. And sometimes, she felt intrigued, wanting to touch it.
A knock on the door interrupted them. It was the cook. Lunch was ready. Unknowingly, they had spent the entire morning unwrapping the gifts.
Arella felt a little guilty. She shouldn't have asked him to accompany her. He should have better things to do. Would he blame her?
Adrian noticed the hesitation on her face right away. Looking at her lowering head, he wanted to tease her a little. But he didn't have the core to do so.
"Let's eat. I didn't know that so many people have sent us gifts. It was good to see what they blessed us with." Adrian offhandedly remarked, easing the pain of the guilt-ridden girl.
"Okay. Let's eat." Arella agreed immediately. She was feeling a little hungry now.
On the table were dishes waiting to be served. Arella found a balance of meat and vegetarian dishes. It wasn't exquisite but looked very homely. As if cooked by your mother.
Both of them soon started filling their stomachs. The food was delicious. The cook kept filling her bowl. She was about to burst! But she somehow managed to finish her meal.
She had eaten a lot. So, she thought of taking a walk in the private grassland. The gardener had left by now. Adrian took her out. She refused at first. She didn't want to waste more of his time. But, Adrian insisted on accompanying her.
So, both of them were taking a walk in the grassland now. Adrian informed her that their private grassland was a part of a deep forest. There was fencing around it. A semi-transparent spiritual barrier surrounded it. She was asked to not go beyond the fences. If she wanted, he could take her with him.
Sometimes, small animals could come near the fence but they wouldn't cross the barrier. She was safe if she stayed inside the fence.
The forest was his private property too. But unlike other wealthy people, he had never opened it for hunting. That is why, what or who resided inside, nobody knew. He never felt any threatening aura coming from the insides. So, he believed that whatever was inside, wouldn't hurt them, if they didn't provoke it first.
Arella felt intimidated and intrigued by the unexplored forest. She liked trees but wasn't brave enough to venture into unexplored forests.
After taking a few rounds, they came back to the comfort of their house. This time, Adrian went to his study, and Arella went to the bedroom to have an afternoon nap. A satisfied meal had made her sleepy.
When Arella woke up, the sun was setting. She came out and went to the hall. The cook was preparing dinner, and Adrian was still in the study. Arella checked the Beastnet to surf the latest happenings.
Nothing new caught her attention. It was all the same. Except for one thing, 'Marriage Registration Ceremony.'
Every quarter, the beast clan would hold a big bash for all the recently married couples. They would receive their marriage registration on that day. And to her surprise, it was tomorrow!
She had forgotten about it! She haphazardly checked the details about the timings and venue. Fortunately, it was tomorrow! If they had missed it, then they would have been fined with late registration charges!
Did Adrian know? Arella wasn't sure. She looked in the direction of the study, the door was still closed. She would ask him once he came down for dinner.
She went to her bedroom and started looking in the closet. Thanks to Adrian, her closet was full of new dresses. Finding a befitting gown was not hard for her. She picked a comfortable, low key gown. She planned to lie low because of all the chaos that had happened recently. The farther she stayed from the limelight, the better.
She knew that people would have known about her marriage fiasco by now. They would know that she was rejected by Luke and then, married Adrian. Such a high profile bash was a heaven for gossipmongers. It was better to lie low.
A knock was heard on the door. It was the cook, announcing that the dinner was ready. Once informing her, the cook went to the study. When Arella came downstairs, Adrian too, followed her trail.
Both were seated, and the cook started serving the food. Just like in the afternoon, there was a perfect balance of meat and vegetable dishes. It was delicious.
But Arella has learned her lesson by now. Though the cook kept trying to fill her bowl, she cunningly hid it, insisting upon that she was full.
Both of them did not speak while eating. They enjoyed their meal in silence. It was a comfortable silence. Once done, the cook promptly cleaned the table and went into the kitchen to take care of the leftovers.
Arella soon informed Adrian of the upcoming ceremony.
"Ah! Yes, Andrew will bring your dress tomorrow. And someone from the Peacock clan would be coming later for the styling." Adrian promptly shared the arrangements for the next day.
Astonishment filled Arella's eyes. Wait, did he say, the Peacock clan?