Once Brian ran away, Adrian wanted to take back his murder instinct. He hated the way Brian looked at his Ella with pity! His Ella was the best! She did not need anybody's sympathy!
Seething anger consumed him. He wanted to hit someone! He wanted to break something! He clenched his fists to keep himself in control. He looked at Arella. She was still holding that piece of paper.
At this moment, she raised her head and looked at Adrian, who was heaving heavily.
"I cannot read this." She muttered under her breath. Her face did not have any hint of surprise, anger, or sadness. She portrayed a wooden expression as if whatever happened did not affect her one bit.
Adrian felt bad for her. He wanted to comfort her but did not know how. It is then, that he noticed something. Her hands were bleeding! She clenched the paper so hard that her nails cut through her palm, and now her hands were bleeding!
Adrian felt as if it was his core that was bleeding instead. He haphazardly tried to open her fist, but in his attempt, the blank paper got smeared with her blood instead. A few drops fell on the blank paper.
Unknown to the couple, who were engaged in their own actions, the droplets of blood rolled freely on the blank paper, and a few words started appearing on it.
Adrian successfully grabbed the paper from Arella's hand and opened her bloody fists. The wounds healed instantaneously. He put the paper down without sparing any glance at it and dragged her to the bathroom to wash off the blood.
Arella followed him like a wooden puppet. She was not as agitated as she should have been. The only things that bothered her now could be counted on one hand.
First, what is the deal with the letter? Why would anybody leave a blank page as a letter? Second, who was that Lady? Was she her mother? Or someone else?
Like the queries that surrounded her, she had a few conclusions too.
For example, she knew that she was not abandoned. Nicholas said that her family was waiting for her. And from Brian's reports, she knew that the Lady tried her best to secure her future. She tried to provide for a comfortable home.
So, Arella was not feeling too sad. Instead, she felt the urgency to meet them, to meet her family. Nicholas claimed that if she failed to awaken her Beast, she would not be able to meet them in this life.
And he also mentioned that she had to awaken her Beast before the Blue Moon Eclipse. Was this her only chance? Also, who exactly was Nicholas? Why did he know so much about her?
She thought hard and reached only one conclusion. Maybe it was time to let Adrian know.
Arella made up her mind as Adrian washed her hands skillfully. It was time to tell him about her encounters with Nicholas.
When she raised her head, she was taken aback. Why were his eyes bloodshot? She quickly raised her clean hand and touched his eyes. His skin was as cold as ice by now. She did not mind the coldness.
As soon as her hands touched him, he shifted his focus. He stared at her with probing eyes. Thankfully, he did not see any sign of discomfort or dejection. He breathed a sigh of relief.
She embraced him lightly. She understood that he was feeling bad for her. It was both comforting and a little disheartening. He hugged her back, burying his face in the nook of her neck.
Both of them comforted each other in their own ways. Once Arella found an opening, she said softly.
"I have something to share. Do you remember Nicholas?" Arella uttered slowly.
Listening to the name, Adrian frowned. Nicholas? Wasn't this the man who was overtly interested in her? He did not like him at all.
"Hmm, remember." Adrian hugged her tightly. Why mention him now? A frown appeared on his face. For a moment, he wanted to pout to show his disapproval. But his head was buried in Arella's neck, so she failed to notice any signs of disapproval.
"When you were on the expedition, he paid me a visit in the villa," She stated calmly.
Adrian raised his head from her comfortable neck and put some distance between them.
"He came to visit?" Adrian could not understand the reason behind his visit at all. And to think that Nicholas visited Ella when he wasn't around! This man was more despicable than he thought! Adrian fumed at Nicholas' behavior of sneaking behind his back!
"Hmm, and he said a lot of things…" Arella patiently explained the essence of her encounters with Nicholas. She told him about his words, guidance, training techniques, and the latest meeting at the Mother Tree.
With every passing word, Adrian's frown intensified. At first, he was wary of this rival, but with Arella's words, he realized that this man was more than a love rival!
How did he know so much about Arella? How did he enter his villa without alerting anybody? How did he know of Ella's family matters? This man, there was undoubtedly more than what met the eyes!
But he listened to Arella patiently. So far, Nicholas has never hurt her. But it was never wrong to be cautious! Adrian still did not place him on the list of trusted persons.
"What is the Blue moon eclipse?" She asked curiously. She did not have the time to surf the Beast net. So, she had no idea what it was.
Adrian had heard her every word. So he knew that Nicholas had urged her to awaken her Beast before the Blue Moon Eclipse.
"Blue Moon Eclipse is a rare event. It happens when both the moons of our planet align in a straight line and get overshadowed by another planet or star. On this day, only one moon is visible to us. It happens once in a hundred years." Adrian shared his knowledge of the event.
He has never seen it happen. And he does not know any correlation between the awakening of a Beast and the Blue moon eclipse. Looks like he would have to look into this matter.
Adrian and Arella both needed time to ponder over the findings. So, they said goodbyes to each other. She left for the villa, and Adrian busied himself with the necessary documents.
Soon, the sun went down, and evening descended. She was resting in her room when Adrian appeared. Unlike every day, he did not go straight to hug her. Instead, he closed the door and stayed near the door.
"I have something to say to you." Adrian voiced determinedly.