ARIEL'S POV
I grasp my hold on my phone and take a calming breath. "Loretta, you promised me we'd go together". This is the fourth time this month you're cancelling on me in the nick of time. Couldn't you at least give me a heads-up? History keeps repeating itself. Last week you failed to show up to our family weekend dinner knowing fully well how grandma values it and you failed to meet up with Warren's charity ball and now this. Huh! The phone buzzes and Loretta moans. I'm so sorry, Ariel. I truly needed to be there this evening, you
know that. I needed to support Arielle and be there with you but I don't have the liberty of living my job. I ought to retake a few scenes, and it hasn't been going very well. It's always the same excuse, Loretta. I'm trying to be as strong as I can be, but you're making it truly cumbersome. "Why is it I'm the only one who always compromises in this relationship?. I know, she says, her voice delicate. I'll make it up to you.Is this the reason why you don't want people to know about our relationship? Loretta, you will be my wife in a month. Stop deceiving yourself about keeping our relationship low-key. The minute we're married, we're making our relationship open, so what's the heck in us being together tonight? Ariel, it isn't that. I can assure you, it isn't. I'm taking so much time off for the wedding,l need to work extra hours to make up for the time l won't be around. I do not need to be the reason we drop behind schedule." I ran a hand through my hair and gazed at the ceiling. I get it, I said to her, exhausted. I do get it, but I'm beginning to doubt if things will ever change. I used to think I was the most fortunate one out of my siblings. Pablo can't stand his fiancée and my other brothers do not have the slightest idea who they will marry, however. I was the only one who was lucky enough to fall in love with the young maiden my grandmother chose for me but we needed to get married. However, of late this doesn't feel like an arranged marriage any longer, and I'm not feeling exceptionally lucky. Everything feels mechanical and constrained, and the love we ought to feel with our upcoming wedding is lost. "She isn't coming, is she?" I looked up and saw my younger brother Richard standing at the entrance. His expression is crystal clear, but his eyes betray his inconvenience. Before now I would have made up a cover story for Loretta but I do not have it in me today. No.It's irritating for you to go without a date. You know what the ladies are like on these sorts of occasions. You'll get annoyed all night long. I wish I could've made it. I shake my head. It's fine. You got an early flight to catch, don't you? And besides you despise the entertainment industry." Richard is in charge of Warren Engines, and if l am accurate, he'll be launching our robotic controlled car very soon. Each of us is in charge of a distinctive portion of the Warren domain. I handle our entertainment firms, Richard does automobile, Bianca handles real estate, Pablo is in charge of our inns, Lucas does resort administration and Lyon oversees all of our computer services. Between the six of us, we run all of Warren Corporation, ruling the industry in our way ."I'll be fine," I said to my brother. "It's a fashion show. I've supported the bounty of those. I'll put in an appearance and leave." Richard grins at me. "Arielle will be
there, so you will be fine". She's the star of the fashion show this evening. I do not know how, but she just keeps getting perfect. I truly wish I could've made it. I tense automatically and limit my eyes on Richard. Since when did he think Arielle was wonderful? She's been like a small sister to all of us. Has the way he sees her changed? "How did he know she would be there tonight?" Is something going on between them? The thought of Arielle with Richard doesn't sit well with me. He grins at me and holds up his phone. "I talked to her yesterday"
Really? She doesn't pick up my calls these days but she has time to talk to Richard? Richard chuckles at me, his look incoherent. "Tell Arielle, I said hello, will you? I gesture, knowing I'll do no such.The mere thought of Richard with Arielle profoundly unsettles me, and it isn't fair because of the reoccurring dreams of making love to her — dreams I shouldn't be having at all. I wasn't myself as I headed to the occasion, incapable of sticking down what I was so irritated about.I ought to be used to Loretta standing me up these days, but it is frustrating. For a long time, we've covered up our relationship, out of the media's attention. Loretta is frightened that she'd be charged with favouritism if the people found out we've been together.They will think she gets her role through me because l am a media mogul and I get it. I know how hard she works and having the media circulating bad news about one spell doom. I get it where she's coming from, but I'm tired of it all. The room is buzzing when I walk in and I stalk at the corner, my eyes on the runway.I rarely attend this. However, today, I can't tear my eyes off Arielle. Arielle strolls over the catwalk wearing a tight dress that shows off all her cleavages and I take a minute to take her in. She works diligently as Loretta does, if not harder, however, she never lets anybody she cherishes down. I know how regularly my sister frequents her office unannounced, and my grandma does the same. I can't help but ponder why Loretta can't be more like her. They're sisters right, but they're two sides of a coin .l drifted back to the time my grandma began arranging marriage between the Warren and the Rowan. Back then, it was Arielle they needed me to wed but waking up with Loretta beside me at Bianca's twenty- one birthday party, My grandma changed to Loretta.I moan as she turns and strolls back to the organiser, a sense of mystifying misfortune washing over me. "Mr. Warren!" I constrain a grin as I turn toward the organiser of today's occasion, making the fundamental little conversation. The entertainment industry is about seeing and being seen, and I'm wiped out of it. I'm tired of the vain glory, the fakeness of living in a world of make-believe. I'm longing for validity. "Several of your models strolled our fashion show today," Josh said to me gladly. "Warren Media is a powerhouse. Is there anything you don't do?You own a Radio and T.V station ,a magazine company and a movie production company.I don't know how you are doing it but I'm honoured you were able to make out time to graze our occasion today." I gesture and attempt my hardest to hold a conversation with him, but the conversation I had with Richard keeps ringing in my head. Is something genuinely going on between them? I'm about to form an excuse to cut off the ass-kissing that's been going on when the discussion behind me catches my attention. I can't." I tense and turn around at the sound of Arielle's voice. She's disturbed, but she's grinning brightly at the man standing before her. "Excuse me," I said to Josh, an implication of irritation stewing underneath the surface of my respectful expression. What might conceivably have made Arielle disturbed? "Just a single date," the man says. "I'll pay you more cash for it than you earn in a year." My jaws dropped automatically, outrage, twisting my hands into fists. I constrain myself to unwind the minute my eyes meet Arielle's, a hint of relief in her expression. I grin at her, never taking my eyes off her as I slide my hand around her abdomen, pulling her into me. "There you are, Arielle," I mumble, before turning toward the man standing opposite us. He looks rankled for a minute, but when acknowledgment hits, he deflects his look. "Mr. Warren," he says, his tone much more tender than before. I know precisely who he is, but I'll be damned if I recognize him. I gaze at him vacantly for a moment before turning back to Arielle ."We spoke recently about a script I sent to Warren Media," he reminds me. He's a well-known director and l almost endorse the financing for his movie production since Loretta needed the lead role. My thumb moves in circles over Arielle's midsection, and she inclines into me, her body squeezed against mine.Arielle is one of the most strong-willed ladies I know, so her taking comfort in my nearness can amount to one thing. This isn't the only time this asshole is irritating her. " I chuckle humorlessly. "You need to pay her more than she earns in a single year for one date? She's the highest-paid model as of now, and you? Well, I'm don't know who you are? All I know is that
you cannot manage to come inside five feet of her, and by chance you do… I'll make you pay the price." His eyes extend and fill with regret as he gazes at Arielle. I do not indeed need him looking at her. She deserves better than this kind of bullshit. "I didn't know," he says, his voice soft. I fix my hold on Arielle and grin. "Now you know, so take off." He nodded and strolls outside, his jaws clenched, but I do not give a damn. All I care about is the grin on Arielle's face. Don't you think you need a bodyguard?" She looks up at me, an indication of irritation in her look. "Ariel. I wasn't in any threat, so what's the point?"
I let go of her and shook my head. "How often does this happen?" "It's rare," she said to me, but her looks sell out her lies. She is like that when she lies for as long as I've known her. "You can't be coming to this kind of occasion alone. You didn't bring a date?" There's as it were one man I've seen her with in recent years, but he as of late has got married, much to my help. There's something about Bruno Ferdinand that I do not like, and it isn't the reality that he's one of the few individuals who are untouchable by me. I've attempted to urge Grandmother to jettison his firm as our security supplier, but she won't budge on it. I'm not beyond any doubt what it is with him, but I assume it's the way he looked at Arielle or maybe the way he didn't. Arielle can be the centre of someone's universe but she was scarcely on his radar. His heart was set on somebody else. My manager will be joining me in a jiffy, but he's backstage right now."She said to me. My eyes meander over her, and I shake my head. "Come to think of it, you know"? How come you've never been in a serious relationship? How does a lady like you remain single?" She gets a glass of champagne off a plate and grins at me. "I haven't found the one that can keep me captivated. I'm not willing to
settle for anything less. I wanted true love, and I'm willing to hold on to it." Total dedication, a happy marriage, and a faithful husband huh? That's precisely what I want. I ponder what kind of man will be able to win her over. For a minute, a picture of her with Richard flashes through my mind and my blood runs cold. Arielle!" She looks to her side and smiles before turning back to me. "It's my manager," she said to me."I figure it's time for an unending drama as far as anyone knows vital socialising. I'll see you later, okay?" I nodded and watched her walk away, my look floating to the man she's strolling toward. Her manager is gazing at her in a way that cannot be depicted as proficient. He looks excited, and I move my weight from one foot to another awkwardly. I need nothing short of bliss for Arielle, but the thought of her falling for somebody fills me with fear. I assume that's how brothers feel, isn't it? It might not be indistinguishable from how I feel about Bianca dating, but it's beautiful damn near. That must be it.