The night was chilly and quiet. Like a frozen lake, waiting for something to step on it before it collapses and causes trouble. Tonight was especially cold and yet, she was standing near the window, letting the cold bite of the wind caress her fur.
Leo had found out about her being a beast as her curse and he warns her to get out of the castle a fast as he can. And yet, she couldn’t. She couldn’t get out of there. Not when she is close to finding the way to lift her curse. The witch had told her it was here but then she started questioning it too.
What if the witch was just leading her to her ultimate death? What if she was still mad about her stepping on her daughter flower and now the witch wants her dead? What if he was just leading her to her doom, after all? But she remembered witches—cruel as they are—are true to their words. The witch said the Dragon’s heart is here so she should believe it.
Ariadne stared at the gardens, a bit wary now that she once saw five assassins roaming its grounds. But tonight, the garden was quiet and so are the rest of her surroundings. She rested her chin on the windowsill and her sigh came out as a whimper. Ariane didn’t know how long she stared outside because she didn’t notice she had fallen asleep.
By the time she opened her eyes the next morning, she was already on the bed and it only means one thing.
“Hello, my love.” Rowan tightened his hand around her waist and pulled her close as if afraid she would suddenly disappear. She looked at the man beside her. Leo said Rowan will be back tonight but why is he here? She panicked. The man who was trying to kill her is beside her. He could pull a knife out of nowhere and pierce it straight to her heart. Or he could pick the pillow and cover her face with it until she suffocates. There are a lot of ways for him to kill him and yet his hands remained tight around her waist. She doesn't know if she should be happy or not.
Her heart thumped and she closed her eyes to calm herself down. She was afraid he might her how loud her heart was beating. She’s nervous and for that moment, she thought she couldn’t do it. She couldn’t play the game with Rowan if it means risking her life. She almost loved him. All the things he had told her--he told her because it was what she wanted to hear. Ariadne took a deep breath and cleared her mind.
I am Ariadne Roseinhart. There is nothing I can’t do.
She opened her eyes and looked at Rowan snuggling beside her. Ariadne swallowed hard before she plastered a smile. “Good morning,” she said in her made-up sleepy voice. She felt Rowan’s hand tightening more around her, knocking her breath away. She forced a chuckle and held his arm.
“I should get up,” she said and tried to remove his arm on her belly but Rowan doesn’t want to. Instead, he clasped his hands together and locked her completely.
“No,” Rowan mumbled and buried his face on her neck. She knows where this is going and she doesn’t want to. Not after what she had learned. Panic started to rise again before she knew it, she was already free from Rowan’s grasp and she was standing on the side of the bed. Rowan was on the very edge of the bed, looking at her in confusion.
“Ariadne!” he called as he almost fell to the floor. He was looking at her as if he doesn’t know her at all. She was breathing hard and braced the bedside table for support because it was suddenly hard to stand on two feet. Ariadne looked at Rowan who was now standing on the other side of the bed. He was looking confused. Confused as to why had she pushed him away.
She can’t be found out now. Rowan can’t know that she has discovered what he was planning to do. So she came up with a very reasonable excuse.
“Cramps,” she said, touching her belly. “I need to take care of this.”
Rowan’s alert eyes suddenly softened as he looked at her. Ariadne instantly knew Rowan had fallen for it. She gave him a tight smile before she walked towards the bathroom. But before she could even reach the bathroom, she heard Rowan speak.
“Nothing happened while I was gone, right?” he asked and she froze on her feet. She swallowed hard before she looked at him and smiled.
“Nothing important,” she said and immediately went to the bath.
She stayed there for as long as she can. Ariadne used her time alone to think about how to get to the guy Leo was talking about. She has to know what is going on so she’ll know what to do. It was almost over an hour before she got out of the bath. Thankfully, Rowan was nowhere to be seen and there was no food left for her. Which means, she has to dine in the dining hall together with the other brothers.
Wearing her corset-boned sheer bodice, the flowy black dress fitted her well. When was done tying the spaghetti straps, she beheld herself in the mirror. Her face looks very different. Her cold eyes now look lonely and scared. The woman in front of the mirror is not her. It was the cursed woman. The woman who has learned her lesson.
Ariadne heaved a deep breath before she decided to get out. Walking the quiet hallway has never been so calming and for a moment, she wished she would walk for a little longer but when she turned, it was already the dining hall. All of the brothers are already there, including Rowan. The dining hall was unusually quiet. The moment she arrived at the table, everyone looked at her and she wasn’t new to men gawking at her appearance. But to have all of their eyes on her felt like she has been fed to a lion’s den.
She looked and met Rowan’s eyes who was looking at her with his mouth slightly open. She knows she has something that she could use against Rowan. So without any restraint, she gave Rowan her sweetest smile. She made sure Rowan sees the valley of her breast as she leaned down to have a seat. She knew it was successful as she saw him looking directly at it. When he found her eyes, she was still smiling at her. Ariadne saw Rowan pick the goblet and took a sip, not removing his eyes from her.
Then he faced his brothers. “I hope all of you have behaved as you should while I was gone?” Rowan said, tilting his head, looking particularly at Leo. The latter took a sip on his glass and eyed Rowan over the rim of his glass. The look on Leo’s face was taunting. As if it was his damn job to mock Rowan and made sure he was good at it.
It was Malik who protested. “We’re not kids, Rowan.”
“And yet you managed to poison yourselves and almost died if it were not for me,” Rowan said calmly as he swirled the contents of the goblet inside. He did not even look at Malik and continued eating as if Malik was not worth his attention. He managed to make it obvious to Malik and the latter went quiet.
Then she looked at Kali who was eating silently. “I am glad to see you both are fine,” she said. Kali and Malik looked at her. Kali, looking grim and Malik looking as if she was the one who poisoned them.
“We don’t need your sympathy, witch,” Malik spat and gave her an icy stare. She clenched the fork and knife in her hand. She was about to say something when someone else did it for her.
“If you can’t accept your own stupidity, Malik then don’t take it to somebody else.” Leo eyed Malik from where he was seated and she could have sworn Malik coiled from Leo’s voice. She saw Marco stopped eating and listened to his surroundings.
“But she’s cursed. She shouldn’t be here. Being here would mean doom for all of us. We would be—“
He didn’t finish what he was saying and clutched his chest as if it was hard to breathe. Every one of the brothers stood and went to Malik’s rescue. She was pinned on her seat as she watched Malik’s face getting purple and his eyes bloodshot. Kali and Leo were holding Malik as the latter was clutching his chest as if something was clawing it from the inside.
Then Malik’s eyes found hers. His bloodshot eyes were full of hatred as he looked at her then he said, “You—you’re the one to break it. You’re the one who will send us to our doom. You should not be here—“ Then he collapsed on the floor. Everyone looked at Rowan beside Malik who did something to him and rendered Malik unconscious. Her hands flew to her mouth and looked at the unconscious body on the floor. Slowly, she could see the purple on his face starting to recede and the brothers sighed in relief. But she couldn’t understand. She couldn’t understand what was Malik trying to say. They were saying the same thing—Kali, Leo, and Malik. They want her to leave this place and go back to where she came from. It was Rowan who wanted her here. She already knew why. What she couldn’t understand is that no one from the four brothers can tell her what is going on.
She met Leo’s eyes and it was as if he was telling her something too. Ariadne furrowed her brows and looked at Malik unconscious on the floor.
I can’t tell you. Leo’s voice echoed in her head. He couldn’t tell her what is going on. And the more he thinks about it, the more she realizes the reason why. Every time Leo tells her something about why Rowan is trying to kill her, he couldn’t. He would find himself unable to breathe. The same thing has happened to Malik. He was telling her to leave the castle, shooing her away and he turned purple as if it was hard to breathe too.
It was as if they were prevented to tell something to anyone at all or else they would…die. Her eyes were wide as she stared back at Leo. And he nodded gently as if confirming what she just found out. Leo couldn’t tell her because he would die if he tells her. That’s why Leo is telling her to go to the man he was talking about and she will know everything she needed to know.
Her body went cold and taut. She couldn’t move her legs. Ariadne was already standing and Rowan is walking toward her. She couldn’t move even if she wanted to. It was when she felt Rowan’s hand on her elbow that she jolted.
“Are you alright? You look pale,” he said. “Forgive Malik. Perhaps it was the aftereffects of the poison entering his body.”
She looked at Leo and his steely stare pierced her. Ariadne wanted to say something but nothing would come out of her mouth. And even if she could say something, what would she say?
Rowan pulled her close and guided her out of the dining hall. He brought her back to the chamber and she sat on the bed.
“Do you need anything?” he asked. “Do you want me to bring you food?”
“No!” she said, louder than usual. She realized it immediately and she cleared her throat. “I mean, yes, I am not feeling well and I might throw up if I eat anything. Thank you, anyway,” she rasped. Thankfully, Rowan didn’t seem to think she was nervous.
She decided to rest her body on the mattress and she felt him sit on the foot of the bed. Ariadne was about to say something when she felt him touch her feet. She jolted and she heard Rowan chuckle.
“Relax,” he said. “I am just going to massage your feet.”
Ariadne wasn’t able to protest when she felt Rowan’s fingers already doing their wonders on her feet. She closed her eyes and felt his gentle hands. Ariadne couldn’t help but think about those times Rowan had made her feel like she is not different. He has made her feel like she is worth loving and she is capable of love.
And all of it was a lie.
“Are you feeling better now?” she heard him ask. She took her feet from his lap and rolled on the side.
“I want to be alone, please,” she said. Her voice came out colder than she intended.
Rowan didn't move didn’t say anything for a few minutes until she felt him leave the bed. The next she heard was the door closing and she buried her face on the pillow. She allowed herself to wallow in the sadness as she has finally decided to not trust Rowan ever again.
* * *