HIS CLAIM

25

Elsa

“Do you think he will make it out alive?” Tessa asked while we sat outside, having our lunch in the sunny weather.
“I hope so…” I had talked to Nicholas about how he couldn’t control who Arianna was seeing. She was a grown woman and more than capable of making her own choices. We went back and forth until he finally called Arianna and Dom to his office to talk to them. I was praying for Dom because Dante  was in there too with them, and I just hoped they would try to have an open mind.
“I get that they are protective of their sister, but that was just too much to freaking try and choke the man like that.” I sighed and she agreed with me.
“By the way, I haven’t had the chance to ask you but it seems like it’s going well between you and Dante?” I smiled.
“It is. I do like him. At first, he was just my window to get away from my father, but now, I can see us being happy together.” Tessa  let out a soft smile and I couldn’t help but feel a bit emotional. Tessa  was my best friend and I truly wanted the best for her. She deserved endless happiness.
“I’m so happy for you! And he better treat you right!”
“Oh, trust me, he is.” She wiggled her brows at me, and I let out a small laugh. She was never the type to shy away from steamy talk and would happily talk about it.
“Good. Or else I will have to beat Dante’s ass! Which wouldn’t even be fair for him because he wouldn’t stand a chance.” I snickered and Tessa hid her laugh behind her hand.
“I’m already fearing for my life.” Dante’s voice came from behind me, immediately wiping away the smile on my lips. I looked at Tessa wide-eyed as I froze in my seat, and she couldn’t hold it in anymore and started to hysterically laugh. I gave her a death glare for not warning me he was behind me. It only made her laugh even more. Now, with tears in her eyes.
Dante  took a seat next to Tessa and looked at me with a brow raised.
“I… Uhh… Haha, Dante. Funny, you see, I was talking about someone else who just happens to have the same name.” My body was suddenly burning in embarrassment as I tried to cover up that I hadn’t just talked about kicking his as.
“Who also happens to be with Tessa?”
Ah, sit. He heard everything already.
“Please, don’t kill me.” I said quickly and got ready to run for my life.
“You better sleep with one eye open.” DAnte looked at me with an amused look, but I didn’t find his comment funny at all when it came to my life. Actually, I gulped a little.
“He’s not going to kill you.” Tessa rolled her eyes at me.
“Who’s going to kill you?” I jumped in my seat when I didn’t hear Nicholas approach us.
“How are you two built like that but move around silently?” I put a hand on my chest and let out a breath. He took a seat next to me, and Arianna joined too. It must have turned out to be okay since none of them seemed angry anymore.
“First you want to beat my as, and now you’re calling me fat? That just sealed your fate.” Dante continued, obviously now having fun joking about killing me. Was he even joking?
“I’m sorry, okay?! Have some mercy!” I exclaimed and he actually chuckled.
“You want to beat Dante’s as?” Nicholas questioned, tilting his head to the side as he looked at me.
“I was just making a teeny tiny joke he wasn’t supposed to hear, and now I have to die for it. It was nice knowing you, Nicholas. I hope you have a great life.”
“Is she always this dramatic?” Dante asked and Tessa just nodded.
“Mhmm, pretty much.”
“I’m not dramatic, you’re just … scary.” I muttered.
“Please, you even think butterflies are scary.” Tessa said and I gaped at her for exposing my secret.
“Really, Elsa? Butterflies?” Arianna looked at me in disbelief.
“No, I don’t know what she’s talking about.” I scoffed with a frown on my face and crossed my arms.
“Whatever you say.” Tessa said and got out of her seat.
“I’m really not. It’s ridiculous to be afraid of butterflies.” I rolled my eyes.
“Are you sure?” Cara suddenly said from behind me. I turned around, only to jerk back when I saw her holding a butterfly in her hand. A huge one!
“Yup.” My voice came out strained as I eyed the butterfly to make sure it didn’t suddenly fly in my face. I hated butterflies. They were disgusting flying creatures.
“Is that why you’re slowly leaning away from it?” Tessa had an evil smirk on her lips.
“I’m not. I’m admiring it from afar.” I was trying to be discreet about it to not embarrass myself anymore. I had already done that to last me for a lifetime and I didn’t want to give another reason to humiliate myself. Suddenly tessa moved the butterfly closer to my face, making me quickly stumble up to my feet and back away. I took a crutch and held it up, ready to swing at her if she came close again.
“I swear to God, tessa, I will hit you in the fcking head!” I yelled and kept backing away. The crutch got ripped out of my hands and my arms got twisted behind my back in a firm hold.
“Put it on her face!” Arianna shouted in excitement while she held me in place.
“No! Okay, wait! I admit I’m scared of them. Happy? Now, let me go!” I tried to wiggle out of Arianna’s grip, but she only tightened her hold.
“Too late! I’m having fun now.” Arianna continued and tessa  was closing in on me with the freaking disgusting butterfly. I started to thrash and yelled at tessa to stay away but none of it worked, so I did the only thing I could think of.
I fainted.
Well, I pretended to faint and got limp against Arianna.
“Shit, did she just faint?” Arianna said in shock and laid me down. on the ground.
“Oh my God, Elsa?” Tessa was worried and tapped her hand lightly against my cheek, trying to wake me up. The sound of a chair abruptly falling to the ground made me snap my eyes open, seeing Arianna and Tessa  hovering above me. I quickly sat up and pushed them away in the process, causing them to fall on their backs at the sudden move. It gave me a clear exit and I got to my feet and half-ran away from them.
“You’re messing with the wrong bitch today!” I snickered. I noticed both Nicholas and Dante had gotten out of their seats, and Nicholas  was making his way towards me but had stopped when he saw I was okay. But he was not happy with the stunt I had pulled as he looked at me with a frown.
Oops.
“Don’t do that again.”
“I was not about to get a nasty butterfly on my face.” I told him when he pulled me into him. Even Dante was shaking his head at me but he looked to be amused.
“See, Nicholas! I told you she has great survival instincts. That was fcking genius.” Arianna was genuinely impressed as they made. their way back to their seats.
“Work smart, not hard.” I said proudly and looked at them with a grin. Tessa  walked up to me and smacked my head before I could do anything.
“Hey!” I scowled and rubbed my head but she just glared at me.
“Don’t pull sht like that again!” She gave me a warning look before going to her seat. I dropped my jaw.
“How am I the bad guy here?” Before I could go after her and give her the same treatment, Nicholas held me in place to look at him. He leaned down, feeling his lips trail across my jaw before reaching my ear.
“You will be punished for it later.” He whispered and his tongue flicked over my earlobe. It had my heartbeat accelerate. For some reason, his words had me excited.

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