Lost Gem

Chapter 32 (Bitterness)

Arabella looks at Matteo from the corner of her eye.

"What will you take to leave me the hell alone?" Her jaw locks tightly as she finally snaps at him.

Matteo with an uninterested look on his face, wraps his arms around his chest.

"I'm taking no liking in following you around. But I can't ignore the direct orders from your brothers." He speaks in a clear tone.

Arabella ignores speaking to him further. This nerdy but buff man is stubborn as hell. She is regretting her decision to go out for shopping. Even the mall is completely empty, actually especially vacant for her to shop freely. It was always done by one of her brothers. She liked it sometimes, the privacy! But Matteo was acting like a sore thumb. She wanted him to leave her shadow for a bit but he refused clearly.

She pauses in front of a lingerie store and looks up at him with an accusatory glare.

"Stay right here!" She hisses at him.

Matteo is half tempted to just follow her in, just to get on her nerves but he knows where his limits begin.

With a huff, she enters through the sliding doors.

Matteo groans and leans back against the wall. It would have been much better if him and Zeus switched between both girls. He would have appreciated a quiet Anastasia a lot.

Arabella hums and looks around the shop. Weirdly, there is no staff that she is used to see. Usually, they buzz around her like bees but today it was too quiet in here. She had caught a glimpse of only one woman at the check-out section.

She browses through the displayed items but suddenly she feels a shadow which creepily falls on top of her.

Her back tenses and she looks back to see Isabella casually leaning back against the wall, wearing the store uniform.

Her heartbeat skyrockets.

"Hello dear daughter." Isabella whispers and takes a step forward.

Arabella unconsciously backs away.

"S-stay away!"

Isabella stops, her eyes narrows for a second.

"Just days ago you were so happy to meet me and you were crying pathetically. Today, you are telling me to stay away. How unfair!" Isabella comments with a sick grin on her face.

In a blink, Isabella has crossed the distance between them and she roughly smacks Arabella hard across her face. Arabella yelps, falling to the floor, holding her stinging cheek.

"How dare you disobey me?!" She grabs Arabella's hair in a tight fist and painfully pulls her up.

"I told you to kill Anastasia! But what did you do? You killed Paul!" Saying this, she again slaps her hard.

"Because he deserved it! And you know what, you deserve death too! I'm ashamed to admit that you are the one who gave me birth! You are a selfish, evil witch! I wish you were better off dead!" Arabella snaps, spitting across Isabella's face.

Isabella freezes. Tears shines in her eyes.

"So this is the result of all my sacrifices." Isabella smiles a bitter smile and pushes her hand in her coat's pocket, she brings out a butcher knife.

Arabella pales at the sight.

"You are of no use to me now!" Isabella states coldly but tears roll down her eyes.

Arabella struggles but Isabella is much stronger. She wraps her hand around her throat tightly and raises the knife up.

"Die, you fucking disappointment!"

Arabella screams as the knife plunges right through the flesh and blood splatters across Isabella's face.

**********************

Anastasia looks up at Zeus blankly as he is standing outside her doorway, as usually smoking and guarding.

Anastasia hesitates a little before opening her mouth.

"Would y-you like to eat s-something?"

Zeus raises his brow and puffs out the smoke.

"You spoke to me? Why?"

Anastasia looks away.

"Well I-I don't see the reason to not speak."

He stares at her for a second before taking a long drag of toxic fumes in.

"Sure."

She nods and walks past him towards kitchen. He follows behind her. One of the maid is present there and she asks if Anastasia want anything.

She shakes her head and points at Zeus who stares down at her blankly.

"She will eat too." Zeus finalized, hearing no protests of Anastasia.

The maid quickly went to work and start preparing something for them.

Both of them sit together in the dining hall in complete silence.

By the next second, Zeus has lightened another cigarette.

Anastasia looks up at him, a little confused.

"Why do you smoke so much?" Her curiosity goes the best over her.

Zeus pauses for a moment. It felt to Anastasia that this question threw him off a little.

"Because I like to. Is there any problem, kid?"

She did not respond for a moment.

"Smoking kills."

He chuckles at her words.

"I'm already dead inside..." He responds jokingly, a sick grin rests on his face, but Anastasia does not believe him.

The maid arrives and sits the plates of steaming, delicious looking pasta in front of them.

As Anastasia is about to start eating, Ermanno suddenly enters through the door.

"Ana!" He calls her name and looks up at her and Zeus back to back.

"Ermanno...you are back?" Anastasia speaks out loud.

He stills for a moment, not believing immediately that she is speaking to him.

"Yeah. Just got back." He sits down on the chair beside her.

"I umm I brought this for you."

He shows her a gold chain pearl necklace.

Anastasia looks at it and then back at Ermanno's face with a slight smile on her face, feeling tears filling the corner of her eyes.

"T-thanks a l-lot. It's the first time someone h-has brought something for me." She whispers as Ermanno smiles and locks the chain behind her neck.

He leans down to place a soft and gentle kiss on top of her head.

All this time, Zeus is watching the whole interaction with a bitter smile hiding under his emotionless facade.

Thanks for reading!

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I will see you again,
Davina...💞