Arranged marriage : Married to an unknown man

Xavier Knight

After shifting Ariana into a private room we all sat in the room to be with her. I sat on a chair beside Ariana’s bed watching her sleep. My parents, Sean and Daniel were sitting on the couch.

I asked Amanda about Ariana’s condition, she called me outside the room to talk in private.

“Xavier, Ariana’s physical injuries will heal in one or two days but I’m concerned about her mental health, her emotional health. I was thinking to suggest her a psychologist.” She said.

“A psychologist?” I questioned.

“Yes, Xavier. I think that she has gone through something extremely bad. Something is there that is eating her from inside and that can’t be healed by any drug. It’s not she’d compulsorily need to see one. And from what I saw I guess that you can treat her.”

“What can I do?” I asked in a dejected tone.

“Talk to her. You know, what a professional would do? He’ll talk to her; will try to bring out everything that is hidden deep inside her. Some patients get scared or refuse to see a psychologist. So, I suggest you talk to her first… but not right now. She needs rest, give her time to heal or she might get a panic attack again. If you feel like she’s not recovering from her past then make sure to contact a professional.”

“When can I take her home?” I asked.

“After a day. I want to keep her in observation to make sure she doesn’t get panic attack again.” She replied. I nodded my head and thanked her.

“What did she say?” All of them asked the moment I entered the room.

“Nothing. She just wants to keep Ariana in observation for a day.” I replied.

“Xavier, can we talk?” Mom asked. The concern, worry, and hesitation in her voice told me that it was time to know the truth. I nodded my head.

“Xavier, I think it’s time to answer all your questions,” Dad said.

Sean and Daniel stood up from the couch and came to me.

“We’ll give you some space to talk, clear all the things.” Sean patted my back.

“We’re not leaving. We’ll wait in the cafeteria.” Daniel said and they both left the room.

I sat on a single couch and my parents sat together on another one.

“Tell me everything,” I said in low voice. My dad started to talk.

“Xavier, Ariana’s father Peter was our college friend. I and Peter were best friends. Your mother and I married just after finishing college and Peter concentrated on his work. One day Peter’s family decided to marry him off with Jade, Ariana’s mother. He was ready because he never had anyone in his life but Jade, she never wanted to marry him because she wanted money and Peter didn’t have much. Nonetheless, they got married and had Ariana. She never loved Ariana, it was visible in her every move. One day when Peter was returning from his work he met with an accident, he was taken to hospital. We went to see him and there we got to know he didn’t have much time. That day on his death bed we promised him that we’d take care of his little girl.”

“Ariana was just 10 when he died. Jade remarried a year later of her husband’s death. She didn’t have any kind of remorse. She also never let us see Ariana. We were worried about her whereabouts so your mother and I decided to appoint a PI/bodyguard who always followed her when she was outside Smith’s mansion. We even sent him to Chicago when she went there for college. We did everything to keep an eye on her. We made sure that Ariana comes back from Chicago without any harm.” Dad paused. I was looking at Ariana while listening to him.

“And suddenly one day I got the news that Andrew wanted to marry off Ariana to some rich businessman to prevent his company from drowning.”

My head shot up towards him. My Ari with someone else? No way in hell.

“He was in a hurry to marry off Ariana. Your mother and I couldn’t let that happen and Xavier…at that time you were our only hope. So to save Ariana from those cruel people we asked or rather emotionally blackmailed you to marry Ariana. I invested money in Andrew’s company to keep Ariana with us, in our protection. And we passed the responsibility to you.” My dad stopped talking. Then mom spoke.

“We always considered her as our daughter. But what we saw today made us realize that we failed to protect that sweet girl. We may have protected her from the outside world but we failed to protect her from people close to her. They have traumatized her. They have mentally abused her. We failed her, we failed her father. We couldn’t keep our promise.” My mom cried, resting her head on dad’s shoulder.

I was sitting, resting my elbows on my knees and my hands on my face. I was trying to hide my tears which were welling up in my eyes. I wanted to tell them about scars but I stopped myself, they were blaming themselves for her condition and they will break if I tell them about scars.

My parents are so humble, kind, understanding, and loving. They did their best to protect Ariana from any harm. If my parents weren’t there I wouldn’t have met Ariana. If my parents weren’t there for her she wouldn’t have been with me.

“We failed…” My mom whispered again.

“I failed you too. You thought that I’d protect her but I failed too. She’s lying here because of me.” I sniffed, looking at Ari. Mom immediately came and sat on the armrest of the couch and hugged me.

“Don’t say that Xavier. You never failed, you won. Since the day her father died, we never saw her having trust in someone like she has on you. You won her trust. You didn’t fail us, instead, you proved that we did nothing wrong in marrying her to you.” Mom’s words made my tears flow again.

“I don’t even have words to explain my feelings. I just want to thank you, thank you so much for keeping her safe. Thank you for bringing her into my life. I love her so much. I can’t imagine my life without her.” I cried, hugging her tightly.

I don’t remember myself crying for any reason since highschool. And I didn’t care if I was crying now because I may not have experienced it but I could feel the pain my Ari had gone through. She grew up without the love of her parents. She had no one to support her.

“I know Xavier, I know. We witnessed your love for her. Your concern, your worry, your tears proved that all.” Mom whispered.

Dad came to me, patted my back, and spoke. “Xavier son, you did what we failed to do. You gained her trust, you became her hope. And I can’t be more proud of you.”

I stood up and hugged him. “Take care of her.” He whispered and pulled away.

I sent them back home to take a rest. Sean and Daniel came to the room and I told them everything that my parents told me, I even told them about the scars Ariana has.

Daniel, who last cried when his family died, shed a tear listening about Ariana. Sean’s eyes too glistened up, which shocked me as I had never seen him cry for any reason. Ariana had changed them too. I approached them and pulled them closer in a hug. They have always been my support.

“I love her. I love her so much and I’ll not spare anyone who did this to her.” I said with determination.

“We’re with you in that.” They said and pulled away.

I asked them to go home and rest, they denied but I insisted. They didn’t want us to leave alone but I didn’t budge because they had to handle the company in my absence so they needed rest.

After they were gone, I sat on the chair beside the bed holding her hand in mine, looking at her sleeping form. I was relieved that she hadn’t got any severe injury but what she got from her past scared me.

I hope she recovers soon physically and mentally too. I’ll do whatever I can to bring back my bubbly piglet. Her smile, her laughter, her bright face, funny expressions, I’ll bring everything back. And I’ll give her what she never received from anyone.. love.

Ariana

I tried to open my eyes but it seemed difficult to do so. With effort, I opened my eyes but I blinked several times to clear my vision. When my vision clarified I found myself surrounded by white walls. All the memories of that dark alley flashed in front of my eyes which gave me a sudden jolt of headache.

My eyes moistened when I saw Xavier sleeping sitting on a chair with his head down on the bed.

Xavier, my love, was there when I needed him. He didn’t leave me alone.

Lifting my hand, I brushed back the stray hair from his face which made him open his eyes. I immediately pulled my hand away.

“You’re up.” His face lit up and standing up from his chair, he showered kisses on my face.

“Xavier..” I groaned. He’s not letting me breathe.

“You can’t do that to me. I was so worried.” He said in a cracked voice, cupping my face.

“I’m okay,” I assured him.Text property © Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org.

“You have to be because you can’t leave me. I won’t ever let you leave because I love you. I love you so much. I can’t live without you.”

I got stunned, my eyes grew wide and I became speechless. Did he just..? He…he loves me? The way I do?

“You…you lo.. love me?” I whispered.

“Yes. I do and will love you to death. I know I realized it late, I’m at fault. I should have realized it much before. But now that I realized I will give you all my love.” He said in one breath which made my tears flow out my eyes.

“Ari.. why are you crying? It’s okay if you don’t love me now…” I cut him off by putting my index finger on his lips.

“I love you too.” I cried. A lone tear escaped his eye and leaning down, he buried his face in my neck.

“Don’t cry. I can’t see you like this.” I mumbled. But he ignored my plea as I felt wetness on my neck.

“Thank you so much for coming into my life. I love you.” He mumbled in my neck.

I couldn’t be happier. Xavier, my husband, my love, loves me back. All my hopes were fulfilled, my dream of having a man who’d love me had become a reality.

He loves me. He saw me in a vulnerable state and didn’t leave me. He confessed his love to me, he deserved to know about me. He deserved to see my scars. But how? How should I start?

A sudden wave of ache passed my head which made me groan. “What happened? Are you feeling pain anywhere?” He asked with concern pulling away from me.

“Yes. My head hurts.” I replied rubbing my forehead.

Xavier immediately called the doctor and within seconds a female doctor accompanied by a nurse entered the room. She checked on me and gave me a shot for a headache. Then after giving me instructions on what to eat and what not she left.

“Xavier.,” I called him in a low whisper. He gave me a concerning look.

“I know what you want to say but you don’t have to tell me right now. Don’t force yourself, tell me when you’re ready. I’ll wait.” He kissed my forehead and that was enough for my unsettling thoughts to stop jumping in my head. I was satisfied that he gave me time, he was not forcing me to know the truth.

“But I’ll not spare you from asking about last night.” He said which made me gulp. He’d definitely get angry but I had to tell him everything.

“Xavier please take me home. I’ll tell you everything there.” I said.

“You’ve not recovered yet. You have to stay here for a day.” He explained.

“Please… I’m okay. Hospitals give me negative vibes.” I pleaded.

“Okay, I’ll talk to the doctor.” He said.

With a knock on the door, Daniel and Sean entered which diverted our focus to them.

“Hope we’re not disturbing you two?” Daniel smiled mischievously.

“Good morning Princess. See, I brought breakfast.” He placed the breakfast bag on the side table.

“Good morning Ariana. How are you feeling?” Sean asked.

“I’m feeling okay,” I replied. Xavier adjusted the bed to help me sit.

Putting breakfast in front of me, Xavier made sure I ate every single bite and had my juice. Xavier didn’t eat his breakfast until he was satisfied that I was full. He gave me my medicine and then ate his breakfast.

“Xavier you should go and freshen up, you stink,” Daniel said.

“Don’t overreact. Nobody stinks for not bathing just for one day and I’m not leaving her alone.” Xavier argued.

“Xavier, you should go. You are sitting here since last night, you need rest too.” I tried to make him understand.

“I’m not leaving you alone. That’s final.” He said sternly.

“She’ll not be alone, Daniel will stay with her until your parents arrive. And I’ll take care of the work. So just go and at least take a shower.” Sean said. Xavier was about to argue back but I stopped him by tugging his wrist.

“Please…for me.” I pleaded.

He sighed. “Just for you. But I want answers about last night when I come back.” He said. I nodded my head in response.

“Sean drop me home. I sent Finn home last night.” Xavier said. Sean nodded his head and came near me.

“I’ll be back to see you. Get well soon.” He kissed my forehead.

“Hey don’t do that to my wife,” Xavier said grumpily.

“What? She’s my sister.” Sean gave him an innocent look.

“She’s my wife first.” Xavier glared at him. Daniel laughed and I smiled secretly. He’s now openly accepting me as his wife.

Xavier and Sean left arguing about the kiss.

“Guess someone is getting importance,” Daniel smirked and I blushed. But suddenly his expressions became serious.

“Princess, you really made us worried. If you were asked to wait then you should have waited for him.” He scolded me.

“I’m sorry,” I mumbled. I was feeling guilty.

“You should be, Princess. We all care for you. Promise me you’ll always inform someone before going out alone?”

“I promise. Daniel please tell me one thing and don’t ignore this time.” I said.

“What?”

“Why do you call me Princess?”

“This is not the right time.” He replied averting his eyes from me.

“Daniel please tell me. I want to know, since day one you have been calling me by this endearment. Why?” I asked.

His face became glum, he averted his eyes for a second and then again looked at me.

“You remind me of my sister.” He replied in low voice.

“Your sister? You have a sister, I never knew. I don’t know anything about your family.” The topic of his family gained my interest. I wanted to know about his family.

His face portrayed something that I never saw in him. Sadness and pain. And in a painful voice, he whispered “Had.”

“H.. had? What d.. do you mean by that?” Please don’t let it be what I’m thinking. I prayed.

“I had a sister, a family. They died in a plane crash. It’s been many years.” A painful tear slipped from his eyes. A weird sensation ran through my body and tears slipped from my eyes too.

“When I saw you first time in office, for once I thought my sister was standing in front of me. Same black eyes, the same height, and the most surprising thing is, her name was also Ariana, Ariana Adams. I used to call her Princess because she was a sucker for Disney princesses.” He let out a sad laugh. He was not looking at me but on his lap.

“I saw my sister in you. So I started calling you Princess.” He sniffled. He was crying.

“I miss my family. They never got a chance to see me graduate. They didn’t see me making my name in the business world. I don’t have a family anymore. I’m all alone.” He said in a cracked voice.

IV tube was attached in my one hand so I extended my free hand and took his hand in mine.

“Don’t… don’t ever say that you’re alone. You consider me as your sister which means I’m your family. Xavier and Sean are your family, they consider you as their brother, they both love you. And I, I’ll be always there for you as a family. You’re never alone.” I cried.

“Hey, hey, don’t cry otherwise Xavier will chop my head and will play soccer with it.”

A laugh escaped my lips. I never knew he was hiding this much pain behind his funny face. He had mentally suffered a lot. I could feel his pain because I too had been alone until Xavier entered my life.

“You also stop crying. I want your real smile back.” I said wiping his tears.

“And never consider yourself as alone. Get that?” I playfully narrowed my eyes.

“Never Princess…never.” He smiled and kissed my forehead.

He stayed with me until Mr. And Mrs. Knight arrived. He then left for work. Xavier came back an hour later dressed in casual clothes. He thanked his parents and sent them back home.

He came to me and I knew I had to tell him about last night. I couldn’t hide it from him. But I was worried about how he would react.