Taken By The Mafia Lord

"I think Acel sounds better," Arianna was still on the issue of choosing a couple's name for them as Marcel arrived at the base.

"Fine, anyone you choose," You're the boss, Marcel added in his mind.

Arianna stepped out of the car before Marcel could come around to help her. As romantic as it was, she was no princess and could take care of herself.

Marcel didn't say anything when he saw her action. She was the boss, remember? He barely stepped out of the car when his phone rang and picked up instantly, "Marcel speaking…"

Arianna leaned against the car waiting for Marcel to be done with his call only for him to shout, "What?!"

She pushed off the car at once and turned to stare at him. There was a deep frown on his face and she could tell instantly that something was wrong. Arianna patiently waited for him to be done with the call and as soon as he lowered the phone, she asked,

"What happened?"

Marcel looked at her, an emotionless look on his face that unsettled her. For a moment there, she thought he wasn't going to answer her, only for him to say, "Daniel has been shot."

"What? Daniel has been shot!" Arianna was shocked, "Hallelujah -!" She was about to scream only to catch herself at the last minute and changed her expression into a sad one, "That is so unfortunate,"

Yet Arianna still asked, "Did he die?" She was anxious for an answer. Honestly, Arianna didn't know how to respond to this news. Like come on, she was scared of the man and loathed his sorry ass, and it would be a huge cause for celebration if he stopped sucking earth's oxygen.

No one wanted Daniel around.

But on the other hand, Daniel was her boyfriend's father and no matter how much Marcel loathed him, he was still his father. If Marcel loathed Daniel as much as he claimed, there were plenty of opportunities for him to end him over the years. But no matter how bad a parent is, he's still his parent - his flesh and blood - and Marcel could only hope that he becomes better in the future.

"It's alright, you can feel whatever you feel for him, I'm not judging. You're not entitled to feel sorry for him, not after what he has done. I feel nothing for him as well," Marcel told her plainly, but Arianna knew that he was lying.

Not that the both of them could be friends, like a normal father and son relationship, however, avoiding and denying his feelings wasn't going to work. The both of them had to sort out their hard feelings and bad blood, or else more people would only end up getting caught up in the crossfire - people like her.

Arianna didn't say anything and merely stepped towards him, wrapping her arms around his waist and hugging him tightly.

"I don't need comfort," Marcel said.

"I know," Yet Arianna hugged him tighter.

"He didn't die," Marcel confessed.

"Oh," Arianna lifted her head and looked at him. He didn't need the comfort at all. She slowly pulled back yet stayed by his side.

"What happened?"

Marcel ran his hand through his hair, saying, "I don't know the details yet -"

"But you need to go see him," She completed it for him.

He nodded in agreement.

"You should go then, just be careful," She warned him just in case this was a trap. Although Arianna doubted Daniel would harm his son. Take it or leave it, Daniel loves Marcel in his own twisted way. Nonetheless, the man was manipulative and there was a need to be careful.

"I'll be back before you know it," Marcel said, lowering his head and pressing a brief kiss on her lips.

"I'll be waiting," Arianna told him as well before they separated and Marcel got into the car and drove off. She kept on waving after him till he was gone.

Arianna returned to the house with the thoughts of doing some stuff on her computer only to bump into Mimi on the way and her eyes widened in surprise. She never told her that she was coming.

But that was until her eyes fell on Victor who came up behind Mimi and understanding dawned on her. From the slight tension between them, Arianna could safely surmise that Victor told her about his condition.

The next minute, Arianna and Mimi were on the balcony, leaning on the glass balustrade while the wind blew their hair in their faces. It was almost evening and the temperature was beginning to drop.

"I guess you know everything then," Arianna was the first to speak up, breaking the silence between them.

"Yep, he told me everything. Quite a shocker, don't you think so?" Mimi chuckled as if it was nothing, but Arianna knew that was just her way of dealing with it.

"Yeah," Arianna nodded.

"I should have known, you know," Mimi went on, "Stuffs like this are easily noticed by others, not the victims. I bet he wouldn't even know. Victor just had this strange energy, he was willing to try anything and everything, and I didn't think much about it. I just thought he was being Victor."

"What are you going to do then?"

"He's agreed to treatments and therapies," Mimi sighed, looking down at her belly and rubbing it affectionately, "He's scared, you know. But at the same time, he wants to be a good father to the baby and if a bunch of science jumbo would make him better, so be it."

Arianna reminded her, "It's not going to be easy, Mimi. There might be roadblocks, relapses and of course, frustrations in his course of treatment, and they can last a lifetime. Are you ready for that?" She was sincerely concerned for her friend.

Mimi tilted her head and looked at her,

"Love was never meant to be easy. If it were that easy, then it wasn't love at all. And speaking of which…" She faced her fully, "You need to tell Marcel the truth about Elijah, he doesn't deserve any of this." Mimi said sternly.

"Don't worry." Arianna said to her, " I plan to tell him tonight."