Chapter 46Lucian gazed out at the still, calm sea. His stood there contemplating his life. It was a cold realization that he was letting life pass him by. This was the first vacation he had ever taken. Lucian knew his heart would always belong to Arabella as his first love but it was time to move on. It was obvious that she did not want him so why was he beating his head against a stone wall?“How you doing, buddy?” Marcus asked as he walked up behind Lucian. “What a day, huh? And that instructor is she something or what? Somehow she looks fimilar but I can’t quite place where.”Lucian didn’t bother to tell Marcus that she looked a lot like Arabella. Let him figure it out for himself, it would give Marcus something to chew on while they were here. “Yeah, she is quite something, alright. So what is next on our agenda?”“Well, I thought we could wing it for a couple of days. This place is too beautiful not to stop and smell the flowers. Don’t you think?”“Sure, sure Marcus. It is an am
Chapter 47“Please, please don’t make me see her again, I can’t take that.” Adrian looked up at Arabella with pleading in his eyes. “I’ll do anything you want, just please don’t send me there again.”Arabella smiled coldly. Adrian shuddered as he looked into her eyes. There was nothing but frost in Arabella’s eyes. Before her sat the man who destroyed her family. It was a time of reckoning for Adrian Alexander.“I want to know, Mister Alexander, why did you kill my family? Why did you want me dead? Please don’t lie to me, I’ll know if you lie Adrian. So, beware, I will retaliate.Adrien felt a chill go down his spine at Arabella’s words. So she did see him that night. He was afraid to lie to Arabella, but he was also afraid of the truth. He shook his head refusing to speak, fear sliding around in his mind.“Come on Adrian.” Arabella reached out to the shadows and made a large slit in the darkness. Beyond lie a stark, unwelcoming desert. “Would you prefer to visit this place? No? Well,
Chapter 48“Grandmother Rossi, I would like for you to meet my new friend, Lucian Alexander.” Maria knelt in front of a very old, very wrinkled woman. “He is from New York and is a lawyer.” Maria spoke loudly so Lucian figured she must be slightly deaf.Lucian took his cue from Maria and knelt slightly in front of the grandmother. He did not raise his voice when he spoke; Maria’s grandmother looked at him sharply and with appreciation.“It is my pleasure to meet you Ma’am.”“Why do you bring a virtual stranger home with you, Maria?” Grandmother asked in Italian. There was no malice in her tone, just curiosity and an undertone Lucian didn’t understand.“Please speak English, Grandmother, out of respect for a stranger.” Maria gently reprimanded her grandmother. “You taught me to be kind to strangers.”Grandmother lowered her head in agreement. “I apologize Mister Alexander. Maria is our wild child and when she does something out of character, we question it.”Lucian smiled at Maria’s gr
Chapter 49Mother paced her chamber, confusion rolling off her in waves. She felt as though they were under attack from person or persons unknown. Mother knew that was impossible. No one or thing had the power to attack the realm. She could not put her finger on what it was that bothered her so bad. The realm was in a little more disarray than usual but that would not cause her to fret.“Mother!” Sybil popped in and yelled causing Mother to jump and glare at her. Sybil knew better than to surprise her that way. “Sorry, Mother.” Sybil saw the frown aimed her way and realized she had did a no no.“What is it Sybil? What has gotten you all a flutter that you would completely forget your training?”Sybil bowed her head as Mothers reprimand whipped past her head. She did not lose her enthusiasm. “Mother, the Arch’s are all up in arms.”Mother stopped pacing at Sybil’s words. “The Arch’s?” Mother mummered out loud, “What could possibly have happened?”Only too happy to do so, Sybil replied,
Chapter 50Lucian stood in the airport waiting area watching Lucas’s airplane take off for America. It was an amazing time with Lucas and the two became closer than they were before. They had a wonderful time full of laughter and comrade. Marcus turned out to be quite the clown, Lucian didn’t remember him being comical in college.Maria took Lucian’s hand and stood beside him at the window. She could feel the sadness that was coming off Lucian in waves.“Don’t be so sad, Lucian. You will see him soon when you go home.”Lucian looked down on Maria’s head. From that point of view she looked too much like Arabella. He was starting to wonder if his closeness to Maria was because of her likeness to Arabella.Lucian shrugged his shoulders, be that as it seemed, he was not going to waste his vacation wondering if the girl he was dating looked like his long lost love. So far, they were having a wonderful time and he wanted it to last for a while.“I’ll be leaving here in about a week. Lets go
Chapter 51Arabella was nervous as she paced back and forth in the waiting area for the arrival of flight 151 out of Rome. Lucas told her the day, time and airline Lucian would be on. She visited New York numerous times since finding Lucian again, but this was the first time at an airport.Noticing another woman pacing the same way as she was gave her pause. As though feeling Arabella’s gaze, the other woman turned to look at Arabella and found her staring at her. A slight smile tugged at the corners of her lips.“Do I have egg on my face?” laughter hinted in the tone of the woman’s voice.“Oh, I am so sorry. You just looked familiar and I was trying to place you.” Arabella replied, red in the face. “My name is Arabella Brennan. Are you waiting on flight 151 too? It seems to be running late.”She laughed out loud. “Please to meet you. I am Maria Rossi. Yes, I am waiting on flight 151, a close friend of mine is on that flight.”By the excitement written on the woman’s face, Arabella as
Chapter 52Arabella sat with her toes and hands in the sand. Her racing heart slowly started to slow to a steady pace.“What a fool I have been.” Arabella whispered to the empty cave, “I guess I deserve this after the way I treated him. By the Gods, I love that man. What am I going to do now? I only want him.”“You do know that the Gods cannot bring him back to you, don’t you?” Sybil spoke from her usual perch on the stone shelf.Arabella did not jerk in surprise when Sybil’s voice filled the cave. “What am I to do Sib? I don’t want anyone else. It took me too long to decide that. I’ve treated him terribly.”“If I could I would stir his heart and send him home but that is beyond me, Ari.” Sadness tainted Sybil’s gentle voice. “Lucian may still come back for you yet. He is only trying to fill the empty space that you left behind.”“Thanks a lot Sybil, that surely made me feel better.” Arabella said sarcastically. ‘I think I could deduce that for myself.”Sybil felt slightly offended by
Chapter 53Lucian glanced around the auditorium. He found the area that was roped off for relatives of the graduates. His heart ached for a second when his gaze landed on Arabella. The woman still had a way of making him feel like he lost it all. He had her once, so long ago, until Fate pulled her cruel trick on them. He looked down at the woman by his side and all he saw was Arabella. Lucian was coming to some conclusions of his own and Maria did not deserve to be the other woman in his life. Maria deserved better; someone who would cherish her for herself and not be a replacement for someone else.Arabella glanced up casually when someone sat down beside her. It was Lucian and his date. She almost panicked. She was the same one from the airport. Arabella hoped they would break up before Lucas’s graduation. No such luck. She held back from saying any of her thoughts out loud.“Hello Arabella, you’re looking as beautiful as always.” Lucian could not take his eyes off of the woman he l