Chapter Forty Three

Arian's laughter rang through the entire asphalt almost stumbling the ground in the process, he just couldn't believe it.

He glanced at Seth's face once more and his laughter only got louder in sheer mockery of his friend.

Seth ignored him, sipping his cup of chapman in silence. He knew this would happen, he knew Arian well too well and he had thought long and hard about this before informing his friend about his abnormal heart rate.

Seth was leaning against the hood of his customized sports car, his posture relaxed despite the mocking laughter his friend sent his way. Arian's car was also next to Seth's as they were supposed to run against each other but Seth decided to drop a bombshell instead.

The asphalt was empty as usual, the sun was about to set and Seth was strangely looking forward to heading back home but not until he had answers to his questions.

After receiving an important call from Dante from the office, Seth had attended the meeting rather briefly and decided to call Arian to tell him what his problem was.

Arian wipes the tear rolling down the corner of his eye, still laughing at Seth still. “I can't. Hold on, let me wipe this off first…”

Seth sighed, Arian must be having a whole lot of fun right now, isn't he? Maybe too much fun.

“I'm sorry…I just can't…okay..” Arian took a deep breath, trying to stop himself from laughing. “So you're telling me, that your heart was racing while you were standing close to Thea and you think you might be having a heart ache?”

Seth darts Arian a knowing look, he knew he just wanted him to say it so he could burst into laughter again. Arian raises his hands in surrender, his laugh completely wiped off his face.

“Okay, I'll treat this seriously now. Can you tell me what happened?”

Seth hesitated, no matter how he explains it, nothing seems to make sense at the end of the day. Still, his heart racing was starting to become a point of concern.

He thought of Thea, breathless against him in the gym, the way her body had felt, the taste of her lips, the jolt when his fingers had brushed the most sensitive part of her... and most importantly, the one thing that started this…thing with his heart in the first place.

Her smile. Her laughter when she was on the phone with Daisy and the way her eyes beamed with joy..

He let out a slow, controlled exhale.

"I was with Thea earlier," Seth began slowly. "In the gym."

Arian raised an eyebrow, a knowing glint entering his eyes. "Oh? The gym?”

Seth, missing the tone in Arian's voice, nodded and continued.

"We were…talking and then her friend called. Daisy." Seth continued.

Arian nodded, he knew Daisy or he could say he had met her for the first time at Seth's wedding and some other place.

Seth's eyes still held that distant, slightly dazed quality. "And then..." He trailed off, a memory trailed off in his dark gaze.

Arian waited, his smirk widening. Seth is smitten and he's trying to make sense of his ‘heart raving’ whenever Thea is near. It was rare.

"And then what?" Arian prompted, holding back his laughter. "What happened when her friend called?"

Seth finally looked at Arian, a bewildered expression crossed his face.

"My heart was beating fast. I know I said that before but it's strange. I wasn't on the treadmill anymore and I wasn't even lifting weights. I…it just started." he admitted, his eyes filled with disbelief.

Arian swallowed his laughter, he needed to get to the bottom of this. “So you're saying that this happened when she was on a call? Are you sure it's not a heart condition? Maybe we will need to stop by the hospital and get your heart checked.”

Seth shook his head, he was certain that this was because of Thea. “No. I was staring at her and it happened. It was....odd.”

Arian stared at him for a full beat, then threw his head back and let out an incredulous laugh once more. He tried, he really tried his best not to laugh but seeing how serious and almost frustrated that Seth looked not knowing what was wrong with him was amusing.

"Your heart was beating fast?" Arian repeated, wiping a tear from the corner of his eye. "Seth Blackwood, the man who negotiates multi-billion-dollar deals while staring down cut-throat rivals, the man who doesn't bat an eye when his competitors are left bankrupt, is worried about his heart beating fast because of a woman?"

Seth couldn't believe Arian, he came here to tell him something serious that could be a huge problem but he's here mocking him instead.

“This is serious Arian. I can't seem to think of anything else when that happens. That's terrible. What of it have to make a quick decision but I can't because my heart refuses to cooperate?” Seth panicked, his eyes wide open in horror.

Arian leans back in his car, arms folded with a smile. “I’m going to ask a few questions and you need to be honest with me.”

Seth straightens up, anything to get to the bottom of what is going on with him.

“When that incident with that video happened, what was the first thing that came to mind when you thought of Thea?”

Seth went silent, his brows furrowed in thought. “I wanted to know if she was safe. How she was feeling and if she wasn't in some place dangerous.”

Arian nodded. “And when she stayed in doors without eating, what was going through your head?”

“She might starve herself to death and fall ill too.”

“Why do you care, Seth Blackwood?” Arian asked and his friend froze.

He's never really thought about it. Why was he so bothered? Why did he want to know that she's safe and that she's doing okay? Why did he bother to run an extensive background check on her to the point that he knows her favourite colours and the last pet she had as a kid? Why did he tell Dante to give him all that information, it was all useless to begin with but he read through it and now it's stuck in his mermory…

“She's legally married to me, Arian. It's only reasonable that I'm concerned about her safety.”

Arian shook his head. “There's more to that and you're scared to admit it. You care about her. A lot.”

Seth froze and soon nodded his head slowly. “Yes I do because she's my wife. I'm supposed to look out for her, contract or not.”

Arian shakes his head again. “No. This is more than the title she carries. I've known you all my life and I know the people you care about the most. You only care about people you would give your life for..”

Seth stiffened, the implications of Arian's words began to dawn on him. He's had contracts before but none of it has made him care about the other party, no. He's always looking out for himself and his company.

This might be very different from a company contract but it was almost the same..

“You love her.”

Seth's breath hitched at his words, his eyes staring into space and his heart…raced again. He frowned, that can't be right.

“No. You don't know what you're talking about." Seth shot back.

Arian shrugs. “Hey, I'm just saying. The video that got leaked, you said your face wasn't visible, nobody knew who you were and you could have ignored it.”

“But Thea was visible! Yes, her body wasn't in view but people could tell we were having sex..”

“And it bothered you. Seth, when it come to people you don't give a rat ass about, you're probably the most selfish man there is but Thea? You even got your hands dirty. Something you swore off of years back but for her you taught that bastard a lesson.”

Seth shook his head, that's not why he did it. That can't be why, it makes no sense.

“I don't feel that way.” Seth said sternly, his gaze flickering to Arian in seriousness.

Arian sighed and patted his shoulders. “In due time. Meanwhile, what's the next move on Posy Sterling?”

Seth is silent, his eyes fixed on his cup of Chapman, twirling it gently. “Thea said she'll handle it..”