ARIANA’S POVI was taken aback by Rob's proposal. Doing it right would be a chance to wed Rob without Flora's love weighing heavily over us. It would be a chance for my wedding to not be ruined by my sister's death. But Rob was drunk. There was no knowing that he would even remember all of these by morning and it made me really sad. This should have been the ultimate conclusion of my day. Finally, happiness. But Robert Stone was under the influence of alcohol and I was going to take everything he said with a pinch of salt.How did he go from “stay away from my son” to “let's get married again”. No, no, I would be a fool to take him seriously.
ROBERT'S POVAriana did not know that I was starting to remember all that had happened last night. I remembered how she had cared for me and walked me up the stairs when I was drunk and probably heavier than a bag of flour.I could remember the feel of her hand on my body in the shower and how caring she had been. Ariana who made rooms cold. Ariana. She had been awfully nice to me. Had I said something about a wedding?Well.Now, she was bugging me on what questions Nate was asking. Where do I begin? Margaret had not been very chatt
ARIANA'S POVI began to hyperventilate. I did not know what was going on but it felt like all the organs in my body were squeezing my heart together. I experienced a feeling of deja vu. This was what had happened to me in the hospital after my miscarriage.It felt like time had stopped. Blood rushed to my head and I could hear the sound of blood in my ears. Everything around me became muffled.Was Rob going to answer Nate and put an end to the bubble of happiness Nate and I had found in each other? This was my last thought before I slumped and fainted.When I opened my eyes, the smel
ARIANA'S POVI felt a wash of shame just thinking about this and was moved to tears. I knew all these had happened when we were children and Flora probably didn't even remember this but how was I to know that all these had not motivated her to commit suicide?It was beginning to seem like I had been the villain in Flora's story. She had probably hated me while I was busy thinking she got everything from my parents.That was true anyway. My parents loved her more.My mom did not notice the change in my mood and went on talking about the good times we had all had and how I had tried to protect Flora so many times,
ROBERT'S POVI was trying to make sense of all that was happening around me. It seemed we were becoming a family and very fast at that. I knew I should be happy but I was rather destabilized. I was still stuck where I was these past weeks. How do I reconcile my love for Flora and the happiness I was feeling with Ariana?The truth was that I had loved Flora more than life itself. She had been my reason for existing. I had never met a more down to earth person and someone willing to follow her dreams. Eager to escape the shadow of her sister's success in the business world, Flora had buried herself in literature. Her parents had supported her anyway. But it was not an easy feat.She had been kind the first day I met her and had talked with me like a normal person. Girls usually saw me as a trophy to be won but she had seen me differently.Now, I was seeing a different side to Ariana and realizing that underneath her facade of a cold person only concerned with business, she was a nice wo
ROBERT'S POVI hit the floor with a loud thump and banged my head on the stool I had been sitting on momentarily clearing my head. Damn! Damn!! Damn!!! I frantically searched for my phone in my pocket and speed dialed Rufus, sharing my location with him, then I blacked out.I woke up the next morning in my bed with a terrible hangover. I rushed to the bathroom and vomited twice, my head banging with unbearable migraine.I had made a complete fool of myself last night. I swore to myself that I would never touch another bottle again. My memory was foggy but I remembered clearly that I had thought Emily was Flora. Ugh! How had that managed to happen? But a light bulb suddenly went up in my head! Yes, I had mistaken Emily for Flora but in my drunken state, I had had the willpower to refuse Flora! That was a win.I quickly took a shower and popped two aspirins to make the headache go away. I needed to return to the country. So much for morning’s first light. I resolved to go back and make
ARIANA'S POVI understood that Rob deserved to be sad about Flora's death but understanding was not the same as watching your husband sniffing your dead sister's clothes and crying. I had thought I had made peace with his love for Flora but in that moment, it became clear that I was wrong. I would never be able to accept that. Flora's ghost will always have a place in our bed.I fled down the hallways looking for an escape from that torturous scene. As I ran, the scene continued to play over and over again in my head. The sound that had come out of Rob was guttural. He was in pain. He was hurt. I could tell that he was longing for her with the way he placed that red dress close to his nose.
ROBERT'S POVI wanted to run after Ariana and tell her that she was wrong, beg her to stay and hear me out but I was rooted to the spot, holding that red dress in my hand. I watched until Ariana became a dot in the distance.By the time I was exhausted emotionally and returned to the drawing room, I met a quiet that was frigid. Margaret had questions in her eyes and when I asked after Ariana, she told me she had no idea where Ariana had run to.As it grew dark, I began to worry and even told them I was going out to look for her. Nate was still in his bedroom. He had refused to come out since and Margaret had gi