Her Uncle Was Around

Many strange things happened to Arianna today, however, the least she expected was this strange proposal. Being Elijah's girlfriend?

To be honest, it kind of thrilled Arianna, after all, it wasn't every day that a handsome guy like him hit on her. But then, it scared her as well. What if she rejects him and he turns out to be a psychopath who stalks her to her place and work or worse, a mafia boss who kidnaps and forcefully makes her his wife or mistress - she has watched that a lot in movies. Either way, none of that sounded good.

"What do you say?" Elijah reminded her once again of his offer.

Arianna laughed at him politely, "I'll think about it,"

Thankfully, Ruth returned at that moment and Arianna sighed in relief, making the sign of the cross inwardly. 

She said hurriedly, "See you later," and without further delays, grabbed her bag and left before even Ruth could stop her.

Once outside, Arianna released the breath she didn't know she had been holding in. That was the craziest experience she ever had. Dating a man she doesn't know? She shuddered.

Arianna hoped Elijah or whatever he called himself doesn't take his offer seriously and come after her. Gosh, she had enough troubles on her plate already.

She stared down at her wristwatch and groaned, it was so late already that she wouldn't be able to find a taxi by this time. Damn it! The universe must be against her tonight.

So Arianna decided to walk to the bus stop and get a ride since it was the only alternative left. Alone and bored, she got out her earbuds and put them in her ear, playing her favorite music, and started her journey.

Arianna walked for a while, enjoying and nodding her head to the music when suddenly, she had goosebumps on her skin. What the hell?

She stopped in her tracks at once, pulling the earbud out of her ear and surveyed her environment. Although it was quite late, there were still a few people around, however, Arianna felt she was being watched.

Arianna turned around and scanned meticulously, nothing seemed to be out of place. She exhaled through the nose and tilted her head contemplatively, wondering if her instincts were wrong.

Maybe it was her imagination or something, Arianna thought and put back her earbud, and continued her walk. She was no longer comfortable and had to leave here. 

Thankfully, the weird sensation didn't come up once again until she reached the bus stop. She sat down on the long bench and it wasn't long before the bus arrived and she boarded it. 

Arianna was very stressed up and desired to sleep more than ever. It had been a long day at the coffee shop, plus Ruth's unexpected summoning, hence when she reached home, she didn't even bother for dinner, moreover, it was late at night and would add additional weight - she wasn't on a diet or something but lived a healthy lifestyle. 

So she climbed the stairs to her floor and went into her room, grateful for the fact that none of her uncle's family was awake. Dealing with Claudia tonight would be a death sentence. 

"Ugh!" Arianna threw herself on the bed. She had to take her bath before going to bed but then, she needed to catch her breath for a minute. 

Unfortunately, a minute rest turned into four hours rest as Arianna fell asleep unintentionally. 

When Arianna woke up in the morning, she found out that it was five in the morning and screamed in disappointment. 

"Aah!" How could this be? She was supposed to be having a short rest, sadly, it was the next day. 

Unfortunately, it was the break of day and Arianna had to leave before the rest of the family woke and decided they wanted to torment her this morning. 

Arianna left for work successfully and the rest of her day went well. There was no annoying customer to ruin her mood or a strange buddy offering a relationship to her or even Elijah coming for her - Ruth didn't even bother her. Her day went perfectly well. Hallelujah, somebody! 

She returned home in a joyous mood only to stumble into her aunt and Claudia in the dining room. This time, her uncle was around and the smile on her face vanished. Wonderful! 

"Hi, uncle!" She summoned a smile at him.

"Hi Arianna," He smiled back, "It's  been weeks since I last saw you," 

"Yeah, weeks of going into hiding and letting us deal with your debtors," she said mentally. 

"Yes, it is," Arianna said instead, even though that was the opposite of what she had in mind. 

"You should come and join us," He gestured to the food on the table. 

"No, thanks," Arianna rejected without second thoughts, she would die from indigestion if she ate with them, "I ate before returning home," 

"Just sit down, Arianna!" He ordered her, "Moreover, I have something to discuss with you," 

Arianna knew at that moment that it was about the loan sharks. Her aunt and daughter must have narrated the great incident to him. Fine, she had to know how he intended to go about the debt as well. 

Sitting down, her aunt and Claudia didn't say a word to her and one of the maids came to serve her meal. Her uncle didn't say anything until she was half into the meal. 

"I heard about what happened," He said out of nowhere. 

"Oh," Was all Arianna mumbled. 

"I want to thank you so much Arianna for standing up for your family," 

"I know, uncle. Unfortunately, your wife and daughter have a weird way of saying thanks," she retorted. 

"Y-you!" Claudia wanted to rise from her seat but her mother held her back. 

"Behave," her aunt warned her and Claudia obeyed her, albeit, she sent a death glare Arianna's way. 

"I have found a way to settle our debts and I can say it's beneficial for all of us," 

"For you," Arianna said, of course, in her mind. None of her uncle's actions were beneficial for her. Who knows what he did this time. 

"And I also want to apologize to you," 

Arianna's head jerked up, eyes narrowed at her uncle. What does he mean by that? 

"I'm sorry, Arianna," He said, regret etched on his face. 

Arianna frowned, "Sorry for what?" Something doesn't seem right here.

And that was when it happened, Arianna felt disoriented. Her uncle seemed far away and she felt dizzy all of a sudden. 

"What did you do to….? " 

That was the last sentence she could form as she lost consciousness.