The walk to the dinning room felt like forever, as much as she was eager to meet her son, Liam, she was still scared of seeing Antonio.
Antonio wasn't a soft man. He's a man of his words and just like had promised to hurt her for running away, he's going to do it. Yet, at the prospect of him using her son to threaten her into submission was far more worse than any punishment.
Once they arrived at the door and stopped for the guard to announce her arrival. Sweat ran across her temple, Arianna could feel her breath getting heavier and suffocating, making it hard for her to think straight without feeling lightheaded.
"You are late." Antonio growled coldly.
"I.." she tried to explain but he cut her off.
"But don't worry, my girl can sleep as long as she likes.." Antonio said, hearing him call her that, made her angry and she let it all out.
"I'm not your girl. We ended things a long time ago, you are nothing but a kidnapper who took me and my son from the confines of my home, where is my son?" She demanded.
Antonio said nothing but stared at her from where he sat at the head of the table, if anything he was amused with what's going on, why?
She was making this all much more fun and exciting for him to break her down, and fix her right back into the woman she was once to him.
She should be dead, but she's one lucky lady that their son changed his mind, but what he won't condone was disrespect in his own home.
He stood up from the chair, the sound scraping against the floor which made Arianna move back unconsciously. For someone who had a lot to say to him a few minutes ago, her courage died down once she saw the look on his face.
"Antonio, I'm.." Arianna tried to apologize.
He was going to kill her!
"Get over here."He said to her, trying so hard not to lose it early this morning, but she wasn't making things so easy for him. Why does she have to disobey him every single time?
Why get smart with him when she knows how things will turn out for her.
"No, you are going to hurt me." She cried.
"No, I won't, if you are a good girl and as i say."Antonio said, stretching his hand out to her.
That hand?
That hand that has killed so many people, that hand that bathes in people's blood, pain and miseries. Why should she trust the devil?
Arianna had no idea what gave her the intuition that he wasn't going to hurt her, Antonio doesn't take disobedience lightly and she had done more than hurt him in just one night of being here, by insulting him, in his own home.
Yet, she had no choice anymore, he's going to hurt her anyway, so why not get this over with so that she can see Liam soon, he's going to be hungry by now.
Once she stepped closer and accepted the devils hand stretched out to her, he brought her right up to stand in front him, and did he look more intimidating than ever being so close to him?
"I need to see Liam, please, Antonio, he's my baby and he needs his mother…" she pleaded.
"And what about his father?" Antonio asked her, and when she didn't give him the answer he wanted, he cleared the plates on the table in one go as it thrashed against the floor, before he pushed her towards the table and came to trap her between the table.
"You didn't think it was right to tell me about my own child, huh? Liam doesn't need a father?" He asked her.
"He has a father…" Arianna wasn't done speaking before she was silenced with a slap by an angry Antonio.
"You dare speak that cunts name." Antonio spat, before grabbing her by her jaw while she fought against him. "I gave you a life every woman out there will die to get, yet, why defy me, Arianna? Why!"
"I didn't ask for this!" Arianna cried, "You took me away from everyone and everything i love.."
"Because you are mine!"
"No, because you are nothing but a selfish man who thinks only about what he wants. Did it ever occur to you that i didjt want the life you offered to me .."
"The life that paid your mothers hospital bills!" He growled. Antonio didn't like the way this conversation was going, she was painting him out to be the bad guy here while all he wanted was to be with the woman he loves.
"Yet you killed her, I will never forgive you for that and I will be a fool to let you do the same to my son, we are better off without you." She concluded.
"He's my son too!" Antonio growled. "I put that baby in you so i have every right as much as you do towards him, and to hell if i let my son be called a bastard because of what you think of me."
"I don't understand…" Arianna said, looking confused.
He turned back and took a file from his chair before he dropped it besides Arianna, gesturing at her to open it.
Once she tore the file open and saw what's written inside, she started thrashing around.
"No no no! I can't do this. You can't force me to do this, I'm not going to marry you!!" She yelled, hitting Antonio on his chest.
"You don't have a choice. That's your punishment for keeping Liam away from me." He said sternly, fixing his tie as if he didn't hear her answer already.
But what he didn't coming was the knife she waved at him that she took from the table, it scratched the side of his face before he knocked it off her hand.
"You stupid girl!" Antonio spat, touching his bloody cheeks before he sauntered towards her and grabbed her up by her hair while she screamed.
The door opened at that moment and Jake walked inside, not minding what's happening. Afterall, this is not the first time that he has seen his boss assault her.
"Boss, your car is ready for the meeting."
Antonio's anger cleared off the moment Jake walked in, instead of hitting her like he always did, he grabbed her instead and tilted her chin up to meet her teary eyes.
"Babygirl, I want to start over with you. I know that I'm not an easygoing man, but you have to think of our son, this isn't about us anymore, Arianna. I want to be there for Liam and one way or the other, you know that I get what i want, be a good girl till I'm back." He said and pecked her lips, not minding the fact that all she wanted to do was to leave him.
To run far away from him, but the time for that is over!
Once he was out of the door, Arianna fell to her knees and placed her hand on her chest. It was so hard to breathe with him around her, and now that he's not here, it's much worse.
Marriage to Antonio?
That's like signing her life off to the devil.
Antonio doesn't love!
He knows nothing about love or marriage, as long as they are with him, their lives are always going to be in danger and that's not the life she wants for Liam.
To hell with this marriage!