Ariana's POV:
Valente came towards me and suddenly bent down to my level as I was still sitting. I instinctively moved back a little, my breath getting stuck in my throat.
"What..." I whispered softly as he moved even closer.
There was barely any space left between us now. I could feel the warmth radiating from him and it was making my heart beat wildly inside my chest.
"You like me?" He murmured.
His voice was low and husky, sending shivers down my spine. Because of how close he was, his breath brushed lightly against my skin and goosebumps erupted all over my body. My cheeks burned so much that I was sure he could notice.
"I...I..." I stuttered helplessly.
For the first time in my life, my mind had gone completely blank. I couldn't think properly with him looking at me like that.
"Hmm?" He asked again softly, his eyes fixed on mine.
My heartbeat became uneven. I was sure he could hear it with how loudly it was pounding.
"Ye...yes. I...I like you." I finally admitted shyly.
A slow smile appeared on his lips.
"Good." He whispered. "Because I like you too, Ariana... very much."
My eyes widened immediately.
"What? You...you like me too?" I asked in disbelief.
He chuckled softly at my reaction and the sound made my heart skip a beat.
"Yes. I do."
Before I could say anything else, his gaze slowly dropped to my lips. My breath hitched. Time itself felt like it had slowed down.
He lifted one hand and gently tucked a strand of hair behind my ear, his fingers brushing lightly against my cheek. The touch was soft, almost careful, as if he was afraid I would disappear.
"When did you-"
I couldn't finish my sentence.
He leaned closer slowly, giving me enough time to pull away if I wanted to.
But I didn't.
My eyes fluttered shut on their own as his lips finally touched mine.
The kiss was soft and gentle at first, almost hesitant. It felt warm... comforting... yet it still made my entire body tense in shock. My fingers instinctively clenched onto his shirt.
This was my first real kiss.
I could feel my heart racing wildly as he kissed me slowly, patiently, as though he wanted me to get used to him. The hand resting against my cheek caressed my skin gently and I felt butterflies erupt inside my stomach.
After a few seconds, he pulled back slightly but didn't move far away. Our faces were still inches apart and I could feel his warm breath against my lips.
I slowly opened my eyes and met his gaze.
His eyes looked softer than I had ever seen before.
"Breath, baby." He murmured with amusement.
Only then did I realize that I had been holding my breath the entire time. I quickly inhaled the air, feeling even more embarrassed.
A quiet chuckle escaped his lips.
"It's okay," he said gently.
"We'll have plenty of time to practice."
My face burned even hotter at his words.
I glared at him weakly while he looked completely pleased with himself.
He...he really kissed me in the living room while papa and my brothers were upstairs. Anyone could have walked in at any moment.
But if I was being honest...
I liked it.
A lot.
Now I know why people are so addicted to kissing the people that they like.
"Why...you." I still couldn't complete my sentence. I really was being silly at this moment.
"I have liked you for a long time. I was afraid that you didn't feel the same so I didn't say anything to you but I didn't realise that you also felt the same way." He said gently.
I could see that he was being sincere. This was the first time that I was seeing him this gentle and loving. Yes, loving. He was looking at me with love.
"Will you be my girlfriend, Ariana?" He asked.
I was very surprised but also happy. He was serious.
"Yes Valente." I said with a smile on my face.
"You know that papa and brothers are still at home. My parents are also here." I said suddenly.
Then I saw his expression suddenly change but he quickly controlled his expression.
"So what. We are dating now. You are now my girlfriend. No one can change this." He said proudly.
I shook my head but I was also smiling. I knew that he was a little scared but he was just pretending for the sake of his male pride. I let him be. After all, he was my boyfriend now.
"Yes yes we are dating now. So Mr. Vintelli, do you have my number?" I asked.
"Yup." He replied.
I wasn't very shocked to learn that he had my number. After all, I also had his number. We have the ability to.
"How do you have my number?"
"Guess." He said while chuckling.
We were sitting together now on the couch. He had his hand draped behind my seat and I was leaning on him slightly.
"So when did you realise your feelings for me?" I asked him curiously.
"I liked you the moment I saw you for the first time." He smiled.
"At the ball?" I asked because that was the first time I saw him.
"Yes and no."
I looked at him confused.
"The first I met you was when you were born and was just a little baby. I liked you at that time very much and wanted to bring you back to my home. You know about that as my mom told you." He replied.
I looked at him astonished.
"Of course at that time we both were small so my feelings for you were not romantic but I didn't forget you ever. You were there in my mind all along. This was also the reason why I couldn't bring myself to like anyone or date."
"You know, when I received the news that you were found, I was ecstatic. Then when I met you at the ball, I fell in love with you and knew that you were the only one whom I would spend my life with."
I was stunned to hear all of this. His feelings for me were far greater than I had for him.
"So Ariana, I am not dating you because I only like you but because I love you. I want to get married to you someday and have our family. Would you give me a chance?" He asked and I could tell that he was very nervous at this moment.
"I...I... Valente this..."
"I know that this is too much for you so that's why I am only asking for a chance from you. A chance to make you fall in love with me and spend our life together. I will give you however much time you want. I can also wait for you forever if that is what it takes you to fall in love with me. If you don't then it is only because there is something wrong with how I treat you."
I was very touched by his confession. I know that I didn't love him yet but I also know that I would fall for him if we spent time together.
"Okay Valente. I will give you a chance. I know that I don't love you yet but I am sure with time I will fall for you. I also like you very much." I said with a smile and saw that a wide and happy smile bloomed on his face.
"Thank you so much Ariana. I promise that I will treat you very well and if I ever make a mistake then I will try to improve myself." He said and hugged me very tightly.
I also hugged him back. Shortly after that he pulled back and leaned towards my lips. Just as he was about to kiss me, he pulled back abruptly and sat further from me.
I looked at him confused and was a little frustrated that he pulled back from kissing me. He quickly gestured towards the outside. That's when I heard footsteps too. Then I realised that we were still sitting in my living room and came back to my senses.
I looked at Valente and saw that he was sitting properly and there wasn't much expression on his face. Nobody could tell that he was the same person who was just about to kiss me and was hugging me so passionately.
Sigh. He sure knew how to change expressions. I also adjusted myself and smoothed my clothes and hair.
The footsteps came towards us and I saw that papa, dad, mom and Ben fratello were there.
"Princess. Valente." Papa said.
"Hello uncle. I just came. I heard about the attack. So I thought of checking up on you all." He said in his stoic and cold voice.
It wasn't the seductive voice anymore in which he was talking to me.
"Ok. Thank you for coming. Let me introduce you to them. Evan, Holan, this is Valente. He is my best friend's son. He is also Tony's friend." Papa introduced him.
"Valente, this is princess' parents. Evan and Holan Parker."
"Hello nice to meet you Mr. and Mrs. Parker." Valente spoke in his usual stoic voice but his voice contained politeness.
"Nice to meet you too. Just call us by names or if you want to you can also call us uncle and aunt just like Ari's brothers." Mom said.
"Ok uncle, aunty." Valente spoke quickly.
My mouth twitched a little at his eagerness.
"Papa, when did you guys wake up?" I asked as they weren't up yet when we had breakfast.
"We woke up a little later than usual today." He replied.
It was almost evening now. I spent my time in my room and then I talked to Valente for a long time. It was a wonder that we weren't interrupted during this.
Only Ben fratello and papa were here so that means that all the others have gone to work or out.
We chatted for some time there and I saw that Valente was sneaking glances at me secretly. I knew that he wanted some time alone with me but well.
We both decided to not tell anyone about our relationship yet. We wanted some time alone with ourselves. We both knew that if my family knew about it, they would make it very difficult for Valente and we don't want to deal with that now.
"Papa, I am going out for some time with Valente." I said.
Valente looked at me shocked because we haven't talked about going anywhere but he quickly masked it. Then I noticed his happiness. His emotions weren't very visible and one couldn't tell if they didn't know him well.
"Where are you both going?" Ben fratello asked in suspicion.
See that is why I don't want to tell them yet.
"I want to bring her somewhere. I noticed that she still hasn't recovered from what happened yesterday. So I thought that if I brought her somewhere to have fun she would feel better." He said.
"Okay then take her. Bring her back before 10." Papa said.
"Ok uncle. Ariana, let's go." He said and I looked at him.
"Ok just give me a moment and I will come after changing." I said as I was wearing comfy clothes.
He nodded. I went upstairs and changed my clothes. I wore a simple dress and went with him outside. We both went to his car and he drove it away.
"Thank you baby."
And he was back to his husky and seducing voice. The way he said baby sounded very sexy.
"What for?" I asked.
"For giving me an excuse to bring you away."
"I knew you wanted to spend some time with me. So where are we going?"
"Where do you want to go?"
"How about we just find a nice and calm place to spend some time together."
"Ok I know of a place that you will like." He said and we drove for some time.
He brought me to a small park. It was very beautiful and there weren't many people here so it was quiet also.
"Let's go. We are here."
He went down and came to open my door. We went together and found a bench to sit on. It was very peaceful here. There was a small lake and it was a serene place that instantly calmed me.
"It's very beautiful here." I smiled at him.
"I am glad that you like it. I used to come here when I was a kid."
He hugged me slightly and I leaned in. We sat there quietly and enjoyed the peacefulness.
"Ariana." Someone suddenly said.
I was startled and looked up.
I was shocked to see that it was...
****
Hello dear readers.
Here's another chapter.
Happy reading.
Love, Stella.