Aniston's POV I watched as he regained consciousness. I knew it in the way he watched me. I wrapped my arms around him and I vowed not to let him go again."Hey. You shouldn't have risked your life for me"His short black hair that was usually neatly combed to the back and was everywhere and sticky with wet dirt.He seemed to have shrunk in height or was it the way I gathered him into my arms like he was an infant?"Why not?" I whispered into his ears.I remembered how I first described him the first time I saw him.I thought what a beautiful devil he was with his sculpture-like chiseled jawline and distinctive straight nose. It made me smile, I touched his jaw, he was still the most beautiful man I have ever seen even in his disarray.Ari looked at me. Taking every effort to hold my gaze."I would rather put a blade through my own chest than see you hurt trying to save me"I focused on him.I stared at his high cheekbones that looked man made and too perfect, his lips delicious and

Ari's POV Luna tossed on the bed like she was being prodded like a cattle. She was sweating profusely but she was also cold too. I did my best to wipe each bead of sweat as it came, anything to keep it from soaking her body.Her breathing was steady and normal now but that was about the only thing that was working in Luna's favor. Apart from sweating, Mom had chills and general weakness. She was easily irritated even in her unconscious state.Dr Alyssa warned me about the headaches and muscle aches she might experience due to sucking the venom out of Storm's blood and that it might lead to a bad temper on her side.I tried feeding her the mashed potato Cephas sent to her room but my mother would not have any of it. If her inability to take any food continues, Doctor Alyssa would have no other option than to insert a feeding tube through her nose and it was a sight I would rather not see.I was able to deal with her dehydration by constantly pouring water down her throat with my other

Aniston's POV I found Ari outside by the pool, he wasn't bleeding like I expected. Instead he was sitting down with his legs crossed sipping a glass of Brandy."Oh, there you are. Are you alright?"He dropped the glass when he saw me and stood up.I hugged him before I realized we were in public and that was just a recipe for gossip."Sorry, I shouldn't have done that" I apologized immediately."That's okay. They will find out about us sooner than later""Is there a place we can go to? Somewhere private" I asked him.I wanted to fuss over him without an audience."I have been meaning to check out the orange Plantation. Do you want to come along?" He asked me and offered me his hand.I have been to the plantation before with Stormi and it was exactly what I needed."I thought you would never ask"We took a walk down the orange plantation. It was a new therapeutic project that was started four years ago which at first glance looked like a total waste of funds but on a second glance tur

Ari's POV My hunched figure could be seen from a distance. The wooden beach chair I was lying on looked out of place, it was probably because it was meant for a luxurious beach and not a small pool at the back of the mansion.I rubbed my temple with my finger in a futile attempt to alleviate the persistent throbbing pain there. Slowly, my hands moved from my temple down my neck, for a moment it felt like the lower my hand went, the persistent the pain was. It felt like the throbbing pain was actually following the direction of my hands.Suddenly, the comfortable wooden chair felt like it was lined with corrosiveness and I had to stand up. Pacing felt okay until I became incessantly dizzy and had to sit back down.I shut my eyes for a minute or two, it was my attempt to practice the relaxing technique my long time girlfriend, Tania taught me and even that didn't last just like my relationship with Tania didn't go beyond three weeks too.I briefly thought of Storm. My little brother wh

Aniston's POV I felt my breath shudder as he walked right out the door. I looked away and closed my eyes as it felt like someone was using a dagger to shred what I knew were the last pieces of my heart.Maybe I was taking it so hard because for once I was really hoping Ari would be someone other than the person who wants to keep me his dirty secret.I thought captivity changed him.I was hoping he would choose to protect me but instead he left. I guess he didn't love me enough to risk his reputation.If he did, he wouldn't have left me sitting on a dirty floor and in tears. He would have fought for me and made sure I was alright. The man I love would have done that and more. But atlas, he was nowhere to be found.I tried to protect my face as the food throwing started again, harder than before and as much as I wanted to stand up and walk out of the cafeteria, my legs refused to move.But I am Vanessa Aniston Stillblood, I am bloody royalty! I wasn't going to cower because my legs s