You Say - Lauren Daigle
You say I am loved when I can't feel a thing
You say I am strong when I think I am weak
You say I am held when I am falling short
When I don't belong, oh You say that I am Yours And I believe
After the wedding, Axel and Arianna went home, receiving blessings from everyone for their happy and prosperous life ahead. Jennifer and Arianna exchanged a series of 'one last hug', even though they were scheduled to meet for the weekend. And the Bells didn't even feign any kind of emotions, they were standing in a corner like they were guests, even they showed more emotions. Watching Axel and Arianna's great chemistry convinced them, It felt like a slap to the investors faces who had doubted them. They could picture the new couple paint the town red with their sizzling chemistry when the photos will make it to the media the next day. Few of them even tried to talk to Matthew but he scheduled the meeting for upcoming days, which was a noble thing to do. But Brandon Bell was not having it, he took them to a corner to arrange meetings for himself.
Axel and Arianna were in the limousine on their way to their penthouse. Arianna rested her head on Axel's shoulder and sighed in relief. Axel carefully traced the material of her dress. His finger trailed to Arianna's finger touching the emerald stone on her finger.
Arianna watched the ring more carefully, only now taking in its classic look."Is this?" Her eyes widen as she peers at him in shock.
"My mother's." Axel says quietly. Arianna gasps and pulls back to face him completely ."It's your Arianna, for forever." He speaks firmly.
A lone tear fell from her eye as she peers at the simple platinum band on Axel's finger.
"I..." She croaks, inhaling a sharp breath."I d-didn't have much b-budget." She stammered as her lips trembled in embarrassment.
Axel held her chin between his thumb and index finger, to make her look at him."It's beautiful because you got it for me and I'm going to keep it with me, forever." He says softly, kissing her forehead. Arianna hugged him, Axel placed a hand behind her knee and placed her legs on his lap. Arianna let him as she nestled her face in the crook of his neck. Axel unbuckled the straps on her high heels and squeezed her foot. Arianna moaned in relief, her feet were killing him. Axel smiled and shook his head and as he continues to massage her feet. Soon Arianna's breathing evened out, her body lax on top of him. Axel tilted his head to face her, kissed the top of her nose, and quietly said, "Mrs. Arianna knight."
*****
Jennifer was standing near the exit door, waiting for her ride to arrive. Ranveer was watching her from distance like a borderline creep. His parents have already left but not before watching their son hopelessly fall for the beautiful bridesmaid. They did not say anything then, saving the teasing game for the family dinner.
When a silver Audi arrived, Jennifer stepped down, the driver was about to open the door for her but Brandon Bell stopped him.
"What are you doing?" he grunts, thundering down the steps, his nose flaring like a raging bull.
"Mr. Bell, Miss Arianna asked me to drop Miss Shaw back home." His driver answered, balling his fists in fear of losing his job.
"No need, she can manage on her own" Brandon snarled, glaring at Jennifer who took a step back from the car. The driver was not happy about leaving the girl like this but had to oblige. So he nodded and gave a rueful look to Jennifer.
Elizabeth and Jessica now joined Brandon, to add salt to the wound.
"The place you live in is in a bad neighborhood even in the broad daylight. So why the hypocrisy in the safe city area." Marion speaks in a honeyed voice. Jessica who usually joined her parents to berate people, looked the other way, feeling bad for leaving a girl alone at 11 pm. Brandon and Marion left with amused expressions. This was the only time out of the celebration when they actually enjoyed it. Jennifer watched them leave in the car assigned for her and another one of their cars, without any passenger, followed by. Her shoulders sagged, her eyes burned to let out the tears she has been holding back. The bile in her throat was making it difficult to breathe. Her chin trembled as she walked ahead slightly stumbling on her foot.
Ranveer who was watching the scene from distance barely contained his anger, he cannot lay hand on a woman or an elder man, though neither deserved to be treated with respect. The valet brought his Ferrari, he jumped in and took deep breathes to calm himself.
Jennifer was out of the gate walking ahead, by the time he reached there. He stopped his car a few steps farther from her.
"hey beautiful, where to?" he says without looking at her, as he knew Jennifer must be in tears and did not want to embarrass her any further. But he did see her wiping her tears from the heel of her hand in the rearview mirror.
"Mr. Ahuja, Heyyy..." She greets. They barely exchanged any words when they were dancing but Ranveer could feel the hoarseness in her voice
"I thought we were over the formalities." Ranveer pouted.
Jenny seemed relaxed now. "Well Ranveer, I was going home." She said smiling but it didn't reach her eyes.
"In this speed, you will definitely reach home before their first anniversary," he said cockily, drumming his fingers in the steering wheel.
"I was just taking a walk, I'll take a cab later." Jennifer shrugged taking in her surroundings as though enjoying the weather. Truly, it was just to clear her mind and maybe save some money in her cab ride.
"Can I give you a ride home..." said Ranveer opening the door for her, but she did not move
"...Oh come on, you don't know the cab driver personally either and I can guarantee you a five-star ride." He said winking at her, Jennifer bit her lip and blushed crimson.
The ride went on with Ranveer telling Jennifer about Axel and his childhood memories. Jennifer was completely relaxed now. The car stopped in front of 'Arianna' the cafe. It would be polite to invite Ranveer inside but this is not where she lives, Arianna gave her keys to her apartment. Jennifer barely used it, unless it was an emergency and this... was indeed an emergency.
Ranveer knew that Arianna lives alone and was disappointed that Jennifer did not trust him enough but he did not say anything, respecting her decision.
Jennifer stopped in front of the door, fidgeting the keys in her fingers. Ranveer was still waiting in his car to see her get inside safely. Jennifer thought that she was doing wrong, she's giving him a false image. She did not feel ashamed of her financial status, the reason she did not bring him near her house was different but, she was ready to take the chance. She took long strides back to his car. Confused, Ranveer got out of his car.
"This is not where I live, I just crash here sometimes. If you don't mind, can you drop me back home?" She said on one go, breathing hard as though she ran a marathon.
"Lead the way..."Ranveer smiled, his eyes crinkling on the corners. He opened the door for her and Jennifer was certain, she saw him fist bump in the air.
*****
When his Ferrari reached the humble streets of Jennifer's neighborhood, she started panicking. Not only was she afraid of his reaction, but also concerned about his safety. They will take his car, wallet, hell even his shoes looked worth 5000 thousand dollars.
She braced herself and chanced a look at him, to see a look of disgust on his face but surprisingly she got a concerned look. His brows were puckered and lips pursed in a thin line. And it was true, he was indeed concerned about her safety, the place was not good for a girl.
When they got out, the street was surprisingly empty.
"So umm, you see that balcony with the dead flower pots. That's where I live." She said letting out a humorless laugh, waiting for him to speed off and never look back.
"Alone? "He says horrified at the thought.
"No, with my mother." She smiled, that did not reach her eyes. 'Thank god, She doesn't stay alone in this place.' Thought Ranveer.
They stayed where they were for a few seconds, then heard a crash from above.
"I think I should go. I'll see you" She said in a rush and didn't wait to hear his reply.
Ranveer too followed her, concerned for her safety. Inside the cranky building was an 'out of order' sign on the elevator, even the placard had spider webs and months of worth dust layers on it, Ranveer shook his head in anger and followed Jennifer to her place, taking two steps at a time. Jennifer halted in her tracks in front of the door, which was open ajar.
And what Ranveer saw inside made him think, It would have been better if she had lived alone. A woman, barely dressed in her see-through clothes was fighting with her...customer, she was asking for more money and he was actually bargaining.
When that man saw Jennifer his expression changed.
"She will do, I'll pay whatever she wants." he said, taking a step toward her. Jennifer's mother slapped him hard and Ranveer came in front of Jennifer, protectively. Ranveer could've easily broken the man's bone and but he did not want to cause a scene.
In Jennifer's life, she had encountered embarrassment on numerous occasions, whether it was her mother smelling like cheap booze in a dirty diner uniform during the parent-teacher meet or yelling her name like a lunatic in her graduation ceremony, telling everyone that Jenny was the first one to complete her graduation. But now, with Ranveer, she wanted the earth to swallow her.
Defeated, She left the place, with Ranveer slowly following her. He opened the car door for her, He knew she wouldn't let him take her to his apartment. So he took her back to 'Arianna'.
She sat on the sidewalk in front of the cafe, and Ranveer mimicked. After a few minutes of silence, she spoke ."This is exactly where I met Arianna, 3 years ago..." She said in a hoarse voice, on a verge of bawling out.
"...My mom was fighting with one of her customers. I was seventeen and planning to move out and do something on my own. But with a mom who steals money from one of your best hiding places, it difficult to save money." Ranveer did not say anything and gave her some time to continue. She lulls her body back and forth and continued to talk.
"... I kept walking and reached here, a beautiful girl was standing in the center of this beautiful cafe, I have only seen in movies. She was just running around in circles. I don't know what happened to me but I felt that she won't be like my classmates and won't look down on me because of my shabby clothes. So went in to tell her that everything looks perfect and she should not worry. And we just... clicked. I wasn't that bright, so scholarship was not an option so in school I joined culinary classes, paid attention to all the secret grandma recipes, learned basic French so I could catch a good waitress job, I was 4 months away from turning 18. I thought I would just pack my bags and leave for good, Arianna offered me to stay with her numerous times but she was already doing too much for me. You have no idea how much she pays me, She is like an angel, She also has to save money to... but yet, She thinks about me. And that stirred something inside of me. That girl cares so much for me. My mom is definitely not a flag bearer of ideal mom's parade..." She chuckled.
"...But she never called me names, never laid a hand on me, or let me sleep without a meal, no matter how tasteless it was. I can't leave her... but this is too much now. I'm gonna start looking for my own place and take care of her."
And now after pouring her heart out, She realized she has summarized her life in front of a man she met hours ago. "I'm so sorry. I..." She stammered looking away.
"No. Please. I'm glad you trusted me. Heyyy... Look at me." he gently grasped her chin.
"... Is she an addict..? I mean I can find a good..." he trailed.
"She..." She trailes, licking her dry lips. "I don't know, it's complicated. I don't know why she does what she does. This...was...is her monthly or weekly gig. She never answers me, just says that we can use some extra cash. Even after we had no bills left to pay, She still continued doing it and I stopped asking questions." She said as her voice finally cracked, allowing him to see the raw emotions trickling down her face.
Ranveer hummed in response, wiping her tears. He had already mapped out what he needed to do. But before any of that... "It's already 2 am, And I'm hungry." He said suggestively, looking at the cafe.
*****
Namaste, reader!!! I hope you liked the chapter. If you did then please don't forget to VOTE ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ and leave your precious COMMENTS behind.
I would love it if you check out my other stories, 'Aurora's Aura' 'Mafia & Miss Honey' 'Becoming Romeo' 'Violet Hues' & ''His Captive'. The story link is on my profile.