-Chapter 68: Gotta Go
I lift my head up off the seat of the chair, well couch, in Aruto's office and look around. When did I doze off here? Aruto needed some help with some paperwork and I offered my assistance. Then we did some paperwork together after that little moment we had and I don't know what happened after that.
"Izu left us some coffee, but you dozed off at that point already."
My eyes go to Aruto, who is at his desk, and I nod my head. "I see. What time is it right now?"
"It is midnight. I was going to close up the building myself tonight, but you just were sleeping so peacefully that I didn't want to wake you. I am sure it isn't often that you get to have peaceful sleep."
I look over myself. "Blanket?"
"I had Izu bring it. She's in her rest mode right now," Aruto explains.
"Ah, right." I sit up and ran a hand through my hair. "Wait...you said it is midnight, right?" Did I really stay here for way too long? Gai is going to be pissed off the moment I get home.
"Your husband did call your phone a few times and I sent a text in reply to his calls. I just told him that you were busy monitoring me and that you didn't want to seem suspicious in front of me." Aruto smiles. He made sure to keep Gai off my tail? "And while you were sleeping, I told him that you would be here longer since I was going to be here longer. It is all good, Mari."
"Thanks." I am not planning on ruining my luck with Gai right now. It is best to keep my husband happy and off my tail.
Aruto sighs. "I wish I could have napped with you, but that would have been a huge problem."
"You can always make it look like an accident. I wouldn't mind sleeping with you." I look him in the eyes as my face starts to burn. "I don't mean in bed, of course. I'm not the kind of woman who just hops into bed with someone randomly. But that doesn't mean I hate you or anything, Aruto. You're desirable." And now I'm panicking since he could take me the wrong way.
Aruto looks away and smiles a bit more widely. "I know what you mean, Mari. You don't need to freak out over it. I am not offended and I won't be offended by that. Besides, I won't hurt you over your own opinions. You're allowed to have them."
He's so kind to me still and I still feel like I have done nothing to deserve his kindness. I literally do everything wrong to him and he still is all forgiving and caring towards me. I think the only way for him to stop liking me is for me to end up like Gai, which won't happen.
"Hey, Aruto, I need you to do me a favor. Something Gai and Kairi said has me thinking about something."
"Sure, I can try helping you with what you need me to do. What is it?" His eyes return to me and his smile drops.
"Can you figure out anything about Elise for me? You can team up with Isamu on it because it'll take a ton of digging, but I just heard something from them that got me thinking about her. I want to know more about her and who she truly was." I want to know who Allen's wife really was behind the scenes. I don't want to know who everyone else thinks she was.
"Huh? Sure, I guess I can do that. What made you think to ask me about that?" Aruto stares at me, giving me a confused look. I feel so bad about this, but I want to know more about her and what she was like.
"It was just something minor that he said. Nothing that could mean anything bad." I can't tell him about this yet. I don't him to gain bias against her before he looks into her.
He nods his head. "Alright, I can look into her for you as long as you want me to. Do you care if I find something bad out?"
I shake my head. "No, I just want to figure out if he was being honest or not with me. It doesn't matter if you find out something good or bad." I just want to know about her and that is all that matters. Who is Elise truly and what did she want? Also, how did Gai know her exactly?
"I will be sure to tell you anything that I find out about her. It may take a long time though," he replies, being honest with me. It isn't like I expect perfection from him when it comes to finding out things. He's not a spy or someone who investigates people for a living. He is good at finding out things though and I can trust him with this.
"Thanks for messaging my husband for me." I am glad that he did so to keep him off my back. That man will be the near death of me.
"It wasn't a problem for me to do that for you. You don't have to thank me for it. I'm sure if I was in your position and married to an awfully evil woman, you would do the same." He isn't wrong on that. I would do anything to help him out in that situation.
I sigh a bit. "I feel like I'm going to be so alone feeling later."
"Why is that?" He stares at me, giving me a confused look. "Is it because you're going to be alone with Gai?"
"Yeah..." And I don't want to. I rather spend the day with Horobi in A.I.M.S. custody.
"Well, I'll take you home so you don't have to be alone on the way there. You might want to be disguised, so I will give you a little something to help you out. Have you ever wanted to look like a HumaGear before?" Aruto asks me, getting up from his chair. "I can have a fake module made for you to wear over your ears and I can probably get a wig real quick for you."
"Is it to prevent the media from seeing us together?" He is one smart boy. "Aruto, thanks again. You're too good for me."
"Nah, don't think like that." He shakes his head, laughing a little. "You're not too good for me at all."
He moves around his desk and heads over to the lab area of his office, looking down at it. Usually it is blocked off by a wall, but we're the only two here in the office. Well, Izu is still here. She's in the lab, but I don't count her as being a part of the office right now. It is two different areas despite being connected.
I stand up and run a hand over my hair. "Aruto, are you sure about this? I would hate for you to end up in trouble with Gai because of me." Gai won't let him off easily.
"Mari, it is fine. I am okay with getting into trouble with that man," he responds, turning to face me. "We're going to stand strong together from now on, alright? There is nothing Gai can do to keep us away from each other."
I want to believe Aruto right now, but it is quite doubtful. Allen had his ways of keeping me from all of the people I loved and cared for. And I might hardly know anything about Gai, but I can tell that he will do anything to keep things on track for himself and his image in order. He is powerful and has a lot of people in his pocket. Like Yua. She's forever stuck in his pocket due to holding something over her head.
"I get why you have doubts, but we need to be positive about our relationship going forward. You need to be happy and deserve to be happy. You've been through a lot," Aruto says.
"Aruto..." I am not sure how I managed to get him to like me. He can say what reasons he has for liking me, but it'll never make much sense to me. "Thanks."
"I'll get your fake modules. It'll be a current day model on since I doubt you'll like having a clunky one," he tells me, turning away. "I know what I'm doing, so don't worry."
"And I know how to do that too." Working at Halo Horizons had its advantages. "So, Aruto, would you like me if I was a HumaGear?"
"What kind of question is that? Of course." He looks back at me as I step closer to the lab area of his office. "Mari, I like you because you're you. If you were a HumaGear, I would definitely like you a lot."
I stop behind him and he looks back at the lab. I want to know how he got this way. Someone raised him to be this amazing CEO who believes in the dreams of humanity and HumaGears.
I move forward and wrap my arms around him, giving him a back hug. "Aruto, I want to be happy with you for as long as possible. Even if it is just for a moment, please let me be happy with you for it." I don't know what is coming over me. Is it because I fear that Gai will do something really bad if he finds out about this?
Aruto places his hands on mine and holds onto them gently. "Mari, I won't let it be just a moment."
"Aruto..." I hope that it will be longer than a moment. I would hate for it to just end because Gai forces himself into the picture.
There is no telling what will happen if Gai figures out I'm seeing Aruto. I am really afraid of the moment he does, since I know it'll happen. I hope he doesn't react like Allen did to the tiniest things. I didn't even cheat on Allen and Allen would react like I did.
"You don't have to worry about him. We should be positive together and try to keep our thoughts off of him."
I close my eyes and inhale, taking in his scent. He doesn't smell anything like Gai does to me. Gai is clean smelling, but you can tell that he is wealthy and power. Aruto is cleaner and sweeter to me. I don't know much about scents since I'm just into anything that smells good and pretty much anything vanilla scented.
"I don't want to go home," I state, my voice low.
I'm afraid of going home. I feel like I'm trapped and I'm never going to get away. Even though I have a plan, I'm afraid it is going to backfire. Gai is smart and he has the entire world in his hands. He's way more powerful and scary than Allen ever was and I'm the one to blame for how I got into this situation.
Gai may have tricked me into the marriage, but I willing went along with it because he had evidence against me. If I would have allowed him to use it against me, it would have allowed me to be away from him. I would be in the custody of A.I.M.S. and not close to this horrible man and stuck in a marriage with him.
"I know that you're afraid, but you need to stay strong. We're doing our best to get you free. Mari, you're doing your part as well."
"I know, but I remember everything that happened in my marriage to Allen." And one day, I'll be able to tell Aruto everything that happened during it. "Allen did a lot to keep me close to him and I'm afraid that is going to be my fate again."
Aruto removes my hands from him and I open my eyes as he turns to me. "Mari, I get why you're afraid and it is something I don't blame you for. Your weaknesses can be your strength, alright? I don't know much about that kind of thing, but it sounded good so I said it."
I nod my head, smiling a bit. "You're making me want to laugh."
"I want to make you laugh for the rest of my life," he tells me softly. "So, how about that fake module? I know that we're having a moment, but I don't want to forget about it."
"Is it because you might get distracted by me?"
He nods. "That is right."
"Aruto, thanks again." I don't want to keep on distracting him from what we need to do.
"It isn't a problem," he replies. "Come on."
I just hope Gai doesn't realize what is going on.
A/n: And here is the weekly update for Senseless Abyss. I may or may not update again before Sunday of next week. I am sorry if the ending is a bit off, but I wrote it when tired so my brain was like "Eh sounds fine to me" :p
Some Aruto/Mari sweetness in here, huh? I hope you enjoyed it. I wanted to have a sweet chapter between them (and we'll have some more soon).
Thanks :D