𝒯𝒽ℯ ℛ𝒾𝓈ℯ 𝒪𝒻 𝒜 𝒬𝓊ℯℯ𝓃

Chapter |27|Washing Away the Pain

A R A B E L L A ' S    P. O. V

"It's okay, just breathe." I clutched his hand tighter as the loud roar of the engines came to life.

Planes were a fear of mine, a deathly fear. I had only ever been once on a plane during my honeymoon, and ever since then, I had tried my best to avoid them.

My eyes were furiously screwed shut, and I gasped when the plane tilted up. The faint sound of the wheels coming in, fuelled my anxiety even further.

"Ow baby," I quickly released Hardin's hand and opened my eyes. Four crescent shaped marks were indented into his skin.

"I'm sorry, I'm just..." The plane suddenly lurched, causing a strangled scream to leave my throat.

Warm hands quickly cupped my face. My eyes flickered open to meet his soft loving gaze. "Hey, hey it's okay. Just a little turbulence."

"You sure?" He gave me a look, one filled with the kind of certainty you couldn't fake. "Okay, I'm okay. We're okay."

"We are." He grabbed my hands and pressed a kiss to them. "Let's go to the bedroom."

I nervously looked up at the neon sign flashing overhead. "The seatbelt sign is still up." A second later it disappeared. I glared at his cocky grin but held out my hand. "Okay, let's go."

The bedroom was small but grand. From the satin sheets to the silver trimmings around the door, the place exuded ostentation, definitely fit for a royal guest.

I flopped onto the bed, curling up and exhaling in content as the strong scent of jasmine and lavender filled the room. "Move up baby," He shoved my ass to one side and lay down besides me, propping up his head with his elbow. "Feeling better now."

His hand soothingly rubbed my back, his fingers digging into my sore muscle from yesterday's workout session. And by workout, I mean actual workout not a hour long sex marathon, which I would have most definitely preferred.

However, even the Queen has to work out to mention her figure, or in my case get it back.

"Yes, now I am but you better hold my hand again when we begin our descent. That part always freaks me out." He chuckled.

"Don't worry, I'm here for you always." We spent the next few hours watching some crappy movie and stuffing our face with expensive  chocolate that was enough to seduce a person.

Unfortunately for Hardin, I wasn't willing to have sex whilst trapped in a metal box in the air.

"Tell me about Katrina's mother. Didn't you have that meeting yesterday?" As part of our vow to help Katrina and her family? Hardin requested a meeting with her to potentially find her a new job.

"She worked at a restaurant for more than ten years and when there was a promotion up she was passed because of her gender."

"I can't believe that, after everything we fought for. All the campaigns, the new laws passed...I thought Dahlia was passed this, or moving pass it."

"I know baby, but we have to accept that there's just always going to be my people who will always believe that sort of stigma." He was right, we could fight the old mentality that was still instilled inside the mindsets of many. "Anyways I offered her a job in the kitchen, assisting the head chef and one day when he retires, she'll be promoted."