To Love in Full

Chapter 13: Balter

Balter (v.) To dance artlessly, without particular grace or skill but usually with enjoyment.

Arabella's P.O.V.

"Arabella... Arabella." My name was called in the midst of my dreams, joined with a gentle touch against my skin. "Wake up." The voice spoke once more and lured me away from darkness.

Wake up, the words repeated in my head, more harshly this time, and I sat up quickly, but suddenly felt a slight pain against my forehead.

"Cazzo," the voice exclaimed, and I looked up with widened eyes to find Nicolo hovering over my body, rubbing his jaw from being hurt. Instinctively, I quickly reached out to touch his site of injury, and frowned as the infuriated man shared a cold glare.

"I'm so sorry, are you alright?" I asked worriedly while my fingertips grazed by his skin that had slightly turned a shade of red from impact. I could feel the man clench his jaw under my touch, but he remained in silence, and I looked into his eyes, awaiting a response.

"You need to get dressed. We are leaving in an hour," he said while breaking away from my gaze and forcefully grasped my wrist to drop my hand away from his face.

"Do I really have to go?" I asked and looked down at the blanket that had fallen onto my lap.

"I cannot let you stay here alone," he sighed, leading me to frown at the sound of his answer as he still held no trust within me.

"Are you really that tired, Arabella?" he suddenly questioned in my silence and grabbed me by my chin, forcing me to meet his narrowed eyes. I could not determine if the man was genuinely curious, or if I had just made him even more angry with my unwillingness to follow, but to keep myself safe from more harm, I gave him an answer that would be of satisfaction.

"No, I'll go and get ready now," I muttered, and departed myself from such an unnerving presence.

Releasing a relieved sigh, I made my way upstairs and kept my head low while I passed by some guards of the estate, but being a new dweller of this home, I should have known that my attempts to keep a low-profile would not be enough.

"Good morning, Arabella," Leone teased as we crossed paths just before my bedroom door.

"I don't want to hear it," I groaned and entered my room with rolled eyes as I listened to the distant echoes of his laughter traveling down the hallway.

My hands trailed along the softness of silk once I laid my evening attire across the bed. I was still in disbelief with this purchase as I never thought that it would be a possibility for a dress this costly to be in my possession, but my time of shock came to an end once I heard a light knock at my door.

"Come in!" I called out and turned around to find Viviana slipping into the room with a friendly smile. "Bella, you're still not ready?" she asked in surprise and a hint of scorn within her voice.

"I fell asleep," I shrugged with a sheepish smile.

"Come on, sit. We have a lot of work to do," she huffed and hurriedly made her way towards the vanity mirror with a well-supplied bag of beauty products. Her helpful efforts were accompanied by skillful hands that enhanced my features with a look of elegance and styled my hair into soft waves, leading me to stare at my reflection with a faint smile as I had forgotten what it was like to feel this beautiful.

"I wish I had hair like yours," she commented while adding her final touches.

"But, your hair is beautiful, Viviana. It fits you so well, it's perfect," I affirmed as I met her eyes through the mirror.