Unexpected Love ✔️

T H I R T Y O N E

A R I A N  N A

Swiping my phone off the counter when my ringtone blares through the silence, I release a sigh before pressing my phone against my ear, "Hi dad,"

"Ari beta," He hums softly like he's glad to hear my voice after so long. That's my fault, I guess. I've been avoiding any and all reminders of Mom these past couple of months when I think I should have been cherishing the time I spent with her. It was time well spent. "How have you been?"

"I've been..," I trail off with a sigh throwing my head back with a sigh escaping me as I search for the right words. Not wanting to lie to him because, well, I respect him far too much to lie straight to his face, especially when I know the question comes from a place of concern. "I mean, let's face it, I've been better," I whisper down the line, wiping a stray tear from my cheek with the back of my hand when it falls with a small sniffle.

"It's hard," I admit, sitting up straighter. It's so damn hard carrying without her by my side because a part of me, no matter how small, always thought she was going to be here. A part of me thought she would survive and she'd live to tell the tale. I naively and foolishly thought I'd get a little while longer with her. She was meant to be here, loving and cheering me on as I made it in the world of Fashion because my dreams weren't just mine.

No, my dreams were hers.

The only reason I got this far, a step away from walking across that stage and collecting my degree and accomplishing them, is because I always had her hand to hold.

And now, she's not going to be able to watch me march across that stage with a smile, shake the dean's hand and collect my degree because she was ripped away from me before I got the chance to make her proud.

As though sensing the direction my thoughts were heading, "She was so proud of you, Arianna," Dad croaks out, his voice breaking.

Oh fuck. I screw my eyes closed and throw my head back, raking a hand through my tousled locks, blink back the tears and swipe at my cheeks with the back of my hands, but it's no use; the dam of tears just kept on flowing down my cheeks like a broken faucet.

"Dad," I whisper swiping at my cheeks with the back of my hands, "I miss her," I admit, my voice sounding raw and broken even to my own ears. "I miss her so damn much it hurts," I manage right before a choked sob leaves my lip.

I sob whilst on the phone to my dad because there's no place I've felt safer than when I'm with the man who has loved me wholeheartedly, accepted my imperfections and kept me safe and protected me with everything he is.

By the time the last sob leaves my lips, my throat is scratchy and raw, my chest tightening until I can't breathe, left gasping for air, struggling to take my next breath. I clutch my chest, rubbing at my chest, willing the ache away.

"Breathe Arianna," Dad whispers down the line and I screw my eyes closed at the sound of the tenderness behind his words. I hear him take a deep breath before he releases it and I mimic him, my breathing eventually slowing down.

"Does that happen often?" He asks, worry and concern masking his words.

"No," I immediately reply, not wanting to add to his plate even further when I know he's got enough on his plate, he's got Amelia and Zaki to look after and worry about. I can handle this by myself.

"Arianna, don't start lying to me," Dad growls and I stifle a chuckle at how well he knows me.

With a sigh, "It's happened a couple of times before," I admit, sheepishly, reluctantly with a shrug of my shoulder, biting down on my bottom lip, gnawing on it hard enough to taste the familiar tang of metalic and copper, drawing blood.