ARIEL
"That house, is my home. And it'll be a cold day in hell when I help you with anything." I snark.
His nice facade falls into a sneer. "You ungrateful brat, he doesn't care about you like you care about him, I have shown you once before stupid girl." He grits, taking a step closer which makes instinctively take a step back.
"Watch your fucking mouth when you talk to my wife." I hear the bone chilling growl behind me, before feeling his dominanting presence step closer to my back.
Griffin places a protective arm around my middle, his hand rests on my hip, and he pulls me closer to him.
"I'm fine." I try to protest.
"Yes, Mr. Moretti. She's fine, don't pretend to care about my neice now, after kicking her to the curb once before." He mocks.
I squeeze my eyes closed at the reminder. A low growl is heard from Griffin before he moves in Uncle Marco's direction but I put a hand to his chest. "He's not worth it okay?" I whisper.
Uncle Marco scoffs, then turns and walks inside the house, Griffin glaring at him till he's out of sight. He looks down at me, releasing me from his hold and taking the bag I was holding from me.
"He would be six inches underground if he wasn't related to you." The mountain if testosterone before me grunts.
"Let's just go, I have a stomach ache." I complain. He looks at me this time with concern.
"Why does it hurt? We can go to the hospital right now." He says.
"No, that's not what I meant. I have cramps." I clarify. "It's nothing a little icecream and laying down won't fix." I smile. His green eyes study me for a beat before nodding, as he leads me out of the gate to his upgraded McLaren. He must really like this company.
He opens my door for me, then hands me my bag once sat.
"What was he so pressed about?" Griffin asks once we're on the road.
"He was being his usual self serving self." I shrug.
"And why were you being so hostile?" He questions.
"Why can't I be?"
"Is he not your uncle?" He prods.
"He was saying something that.. triggered me." I shrug. He goes silent after that, a thoughtful expression on his face.
"How much of our conversation did you hear?" I ask him.
"Enough." He husks under his breath. I squint my eyes at the sight of his chiseled jaw. "Take a picture micetta, lasts longer." He smirks.
"Don't flatter yourself." I scoff, sinking into my seat. He drives for a while then stops again, but not at home.
"Why are we stopping here?" I ask him, looking at the store.
"Well you want icecream, yes?" He asks. My stomach flutters at his half smirk and sweet gesture. I nod, smiling at him, and jump out of the car. It's embarrassing how excited I am for some icecream.
GRIFFIN
"Why are we stopping here?" Ariel asks, perking up from her previously slumped position.
"Well you want icecream, yes?" I ask, smirking at her excited expression. She nods, eyes sparkling as she jumps out of the car and starts speed walking to the store entrance.
"Slow down-- Ariel!" I wrap an arm around her, my hand spread on her stomach and I pull her back from the oncoming traffic.
"Ow ow oww." She whines, gripping my hand that's holding her middle. "I have cramps and you're pressing down on my uterus." She hisses.
AI slightly loosen my grip and spin her around. "Are you crazy? You could've been hit by a car." My tone is frustrated.
"No the cars would've stopped when they saw me." She grins. "Comeon, I want mint chip." She grins, holding my wrist, dragging me behind her.
"Why are you being civil with me." I ask her as we walk through the doors.
"Would you rather I be mean?" She scrunches up her nose, her adorable face makes my heart beat faster.
"No, just curious." I drawl, sliding my hand out of her hold then holding her smaller one in mine.
"I don't know, I had two glasses of the best wine with dinner, maybe that's it." She jokes making me smirk.
"Let me guess, Tuscans best merlot." I smirk.
"Well you're half right. It was Tuscan merlot but it wasn't the best I have had." She gives me a knowing look. "The one you stole from your dad's wine cellar was better." She grins mischievously.
"I did not steal it. It's my family's cellar I can take whatever I want." My amused reply makes her snicker.
"Sure Griffin." She says, studying the fridge full of icecream pints. I spot the mint chip and take it out handing it to her. She bites her lip, taking it from me. "Can we get chocolate too? Just to be safe." She widens her eyes for effect.
"Sure, micetta." I hold back a smile at her adorable face.
After about 10 minutes of contemplating, Ariel picks up pint of dark chocolate icecream the turns to me with a grin. "Done."
"Alright, come." I lead her to the front of the store to pay.
_______________
Once we were home, Ariel changed and ate her icecream in bed while I finished up work on my laptop. We successfully sat in the same room for an hour and just existed, without any animosity for one another.
I sat and thought about the end of her conversation with Marco. Perhaps Aaron is right, there is more to the story.
I just have to dig deeper.
AN:
Hii, Im sorry I haven't been posting much, I am really busy with school stuff. Someone commented about me being slow with updates and it completely drained my creative energy 🥴
Sorry, Ill try to write more soon.
