Taken By The Mafia Lord

She was standing right outside Arianna’s door and though it wasn’t locked from the inside, there was a stop sign placed outside the door and she wanted to respect her daughter’s boundaries.

As Natalie was still practicing her baby steps in motherhood towards Arianna, she didn’t want to ruin the little trust they’d established. But it was getting hard to ignore, especially when the girl hardly communicated with anyone anymore.

Arianna just stayed in the room all day and the last time Natalie had entered to get rid of the half-eaten dishes, she was on her bed and staring out the window. Although she noticed her entry, that was all.

She didn’t say a word to her.

No communication.

Nothing at all

And Natalie was beginning to worry about not only her mental health but her overall well-being. Arianna was not eating well and Natalie wondered if she was sleeping at all because she had lost a lot of weight in just a week and it was beginning to bother her.

It had been surprising and a dream come true to hear Marcel break off things with her daughter. Like his Father, Natalie had thought that he would hold onto her like an obsession, but he failed her expectation in a good way. Now, Arianna would have nothing to do with that family who had done nothing but ruin them.

.....

But now, Natalie was beginning to wonder if that was worth it because her daughter was slowly slipping away from reality and it worried her greatly.

“I honestly don’t know,” answered Eric who was beside her as usual.

Standing behind her, he placed both hands on her shoulder and squeezed affectionately, “She’s going through heartbreak, you know.”

“Yeah, I know and that’s what worries me the most.” She turned to face him, “She couldn’t have possibly loved that boy, Marcel. He’s Daniel’s son for crying out loud. Having a father like that, he couldn’t be any different.” Natalie knew what she was saying.

The kind of darkness she had seen in Daniel, there was no way that his son could be any different. The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. Moreover, what if this was all a plan from Daniel, for his son to fall in love with her daughter to get back at her?

But deep down, Natalie knew that was not the case. Daniel didn’t even know that he was alive until recently, nor did he know she had a daughter. Had Daniel known from the start, Natalie knew Arianna would have been in a much worse state than when she found her. That asshole would torment her to his satisfaction.

“Well, he’s also Penelope’s son,” Natalie saw what Eric was hinting at and she shook her head in denial

“No, no, not happening.”

As much as Natalie was sorry for what her friend went through and her unfortunate death, Penelope still gave birth to Daniel’s son and she wouldn’t sacrifice her daughter to the wolf for their friendship’s sake.

“Natalie...”

“Not happening, Eric! I don’t even know which side you’re on!” She scowled at him.

“Of course, I’m on your side, Natalie. I’m just saying that children don’t always turn out the way their parents expect them to. Amid the past events and the circumstances, you have a smart daughter and she couldn’t have fallen in love with Marcel if she saw something in him.” Eric said, looking at him and waiting for her answer.

“I think we should go have our breakfast. I’m hungry.”

And that was her answer.

Eric has no choice but to respect her decision. After all, it was her daughter, not his.

By the time they returned to the dining, Rose and Elijah were already having their breakfast without them.

“Sorry, but my niece and I don’t have the patience when it comes to food,” Elijah said without remorse, if anything he stuffed his mouth with more food.

Natalie simply smiled at him and took a seat next to Eric. There was a little tension between them after that conversation, but she knew it would soon clear up. It was no big deal.

However, Natalie took a bite of the food when she lost her appetite. She was still not comfortable with Arianna holed up in her room like that.

She put down her spoon with a sigh, a gesture Eric noticed because he asked, “What is it?”

“Nothing.” She said.

But Eric knew it wasn’t nothing. She was probably still worried about her daughter, he guessed.

Natalie was still thinking of what to do when an idea hit her and she faced Elijah with a sudden glint in her eyes.

“You and Arianna were close in the past, right?”

The suddenness of the question made Elijah choke on his tomato basil soup served with bread. No one had seen that one coming

“What?” He rasped, barely recovering from his coughing fit.

“You know Arianna quite well, right? Perhaps, you can talk her out of this depression. She’s not being herself right now.”

“Whoah, hold up.” Elijah stopped her right there. He said, “In case you have forgotten but Arianna hates my ass right now for bringing her back to you and believes I’m responsible for Marcel breaking up with her. If I go into that room, it wouldn’t be talking things out, she would probably murder me.”

“You know that’s not going to happen,” Eric rolled his eyes. He believed his brother was exaggerating.

“You shouldn’t underestimate a woman scorned. Anyway, the point is...” He breathed, “I’m sorry, Natalie, I really want to help you, but I can’t.”

“No problem. It’s alright. I’ll probably wait for her to come out of her shell.

“I’ll go, ” Rose said and all eyes turned to her, wide with surprise.

The girl shrugged, “If you and daddy marry, that makes Arianna my big sister. She doesn’t know me and I want to know her.” The girl made her decision and something told Natalie and Eric they wouldn’t be able to change her mind.