Chapter5
1110 Words
Behind The Mask
“I want you to replace me at the meeting,” Raven pleaded with Aria. He goes on his knees before she can leave the bed.
“Get your hands off me. What are you doing?” She shoved him away and stood up to face the wall.
She folds her arms and shakes her head disdainfully. “I can't do this. I know nothing about leadership.”
“But my soul dwells inside of you,” Raven justified his decisions.
He did everything to convince Aria and he failed. She wasn't even ready to listen to him.
“You're selfish, Raven.”
She blasted him.
“You only care about yourself and no one else. Do you think this is a joke? Are you aware I'm hurting too?” She berated Raven and treated him like a piece of rubbish.
She denied him a breathing space to speak. She left him speechless and heartbroken.
As much as she is inclined to assist him, she still feels this is a complete waste of time.
“If you don't mind, I wish to be left alone,” Aria broke the silence between them. What a way to kick Raven away from her quarters.
“Oops, it's your castle. I'd rather leave,” Aria volunteered, but Raven pulled her back.
“You don't have to. I'll leave,” he accepted his defeat.
They established eye contact that lasted for several minutes.
They could feel the bond between them. It's so obvious that they can't even overlook it.
They drew closer to each other. Then their lips moved to what seemed like a kiss.
“The door,”
Aria cleared her throat.
She points to the door and reminds Raven that he needed to leave.
She acted like she hadn't kissed Raven before, let alone made love to him.
But this time, it seemed more different. The connection is too real. It felt like she had known Raven all her life.
She watched in agony as Raven exited her quarters. She wished there was something she could have done about the situation.
She already has a bigger problem ahead of her. She doesn't want to complicate it further by representing Raven at the council of elders meeting.
No one would even listen to her even though she possessed Raven's IQ. Rather, they would punish her for making mockery of them.
A few minutes after Raven's exit, Aria looked lost. She traced his return. There's this part of her that doesn't want to be away from Raven.
Raven might have arrived in the conference room for the meeting, yet Aria could feel the connection between them. She hasn't felt this way towards anyone before.
“I can't endure this forever. I need to do something about it,” she said to herself.
She dressed up in a decent outfit and stormed outside her quarters.
Her next destination? The conference room.
She won't forgive herself if Raven goes there to make a fool of himself knowing she has the power to save the day.
Halfway through the conference room, Aria hears a disturbing voice that forces her to a halt.
She trailed the voice, and it led her to Kael's quarters. He seemed to be having a telephone conversation with someone Aria had no idea of.
“I want Raven dead,” was the first line Aria heard that caught her attention.
“He isn't fit enough to become the Alpha. He stole my throne. His father, my late brother, made a big mistake,” Kael ranted over the phone as they plot means to get rid of Raven.
Aria was pleased to have decided to step outside. She was inclined to step inside the quarters to confront Kael.
After a thorough deliberation, she realized that she may be digging her grave in the process.
“Raven must hear about this,” she vowed.
She took out her phone and took voice recordings of Kael telephone conversations.
She wasn't satisfied with her discovery. She felt there wasn't enough evidence and nailed Kael down.
She won't be surprised if Kael denies the allegations and claims that his voice was cloned.
She came up with another plan.
Video recording and photos. She captured the moment on a video.
Tragedy struck when Kael heard Aria's shutter sound. Immediately, he ended the telephone conversation. He knows someone is watching him, but he just can't prove it.
“Who's there?” he asked in a baritone voice but no one answered.
Relentlessly, he tiptoed to the window area.
He opened it but to his surprise, it was empty. He couldn't find one soul around him.
Aria was smart enough to scamper to her quarters before she was caught.
She panted heavily and leaned against the wall. She had just witnessed a scenario that was bigger than her.
Now she's stuck between the devil and deep blue sea.
Suddenly, she saw the slowly opening from the outside. She sided a thousand times.
She picked up a vase and hid behind the door, ready to strike. She doesn't need any soothsayer now to be sure that it was Kael.
She assumed that Kael may have traced her to the quarters.
“Aria?” Raven spoke calmly.
Aria sighed and dropped the vase on the ground. Raven's voice restored the peace in her soul. She is this close to losing her mind.
She drops on the sofa like a wounded soldier. “I thought it was him,”
“Who?” Raven's voice vibrated.
“And what were you doing with the vase?” he asked after narrowing his gaze to the ground.
“Wait a minute! Are you seriously going to hit that on my head?” He scolded Aria.
He kept throwing tantrums at her without giving her a chance to explain herself.
“Can you please stop?” She yelled at him to stop talking. His voice is beginning to mess with her head.
“I wasn't trying to hurt you in any way,” she defended her.
“Even though I would love to,” she smirked.
“You really need to see this,” she brought out her phone the minute she noticed how Raven reacted to her joke.
For minutes, she kept scrolling on her phone without saying a word.
“Oh, s**t. I can't find it,” she moaned. “How was that even possible? I captured the moment on my phone,”
“What moment? What are you saying?” Raven became confused.
He doesn't want to assume that the soul switch has affected Aria's brain, making her act like a lunatic.
- Writer
