Lethal Combination

Chapter 19

For others, days passed by like a blur while doing things they usually do to keep themselves occupied. But for Ainsdale, it passed by with her receiving calls and reports every now and then from different people she knew while she was in the confines of her room. Even though she has not fully recovered yet, she busied herself doing different things with the aid of her laptop and AVII, the interactive security system she created which overtook the old system the Arcanes were using. But since the things lined up for her to look into weren't on the easy side, she always finds herself with chaotic thoughts whenever she decides to rest. Every time she decides on the best solution to solve things that are at hand, another problem arises from that and each problem causes casualties which seem to be unavoidable. At the end of everything, she is going to have to kill to end things completely.

Her parents, Ignis and Celeste, called her a few times to check on how she was doing. They asked where she was at and why she wasn't visiting the Amalfi Villa these days. She was finally home and was in the country for good, yet they still couldn't get a hold of her completely. She could not actually tell them everything she had been doing, so she answered them with the safest reasons she could think of – half truths and half lies. In between, her mother Celeste had teased her about her wanting to stay more at Terra di Sienna than at their own house because Alessio was there with her, which she just shrugged off with a soft laugh. If it wasn't because of her brother who told their mother she was actually engaged with someone their parents hadn't met yet, if it wasn't because Alessio went on with the flow of the conversation when it was him who picked up her phone to answer her mother's call after the Arcana kidnapped her, she wouldn't have to lie a little more.

Sage, her cousin who had temporarily taken over her brother's responsibilities as the CEO of ISR, called her once to inquire when she would be available for an emergency meeting because, as the sole programmer and developer of AVII, she had to be there during the finalization phase of the event where ISR is going to officially launch the security system she created to the public. Her normal mode, that is, because they couldn't let the public know the extent of AVII's capability. And as far as she knew, the official launching was going to be held at one of the hotels owned by the Arcanes. For certain, that event is going to cause her problems, since the Castigliones are going to recognize her if she decides to attend as Euphrosyne. On the other hand, the Arcanes are going to recognize her if she ever decides to present herself as one of the Castigliones. She was used to pretending to be someone else, but she never once presented herself with different identities at a single event where both sides knew her as this and that were present.

And Lewis… during these past few days, she almost lost count on how many times she received a call from him. He didn't even consider the difference in their time zones, since he called her whenever he needed to, day and night or even at the break of dawn. At times, she had to rise from her bed even if the sun had not risen yet from the east, just so she could give him a detailed report about the things he'd been asking her or for her to stay updated on what was happening on his side. She started to suspect he'd been cooping up in his office again because of the problems that arose with the people they put behind bars now roaming freely outside and continuing their illegal activities behind the public image they were using to deceive people. Since they could bail themselves out even with all the evidence they presented to have them arrested, both her and Lewis suspected that someone who held a higher position in the government was backing them up. Lewis and she were trying to find out who and how many of them were making the pawns move across the chessboard because once they have a lead, they would be able to find a more suitable way to handle them all at once.

On the other hand, her brother calls her almost every day to keep himself updated about her health or her present state in general because, aside from her present status, there was also the fact that she was pretending to be someone else. But since the head of the family and one of the twins who worked beside him already knows who she really was, that fact alone lessens the problems she has while staying in the walls of Terra di Sienna. It enabled her to move with little to no restrictions. But no matter how much she reassures her brother, no matter how much she tells him that she's fine, he can't help himself but worry about her, especially since he knows that the drug in her system is slowly regressing her from the inside, something that can't be seen at a glance. And with the dangers that surrounded her while pretending to be Euphrosyne, he really couldn't sit still and stay calm. She knew how much Aizen was perturbed with her situation but she couldn't help but question him every time he declared that he had engraved another fatal wound on the woman who had the same face as her.

"Simple. Because she's not you," she remembered Aizen would answer her every time, as if he was making a point that she should understand the difference from that statement alone.

The last time he allowed her to have a glimpse at how Euphrosyne was doing, she almost couldn't recognize the woman with how much she had changed after being with her brother for such a short time. Being his sister, Ainsdale knew that Aizen can be as dangerous just as much as he can be kind and caring. He is the devil incarnate. For sure, it is what made him and Alessio click as friends, because they both are. And, Euphrosyne unfortunately had the front seat to witness it herself. In fact, she had a VIP ticket to experience how evil and heartless Aizen can be.

"Don't you pity her, Ice? She looks… empty." She remembered telling her brother during one of their conversations.

"Isn't it normal?" He asked back with complete indifference.

She chuckled while shaking her head. "Normal? Aizen, your 'normal' seems to be getting more questionable as time passes. The way Euphrosyne is looking right now, emotionally, physically and probably mentally, isn't normal at all. I know so because, profession-wise, I am a doctor."

"She is just a vessel to imitate Julio Simonetti's real granddaughter. To begin with, she was just an empty shell if we remove everything she was made to become. She is a product of a cloning project. Something that has been artificially made."

"She has emotions, too."

"So? I don't give a f**k if she has. She is not someone who deserves sympathy from me."

Ainsdale was left speechless at that. Once a person is gone from her brother's good graces, they really won't be able to redeem themselves. It makes her think at times, what happens if he falls in love and the woman he fell in love with has done something unforgivable? Will he just leave her behind without looking back, hurt her just as much, or will he be willing to put everything out of the way and just forgive her? But then again, Aizen isn't the type of man who easily forgives.

When Ainsdale saw Euphrosyne, she almost pitied her because of her state. Almost. Gone was the sophisticated woman who held her head up high because of the fake authority and rights which were handed down to her on a silver platter. It was replaced with a completely broken one who seemed to have lost everything she stole and was left with nothing. Euphrosyne flinched and cowered at the sound of Aizen's voice and she trembled in fear when he was just standing a few meters away from her, as if she was expecting he would inflict pain on her once again. Maybe she knew she would have been dead already if only Aizen hadn't kept her alive to make her suffer a little more than she did before.

Nile and Khalil visited her alternately in the manor because of their work at the hospital. Though they may be among the members of the Arcana who kill when needed in the shadows, they still have a decent job out in the open as doctors where they save lives. She almost lost count on how many laboratory procedures she had undertaken in the confines of her own room within these past few days. They had to rearrange their schedule for her since she could not actually go to the hospital where they worked at for consultation because Alessio had forbidden her to. It seemed like he had suddenly become stricter, knowing that there was a high possibility that she might collapse again. Who knew he'd worry that much about her? What was it he said again? Why would she waste time going to the hospital when he could just call either his cousin or his friend, doctors of general surgery and general medicine, two known doctors in their field of work, to check on her? Though, for certain, those two had killed as many as the person they saved, she had started to trust them. But who is she to question them when she herself killed more than the people she saved in her entire life?

Thinking back, since Alessio was already accustomed to being one, he really could actually be shameless most of the time. He did not even consider the time those two would take out of their own schedule just so they could follow his command, which he cleverly disguised as a favor. And him being the head of the Arcana Famiglia, Nile and Khalil couldn't actually say 'no' to him. But there was no use questioning the way Alessio did things because, as far as she knew, that was who he was. He grew up having the privilege and right to do it. And despite their little to no difference, she felt at ease with them. Maybe because she has the same color and type of feathers as them. They are people who kill with an innocent smile etched on their lips and… they're good at it.

Speaking of the devil, after he recovered from his injury, Alessio found himself busy with some important matters at hand concerning both the company and the family. He goes out at the break of dawn and arrives home in the middle of the night, giving them little to no time to talk with each other about nothing important in particular. He had been doing so for a few days now, as if he was preparing for something. It was as if he was making sure that something wouldn't go out of hand if the day came. Whatever that day was.

He starts reporting to his office at the Arcane Conglomerates, but at the start and end of the day, even in between, he never forgets to check on her – may it be personally or through a call. It wasn't enough for him to just stare at Ainsdale's sleeping form for a while before leaving or after arrival, but he didn't have the heart to wake her up just so they could have a conversation, so he called her at any time he pleased while he was in the middle of work just to hear her voice. They had both been so busy that meeting each other had proven to be such a task even if they were living under the same roof.

After his confession, he never failed to show her any of his intentions and no matter how thick the wall she built around her heart was, Alessio had finally started to make a crack. Really, who would have thought that someone as dangerous as him could be so gentle and thoughtful? But isn't she the same? Maybe they were born on the same thread of fate. And the fact that she is starting to remember the memories she had forgotten because of the accident she was involved in when she was eight, she is starting to believe so. Because, even after all those things that came between her and Alessio, certain circumstances had brought them together once again.

"Your thoughts have gone astray yet again," her brother, who was currently on the line, told her with a frown on his forehead. "Did you somehow forget that you were talking to me?"

She chuckled as she combed her hair with her fingers, though still a little messy, it accentuated her face. "Where would my thoughts be if not for the things you are telling me?"

"Who knows? You tell me."

She just smiled at him while looking at her brother on the screen.

"You've been acting rather strange lately," Aizen pointed out directly, and it made her frown.

"I'm not."

"You are," he insisted. "Sometimes you look like your thoughts were lost up there in the clouds and other times, you look like you are about to murder someone in cold blood. You get so easily distracted, which is so unlike you at all. By all means, do you have something you're hiding from me?"

She stared at her brother on the screen as she bit the inside of her lower lip. Should she tell him?

"Or have you, by any chance, started falling in love with the devil himself? La mamma mi racconta cose su di te, sai? (Mom tells me things about you, you know?) Especially when it seemed like your fiance had already finished introducing himself to her."

"Quindi sapevi che la mamma e la tua amica avevano già parlato? Anche se è stato solo per un breve momento. (So you knew that mom and your friend had already talked? Even though it was only for a brief moment.)"

"I didn't ask if that's what you wanted to know. It was her who couldn't help herself but tell me everything. Besides, she asked me why I kept it a secret that your fiance was Alessio."

"You should have just told her the truth."

"And break her heart? No. There is no way I'm doing that. Because her attention would then fall on me, the first born. I'm telling you, I'll kidnap someone and introduce her as the future Mrs. Aizen Castiglione if that happens. Which I am certain will make our mother suffer from a heart attack." For a while, Aizen paused before he continued. "You know, mom sounded so excited that she couldn't wait for the day you formally introduced your fiance to the family."

Being romantically involved with someone is a foreign emotion to her. Aside from her family, she never actually cared about anyone's existence. Many have tried to woo her but they all ended up the same – rejected in the coldest way. She didn't need a man who offered her something she already had and she didn't want to give time to something she knew wouldn't progress in the end. But with Alessio… everything is just different. She knew where she'd end up if she got entangled with a man like him and at the same time she didn't. Accepting his existence in her life would lead her to a road of uncertainty, but she still wanted to take that road.

Alessio made her feel alive. More accurately, he made her want to live. He made her crave for him – for his attention and everything only he could give to her. The longer she stayed in his presence, the more she wanted to have him in his entirety. She wasn't sure if what she felt towards him was purely physical attraction, but for certain, she was physically attracted to the man in question. She easily burns in the heat of his stare, the touch of his fingertips leaves traces of fire on her skin and whenever he's near she wants to engulf herself in flames with him. Alessio was aware of how her body responded to his touch and he was taking advantage of it whenever she was within his reach. But she couldn't actually blame him, because she was letting him do whatever he pleases to her body as her eyes told him she wanted more.

She sighed and gently massaged her right temple. "Perché mi hai messo in questo posto? Se non volevi essere tu a mentire a nostra madre, allora perché diavolo hai creato uno spettacolo del genere coinvolgendo me e Scion? E se mi innamorassi del tuo amico? (Why did you even put me in this spot? If you did not want to be the one lying to our mother, then why the hell did you create such a spectacle involving me and Scion? What if I fall in love with your friend?)"

"Don't," Aizen immediately told her, as if the mere thought itself didn't sit well with him.

"What?"

"Vai avanti e usa Alessio, non mi interessa davvero. Se qualcosa va storto nel bel mezzo di tutto, possiamo sempre trovare un modo per risolverlo. Se dobbiamo diventare nemici degli Arcani, allora lo faremo. Usalo in qualsiasi modo ti venga in mente, ma non innamorarti di lui. (Go ahead and use Alessio, I don't really care. If something goes wrong in the middle of everything, we can always find a way to settle it. If we have to become the Arcana's enemy, then we will. Use him in any way you can think of, but don't fall in love with him.)"

"Why?"

His eyebrows furrowed. "Why are you even asking?" Aizen asked, his eyes holding both warning and threat as he looked at her intently through the screen. "Don't tell me you're already – "

"I'm not," she immediately cut him mid-sentence after she shook her head, but then she frowned when something deep inside her seemed to be telling her otherwise. With everything that had been happening between her and Alessio, with everything she was letting him do to her, and with every emotion that found itself surfacing from deep within her heart whenever he was within her sight or even without, was she still really not in love with him or had she already fallen?

Aizen had always been there with Ainsdale as she grew up. He knew her like the back of his hand and the changes in her facial gesture at that moment did not go past his observant eyes.

"Maybe not completely yet, but you have already been charmed by Alessio." He sighed. "Damn it," Aizen then muttered under his breath.

Aizen knew his friend and he knew what he did to women who had been charmed by him. He uses them to satisfy his carnal needs while manipulating them. He can make them believe that they are more than just that to him without actually doing anything. He was good at that. But didn't they all end up in the same situation? After giving him everything they had – their time, their heart, body and mind, they all received a bouquet of yellow roses from him at the end. He cut ties through yellow roses without a word while expecting that the recipient should know first hand what those roses meant. The way he cut ties is actually romantic in the most horrifying way that would bring nightmares to the one on the receiving end. Aizen knew how much the head of the Arcana was capable of bewitching even a virgin with no experience at all and he knew how he played them in his palm, as if they were born for him to play with. Ainsdale may be as dangerous as him, but she is still a woman. She wouldn't be completely immune to him, especially when Alessio was the kind of man who was born possessing everything.

"Don't give him your heart, fiume (river)," Aizen told her, his voice sounding like he was almost begging her not to. "I know for sure Alessio is going to hurt you."

"Isn't he your friend?" She asked, but Aizen had chosen not to answer her. What would be the difference if he was? Alessio was Alessio, whether they were friends or not. "Don't you trust him?"

"I do, fiume (river). I trust him with my life. But it's different when it concerns you. I know him. I know how many women have been involved with him in the past and that the same number ended up with a broken heart. Alessio only ever gets close to a woman when his body urges him to f**k them. I watched him do it a couple of times and he basked himself at the pleasure he gets while they do everything he wanted in the bed. Alessio is the head of the Arcana. I'm sure you know what that means. He isn't a saint and, more accurately, he is closer to that of a devil. When he was in the mood, he would f**k a woman, even with people watching. And at certain times, he would let another man join in on their fun. That was who he is. Do not be deceived by the way Alessio portrays himself in front of you. It is natural for him to do that whenever he's interested. It's not that I'm trying to turn you off, it's just – "

Ainsdale tapped her forefinger on the glass table while her other hand supported her chin as she lightly leaned in on the table. It was not like she didn't try weighing the pros and cons. But everytime she did, she found herself wanting to believe in what her heart was telling her. She did not want to just ignore what she felt because, for the first time, she was starting to feel something. But she couldn't say anything to refute what Aizen said because, even if she didn't want to acknowledge what he was telling her about the man who had been occupying her mind these past few days and was starting to creep inside her frozen heart, her brother knew him better than she did.

"Isn't that what you are doing right now? You're telling me those things with the hope that I'd feel disgusted, aren't you?"

Aizen sighed in frustration. With the way Ainsdale was throwing questions and reasons in his way, he knew, no matter what he told her, she would never listen to him. It was already too late. Forget her being charmed, she already fell.

"Do you really think I'd care about the women who came into his life before I did? They all received the yellow roses. Meaning, Scion had already cut his ties with them. So why should I care? What's important is the present. And the present is me."

"Then what about the future? Even after marriage, you cannot tie him down completely if he doesn't want to be tied down. Once he gets bored of something, he leaves it behind without looking back or regretting it. Ainsdale, he is a man who cannot love because he had already promised his heart to someone in the past."

"Right," she agreed as she leaned back on her seat while combing her hair back, away from her face. "He proposed to the girl by giving her the Arcane family's crest with his name engraved on the back when he was twelve."

Aizen blinked. At first he thought he heard her wrong, but his sister seemed so serious at what she just said. "What?"

"It was I he proposed to that night, Aizen. Through the necklace I wore as a bracelet when you found me by the riverbank fifteen years ago. I believe you have it in your possession along with the necklace with the Simonettis' seal."

Aizen stared at her before a grin slowly etched itself on his lips. Isn't that great? "Your forgotten memories resurfaced?"

She nodded. "A part of it, yes. I remember everything vividly as if it only happened yesterday. But only the night when I died."

"The night when you died," Aizen repeated.

Silence settled between the siblings for a while. The words 'the night' only meant two things to them. The end and the beginning.

"Does that mean you remember those who were with Euphrosyne that night?"

"I will commit murder anytime soon, Ice," she told her brother instead of answering him and Aizen immediately understood her unspoken words behind it. "And I'm going to start with the one who pushed me to my death."

"What?"

"That woman in your custody right now," she paused, "I want her blood in my hands."

Even through the screen, Aizen caught the glint of threat and danger she possessed. It gave him chills even if he was not on the receiving end of it. Really, even if he was her brother, he didn't know how she could be both beautiful and threatening at the same time. He chose not to say a word about it. Ainsdale is going to kill and not even him can stop her from doing so.

For another few minutes, the siblings talked about what Ainsdale could remember. The topic that revolved around Alessio has long been forgotten, but Aizen took note that he was going to talk to his friend without his sister's knowledge.

It was already a few hours before lunch when Ainsdale decided to leave her room and, at the bottom of the stairs, Gavionne, who had never seen her for a few days.

"Aunt Euphrosyne! You're fine!"

Ainsdale smiled down at the little girl who jumped with joy at the sight of her. Gavionne ran towards her and hugged her feet but she crouched down to carry the child in her arms.

"Ciao, caro! Sei stato bravo mentre ero costretto a letto per alcuni giorni? (Hello, dear! Were you good while I was bedridden for a few days?)"

Gavionne nodded. "Certo, l'ho fatto! Giusto, mamma? (Of course, I did! Right, mom?)"

Amelia chuckled. "Sure you did, little one."

Gavionne glanced back at her, her eyes twinkling in delight. "See? But are you sure you're alright? Uncle Alessio was so worried that he did not want to leave your side after you did not wake up for a few days. Am I not heavy? You just recovered, aunt Euphrosyne."

She chuckled and nuzzled the girl's cheeks, making Gavionne giggle. "I'm fine, little one. And you're not heavy at all. I can carry you just fine."

"Euphrosyne..."

Euphrosyne glanced at Amelia. "Yes?"

"We are about to go out. If it is not much of a bother, would you like to come with us? We need to have you fitted for the upcoming black gathering which you and Alessio have both been invited to attend. He asked me to take you to a boutique once you recovered."

"Tailored dresses take weeks to months to finish. Isn't it a little too late to have a dress tailored for me? Isn't the black gathering just around the corner?"

Amelia smiled knowingly at her. "Alessio had already provided all the basic details, including your size, to the couturier. The dress had already been made. As far as I knew, it was designed to match what Alessio was going to wear. We only need to have it fitted for you in order for them to adjust it if needed."

Ainsdale did not retort to that. Is it normal for Alessio to know a woman's size and have a dress tailored for her without her knowing?

"We might drop by for a while at the company building though, because I have something I must give to my husband before that," Amelia continued. "Oh, by the way, we will be having lunch outside."

"Sure."

Black Gathering. Alessio had already explained to her what it entails, what happened in it and what was hidden beneath all the luxuries it showed the world. It's a gathering of all-known people in the underground society disguised as an auction for a charity. And the theme for it every time it is held depends on the preference of the hosts. Everyone would be showing fake smiles while they all had their guard up because no one could actually tell when they would get to be stabbed in the back or be shot in the head during that time. Pretty creative if one asked her what she thinks about that gathering organized for all the wealthy and dangerous families in the country. Dangerous people will gather in one place and the authorities wouldn't be able to touch it even if they knew who the attendees were because they, too, were in on it. They get bribed to keep their mouths shut. Isn't that what it's always been? At the upcoming gathering, she was invited as Alessio's fiancée. She was invited as the clone whom everyone knew all this time as Euphrosyne Simonetti. She would certainly meet everyone Euphrosyne has been involved with if she attended such an occasion.

"Ragazze, siete tutte pronte? (Ladies, are you all ready?)"

Ainsdale glanced at Luca, who held a car key in his hand. "You are driving us?"

"Sì, sole. È bello vederti in piedi. Come va? (Yes, sunshine. It's good to see you up and about.)"

"Wouldn't that be a bad thing for someone else?"

Luca chuckled. "Isn't that their problem and not your's?"