Lethal Combination

Chapter 13

For a few days, both Ainsdale and Alessio never left the vicinity of Terra di Sienna estate because of the situation they found themselves in, which made them both see Dr. Petrakis at an ungodly hour. But, even though they are staying in the same manor, aside from seeing each other during meals which Ainsdale has been starting to attend at the request of Alessio and his grandfather, they either only accidentally meet each other in the hallways when Ainsdale decides to roam around outside her room or Alessio visits her himself in her bedroom. She noticed that Alessio's family was slowly adjusting to her presence. Though there were still little gaps here and there, it was not like she expected their relationship to just be okay after all that had happened between her and them.

Everyone was shocked to know that she and Alessio tried to kill each other that particular night a week ago in her old room at the mansion owned by the Arcane's, especially with the fact that she was able to shoot Alessio without any second thoughts. After all, aside from Alessio and Luca, everyone, though they are starting to have their doubts, still believes that Ainsdale, who is only pretending to be someone else for her own gains, is Euphrosyne herself.

Even though Alessio had been allowed by Khalil to attend to his responsibilities in the company and in the mafia as usual, he had chosen to just lay down low for a while he was recuperating. He did everything that needed to be done online with the help of his men on things he needed help with on site, just so things regarding the family's business would move smoothly as usual. On the other hand, Ainsdale bored herself to death while she stayed inactively cooping up inside her room because Khalil had strictly restricted her from doing any strenuous work because of the drug's after effects on her system and Alessio had her guarded all the time to make sure she would follow through with what Khalil had instructed her to do.

Though the blackened veins on Ainsdale's shoulder lessened because the men around her made sure she would spend her days idly, she was still not allowed to stress herself even about the most unimportant things. She blinked after staring at the ceiling of her room for a while before she turned around and lay with her chest and belly down. She is not used to not doing anything. It was either she chases death or she represents death itself. In her entire life, she had never been this inactive. Not like this where she just does all the unimportant things without a choice, just to pass the day away.

"I'm bored," she groaned like a child having a tantrum. At times like this, she misses her old life. Why did she even decide to leave it anyway?

Someone chuckled but she didn't pay it any mind because she already knew it was Alessio. During the days they spent at the manor, he made it his daily routine to check up on her personally any time he wanted or ask how she was doing from the ones working for his family. He enters her room without asking for permission and she lets him after losing to a nonsensical debate a few days prior that it may be her room but it was still his house according to him.

"I want to die."

"We can't have you dying in my presence now, hyacinth. I don't want your brother coming after my head. He's quite capable of doing that, so I'd rather stay in his good graces. Besides, aren't you looking forward to the days life has in store for us?"

"Rose."

Alessio tilted his head and looked down on the woman lying face down on the bed, uncaring if she was unruly in his presence. How many women have acted the same way she is doing right now in front of him? If he thinks about it now, only those who were a member of his family tree and there are only a few of them. Every woman who approaches him has their intentions clearly displayed in their eyes. They adorned themselves with jewels and dressed themselves in a way that looked alluring to others. They wanted to be recognized and they hoped that he would recognize their efforts and place them by his side. But this woman right here never cared about such things. She had a mission and she was only standing by his side to accomplish it. So different from the others. She was the first one who openly used him for her own gains, yet he allowed her to do so with a smile on his face. He must have finally gone crazy after learning about who she really is. It was alright for her to do everything she wanted just as long as she did it by his side.

"What?"

Ainsdale moved and rested her chin on her palm as she looked towards Alessio's direction, not caring whether her hair pointed everywhere around her face because she had not really given any effort to comb it after she took a bath this morning. Alessio had a subtle smile on his lips as he stared down at her. He may have hit his head hard somewhere because even though she's there lying with her unruly hair, without any make-up and with her casual clothes on, she still looks pretty cute to him.

"If you're gonna keep on calling me flower names, I'd like you to call me Rose."

"Hmm, and why is that?" He asked as he sat right beside her like it was a normal thing to do. "Rose is a common flower name."

"Isn't it expensive?"

"Juliet Rose is. So if I call you by that name, it will always have a Juliet before it. But don't you think it will be awkward calling you that when people might mistake me calling you with someone else's name? Besides, you're a belladonna, not a rose."

Ainsdale stared at Alessio and he noticed her gray-colored eyes turned darker until her irises completely turned black.

"Beautiful," he suddenly thought to himself, but chose to hide his thoughts with a smile. How many times has it been that he found himself lost in her eyes that openly changed colors?

She knew what he meant when he said she was a belladonna. He is telling her she's deadlier than just a mere rose adorned with thorns. He recognized her capability and he acknowledged it without judgement because he too had parts of him that had been covered in blood. Both of them cannot be called innocent since both of them had killed.

"Has anyone ever told you you're eyes were dangerous?"

She blinked. "What?"

"Don't stare at me like that, astrantia. I might do something you won't like," he warned.

"Like what?" She urged, knowing really well what he meant, she just wanted to stir him up a little.

Alessio stared at her for a while and when she didn't back down he slowly lowered his face towards her. Something stirs between them every time something like this happens. Sparks appear every time they're together and others could even tell it from afar. Both of them were a danger to each other's existence, yet even after all that fact, they still act like a moth would to a flame.

"Ainsdale…"

"Hmm?"

"You're going to regret this," he whispered.

Before he could do what he planned to do, what Ainsdale had anticipated him to do, a knock on the other side of Ainsdale's bedroom door disrupted the atmosphere between them, but Alessio didn't back away from her. He stayed unblinking and so did she as they stared at each other's eyes while breathing the same air at the mere distance of a single inch. Yes, that is how close their faces were to each other. And the heat between them made their frozen hearts crack the ice they built around it a little more without each other's knowledge as it beat more frantically than ever before.

Ainsdale didn't pull away. She stayed in her position as she memorized the face of the man she found herself entangled with. He is handsome, she herself can admit that. There is no reason to lie. The contours of his face were carved dangerously to the point that it made her think she was presently face to face with a Greek god who came down to earth to bring chaos into her emotions. His lashes accentuated his dark eyes, which made him look even more lethal even in the middle of the day, and his aristocratic nose complimented his overall appearance along with his lips that seemed to enchant a woman to want to kiss it. She had a taste of it once and she wanted to experience it again.

"Damn you, Ainsdale! Don't get distracted by Alessandro's face. What the hell are you thinking?" She reprimanded herself in her thoughts.

Alessio was fascinated by the way Ainsdale frowned and grimaced as if her own thoughts chilled her to the bone. He watched her silently and studied her like she was an art presented right before him in its entirety. She may have the same face as the woman he found himself being engaged with due to his grandfather's interference, but he had never been this interested in knowing everything about Euphrosyne. There is something about Ainsdale that made him want to dig deeper into her life and learn about everything she hides from the world. He, too, wanted to learn about her forgotten memories while there was a corner in his mind that hoped that she was that little girl whom he treasured. But weren't her eyes already a giveaway that she is that girl?

Another knock sounded on the other side of the door and Alessio sighed before he backed away from Ainsdale, who now had a full grin on her lips.

"You look like a kid who has been deprived of sweets," she told him before she sat up, laughing.

She was about to stand up from the bed but Alessio, who playfully glared at her, held her wrist as he sat there unmoving like he did not want her to move away from him.

"Chi è? (Who is it?)" He asked as he sent daggers at the unsuspecting person behind the door through his eyes.

"Let go of my wrist, Scion," she told him in a voice which was almost a whisper, but Alessio ignored Ainsdale's words because he had half of his senses focused on the one who disturbed them.

"Kian," the man behind the door answered. "Un invito nero è appena arrivato. Ho pensato che vorresti conoscere immediatamente il suo contenuto. (A black invitation just came. I figured you would want to know its contents immediately.)"

Unknowingly, Alessio tightened his hold on Ainsdale's wrist. The moment she yelped in pain was the second he just realized what he had done. As a reflex, he immediately let go of her wrist as if he had been burned by it while looking at her with worry etched in his face.

"Mi dispiace, stai bene? (I'm sorry, are you alright?) It was not my intention to hurt you."

She held onto her wrist and massaged it gently. "Staresti bene se qualcuno ti rompesse il polso? (Would you be alright if someone broke your wrist?)"

He frowned as he looked at her face, at her wrist and then back. "I didn't know you were that fragile."

She looked at him dead in the eye. "I am not fragile."

Alessio smirked. "Stai bene allora (You are fine then)," he then told her after reading between her words and when she tried to smack his face using her hand with her supposed to be injured wrist, he only simply stood up away from her as he chuckled. "See? You're fine."

"I'm not."

"You are, aster."

For a moment, Ainsdale remained silent. Aster. That reminded her of who she was before all this mess. That was the code name she used back when all she cared about was how to accomplish her missions. The name she used when she killed even innocent people. Though Alessio used that as an endearment for her, to her it meant a little more than that.

"What's a black invitation?" She asked him afterwards, her curiosity making a home in her mind.

With the fact that she and Alessio had grown quite a little closer these days while they were in isolation at the manor, she hoped he would give her the answer she sought. At certain times, he does answer her curiosity, but there are times when he chooses to just keep her in the dark while thinking it was for her own good. Though, it was during those times that she wanted to know more than she was allowed to. It was in her nature. And she would want to dig in deeper even if it would mean she'd have to do something on her own to find out the answers she wanted to hear from him. But because she still had to focus her attention on the reason why she came here in the first place, she had put all her thoughts regarding Alessio's secret aside for the moment. Yes, it was only for a moment.

"It's a charity auction event for the rich and famous," he answered, looking like he dreaded seeing what was written on the said invitation, which made her think that maybe it was something related to his underground life.

"The dangerous ones?"

"All rich and famous people are dangerous."

"I meant the ones who have killed and will do so in the future."

He nodded. "I have to go. Go visit the library, spend time in the living area or go and ransack the kitchen. Do whatever may please you, so don't hole yourself up in your room. It's not healthy."

"I'm trying to avoid meeting your mother as much as possible."

Alessio frowned and stared at her. He knew about the confrontations his mother had and he knew that these last few times were not because of what happened between him and Ainsdale nor about what happened before she even did something that cannot be forgiven, but because she wanted to be sure of her suspicions.

Felize, Alessio's mother, expressed her displease after learning that he had been shot by none other than the woman he was engaged to. And while she glared and spouted hurtful words in Ainsdale's way every time they met each other, Ainsdale just chose to remain silent and indifferent, which infuriated her even more because that was not the Euphrosyne Felize knew. The Euphrosyne she knew and had learned to hate never failed to show her horns before when she first arrived to live in the manor. She never failed to act as if she owned the world because of the old patriarch's favor, which backs her up. Even if it was Alessio's mother, she didn't back down and fought her with words. But something changed in her after Lucien had kidnapped her just to bring her back. And Felize could tell that that change was so great that she was starting to think she was a completely different person from the one who had been living with them a few weeks prior to her disappearance. She had fought Alessio on equal grounds when his blood lust was all over the place and she had shot him so easily like it was not the first time that she had pulled the trigger.

"She's starting to suspect that I'm a different person. You, Luca and Stefano are enough to know about who I really am. Things might get complicated if other people are dragged in on our business too."

"You're used to living your life by taking the identity of someone else. Just do what you always do. I'm sure you'll be fine."

"Ma lei è tua madre, Scion. Non voglio mancare di rispetto a lei. (But she's your mother, Scion. I don't want to disrespect her.)"

A genuine smile etched on Alessio's lips. She may have whispered those words under her breath but he heard them.

"You're too kind. Now I'm having second thoughts about what your brother told me."

"It's different when I care."

Does that mean she's starting to care about his family? Knowing that she had brought more happiness to Alessio than he expected. It urged him to want to cage her in his arms at that moment, but he stopped himself from doing so because he might not be able to leave her if he did just that.

"I'm sure she'll understand when everything about this mess that entangled us is over. E non è che ti sto dando il permesso di mancare di rispetto a mia madre, ti sto dando il permesso di fare ciò che devi per realizzare ciò per cui sei venuto qui. (And it's not that I'm giving you permission to disrespect my mother, I'm giving you permission to do what you have to accomplish what you came here for.)"

Ainsdale didn't say a word to retort to that.

"I'll see you at lunch."

"In the dining hall?" She asked when he started walking towards the door of her room because she didn't want to be looking where the meal was set when she went downstairs later like what happened to her a few times back.

One thing she learned while staying at Terra di Sienna was that the Arcane's enjoy having a meal in the garden overlooking the wide expanse of vineyard owned by the family itself. They mostly have their lunch there instead of the dining area because of the ambiance it offers.

"Garden. Oh, before I forget."

She raised her eyebrow in question when he walked back towards her bed. "What?"

He smiled lovingly before he held her face rather carefully and kissed her forehead ever so lightly.

"That's it for now," Alessio told her with a hidden promise before he left her there, speechless.

When she came to her senses, Alessio was already gone and silence came back to accompany her into her room. After realizing what had happened, she groaned as she let herself fall back down on her bed. Ever since she let him kiss her in the emergency room, she noticed that he had taken his guard down a little when he was around her and that he became a little too forward when it comes to his advances towards her. She knew Alessio was not the type of person who openly expresses what he felt in words. He was actually more comfortable showing it through affectionate gestures and gentle caresses.

She is not the type of person who gets swayed by emotions. That was the reason why she lasted so long with the job she had chosen for herself. But with Alessio's presence, everything she surrounded herself with all these years seemed to be slowly being stripped down, revealing the woman that she is. But what they feel towards each other isn't emotional. She knew that much. It was more of like a physical attraction towards each other – a lust which burns them even more as the days pass, especially when they only have a taste of it every now and then. It is something that pulls them towards each other rather persistently and she, who was trained to control her emotions to the level where she couldn't feel a thing, is starting to be swayed by it. That is how dangerous he is to her. He is awakening her emotions that were latent before.

If she lets herself be swayed by unstable feelings such as lust and physical attraction, will she be able to stay on track if something along the way gets in between them? She is at the marrying age already; she has been for a long time. If she is going to start taking a path towards settling down, would she want to settle on something covered by a fog of uncertainty? Besides, she wouldn't even be here if she hadn't stolen the identity of Alessio's fiancée. Their paths crossed for certain reasons that involved blood, lies and betrayal, so the ground she is standing right now in Alessio's life isn't as stable as it sounds.

While taking everything into consideration, she had completely forgotten that, despite the life she had grown accustomed to live, that beneath her insensate facade, she too was a human being who could feel. And for the first time in her life, she didn't know what to do with it nor what would the outcome be if she entertained the feelings she had for the man who was not even hers which were starting to bloom inside her chest.

"You've gone crazy, River. You've gone crazy," she whispered to herself while using the nickname her brother used to call her before she groaned and screamed her frustrations on the pillow.

***

The second Alessio closed Ainsdale's bedroom door behind him was the moment his smile disappeared completely as his lips suddenly pursed themselves into a grim line. His carefree self vanished as a dangerously lethal atmosphere suddenly engulfed him from head to toe. The dark aura which Ainsdale had noticed lightened these past few days engulfed him again and those around him could easily feel the dangers that it meant, so they remained silent every time.

A black invitation is a tryst to an underground assemblage where everyone who receives it is obliged to attend for the safety of one's family. It's a gathering of families who have had dealings using any means to get the job done disguised as a charity auction event to deceive the eyes of the people around them. It's a one-night event organized to show which family still has the crown of the underworld and who are the ones showing the highest probability of rising on higher ground. He had been invited so many times to attend the said gathering and he ignored it just as much. He never cared about other families: whether they were getting more power than the Arcana or falling down below his family. Arcana is a family that stands strongest when alone and he is the current head of it. Those other families be damned.

But he knew this time was a different matter and it was because of the existence of the woman upstairs in his life. He could no longer ignore the invitation because he was certain that his enemies were aware of what had changed in the Arcana.

"Di chi è arrivata la casa da questo momento? (Whose house did it come from this time?)" He asked as they walked towards the ground floor of Terra di Sienna manor where his office was located.

"Castrano."

One family name and it made Alessio's mood even worse. He despised the Castranos just as much as he detest the Brovinos and to think the invitation this time was from that good for nothing jerk named Silaz Castrano. He is sure he used the invitation to make him do his bidding.

"Did the messenger say anything?"

Kian nodded. "It's mandatory attendance for all families included in the guest list. E che se lo ignori ancora questa volta, tutte le altre famiglie lo prenderanno come insulto per loro. (And that if you ignore it again this time, all of the other families will take it as an insult to them.)"

"Meaning?"

"They will all be hostile towards the Arcana."

"Aren't they already? What did the letter say?"

"I think it's better if you read it yourself."

Alessio pursed his lips. Upon reaching his office, Kian stood by the door as he went inside, where he saw the twins Luca and Lucien, as well as his cousin Walter waiting for him. They were obviously restless, even those who were stationed outside, because they all knew that a black invitation means two things. Lucien, who was in charge of all the communications that came and went out of the family, has this frown that says he wouldn't like what was written in it.

"Where's your wife and daughter?" He suddenly asked his cousin before he sat on his chair behind his oakwood table.

"They're resting in my room. They'll be staying here for a few days."

"Hmm."

No wonder Kian is in the manor. His niece, whom he is guarding, is here.

Alessio then focused his attention on the black invitation letter resting on top of his table waiting for him to open it. The words Arcana Famiglia were intricately engraved with a golden color in the middle of the opened envelope beside it. His eyes scanned it and looking at the gloomy expressions of the men around him, he knew the letter itself was a threat. This is how it always works. But was he threatened? Not the slightest. Just a little irritable that they even had the nerve to threaten his family.

Without spending another second, he took the letter to read what was written and his pupils almost turned to slits in anger.

Alla testa della Arcana famiglia.

(To the head of the Arcane Family.)

La tua famiglia è obbligata a partecipare al raduno annuale dei neri. Dettagli come tema e luogo, nonché il numero di partecipanti per famiglia sono qui allegati per riferimento.

(Your family is hereby obliged to attend the annual black gathering. Details such as theme and venue as well as the number of attendees per family are hereby enclosed for your reference.)

Post scriptum Non vediamo l'ora di incontrare la donna.

(P.S. We are looking forward to meeting the donna.)

"f**k!" He cursed under his breath when he read what was written in the postscript, which made the others in the room look at him with a look in their eyes that confirmed they knew why he was angry.

The Castranos, most specifically, Silaz Castrano, now knew that he was engaged. How the hell did they even learn about Euphrosyne? It would have been fine if the woman upstairs was the real Euphrosyne, but damn it! She was Aizen's sister who was presently fighting for her life because of an injectable drug developed by the Brovinos and only him and Luca knew of that fact. And since she is pretending to be his fiancée, since she had temporarily stolen the identity of Euphrosyne, she will be obligated to stand beside him on the night of the black gathering. It was not a place where he would want to take her because he knew of the dangers it held.

Obliged was the threat in the letter and he wanted to avoid any menace that would come in his way until every little thing and problem inside his family had been resolved. But since Aizen still had the real Euphrosyne in his custody while his cousin Stefano was still looking for the neutralizer of the drug that was in Ainsdale's system, he could not move the way he did before everything with regard to those situations when it happened. He was left at a stalemate and he couldn't do anything to stop things from happening. This time, he could no longer ignore the invitation. But if he will bring Ainsdale with him to the gathering, he cannot promise that she will be completely safe in those few hours because certainly, those who have grudges against his family will look for an opportunity to take him down and they will use the woman whom they will see standing beside him that night.

"I'm not fragile," he suddenly remembered Ainsdale telling him a while ago.

Yes, he knew she wasn't. But being the one who stirred up feelings he never felt before makes a lot of difference. The fact that he cares about her makes her the target for his enemies to take him down without a sweat. And if they find out that link which will lead to his downfall, they will surely grab that opportunity and the gathering is where that opportunity lies. He didn't want her hurt because of his business. But she has been put in danger yet again because of one short sentence from an invitation without her even knowing.

"The donna was invited to attend," he told them, though he knew they were already aware of it.

"How did they even find out that she is with us?" It was Walter who asked, as he frowned at the thought that they specifically told Alessio to bring with him his fiancée, Euphrosyne.

"Do you think the Brovinos are working with the Castranos? After we sent Dian's cold body to their gates, they'd surely suspect us to have her already, especially when she had been with them prior to Dian's death. She knew much more than she needed to and the Brovinos might take the gathering as an opportunity to dispose of her completely and to keep her lips sealed."

"That's possible. Though I'm sure the Brovinos will not lower their heads to ask for help from the Castranos just to get back Euphrosyne, who might or might not be the reason of their future downfall because of her involvement with them."

"Silaz is a crazy man. Something might have piqued his interest, hence why he specifically told you to bring Euphrosyne."

"Or, do we still have a mole in our midst?" It was Luca this time.

Alessio's face darkened. Considering the importance of what Euphrosyne tried to accomplish in the Arcana, he had been considering for a while now that Dian was not the only one who helped her to steal from the family.

"Lucien… Do a thorough sweep on the ground. I want this family cleaned."

"Give me three days."