Chapter 13: Marry Me
Then he took a seat opposite hers without even asking.
"We need to talk."
Arianna glanced around, weary that people were going to see her with Daemon.
She hadn’t seen him for over a month, which made her notice how sharp some of his features had become. Stubbles grazed half of his face, not the type that looked unkept but the type that made her want to caress his face.
His dark hair was styled to the back with only one strand falling over his forehead. A shiny object shone around his earlobe. An earring. She was sure she didn’t see any earrings on him back when she was still at the hospital.
"Are you done admiring me?" Daemon asked, a grin on his lips.
Arianna’s face turned beet red as she tried to act calm despite being caught in the act.
"How did you find me?" She questioned as she took a sip of her strawberry milkshake. Her eyebrows furrowed slightly when the taste touched her tongue.
’This is good,’ she thought as she examined the cup.
"That’s not important."
Daemon’s reply brought her attention back to him.
He still hadn’t explained how he managed to find her and rescue her while she was on the brink of death, and now, he found her in the cafe as if he already knew she was going to be there.
Her eyes narrowed at him. If he was stalking her, then she needed to get rid of him immediately.
Her lips thinned into a line before she parted her lips to speak, "Then what do you need to talk to me about?"
There was a silent pause before the daemon responded. "Let’s get married."
Arianna blinked at him several times, hoping he was joking at least but the solemn look on his face was more than enough for her to know he was serious.
"What?"
He was well aware that their families were enemies. Getting married to each other would only lead to more blood baths. And most importantly....
"My father killed your mother," she reminded.
"I don’t believe he killed my mother."
Confusion marred Arianna’s face like red paint, her eyebrows furrowed together.
"I believe he was framed that night by an enemy who wanted the heads of both families to have a feud with each other so they could take advantage of the situation. And right now, they’re coming after your family."
Arianna’s eyebrows deepened in confusion
"Hold on, what are you talking about?"
Daemon took another pause before he responded.
"The Mexican Cartel."
Arianna’s heart dropped.
There used to be a rumor a very long time ago that the rulers of both the Cosa Nostra, Bratva, and the Mexican cartel used to be very close friends. Especially Mr. Wesley and Mr. Langford, Daemon’s father.
They were so close and inseparable that the underground became bothered even when they were only just kids at that time. They worried that if the three boys joined forces, they would rule the underground world, leaving nothing for anyone.
However, an incident happened that led them to separate and turn each other into enemies, patiently waiting to kill the other person.
"Crisanto Sanchez is planning on waging war on the Cosa Nostra to settle their longtime feud."
Crisanto Sanchez was the leader of the Mexican Cartel.
"But somehow, he’d managed to convince every supplier to cancel their contracts with the Cosa Nostra, and now your father has very few options left for where he’ll source his weapons."
Arianna frowned deeply as he explained, questions hanging at the tip of her tongue which she’ll explain as soon as he is done.
"Which is where I step in," he said, offering in fact. "I’m willing to sell weapons to your father in exchange for a marriage with you."
Arianna scoffed, not realizing when it had slipped past her lips.
"Do you really think I’d marry you over lies you cooked up overnight?" she scoffed again. "Let me tell you something—if my father had problems with the underground, he would’ve told me himself. I wouldn’t have to hear it from you."
She paused, taking a slow sip of her milkshake before continuing.
"And secondly, how did you even get all this information? As far as I know, the Langfords and the Wesleys aren’t involved in the same underground business. Which means you’ve been keeping an eye on us. And most importantly..." her eyes narrowed slightly, "...even if we did have issues with the cartel, why would you help us?"
Daemon took a moment before he responded.
"Did you really think your father would tell you about the troubles he’d been having especially after what you went through?" He questioned her back.
Knowing her father, he wouldn’t.
She wasn’t actively involved in their family’s business but she knew one or two things that were going on.
However, lately, whenever she came down for dinner, she would hear them mumbling about something but whenever she asked what the problem was, they would immediately tell her not to worry about anything.
She’d tried asking Nicholas and Cassian but neither of them would speak and simply told her not to worry and to focus only on recovering.
She believed that it was indeed nothing since they had never encountered an unsolvable problem in the past.
Who would have thought that her father was getting ready for war but with no weapons.
"As for the second question," Daemon said, pulling her from her thoughts. "The news has been circulating all over, and trust me when I say a lot of people are desperate to see your father fail and lose everything. This is their perfect time to strike now that he’s vulnerable."
Arianna hated to admit that he wasn’t wrong.
"And lastly, I’m not helping you. It’s simply business. We hand your father weapons and you marry me."
"You must be crazy to think that I’ll do that. For all I know, you came up with this suggestion to have me killed. You’re not to be trusted, Daemon Langford."
