Cayden lead Ariana out of maket street and they headed down a more isolated street but they still ran into a few people. Ariana kept sniffing back the remaining tears and it caused many misunderstandings for Cayden. Some people were nice enough to ask if Ariana needed help and she profusely said she was okay. Other"s grabbed Cayden by the collar and tried to rescue her. Ariana had to jump in and explain that she was just being emotional because of her monthly curse. No matter where they stepped Ariana brought Cayden trouble.By the time they made it to their destination Cayden was exhausted. He pulled out his own handkerchief and laid it down for Ariana to sit on. Ariana smiled, her tears had finally dried up thanks to Cayden"s constant promises that Vanessa woud find a better partner, she was not shamed or hurt, her family was fine too. "Sorry I caused you so much trouble." Ariana said as she looked at Cayden. She could barely see him, her eyes were so puffy and swollen it caused Cayden to burst out laughing.
"You are honestly too cute." He said as he leaned in and kissed her swollen eye. The Lumas materialised and started to play along the gra.s.sy hill and around the white oak tree. "You don"t think I"m annoying?" Ariana asked. "What?! You! N-e-v-e-r." Cayden said with a teasing tone. Ariana couldn"t help but slap him in the stomach as she gasped. "Ouch! You"re too strong for me." Cayden laughed.
Ariana could feel her spirit rising. Cayden was being playful with her so she could forget what happened at the booth. "Well you"re lucky you"re so d.a.m.n cute or else I would really let you have it." Ariana said as she raised her fist. "Aww but then you would ruin my pretty face." Cayden pouted. Ariana couldn"t hold up the act anymore and started to laugh loudly. "There"s the charming smile that I love." Cayden said as he watched Ariana.
"You keep surprising me." Ariana said softly as she looked up at Cayden from underneath her lashes. "How so?" Cayden asked as he looked at Ariana. His heart rate was picking up and he was holding himself back. He had to fight temptation but she was too tempting. Ariana smiled sweetly as she thought back.
Cayden"s self control was starting to slip away, Ariana was smiling and looking at him like that. He cursed himself, this is the exact reason why he didn"t want to hear those magical words from her lips yesterday. It had freed the chained animal inside him and he could only hold it back with a ball and chain. He quickly started doing mathematical equations in his head as he tried to keep his dirty thoughts from bubbling up.
Ariana bit her lower lip as a blush rose to her cheeks. The chain snapped leaving the ball behind. Cayden raised his hands and was ready to push Ariana down when suddenly she spoke up. "You are so serious in the Academy, you tried to stay distant even when we lived at the Cafe but today... Well today makes me remember the sweetest memories from our youth. It"s like nothing has really changed."
Cayden"s animal hit a thick gla.s.s wall. He was able to lock it away but he couldn"t stop his momentum. He hugged Ariana instead and kissed her cheek. This was enough to temporarily satisfy his desires. "I was raised with an iron fist at the Remo house. Laughter, playing ans fun was banned and I needed to become an empty doll to survive. Especially when it came to that woman." Cayden hissed as he put more strength into his embrace.
"B-but to h-hear you say that... Thank you." Cayden whispered as small tears trickled downwards. Ariana"s eye"s widened. "Cayden." Ariana whispered as she brought up her arms and hugged him back. "You know you can talk to me about anything." Ariana said as she placed her forehead in the crook of Cayden"s neck. Cayden went silent. Ariana"s heart broke, she knew something awful must have happened to Cayden in the years she wasn"t able to see him. It seemed weird that he didn"t go back to the Remo Estate even over summer break.
Ariana just sayed perfectly still as her mind came up with all possibe reasons as to why. Cayden"s words worried her but after a long time she came to a very scary conclusion. She didn"t want to think the worst but the way Cayden acted made it seem like he had experience. Especially with the way he looked and touched her but he was still able to act shy when it came to the smallest things, it confused her.
"Cayden I will love you no matter what." Ariana started but she felt Cayden"s body tense. "I can only ever see myself living the rest of my life with you and only you. No matter what anyone says or does, I will be with you until I die. So let me be your strength whenever you need it." Ariana said softly as she held Cayden as tightly.
Cayden trembled under her touch. "There is one more thing I need to tell you. I have one more secret and you need to know it if you are ever going to trust me completely." Ariana said helplessly. Cayden tried to pull Ariana away so he could look at her but Ariana held her grip. "We have to stay like this or I will lose my nerve." She cried.
Cayden stoped immediately and silently waited for Ariana to talk. "You see...."
A long time pa.s.sed, the Lumas polished off the crepes while Ariana and Cayden lost their appet.i.tes. They rested against the trunk of the white oak tree, hugging eachother as the emotionally supported each other silently.
Ariana felt relieved. She was finally able to tell Caydn her darkest secret. Cayden didn"t offer words of sympathy, nor did he try to convince her that it wasn"t her fault. Instead he got up, picked her up and they nestled themselves against the trunk of the tree. Then Cayden placed Ariana on his lap and just silently hugged her, waiting for her to be ready to talk. Ariana sighed as he rested her head against him. Ariana looked up, she could see bits of sky through the leaves of the white oak tree.
"Cayden." Ariana finally called out. "Mmh?" Cayden responded. "Thank you."