Chapter 101 A New Beginning

Chapter 101 A New Beginning
"My men seized a truck carrying women and little girls, and she was among them." Xander said. 

Ariadne's eyes widened in horror. "How did she end up there?" 

Xander sighed and sat down on the couch. They were in a different room now. 

"It was Zidane." 

"What?" Ariadne was shocked.

"He has many illegal businesses, and human trafficking is one of them."

"My God!" she gasped, placing her hand on her mouth. "He's a monster. He didn’t even spare his own daughter." She felt sorry for Oindrila.

"It's simple... His engagement has been fixed with a woman from a noble family. He wants to clear up all his mess now. He wants to get rid of them." Xander stated. 

"Thank God, she was saved." she sighed. "What now? Gloria has escaped. We don't know if she knows about her mother and daughter or not."

"They will lead us to Gloria." Xander stated, referring to Gloria's mother and daughter. "Talk to them and ask them if they can contact her." 

"Okay," Ariadne said, realizing his plan. 

... 

The next day, a woman in a hoodie climbed out of a cab and looked around before entering the building quickly. She came to a door and pushed it open, revealing the people inside. She stepped in and closed the door behind her. 

"Finally." Xander said from his seat, looking at the woman.

"Where's my mother and daughter?" Gloria asked. 

"You will meet them, but first, we have some business to sort out." Xander said and pointed at Ariadne. 

Gloria looked at Ariadne, who was on the other side of the room. She was shocked to see her. But before she could say something, Ariadne approached her and slapped her hard on the cheek.

"You! I trusted you, and you tried to kill my Alex. How could you?" she yelled at her.

Gloria kept her head lowered, her eyes filling with tears and shame. "I'm sorry, Aria. I didn’t know their real plan. Zidane said he would only kidnap Alex and blackmail you two." 

"Don't give me excuses. Anything and nothing can make you innocent. You took advantage of our trust and stabbed us in the back. And look, it was Xander because of whom your daughter and mother are safe now."

"I'm grateful for this." Gloria said, bending down to her knees and crying.

Ariadne shot her a furious glare. 

"Zidane kidnapped them, but he told me he wouldn't harm them if I kept my mouth shut. He betrayed me." Gloria explained, her voice shaking.

"You deserve it." Ariadne said coldly. 

"Okay, calm down." Xander stood up and approached Ariadne, placing his hand on her shoulder. 

"Look... your daughter and mother are innocent in this. I'll not harm them. But I can never forgive you for what you've done. However, I can consider it if you help us. We don't have strong evidence against Zidane..." 

"I can provide evidence against him." Gloria said, cutting him off. Her voice was laced with desperation. 

Xander nodded. This was exactly what he wanted from her.

"But I need some time and help." Gloria added.

"You will get whatever you want. Just bring us the evidence of his destruction." Xander said through gritted teeth.

"And one more thing...Until you provide the evidence your daughter and mother will stay with us." Xander added.

Gloria nodded. 

.......... 

A week had passed...

Ariadne stood silently as she rang the bell. Not long after, the door opened, revealing Xander.

"Hey." he said with a smile. 

"Good evening." Ariadne replied, returning his smile. 

"Please come." he stepped aside, allowing her to enter his penthouse.

Ariadne entered and noticed something was different from the last time she visited. The place was decorated. However, it was unusually quiet which was odd. Her kids never stayed quite. She turned around to face Xander. 

"Where's everyone?"

"Ummm..." Xander scratched the back of his head, looking hesitant. "Actually, it's only the two of us. There's no one else." 

"What do you mean there's no one else? Isn't it a family dinner? They told me to come here. Where are they if they're not here?" Ariadne was confused.

Tiara had called her to tell her that they had planned to have dinner at Xander's penthouse.

"They were here, but they all left before your arrival. They've arranged a date for us." he said. 

"Date?" Ariadne frowned. 

Xander didn't reply. He simply extended his hand and Ariadne took it hesitantly. He led her to a door and opened it. 

"Oh my god!" Ariadne gasped as soon as she saw the inside. 

She was stunned by the view. The room was decorated with twinkling lights, and a small table was set in the middle of the room, adorned with candles and roses. It looked like something out of a dream.

"I planned to ask you out for dinner, but I stopped myself considering the current situation. But look....here we are." he whispered into her ear. "I think, as we're here in this situation, we shouldn't let their hard work go to waste. Should we?" 

Ariadne looked at him. "This is...."

"Madness....I know, but let's just once enjoy this madness. We're very busy these days and have a lot to do still, so we should let loose today." he stated.

Ariadne was speechless. She looked around the room again. Xander turned her around to face him.

"Would you like to have a dinner date with me?" he asked, raising his eyebrows. 

Ariadne shook her head, smiling. She was surprised, but her heart fluttered with anticipation.

Moments later, they stood in his secret room. 

"You're looking good in this, but as we're going on a date..." he paused. "There're some dresses in that cupboard. Can you wear one of your choice?" he almost pleaded.

"Okay." Ariadne replied, which brought a big smile to his face.

And just like that, Ariadne found herself alone in the room as Xander left her to get ready in privacy while he went to make other arrangements.

By the time she came out of the room into the dining room, she saw Xander on one of the chairs, changed into a tailored black suit. He had arranged the wine bottles and dishes while music played in the background.

As he looked at her, his breath caught and he stood up. "You look... breathtaking." he said, making her blush.

Ariadne chose a blue gown to wear with some jewelry. She also did some light makeup. 

"Thank you. You're looking good as well."

He walked towards her and stood in front of her. "I thought it should look genuine, so..." 

"You did the right thing." Ariadne smiled. 

"So, should we?" he extended his hand.

Ariadne took it, and they went to the table and sat down.

"We need to serve ourselves, as no one's going to come." he said. 

"It's okay. I like this. It's peaceful and....."

"Romantic?" he asked.

"Yeah."

Their gazes met and silence fell. Ariadne looked away and began to eat.

"Is there any news on Gloria?" she asked after a while, breaking the silence.

"No. It's a difficult and dangerous task, and there's no guarantee she'll succeed. If Zidane finds out, he'll kill her before she can bring any evidence." he stated.

Ariadne nodded in understanding. "Let's hope for the best."

Soon they finished their meal and sat with their wine glasses. Sometimes they talked, sometimes there was an odd silence. Then, the music shifted into a slow, romantic tune. Xander stood up, placing his wine glass on the table, and extended his hand.

"Let's dance."

Ariadne was nervous. The atmosphere had become drop-dead romantic. And the fact that they were alone in the entire penthouse made the tension tenfold.

"You’re serious?" 

"Dead serious." he said, his voice low.

She placed her hand in his, and he led her a few steps forward. A faint yellow light flashed on them, surprising her. Only then did she notice that it was a dance space with a round carpet. She realized they had planned everything perfectly for a date. She was impressed. However, her breath hitched when Xander pulled her close, placing his hand on her waist. She looked at him. He flashed her a smile so charming that it melted her heart. They began moving with the music. 

"Do you remember the day Crystal shot me? I thought I was going to die." Xander started the conversation after a long silence. 

The song had changed into a different one. 

"You’re safe and sound now. Don’t bring up that memory... it was horrible." 

"Yeah, I remember how scared you were." 

"Of course I was." 

"Were you scared to lose me?" 

"Yes. Our kids need their father with them." 

"And you? Don’t you need me?" 

"Xander... I don’t want anything to happen to you." she looked away.

"Please tell me you didn’t want to lose me. I saw it in your eyes, Aria. But I want to hear it from you." 

Silence fell. Xander looked at her expectantly. She looked at him.

"Yeah... I didn’t want to lose you." she said after a while, accepting it.

"I said something that day... and God had given me another chance at life." he stopped dancing. The air suddenly turned serious. 

"Can you give me another chance too, Aria?... To prove myself...to show how much I love you?" he asked softly.

Ariadne's heart skipped a beat. She averted her eyes but Xander grabbed her face. "Eyes on me, Angel." 

Her breathing quickened as she looked at him. "I don’t know... When you were shot.... In that moment, I realized how short life is... to hold grudges... to hate someone forever." she whispered. "I prayed to God to save you. I felt like I had wasted so much time hating you, and if I got another chance, I would correct my mistake. But... I am afraid now..." she said truthfully. 

"That our relationship will fail like the last time?" 

She nodded. 

He cupped her face with his hands. 

"I know we may not have the perfect compatibility." he said softly. He took a step closer, his eyes pleading.

"But what we have is something deeper. We love each other, even if we sometimes fail to understand one another. Our love is real. And with it, we can face our flaws together. Because the truth is, I can’t find peace without you by my side. No matter how difficult things get, I'll never leave you again... I can't live without you, Angel." his voice cracked slightly as he continued, "And whenever we feel like giving up... we’ll look at our kids. They will remind us why we began this journey in the first place. They’ll give us the strength to keep going." 

For a moment there was silence as they stared at each other. Then she nodded with a smile. 

Xander sighed, a sigh of relief that she had finally forgiven him and was ready to give him a chance. He caressed her cheek and tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear. Ariadne closed her eyes, feeling his touch. He brought his finger up and gently caressed her lower lip. 

"Thank you, Angel… thank you for giving me this chance." he said before kissing her lips. 

The kiss was affectionate at first, but soon it turned passionate. They devoured each other. 

He lifted her, and she wrapped her legs around his waist. He walked towards his room, never breaking the kiss. 

He closed the door behind them, his hands tangled in her hair while hers rested on his shoulders. Their lips moved with urgency, years of tension, pain, and longing finally breaking loose. 

He lowered her onto the bed and hovered over her, kissing her deeply. Then he paused and sat up, straddling her. He took off his jacket and shirt, revealing his bare upper body. 

Ariadne gazed at his abs, breathless. He leaned in and gently pecked her lips. 

"Stop me if you don’t want this." he said, breathless, looking into her eyes. "Because after this... I won’t be able to." 

She looked at him for a moment before pecking his lips, giving her silent consent. That was all he needed. 

In one swift motion, he tore open her dress. His lips traveled down her neck, across her collarbone, and along her stomach. She arched beneath him. He paused again, removing the rest of their clothes. Ariadne felt a wave of shyness as he gazed at her naked body.

"Beautiful." he murmured before capturing her lips again.

His lips trailed downwards, caressing every part of her body. Her senses went numb until all she could feel was his kisses.

She gasped when he entered her. Soon the room filled with soft moans, broken whispers of each other’s names, and the sound of skin against skin.

Everything else faded, their past, their pain. In that moment, it wasn’t about passion. It was about two broken souls, choosing to be whole together.

When they finally came together, they felt content, not just because of the orgasm, but because their years of waiting had finally come to an end. They were now together, leaving their past behind. 

He collapsed beside her, pulling her into his arms.

"I love you." he murmured.

"I love you too." she rested her head on his chest, listening to the steady beat of his heart. 

He kissed her forehead and pulled her closer. 

After years of separation and pain, they had finally erased the distance between them. For the first time, they slept in each other's arms, and they were content and at peace. 

It was their new beginning.