Chapter 4 Paths of vengeance
Arielle's POV
“Straighten your shoulders, slightly lift your chin, don't look down and make sure you work your body.” Donathan told me, for the umpteenth time that morning.
I nodded my head amd did as he said but barely half a minute later, he stopped me.
“Stop! That's not it! You're lifting your shoulder blades way too high and that smile on your face, whats with it? Lose it!” He chastised.
I frowned slightly and bit my lower lips, it was becoming exhausting. “Can I just do this my way?” I asked him and he scowled but agreed.
Inhaling sharply, I straightened up and walked down our pretend runaway with a stoic look on my face, maintaining eye contact with him. He clapped once I was done.
“Not bad, but we need to work on your body language, you have a killer bod, use it to your advantage. We'll go over this once again and then we'll proceed to your signature move.” Donathan explained.
Two minutes later, three heavy books was placed on my head and I wasn't to give in to the need to arc my body to balance the weight, instead, I walk down the runway, standing as tall as possible.
After an exhausting two more hours of this repeated exercise, I took a break.
“You are a natural at this but it seems something is holding you back, are you sure you're fine? I can tell the boss to give you more time, we've just been training for a week, you don't have to push yourself this far.” Donathan informed me as we munches on our lunch.
I shook my head, mourning the shadow of my past glory. Before the accident, I was the perfect model, I didn't even have to go on a diet or practice tirelessly like others would. I'm a natural but after the fire, it was like something shifted in me and my own body isn't mine anymore.
True to his words, Zane hired the top trainers in the world, those who I've only heard of their names and someday dreamt of meeting and they were the ones to put me on the right track, to ‘get me back in the game’ He said.
Just a week into it and I could feel the heat already, my body wasn't fully healed so it still hurts but I wasn't going to back down though Zane specifically told me to take a break if I wasn't feeling too well.
“Do you think I'll get my spark again?” I asked Donathan, catching him off guard.
“Your spark?” He asked, arching an eyebrow.
I typed in my name on my phone's search engine and showed him a video of me, on the runway.
“This is beautiful! What happened to you?” He exclaimed.
My lips twitched into a frown. “The people I love happened to me and you're going to help me become even better.” I stared then dumped what's left of my Cesar salad. “I haven't perfected that move, we have a lot to do and two weeks isn't enough time.”
Donathan sighed, reluctant to let go of what's left of his lunch. “I am the best that there is in the world darling, you're in safe hands.”
I gave a ghost of a smile for his assurance. “We'll see about that.”
We went over the process until we'll into the evening and by that time, I was ready to begin to practice walking in heels but Donathan had to leave because he had to attend to a personal issue.
The entire night, I stayed up practicing. I started off with two inches heels and then proceed with higher ones.
I fell down countless times and stood up as quickly as I did, I wasn't willing to give up, not yet. I stared down at my legs and they felt alienating to me, it had no scars, no signs of a slight burn but the mental pain was still there, when I watched them peel off and reveal my bones when I touched them.
My breathing pace increased as the memory haunted me. When Zane had saved me, I opened my eyes to find myself in an environment I had mistaken for heaven, I was surrounded by men in long overflowing white coats with smiles beaming on their faces.
That was the fiest time I'd actually seen people happy that I was alive but I only gained consciousness for a short period of time before I fell asleep, again.
‘One more time.’ I said to myself, encouragingly, then stood up and resumed walking.
It felt strange to be walking that way again, it was as if I had forgotten how to but I knew deep down that it was more complicated than that. Adrian had always told me how much he loved my long legs and can't wait for them to be wrapped around his waist.
‘Every inch of you is beautiful, your long legs are a blessing, you should be a model!’ Adrian had told me when we started dating and this was all the confidence I needed, I tried out for a local modeling job and got the gig and ever since, I kept climbing the ladder to success.
“You're hurting yourself.” I heard a masculine voice call out.
I turned my around and saw an handsome man stride towards me. I winced in pain and picked myself up, I was lost in my thoughts and had kept walking in the shoes though it hurt my toes and the heel broke which made me fall down.
“I'm fine.” I spat, decisively.
He arched an eyebrow. “You're not fully healed, dont exert too much pressure on yourself.”
“I'm no longer half paralyzed and under anesthesia, no need to babysit me anymore Doctor Perfecto.” I hissed.
I remembered his face, he was the one who kept bringing me back from the brink of death, yelling at the other doctors to save my life and performed dozens of medical surgeries on me.
“For the umpteenth time, my name is Leo.” He laughed, as if my words amused him.
I scoffed, slapping away his hands as he extended them to help me stand up and I stood up on my own.
“Any plans on ripping off bandages today?” I asked, sarcastically.
He was the one who removed my bandages and removed dead skin, it was gory and painful thought it gave room for more treatments that enabled me to not look like a monster.
“You still haven't forgotten that little action? You know I did it to save your life? It's one of the most difficult procedures in the world. You should be thanking me.” Leo explained.
I scrutinized my nose. “You were just following orders.”
“Yes, I was and I'm glad about two thousand hours of my efforts were not in vain.”
My gaze softened. He was right, I wasn't angry at him, I was infuriated at myself for appearing weak. I limped, heading to my room.
“Let me help you.” He offered.
“No, you've helped me enough, thank you.” I refused him and I could feel his gaze on me as I limped away. When I got to my room, I ran a warm bath and washed away all the filth on my body and the sweat.
My feet were sore and hurting but I stared at my naked reflection in the mirror, the marks were still there, the incision marks, the little patches of scars, an evidence of the horror I went through and survived.
As I ran my fingers on them, I could still feel the pain I went through, the process was excruciating. Every inch of me was peeled off, I was given epidural but the pain was still there, I lost track of time, all I knew was pain. The healing process was intense but the end product was worth it and I won't suffer in vain.
An hour later, I was scrolling through social media, researching tips to help me become better for my training. There was a knock on the door and Zane walked in. A strand of hair fell to his face and for the first time, I noticed his eye were onyx, beautiful.
“There's our tigress.” He greeted, cheekily.
“Your presence can only mean you need something, I promise you that I've been diligent in my training.”
“On the contrast, I brought a little ointment, heard you took matters into your own hands real hard today.”
I guffawed. “Leo, that snitch! He told you, didn't he?”
Zane laughed briefly and halted right in front of me and set the ointment he held on the table beside me then dropped to a knee. “Let me see.”
Instinctively, I withdrew my leg to myself. “I'm fine.”
“I'm not asking, I am telling you.” He stated, his vouce low but resonating with authority.
Reluctantly, I put one foot forward and he placed it on his knee, the brief touch of his hand against my leg sparked a jolt of electricity in me.
He inspected it and frowned then began to apply the ointment.
“I'll do it myself. “ I protested.
His hold on my foot became firm. “Hold still.” He ordered.
I was embraced as he massaged my foot and did same for the second one.
“You know i spent a fortune on these right? You shouldn't push yourself too far, your skin is still dedicate.” He chastised, quietly.
“I was only trying to practice and become better, this used to be a walk in the park for me.” I said, defensively. It was embarrassing to admit that I felt scared and insecure.
“I told you not to apply pressure on yourself didn’t I?”
“I'm not a pushover or some delicate girl! If I can't handle little pain then-”
“Then you're wise.” He interjected.
“What?” I asked, shocked by his answer.
He kept mute and walked to my wardrobe, bringing out a pair of socks then he helped me put them on.
“Don't push yourself too far Arielle, you'll only make things worse.” He said conclusively and stood up, ready to leave.
“I'm not a weakling!” I yelled after him and he halted, halfway to the door. “I used to do all these liek it was second nature, I won a lot of modeling contracts because I could walk in any type of heels and make them work! Now I can't even life a measly four inches high heels? How the hell do you expect me to stay back and get used to this? That's fvcking mediocre!”
He walked back towards me and only halted when there's barely an inch separating us and he leaned in, my heart skipped a beat.
“You're a weakling Arielle, the legs you once had got burnt in that fire, along with your prowess, don't delude yourself, the faster you accept it, the better it is for you.’ He stated, calmly but with the kind that could stir a storm.
He patted my head and walked away afterwards. I screamed and punched my pillows after he left, tears rolling down my face, how dare he call me a weakling? I angrily took the heels and walked in them but barely had i taken ten steps when I fell down, this time, I bruised my knees.
I burst into tears, he was right, I'm weak and there's nothing I can do about it. I cried myself to sleep and when I woke up the next morning, I felt angry at myself for allowing someone else's words to hurt me that much. I took my bath, dressed up and headed for Zane's office, I needed to give him a piece of my mind.
“Come in Arielle, you're just the person I was hoping to see.” Zane's voice came from inside his office just as I was about to knock.
I went in and saw him seated, he wore a short sleeved shirt and his hair was combed back, revealing his perfectly crafted face, I cleared my throat, not wanting to be distracted by his handsome face.
“I have something to say to you.” I told him.
He looked at me with amusement dancing in his eyes and stood up, his shirt was hugging his well toned body and it was quite the sight.
“Okay, but first, there's somewhere we must visit.” He shrugged and without warning, grabbed my hand and began to head for the door.
“Where are we going to?” I asked him but he wasn't listening.
Annoyed, I snatched my hand from his grip which made him halt. “Where. Are. We. Going?” I asked, seething.
His gaze darkened. “To teach you a lesson you'll never forget.”
Chills ran down my spine.