Taken By The Mafia Lord

711 Start Over As Friends

The wedding didn’t follow any of the usual church protocols since Natalie was catholic. For starters, Natalie didn’t have any family – even though all of them were alive – except for Arianna, while Eric’s parents were late. Not to mention that the wedding was rushed, hence a lot of frivolous and unnecessary decorum like the father walking her up the aisle was not observed.

The whole family accompanied the couples up the aisle. While Rose held up Natalie’s wedding dress train, Ephraim’s kids served as the flower boys and Arianna of course was the lone bridesmaid – with Mimi by her side. Nonetheless, the walk up the aisle was a memorable one and her mother looked so beautiful.

Arianna couldn’t help but envision her and Marcel in their place instead. It would be the happiest day of her life – she could tell how her mother felt right now. However, Arianna had to snap out of her imagination real fast because she couldn’t go any further and returned to their seats like everyone else.

It so happened that Ezra, the brother directly older than Elijah happened to seat beside Mimi and the both of them got off to a great start immediately. If asked about her relationship with Eric’s other brothers, except Elijah of course, Arianna would say good. They hadn’t gotten the chance to know each other that much but the brothers were chill and looked genuinely happy to know that she was Natalie’s daughter.

However, with the way Ezra was staring Mimi up and down like a piece of meat, Arianna would make sure to remind him later that Mimi was practically a “married” woman. Yep, she would do the horny, hormonal, pregnant woman the favor. The tension between Elijah and Marcel was real enough, add Ezra and Victor to the mix and Arianna was sure it would be a nuclear explosion. Both families wouldn’t be able to survive it.

The wedding went by really fast and Arianna actually cried when her mother read her vows. It was so real and touching especially the part where Natalie mentioned that she has been searching for what they shared for a long time until she found him. It was cheesy but it depicted the struggles her mother had over the years.

In the end, Arianna might have sympathized and understood why her mother was being this way. For a woman who went through such traumatizing struggle, it’s not surprising that she wants the best for her daughter. Daniel destroyed her life. He was not going to destroy her own life, Arianna would prove that to her.

The priest went on to say, “Today, Eric Draven and Natalie Valeria through their words, have joined together in holy wedlock. Because they have exchanged their vows before God and these witnesses, have pledged their commitment each to the other, and have declared the same by joining hands and by exchanging rings, I now pronounce that they are husband and wife. Those whom God hath joined together, let no one put asunder. You can now seal the agreement with a kiss.”

There was a great celebration as her mother and Eric locked lips and the next Arianna knew, Rose threw herself in her, shouting gleefully,

.....

“You are now my sister!”

Yep, the girl was right in that aspect. They were legally sisters now, well, half-sister to be precise, while Elijah was her brother-in-law. In one word, that means Elijah’s problems were her problem and if there was going to be a war with the Luciano’s, Arianna was very much involved now. She was family with Elijah.

On the brighter side, her mother was married to Eric and not Daniel, which means she and Marcel were good to go. Hallelujah! Although that would only happen if she manages to convince Marcel to make up with her. What if it doesn’t work out the way she wants? What if Marcel decides he’s done with her even after she begs for forgiveness? What if he’s moved on without her?

Her insecurities crept up again and Arianna became nervous. She needed something strong to drink and thankfully they’d moved to reception already hence no one would question her drinking.

However, in her haste to locate the servers, Arianna bumped into someone and she looked up only to find out that it was Elijah. Nope, not happening. As if Elijah knew what was better for him, he didn’t speak to her and merely moved out of the way for her. But then, Arianna took one step and stopped.

How was she going to convince Elijah to let her out of here tonight if they weren’t on talking terms? If not for anything, at least for the sake of seeing Marcel, Arianna would be the first to wave the white flag.

“Hey!” Arianna called him and he halted in his steps. He turned to her and pointed to his chest,

“Did you just talk to me?”

Arianna nodded with a sigh. She walked over to him, “My mother is married to your brother, which makes us family and we can’t ignore each other forever. So why don’t we for the sake of our family members put aside our differences?”

“I never had any problem with you, Arianna. You are the one who decided to hate me,” He told her.

“You took me away from Marcel amid all of my pleading, Elijah. What did you expect me to do?!” She glared at him

“And what did you expect me to do either?! Your mother wanted you home and it wasn’t like you were going to readily come with me even if I asked.”

“That doesn’t excuse the fact you didn’t ask!”

“You fainted the first time I told you about your mother, nearly blowing my cover and you liked Marcel so much that the both of you are attached to the hips like conjoined twins. So ask yourself the question, would you have come even if I told you?”

The answer was no, Arianna knew it deep down. She would always doubt that or find ways to ignore the woman who abandoned her.

“Nonetheless, I’m sorry, okay? I had no choice and if there’s a way to make it up to you, I would do it.” Elijah said without seeing the small smile that curved her lips to the side.

Well, if you’re that sorry, there’s already a way to remedy that, the wheels turned in her head.

“In that case, let’s start over as friends then.” Arianna offered him her hand.

Elijah looked at her hand suspiciously before accepting it cautiously,

“Friends then,”

The both of them shook hands while Arianna’s smile grew. It was going to work out, she would make sure of it.