CHAPTER 5: CHRYSANTHEMUM

******************************

To love is nothing, to be loved is something.....

******************************

Bravery, patience and focus, ... bravery patience and focus... became Arabella's mantra. She was one who wore her emotions on her sleeves, it was both a blessing and a curse, because right now was one of those times that she needed a poker face, but couldn't quite keep a straight face.

Arabella was famished, she hadn't put anything in her stomach since morning, and being at a fancy eatery with smells of all kinds of delicious treats wasn't helping the situation.

"Earth to Arabella!" Beau called. The lady looked up to the man who had called upon her, but she could feel another set of eyes intensely peering at her, Riven. "I'm sorry sir, did you say something?" Arabella asked, fighting the inner embarrassment that was making her cheeks to burn red.

"Nothing, it's just that your thoughts seemed to be far. And please call me Beau." Came Beau. Riven rolled his eyes at Beau's statement. Arabella felt the other set of eyes getting more tense. But couldn't quite find the courage to look at Riven, even though her eyes pleaded and craved to behold him.

"Sorry sir, I- mean Beau, the furniture...."she said before she was rudely interrupted.

"The furniture is none of our concern. Now enough with the side-bush talk, let's get this meeting finished!" Riven said, his statement was more of a command and called for no further discussion.

A few hours later, Riven was in the middle a statement and was interrupted by a displeasing sound. A stomach growl ......from Arabella. Beau made a slight chuckle, and Riven allowed himself to smile sarcastically, another new look for him. The lady's entire face was now a brighter red. If mother Earth loved her, then this was the perfect time for it to open up and swallow her whole. But it wasn't, she had been condemned to utter shame.

"You know, if you were hungry, you should have said something Arabella."Came Beau, who was struggling to contain his laughter.

"Arabella, go ahead and order, we are done with the meeting anyway." Riven seconded. The two men cleared up the table and Beau stood up to leave.

"Mr. Donnatiello, I'll be in tomorrow to finalize," he paused, and then turned to Arabella, "See you around Ms.Gold" Beau said, and it was more like a promise. Riven simply shook his head in acknowledgement and the other young man went out through the doors, and entered a unique black SUV that was waiting out front for him.

"Be back in the office in ten minutes!" Riven commanded before he shot up from his seat and made for the door with haste.

Arabella sat there, wondering how her life had become so complicated. Dramatic much Arabella? Hanging around two extremely gorgeous and really successful men shouldn't be a complication.

***************

Riven stormed into his office, slamming the door shut behind him, his blood boiling, and his emotions an utter farrago. He had left Arabella's presence not because he was running away, but because his infatuation for her was growing deeper. And with each second spent around her, he could only have as much self control, as he wanted to ... he hadn't figured out what it is he wanted with her but he definitely wanted something, and Arabella was written all over it.

"Mr. Donnatiello, a moment of your time!" Someone called from behind, pulling him out of his distress trance. He recognized the voice as that of Igor, his right hand and dear friend, but the world was ignorant of that fact.

Riven turned around and was met with dismayed faces, one of Igor and the rest of his men. He summoned his composure before he spoke.

"What is the matter Igor?" Riven asked, rather sternly.

"It's the main warehouse, it has been raided, and most of the merchandise has been taken, the rest destroyed." Igor stated, trying to hide the hint of fear in his voice. Riven was a man of temper, and such an incident would be thoroughly punished. The messenger always got shot. That's why Igor always delivered the bad news, because he would not be struck.

"Finally, a worthy distraction!" Riven thought to himself. "Let's go, there's a lot of explaining that needs to be done. Igor, get me the footage pronto." He commanded. And the men were soon out of the building and into the convoy of posh black cars.

As always, Riven was alone with Igor in the same car. He would then talk of the confidential things that couldn't be told to the rest of the employees.

"Who do you think did it Igor?" Riven asked.

"I actually know for a fact that it was Demetri. The job was sloppy and they left behind his business card. I removed it before anyone else found it, I cleared the footage of that too." Igor explained. Riven muttered a curse in Italian under his breath, then he spoke after a heavy contemplative sigh.

"You're very handy Igor, I didn't expect any less." Riven said, but his voice was distant. His thoughts had shifted to Arabella again. The coded emotions he felt because of her had proven hard to decipher. If only he could touch the reason, his life would be meaningful again.

Igor noticed that his boss had been sucked into deep thought, and he decided against pestering him. He involved him in work related conversation instead.

"So, what do you plan on doing about this situation boss man?"Igor asked and Riven rolled his eyes at him, earning a hearty chuckle from Igor. Igor always knew the buttons the buttons to press to get a required reaction, and right now, he wanted to take some weight off his dear friend.

"How many times have I told you to stop calling me that!! But I have a plan, I'm going to play ignorant and let this slide, I will bring this up to Demetri when I need him to do something for me. He owes me a great deal, and I'm one to collect." Riven said. The other man nodded his head in awe, his Boss was in a constant game of chess with his rivals, and it was amazing how he kept on top. In their kind of business, being owed a favor was more valuable than money itself.

"So you're going to check out the warehouse as an act, throw a tantrum here and there, and then leave?"

"You know me quite well, but the tantrums will be real, I'm very angry right now." Came Riven's response. Igor got the hint and kept quiet for the rest of the ride. 'What could Arabella be doing!" Riven wondered to himself, remembering how he left her at the restaurant, her beautiful hair asking to be disheveled, her neat lipstick to be ruined and her lovely skin to be marred with red spots and bruises of passion.

****************

Afraid of a salary deduction, Arabella was finished with lunch earlier than the time given to her. She then quickly made her way back to the office with utmost haste. At the entrance of the building, she recognized a figure that was standing outside. He was wearing a white dress shirt, office khaki pants and gentle black boots. He was tall, but Riven was taller, his eyes were a solid brown, and his short blonde hair was neatly slicked back. There was no doubt that it was Austin, her high school sweetheart. He was undoubtedly attractive, but he was a measly mediocre compared to Riven and Beau.... especially Riven. He was still winning the race with a great distance between him and his competitors. Could a man truly have everything?

She further hastened her pace, and Austin as well rushed to close the gap. He swept her off her feet and into a tight embrace like as though she was weightless. Austin set her down after the brief reconnection.

"What are you doing here you?" Arabella asked, amidst her gleeful mood.

"Do I need a reason to surprise my girlfriend at work?" He replied, pretending to frown. Arabella pinched his shoulder and the two giggled. They were quite the sight!.

"I had come to surprise you for lunch, but the receptionist said you were out, but soon returning. So, I waited out here, like the romantic boyfriend that I am!" He said with a shrug. One of the least attractive things about Austin was his extreme pride. Yes, he had done exceedingly well for himself, as CPA and had made partner. Other than that, there was absolutely no reason for him to brag, but he did, and it was tedious. He was narcissistic.

"Yes yes, that I know." Arabella replied sarcastically. Austin's phone buzzed in his pocket, and he retrieved it, then gazed at the screen for a while. His face held a slight expression of awe and it was clear that he was trying to hide what he truly felt.

"I gotta get back to work." Austin said, but only a fool could miss the anxiety in his voice.

"We still on for later tonight yeah, see you soon Ara." Austin said before he scurried off, without a proper goodbye.

Classic Austin. Arabella went into the building and finished her work for the rest of the day, she didn't have to go to her other job, so she went back home afterwards. She was relieved that Riven didn't come back that day, so she left when she wished, anticipating her date night with Austin.

*****************

Arabella got home a bit late, the sun had totally vanished and the formally blue sky had been covered by a thick black blanket, with little white starry dots. She entered the house, and it was oddly quiet. Everything was in order, but the TV and the lights were off, and there was no sign of her parents.

"Dad, Mum, is anyone home?"Silence!! She called several times, but still, there was no response. Instinctively, she then ran upstairs to their room, but it was empty, too empty!! There belongings that could be carried were gone, the closet was empty, and so were the drawers. They had...... vanished!! "No it couldn't be, they would never!" Arabella strongly sounded in her head.

She went back downstairs to the their kitchen, and as expected, there was a note left on the fridge. It was a custom to always leave important messages on the fridge.

As Arabella drew closer, her heart started to pump violently, she wasn't sure if she wanted to read the contents on the white piece of paper, but she had to. She stared at it for a moment, before she finally retrieved it from the fridge. Slowly, she went through the letter, as bitter tears started to sting her eyes, and soon, one by one rolled down her lovely face.

Dear Arabella,

We love you so much pumpkin, but this was the only way, dangerous men are after us, and they won't stop till we are dead. We have made very many questionable acts, trying to keep us all afloat over the years, but the debts have accumulated insanely, it's hard to pay them all with the measly income we bring in. It's safer for you if we separate our dear. Take whatever you can, leave the house, leave the city and go as far as you can.

PS: LEAVE MR. DONNATIELLO'S COMPANY.

If he finds out we are gone, you will pay the price for our mistake. The debt we owe him, will be transferred to you. Baby, he is the most dangerous of all the people we owe.

He's not the only one we owe big, so save yourself, leave the country if you must. We love you so much, I hope you forgive us some day. Godspeed Ara..

With love, Mom and Dad.

Arabella was grief-stricken and she sank to the floor, weeping bitterly like her being depended on it. It felt like a bucket of icy cold water had been poured on her. She was still hopeful, so amidst the tears, she got up and made her way to the door, as she had decided to go to their store and see if it was a prank. At the main door, she stepped on something, looking down, the moonlight fell upon what seemed to be an envelope, she quickly picked it up and proceeded with her pursuit. Her parents were more important.

The weather outside was changing by the minute, storm clouds had appeared, accompanied by quick lightning and old thunder. Just her luck. A few more blocks away from her house, was the store. On the side there was a poster that read "SOLD" in bold red letters. She wasn't aware that it had been up for sale in the first place. All the glass display windows were covered with brown papers and the door was locked with a different chain and padlock.

Arabella fell to her knees once more, it was true, her parents had actually left her. The shop and been sold, but at least she had the house. She was totally broke to just up and leave the city, not to mention Riven had largely cut her salary.

As she brought her hand up to wipe the tears off her face, she remembered the envelope that she had been holding. She placed it to the side, so that she could read it under the streetlight. The top of the envelope showed that the letter was form a particular bank. She opened the letter, and was hit in the face with bold black words that read "EVICTION NOTICE!"

Arabella fully read the long letter, that was saying that she had two weeks to find another place to stay, because the bank was taking possession of the house, due to the debt. This could only be stopped if the debt was paid in full, but she did not have that kind of money. Exactly how many parties did her parents owe money. First it was Riven, now the bank, she didn't want to know the rest. This perfectly explained why her parents left. They had no shop, no house, no nothing left. But it didn't explain why they left her, no excuse was good enough.

It felt like a bucket of icy cold water had been poured on her again.

She bowed her head, and braced herself by putting her soft hands on the rough concrete. Then she began to weep bitterly, harder this time. The previous tears had not even dried, and the new found sorrow would make sure her cheeks remained wet. As if on cue, the heavens released a heavy downpour, but she didn't mind the rain. She stayed there on the street, and cried the night away in the middle of the storm.......for her life was falling apart, she needed to find her strength, but where was it? If this was love from her parents then she didn't want it, she had been a model daughter, she never had time for herself, as she always got jobs to help her family. The store was doing poorly. And this is how they repaid her, with empty love. Did they even love her....

************************************

To love is nothing, to be loved is something, to love and be loved is everything. ?

******************************