Darling, Only I Can Be Your Man

“Help! Help!” Ariana heard a faint sound coming through the alley near her apartment that she rented with her best friend.

“Please help me!” The same faint sound came again but Ariana did not want to stop because it was dangerous to stop in the alley this late to help a stranger.  It could be an intentional set up.

She kept walking but her sensitive conscience would not allow her to leave someone who needs her help stranded. ‘Why do I always have a death wish? Ariana, please walk away’ she muttered to herself.

 By the time Ariana came back to her senses, she was already standing next to a bloody body, almost unrecognizable with a mixture of mud and blood.

“Sir, what happened to you?” “Let me get you to the hospital.”

“No” he insisted.

“… but you’re wounded” Ariana exclaimed.

“I know but I... I can clean myself up.” He stuttered due to his wounds. “I just need a place to stay for tonight.”

Ariana did not know where she got the bravery but for some reason, she trusted him at that moment. She helped him up. Ariana is slender and barely 5ft 4” in height, the man was a head taller than her with firm muscles but not too muscular, so it was still a bit uncomfortable for her to carry half his weight resting on her shoulder.

After she successfully brought the stranger into her apartment, she sat him on the couch in the small living room she shared with her best friend Emily Smith. Emily is not currently home; she sometimes stays with her boyfriend or with her family.

Ariana went in the bathroom to get the first aid kit and a clean towel with a basin of water to help him clean up his wound.

“What is your name stranger?” Ariana asked while taking off his shirt to clean around the wound on his side first. “… and you did not answer my previous question.”

“You just need to help me clean this wound. You don’t need to know all these things.” he said arrogantly but in a low muffled voice. Even in pain his voice was still mysterious but s*xy. After she took his shirt off, she was in a daze after witnessing his s*xy tanned abs and a voice that could have a girl head over heels.

“Hey, what are you doing?” Ariana snapped back to herself when she noticed that he was slowly losing consciousness. She wiped around the knife wound clumsily on his side and then had the wound cleaned up.

Michael watched her through the entire process. Wondering what was going on through her head for helping a stranger that could simply endangered her. She was trying to be brave, but the shakiness of her hands gave her a way.

Michael Matthews starts to think this woman is so interesting, she seems to be about 21 years old. She has a cute oval shaped face with a little baby fat that made him want to pinch her cheeks. She pouted her little mouth which made her even more adorable.

“I am finished. Would you like something to eat?” Ariana thought he might need energy to move around.

“That is not necessary, I am good.” Michael responded.

“I am just trying to be polite here, anyway I am going to get something to eat for myself. You can stay here for the night.” Michael looked at her for a couple seconds walking up to her room before he finally responded, “Okay, I can sleep on the couch and I promise not to be a burden to you until then.”

She came back downstairs and gave him some over the counter tablets for the pain and a glass of water. He took it and slightly cleaned his face and hands with the wet towel. He had regained full consciousness, but he is still weak from the amount of blood lost.

Ariana was busying herself in the kitchen preparing macaroni and cheese with sausage. Meanwhile, Michael was checking out her apartment from where he is sitting. ‘It seems a bit small and the furniture is a bit old, but the place is clean and in order very cozy’.

He heard footsteps so he turned his head to see her coming with two bowls. She placed one in his hand, “I know you said you don’t want anything, but I cannot let you starve, my conscience won’t allow it.” “This is all I have right now, I hope you don’t mind.”

He looked up at her and saw the sincerity in her eyes and felt warmed. She does not even know his identity, but she risked her safety for him and did it genuinely. Most girls flaunt over him because of his identity and his wealth, it is hard to tell who is genuine these days.

Michael ate all the food in his bowl. He was skeptical at first because this is his first time eating something like this. He never ate these types of unhealthy foods before and surprisingly it was indeed delicious. ‘I have to get the cook to prepare this for me at home’ thought Michael.  

Ariana sat opposite to Michael watching his several face expressions in a daze. She laughed inwardly because he looked a bit childish but adorable.

After Ariana completed her meal, she took the empty bowl from Michael and went to the kitchen. She cleaned up the kitchen and went back to the living room with Michael. For some reason she felt a bit warm around him and they literally just met.

 “Michael… Michael Matthews”

“Huh?”

Michael chuckled, “Silly woman, didn’t you ask for my name?”

“Oh yes, I almost gave up on that.” She finally said coming back to her senses. “So why were you injured?”

“I was attacked coming from a bar.” He said through gritted teeth. Michael knew it was not done randomly, if his thoughts are correct then this has something to do with being the heir to the Matthews’ Group. He does not have full proof but he will indeed investigate to find the culprit and mastermind behind tonight’s incident.

“Why would you go to the bar alone?” Ariana thought maybe he went to pick up girls. He might be a playboy, he has a face for it. ‘I did not notice he was this handsome before, maybe it was the dirt that hid his beauty’. Ariana felt inferior to his majestic beauty, it was unfair to females.

“I was not alone, I just went outside the bar to make a call when I was attacked. I was taken from the bar and they left me in the alley