Chapter 3

Althaia

As soon as we entered the mansion, a wave of nostalgia hit me as I looked around. I made so many memories in this house, and even though most of the interior had been changed, there was still a sense of familiarity.

The staircase had been remodeled into a glossy beige that led to two small separate staircases on either side to get to the top floor. A sparkling crystal chandelier was suspended from the center of the staircase and small spotlights lit up the rest of the ceiling, giving it a nice, elegant look.

I guess my father was too busy with the mansion to phone me back.

I mentally scoffed but forced myself to think of the good times. The twelve years that I stayed here were amazing because I had Cara and Michael.

As we walked towards the back of the mansion, we could hear music and people talking. We passed through the French doors to the garden outside and followed a stony path that twisted around the corner to the house’s right side.

I enjoyed the view of the gorgeous flowers and plants of different colors on either side of the path. I had to admit that the gardener did one heck of a job, because it felt like I was walking through a meadow of many beautiful colors.

Since we were still out of sight from the other party guests, I halted in my steps just before we rounded the corner to join the party.

“Just take a deep breath, Thaia. You will be fine, I promise.”

I glanced at Michael, and he gave me a comforting smile while giving my hand a gentle squeeze. I tightened my grip on his hand, relieved he was here.

“I know, it’s just nerves getting to me. It’s been a long time since I’ve been here, and there are just so many memories.” I gave him a brief smile back. He pulled me closer to him, which I welcomed as we turned the corner.

“Wow.” I breathed out as I took in the sight in front of me.

A big open space with massive trees dressed up with strings of lights from one tree to another created a ceiling of light above our heads. The garden was decorated with round tables with linen tablecloths, and vases with gold engravings, holding white and soft pink camellia flowers in them.

If this was just the engagement party, I couldn’t imagine how grand the wedding would be. And it definitely would be grand just by looking at the glamorous people present here.

“Yeah, I agree.” Michael spoke, taking in the backyard. “I’ll put this on the gift table. Can I get you something to drink?” He motioned his head to the far-right side, where the bar was with a bartender.

“Anything without alcohol would be great, thanks. I want to stay as sober as possible.” I let him know. A few glasses of champagne were usually not a problem, but I was still nervous as hell, and I would probably just down one drink after another.

I couldn’t risk it.

“Sure thing! I will be right back.” I watched him as he went on his way to the gift table.

Shit, now I’m alone. I didn’t think this through.

I searched the crowd to see if I could locate Cara. What I didn’t notice was that half of the people were already staring at me while I was in my own little miserable bubble. I moved my feet slightly as I felt uneasy with everyone’s eyes on me.

I suddenly felt underdressed because it was like the backyard had been filled with models from Italian Vogue. I have never seen so many beautiful people gathered in one place. Women had on long, gorgeous gowns, and men wore suits that made them appear as if they didn’t come from this violent world.

It was intimidating.

It was easy to see that I didn’t belong here, and I wouldn’t mind being rescued right now, as I gave some awkward smiles to the people who looked at me.

Where the hell was Cara?

I kept looking around to see if I could spot her somewhere, but there were too many people.

Someone caught my attention as my gaze fell on him. My breath caught in my throat, and I couldn’t take my eyes off him.

He’s gorgeous. Breathtaking, actually.

His black dress pants showed off his strong legs, and a black dress shirt that clung to his body. He was mouthwatering. The dress shirt, slightly unbuttoned, exposed a hint of his chest, while his sleeves were rolled up to his elbows, revealing heavily tattooed arms. His dark hair, styled with a shorter length on the sides and longer on top, added to his overall perfection.

This man was the embodiment of perfection.

My gaze traveled from his feet to his face, tracing his body along the way. His presence enthralled me so much that I couldn’t help but keep my gaze on him for a moment longer. Towering in his tall frame, he stood there smoking a cigarette. Even from a distance, I could feel the immense power radiating from him.

I was intrigued.

He cocked his head to the side as he studied me. He pinned me with his gaze, and his face remained completely emotionless. His eyes were intensely focused on me, and I felt like I was in a trance, unable to look away as we remained locked in a stare from afar.

“Don’t look at him like that.” Michael abruptly appeared in front of me, taking me by surprise, and obstructing my view of the man. “He has killed people for staring at him the wrong way.” He stated as he handed me a drink.

“Huh?” I breathed out and blinked at him, confused. “I was just looking around. How am I supposed to find the person I’m looking for if I’m not allowed to look?” I gave a soft chuckle at his exaggeration and raised a brow at him.

“The way you looked at him can get your ass shot.” Michael gave me a stern look, making it clear that this was not a joke. I looked at him with wide eyes, suddenly feeling scared that the man would shoot me because I took my time to look at him.

“Wait, really? Oh, shit! What should I do? Do I apologize?” I spoke in a hurry. I didn’t mean it in a bad way; he was truly too beautiful not to look at.

Michael let out a small snort.

“No, just don’t look at him. I don’t know if you have heard of this, Althaia, but you have a mean resting bitch face. You looked like you were ready to fight him or something.” He spoke under his breath.

I choked on my drink, making a fool out of myself as I laughed.

“Thaia!” I heard Cara call out as she suddenly showed up and headed towards me with a wide smile on her face.

“Cara!” I squealed, matching her excitement as I quickly handed my drink back to Michael, not caring that it spilled a bit.

I walked as fast as I could in my heels and embraced her with a tight hug. It had been so long since I last saw her, which truly sucked because we were like two inseparable sisters.

“Oh my God, I have missed you so much. It really is not the same without you.” She hugged me tighter into her tiny frame.

“I know.” I chuckled. “I’ve missed you too!” I stepped back, holding her hands as I looked her over.

“Cara, you look amazing!” I stared in awe at her gorgeous dress. A gorgeous, long flowy rose-colored strapless gown with a corset-like top with silver detailing that cinched her waist, making her already full breasts even bigger. Her raven hair was tied up with a few pieces framing her face, and her makeup was flawless, making her hazel eyes pop.

She looked absolutely breathtaking.

“Mom really outdid herself with this dress. It’s more than I could ever imagine.” She winked slyly, and I dropped my jaw.

“I didn’t know you asked mom to make you a dress!” I squinted my eyes at her.

My mother was a designer and made drop-dead gorgeous gowns. When we moved, she opened her own little shop, and it blew up in no time. Eventually, we had to expand and now it was a well-known high-end boutique.

“Yeah, well, I didn’t want you to know because I wanted the dress to be a surprise, and -” Cara put her hand over her heart and held my hand. “I love you so much, but you fucking suck at keeping something like that a secret.” She said, smiling innocently.

I was about to say something, but she was right, so I shut my mouth. I was the type of person who would get you a gift and within the next few minutes I would send a text saying, ‘guess what I just got you!’ Case in point, she already knew what I had picked out for her engagement. I literally took a picture of the champagne glasses and sent her a text message that said, ‘OMG, these are so cute! I’m getting them for you’ and sent her the picture.

“Fair enough.” I muttered.

“But damn, look at you! That dress is so hot on you. Who are you getting your titties out for, huh?” Cara put her hands on her hips and wiggled her brows at me. Typical of Cara, always has something dirty on her mind.

“No one.” I rolled my eyes. “My tits are more covered up than yours.” I pointed out.

“True, but I have a man now that I need to impress, so he knows what awaits him, if you know what I mean.” She winked, making me laugh.

“Speaking of man…” I muttered while glancing around to make sure no one was within earshot. “Are you absolutely sure you want to do this, Cara? You can always, I don’t know, run away? You know I’ll come with you.” I said in all seriousness. If she wanted to leave the country, I would drop everything and go with her. She means the world to me. I would do whatever I could to keep her safe.

“You know I can’t do that. He will hunt me down and definitely kill me if I ever think about running away.” She gave me a sad smile. “Besides, anything will be better than living with my father. I just have to get away. I need to breathe.” She sighed. As much as I hated to admit it, it was true.

Her father was an absolute abusive maniac. One time he came back home, intoxicated from both alcohol and cocaine, and almost beat her to death. Somehow, he gained a tiny bit of his senses back and stopped before it was too late.

I hope one day someone will give him the same treatment.

Amen.

“This is my way out of here.” Cara reassured me.

“As long as you’re happy, I’m happy.” I gave a small smile and pulled her into another hug.

“Are you done catching up? I’m feeling all lonely here by myself.” Michael wrapped an arm around my shoulder and pouted his lips. “Isn’t this awesome? The trio has finally reunited at last!” He beamed with excitement, and I just shook my head at him in amusement and removed his arm from my shoulders. I did not spend that much time getting ready for him to get my hair into a tangled mess.

“Come, let me introduce you to my soon-to-be husband.” Cara gestured at a group of men puffing cigars and drinking whatever their choice of poison was. But what caught me off guard was that they were already staring at us.

Definitely nothing intimidating about that.

Not at all.

“Have fun with that.” Michael mumbled, eyeing the men with a blank stare.

“Are you not coming with us? Didn’t you just say that you were lonely standing by yourself?” I gave him a teasing look.

“Yeah, but I’m not that lonely. See ya!” He took off before we could say anything else.

“Let’s go.” Cara held my hand and together we made our way toward the group of men who were observing our every move.

For some reason it felt dangerous, and I wondered why.