12 | Learning Taylor's Songs and Identifying The Twins Ft. Troubling Grandpa
Wrong again!
I huffed, feeling disheartened. But I wasn't going to run to Tobo asking for help. Taking a deep breath, I sank deeper into the window seat with my guitar ready once again.
So much for summer love and saying "us"
'Cause you weren't mine to lose
You weren't mine to lose, no
There you go! Good job Vittoria!
I was glad I got it right otherwise I would've wasted my entire Sunday evening for nothing.
The sun shyly immersed itself somewhere behind the woods, bathing the mansion in a roseate shade. Cold wind swirled in and out of the window, tousling my raven locks. It was simply beautiful. Closing my eyes, I started the song I learned all by myself.
Salt air, and the rust on your door
I never needed anything more
Whispers of 'Are you sure?'
'Never have I ever before'
The sound of the guitar mingling with my voice made me feel at peace. For the first time, I felt confident about myself.
And I can see us twisted in bedsheets
August sipped away like a bottle of wine
'Cause you were never mine
"I was always yours, senorita." A velvety voice spoke.
My eyes opened to the most beautiful view and I found myself smiling. Charcoal pools were etched to mine, as if in a desperate attempt to lock our souls with each other. I felt alive when his fingertips grazed my face as he tucked the strands of my hair behind my ear.
Was he even real? Or was I imagining him. How can someone be so perfect.
A sharp snapping of fingers brought me out of the haze. I flinched, feeling all the heat rise up to my cheeks.
"W- When did you come?"
"When you were so lost in your song." He smiled. "Please continue."
No way!
"Come on now, don't be shy. It helps me relax." He pulled his legs up, making himself comfortable beside me.
My eyes anxiously shifted to the locked door, afraid of Mason or Oliver catching us together.
What happened to your resolve of staying away from him?
I bit my lip nervously, allowing myself to cheat with myself for a few moments with him.
Something within him stirred. His jaw ticked and he gripped the throw pillow tightly, looking outside the window. I don't know what happened in a fraction of second.
"Are you okay, Rafael?"
He quickly went back to normal. "Uh, yes, yes of course. Now shut up and sing for me."
"Promise you'll keep it a secret."
"Promise."
"Okay then." I smiled and strummed the guitar. This time, like magic, I kept staring into his eyes instead of shutting mine close like I always did. I thought I couldn't sing without my eyes closed, immersed into the feel of the song.
"This deserves a standing ovation." He jumped up, clapping his hands and plopped down again, this time a little more closer to me.
"Thank you, Mr Grayson." I giggled.
"One more." He pleaded.
"That enough. You should leave before someone catches us red handed." I said half heartedly.
"Please." He dragged like a stubborn kid.
Gosh! He's a mafia king and the CEO of the largest group of companies.
"Rafael! What did we decide? I thought we agreed upon maintaining a distance."
"Wrong, wrong, wrong. Absolutely wrong." He shook his head, pouting. "We decided to give each other some space."
"That's cheating." I put the guitar aside, crossing my arms to show my disapproval.
"And there was one prize I'd cheat to win." He grinned wickedly.
"No no no! Don't Taylor me into your ploy."
"So you won't sing for me." He challanged.
"Nope."
"Fine." He roughly pulled me into him, clasping his arms around me in a death grip. The familiar spicy cologne invaded my mind, turning everything into a thick haze of desire.
"Rafael! Let go." I protested but my hands had fisted his black teen, pulling him more into me.
"I won't until you agree to sing for me." He mumbled.
What's with this sudden interest in hearing me sing?
"Mason will really kill you if he saw us like this." I tried using that to get him to pull apart because I'm starting to lose control.
"The door's locked." His hands slowly crept beneath my sweater.
My breath hitched and I bit the inside of my cheek to trap a moan from escaping. Then suddenly it struck me.
"Did you enter from the secret door?" I squealed, peering at the mirror which was pushed aside.
"Mhmm. I did have some evil intentions with it. Like walking in unannounced to catch a glimpse of you changing, or touch you inappropriately when you're sleeping, or barge into the shower and join you in."
My reaction to his words was a fit of laughter. He's the first person I've seen who wants to portray himself as a pervert.
"You found it funny, Miss Andress?" He creased his brows. "My aim was to turn you on."
"Like this?" I couldn't stop laughing. "Okay, okay! Tell me what song shall I present. I'll pay heed to my fan's request." I did a hair flip.
"Willow!" He made the puppy face.
"I thought you didn't like Taylor Swift anymore." I smirked.
"Bull crap! It's beyond human capabilities to dislike Taylor Swift."
She'd be damned if she knew the mafia king fanboys her.
"Don't you think that song would fit perfectly on us?" He said dreamily.
I shook my head at his unwarranted cute behavior. He always has his way of making me do everything he wants.
Clearing my throat, I picked up my guitar, ready for his demand.
I'm like the water when your ship rolled in that night
Rough on the surface but you cut through like a knife
We headed downstairs after the song and my failed attempts to convince her for a kiss.
I readied myself to once again stress over pretty much everything but the atmosphere down here was strangely relaxing. Well, except for Oliver who was working over a file whilst stealing hatred filled glares at Allegra.
I never realized when she came. She was seated at the bar with the twins, probably harassing them. But they won't mind, would they?
"Hey, Vi." Allegra waved cheerfully.
"What are you three up to?" She weirdly switched looks between them. Allegra was simply staring at the twins with intricate focus.
"She's trying to identify who's Toby and who's Liam. It's a bet and we have our dignity at stake." Toby gulped.
"What are the stakes?" Vittoria chuckled.
"If she identiies us correctly, we'll have to strip before her." Liam spoke with a dramatic shiver in his voice.
"Oh my god! If that's the case, I'm gonna cheat and tell her. I need some spice in my life." Vittoria clapped excitedly.
No no no! I get what these two cruelly smart women are up to.
"They are plotting against you. Be careful." Mason warned, not looking back at them. He was thankfully just existing on the sofa.
"You know Alli, Liam has a birthmark on his abs." Vittoria smirked.
No, don't you dare. I warned the twins with my eyes. She's trying to erupt a reaction which will help her understand he's Liam.
"I'll personally wring your necks if you two lost against her." Oliver stated, busy honey eyes not leaving the file he was reading.
"Liam is afraid of a ghost called the Psycho Strawberry. He believes she'll kill him in his sleep and that she roams in the woods in this estate." Vittoria tried harder.
With my heart in my mouth, I watched them sit still. Come on Liam, you got this.
"Why are you helping her?" Oliver slammed the file on the table.
"Because they are hot. Any girl would want to see them naked." She said as a matter of fact.
"I'm going to pretend you didn't say that." Mason twisted is jaw in disgust.
"Oh Jake! Come here! See what we're playing." Allegra explained him the game.
"Interesting. What is it called by the way?" He joined hands with the girls. What the fuck!
"It's called identify idiot Liam." Vittoria grinned.
"Hey! Not idiot alright." One of them snapped.
"That's it! That's Liam." Allegra jumped up and did a victory dance.
Vittoria's face was like a mourning mother. We men exhaled a relieved breath. Except for Jake.
Allegra's face dropped. "You.. You played me?"
"I knew Toby was the smarter one." Mason praised.
"I'm still trying to believe this dumbo defended me. That was a first." Liam wiped his imaginary tears.
"Shut up, you dimwit. He did that to win. You just proved you're an idiot." Mason stuck his tongue out.
"I'm going." Vittoria grumbled.
"Come on, kiddo. You can't always win." Mason tossed her on the couch. "This isn't some dance competition or a quiz or some subject you gotta top."
I'm not surprised knowing she was number one in all that he mentioned. She is very competitive in everything.
My girl! I know I deserve the best.
"You know what? I don't like to disappoint my girls. Why don't we go upstairs and I strip for you ladies? That'd be a win-win deal." Liam slinked his way towards them.
The room suddenly bursted with the sound of glass shattering as Oliver's bullet blew up the beer bottle just next to Liam. "Can we focus on our problem now?" He barked.
Allegra fisted Liam's collar, pulling him protectively to the side. "Have you gone bonkers, Mr Rivera?" She screeched, in absolute terror.
"You most certainly didn't come here for dinner, Miss Tanner." He retorted.
"Definitely not! I've got lasagna at home." She yelled.
"Can I come over?" Vittoria asked with expectant eyes.
"Of course honey. You're always welcome."
"You can't just go shooting your bloody frustration out. Someone could get hurt." She scolded.
Perfect mom material. They are made for each other.
"Sadly Liam is still alive so let me ask him if he's made himself useful in hacking the company information?" Mason raised his brows.
"Why, yes I have." He smirked.
Amazing! He's a genius!
"What company? When did this happen? What was I doing? Why don't I know about it?" The girl who has to know everything fired the questions.
"Edmonton Gold Mines." I explained. "It's a mining company in Val d'Or, a city in Quebec, Canada."
"And that's of interest to us because?" She asked impatiently.
"Remember a few months ago, Luca, Nikolai and even Allegra's accounts were credited with a huge amount from Sebastian Voss. There have been a lot many transactions between that account and this company's account."
"So you're saying this Sebastian Voss could be the owner of Edmonton Gold Mines?" She asked.
"That's a likely outcome, yes." I nodded.
"That company is shady. Maybe it's just a cover up for the owner's illegal business. There are no names of the shareholders specified, no information, nothing." Oliver stated.
Vittoria's minds started reeling. Her feet began pacing and her teeth nibbled her bottom lip.
That lip bite!
Can't she just stop doing that? Does she have any damn idea what it does to me?
"How's that possible?" She shook her head, staring far away. "What about compliance and government regulations?"
"No idea at all." Liam huffed.
"What if the government is involved?" Toby proposed.
"No." Allegra replied immediately. "Canadian government is clean. Besides, it's not easy to fool the government and compliance officers. Luca does the same thing and he still hasn't been caught or even suspected."
"Are you sure though?" Mason confirmed.
"Definitely. Most of my weapon deals are with the governments around the world. They need them for secret military operations and other stuff which I can't disclose but I do know that country is clean." She asserted.
"So what do you guys suggest we do? If we find this link, we're halfway through to the Visitant. He might be the Visitant for all we know." Vittoria spoke excitedly.
"What makes you think the Visitant is a he?" I raised an inquisitive brow.
"Their actions are chauvinist. Must be a good for nothing he." She spat. "What about the safe house in Naples?"
"Sadly, none of us have found anything about it. We're stuck where we were a few days back." Allegra informed.
About that, I'll have to make a visit to Italy. Forget about who owns it. If Camila was seen there, there are high chances she'd still be there. After all, I don't care as much about the Visitant if I get Camila back.
But there's no way I was going to tell Vittoria about it. She will force me to allow her to tag along and I can't risk her safety. Anything can happen there.
Oliver's phone rang, interrupting my thoughts. He looked at the caller and hung up. The routine went on for another five minutes. What's wrong with him?
"Just answer it. Must be important. Who's it anyway?" I questioned.
"No one." He dismissed it.
Then another five minutes later, Vittoria's phone rang.
"Oh, it's Ariel." She was slightly confused seeing her call at this hour.
All heads whipped to Oliver. He in turn looked away.
"Hey Ariel, what's up?" Vittoria smiled. "Uh huh.. Okay... Yes, I'll try and let you know... No worries. Bubbyee!" And she hung up.
"What's the matter?" Oliver asked impatiently.
Then Allegra looked at him with a strange emotion and he squarely looked back at her. I sense someone wrong between these two.
"Poor Ariel is trying to reach you since when. You had some meeting tomorrow which is cancelled. She asked me if I could somehow reach you and inform you about it." Vittoria sighed.
So that caller was Ariel.
Liam's face turned sour at her mention and he muttered something under his breath.
"Come on Liam. Learn to be a little forgiving." Toby patted his arm.
"Whatever." He rolled his eyes.
"So.. Are you calling her or shall I tell her I've informed you?" Vittoria asked hesitantly.
"You call her." He stated.
"As you say, Mr Rivera." She shrugged and walked away to make the call.
"What's with this Ariel? Why did everyone go tense?" Mason eyed us curiously. "I'm sorry, you don't have to tell."
"No, it's okay. She's just some cheat our grandpa fell for." I shouldered him playfully.
"Fuck off, Rafael." He scowled.
"What am I hearing, grandpa!" Mason laughed, more than surprised. "Come on now, tell us. This is an interesting story."
"Fuck off, Mason." He shrugged away his arm around his neck.
Ignoring our dear grandpa, Toby narrated the love story which ended before it started while Oliver sat there scowling at all of us. I guess irritating him is this house's favorite pass time.
Surprisingly, Allegra didn't use it against him. She seemed to be utterly disinterested.
"I think we're done here. I'll get going. Tell Vittoria I said goodbye." She began heading towards the door without waiting for a reply.
That's strange.
She had just taken a couple of steps when her feet came to an abrubt halt, just like my heart.
All the playful atmosphere switched to a dreadful one in a fraction of seconds when Vittoria's petrified shriek pierced through the entire house.
Visitant: Vote and comment to know who I am.