Where are we?" My eyes coast from east to west as I salivate with awe at the grandiosity of the massive stone house. The gates open at the center, and my eyes can only freeze to take a minute watching the spectacle unfold in front of my very eyes.
Hunter is not talking to me. Not even the sophistication of this unfamiliar building can take away my annoyance over his silence. He's been like this since we left the abandoned street, and I could see a brewing storm through his face.
What is he mad about, anyway?
Is it my full knowledge of his secrets and association with Will?
He can't blame me for taking actions. I know my only fault is being too nosy, but I just have to follow him because I was scared for his life. Surely, he is not serious about giving me cold shoulders for the entire night.
His hands are on the steering wheel. He is too focused on swerving the car to the empty space just in front of the house's entrance. Upon pulling over, he quickly frees himself from the seatbelt and mounts off the car. He is deliberately avoiding me.
When he reaches the side where I am seated, he opens the door. "Can you walk?" he says coldly.
"Do I look like I need carrying?" I slightly raise my voice. Honestly, that sarcastic response just naturally came out. I've been trying to be patient with him, but I've had enough already.
"Good, because I have no plan of doing that!" he retorts scornfully and turns his back on me, walking toward the entrance.
So we are heading nose-first to a cold war now?
Paul meets Hunter before he could cross the wide threshold. Hunter said something to the man, and the latter makes brief nods. After that, Hunter heads off inside without even looking back at me.
"Do you need assistance, Ms. Mohr?" Paul asks as soon as he reaches me.
"Why? Did he tell you to carry me on your shoulders?" My legs still feel swollen, and I think other than my knees, my left ankle is starting to ache. I must have twisted it while I dismounted the car.
"Not quite that instruction, I believe," Paul answers as he offers his hand. "But he said I should use force on you when you show resistance."
On second thought, I don't think I have the energy to pick a fight with Paul tonight over entering this entirely unfamiliar but heavenly place.
"What is this place anyway, Paul? Your boss purposely neglected to tell me where we are."
"Didn't boss tell you, miss?"
"No."
"You're in your new home, miss. Mr. Stone purchased it just this morning," Paul replies.
Why would he need a new house? the question pops out of my mind.
"Is his apartment not enough?" I blurt out.
Hunter has no sense of frugality. When he feels the urge to waste money, he would not think twice about it. I remember he stated more than one property in the U.S. as my workplace in the contract, so it just means he has plenty of houses already. Yet he bought another one today. For what? Does he suffer from Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder? Because I can see that he has no control over purchasing unnecessary stuff whatsoever.
"Mr. Stone bought it for you, miss," Paul says. "He deems his apartment to be unsafe for you and him." Paul stops walking just as we enter the living room.
I heard him right this time despite half of my attention being drawn away by the sheer exquisiteness of the place.
This place reminds me of the Etheridge's mansion in Pine Valley. The architecture is somewhat similar although this one is a little smaller. I don't think Hunter has a lake behind the house because we are situated in the middle of a town in Princeton.
"For me? Why would he do that?" Surely, Hunter does not think I am the kind of girl who likes to receive expensive gifts, let alone a house!
"For security reasons, I presume. Now, let me take you to your room."
With how I look, Paul must be thinking that I am in dire need of a bath.
"Where is Hunter?" I raise a brow at Paul, and he flinches the moment he's seen me starting to get fired up.
"I believe he's in his room already."
Hunter might have hit the bed at this instant. The past week has been dreadfully stressful and traumatic for him, and his body is begging for an entire day of sleep. I would have been a bit understanding if I knew that tomorrow will be a completely different day, and the purpose of moving into a new house will indeed serve its use. But knowing Hunter Stone, I know he would get up early tomorrow morning to get Will and his drugs out of New Jersey, and I will do all I can to stop him from getting himself into more trouble.
Will speaks of the man as if he is God.
But Hunter is not one.
There's no assurance he could provide tricky Will a graceful exit. I am on edge about this. If Hunter gets caught, I don't think Will has the balls to own up to his fault. He could push all the blame to Hunter while he runs away unscathed.
I will have to talk sense to Hunter and prevent him from doing the worst thing he could do.
"Lead me to his room, Paul."
"I'm sorry, Ms. Mohr, but Mr. Stone hates to be disturbed at night."
"If he marries me, he'll have to put up with all my sermons, especially in the middle of the night," I answer with my hands on my hips.
Paul stands right in front of me with his arms in the air, blocking my way to the corridor.
"Don't forget your place, Ms. Mohr," he whispers, his tone marked with a dash of warning, "You are just Mr. Stone's employee. His words are still the law in this house and your marriage."
With that, I am instantly reminded of who I am in Hunter's life.
I am nothing but his paid pretend girlfriend, his former escort girl—his employee, and my services are timed and measured. My feelings for him—new and, I am afraid, beginning to dig a deeper hole in my heart—are unimportant.
I like how Paul slaps me back to my senses. I immediately knew, right there and then, that I got lost somewhere in the course of getting to know Hunter. I did not know this would happen because I was so resolute about my perception and feelings for the man. I did not think my will could be bent, but look where it has put me—to foolishness once more.
I'm just a paid servant whom he can order around to do things. We have a contract, and it says a lot of who I am to him.
And the idea of that stings.
But why?
Why does it hurt me?
Why do my tears start to erode my resolve?
Why can't I stop falling for him?
And even if I get my point about the danger he's walking through across to him, I don't think Hunter will listen to me. He won't listen to me because I am nobody to him.
"Are you alright, miss?" Paul asks.
"I feel a bit dizzy," I say. "Won't you mind showing me the way to my room now, Paul?"
My cabinet is filled with so many new clothes that I could hardly find my old ones. I think Hugo single-handedly picked all these designer's clothes because they speak so much of his style. Speaking of Hugo, he'll definitely throw fits when he sees the Vera Wang gown's train shredded into pieces.
The shower did not do any good to my swollen knees and ankle although the lukewarm water did soothe the pain for a few seconds. I was still limping when I went out of the shower and into the walk-in closet to get dressed in my night shift gown. Hugo must have gotten rid of my old jammies and tank tops because they're no longer there. I am left with no choice but to wear this thin, pink night dress that ends just in the middle of my thighs. With how short and small it is on me, I think getting pneumonia is not impossible. There are a couple of night dresses in there, and I knew what exactly they are for. Hugo left a small note on my dresser that says the nighties will come in handy on my wedding night.
Stepping out of the walk-in closet, I get surprised instantly as I lay my eyes on the man standing with his back to me. Hunter turns on his heels as soon as he notices my reflection in the bedside mirror—my reflection all flustered and red as Hunter's eyes briefly brush from my feet to my face.
Right away, I feel the natural urge to cover myself. My outfit is revealing way too much skin, and it is making Hunter blush and be at the edge of his seat. His eyes flicker at the sight of me barely dressed, but surprisingly, I am not in the least way offended. Hunter must have been so surprised to see me like this that he is immobilized for seconds, and so am I. The shy boy in him surfaces as he scratches his head and turns away his gaze to far less stimulating objects in the couch.
Withing milliseconds, my hands grab the silk robe laid on top of the bed. I tightly wrap it around me and cross my arms around my waist.
I see him gulp as his gaze flies everywhere around the room.
"Why are you here?" I ask. He was pissed off, that's why he was treating me with deafening silence on our way here, and yet here he is, appearing in my room unexpectedly.
"Just checking on you," Hunter replies as he finally steadies his gaze on me. I could still see a shadow of awkwardness on his face, but I know it's just surprise catching him off guard. I would like to believe that Hunter came into my room without the intention to see me in this state. Based on his reactions, I think he took the shock seriously.
"To see if I run away again?"
"No." His voice is firm. "You were limping when I took you here. I came here to check on your condition." There's a tray of hot and cold compress bags on the table.
So he is here to see my knees?
"I'm fine now," I answer. "I just need some rest. It looks like you need to go to bed as well, Hunter."
"Angel, I'm not mad at you." His voice remains calm.
"Oh, so that's why you've been giving me the silent treatment the whole time?"
"Okay." He sighs. "Maybe I was a little mad, but that's because you defied my orders."
"Defy you, Hunter?"
"Yes! I told you to stay with Ray, but obviously, you did not. Why do you always love to challenge me, Angel?" I could feel Hunter putting too much effort to keep his calm.
"I was not going to sit on my ass at Ray's place when I know you're up to something dangerous."
"And you think you could do something about it?" He forces out a laugh. "I can't even stop it myself."
"You could if you just choose to ignore Will!" I raise my voice a notch higher. "Don't deny it! I know why you're working with him, and I know what you've been working on for weeks now. I know everything."
Will is threatening him with me as his hostage. The kidneys... the drugs... everything.
"You could have gotten yourself killed, Hunter! What if the police and the FBI catch you? What if that happens?"
What if something bad turns up? What if Will has something up his sleeves and tricks him? I don't think I have the courage to face another heartbreak.
"And you think barging into Will's building is a classy act, Angel? Do you think it makes you braver? Do you think you are making yourself helpful to me by being reckless?"
I was just scared for your life!, I wanted to say to his face.
"What is it to you, Hunter? I am not a child not to know what's dangerous," I reply. "Unlike you, I know what is dangerous and what's not!"
"Clearly, you fail in that department!" Hunter Stone responds.
"Nothing happened!" I am perfectly well. Where is this fury coming from?
"That's not the point here!"
"And what's the point, Hunter? Me refusing to comply with your orders? Because I can feel that's the reason for your rage."
"Good thing you know!" he exclaims.
"So you can just get mad and shout at me whenever you feel I am breaking your rules? Is that what you're trying to tell me?"
"I am not shouting at you," he says with a deep sigh. "I was just expressing my disappointment."
I know this conversation is leading us nowhere.
It's me who's going to end up butt-hurt and not Hunter Stone because it's me who has fallen off the ship and is harboring unwanted feelings.
If only I can cry now, I would have. My emotions are getting mixed up already, and the only way to relieve myself of this awful load is to break into tears.
But I must not, or Hunter might know about the thing I have for him. He must not know that I have breached his contract... that I am not different with the other girls he paid before. I know for a fact that the only qualification he found attractive on my resume is my natural talent for feeling utter repugnance toward him. He knew I was not going to be distracted like his other girls did, and I swore to myself that he won't be wrong about it.
However, I am my own traitor. I walked into this arrangement with high confidence that I could walk out of this the same way I entered. But I was too naïve to see that Hunter has his own ways of attracting a woman—it was loathsome, and yet here I am now, crying internally because I know I made a mistake.
"Right! Who am I to defy you?" I continue. "I just exist to make people believe you're happy, to help you get what you want! So I have no right to be the subject of your disappointment. The moment I signed your damn contract, I didn't know that my aim is to please you."
I confess that I roughly finished reading that stupid document. I did not even come half of it because I discarded it as garbage.
"I am disappointed at what you did," he says, taking slow, short steps toward me, "not you, Angel." His voice almost a whisper as soon as he sees my tears breaking free from my control.
"I couldn't help it, Hunter."
"I'm sorry I raised my voice on you." The air from his mouth caresses the side of my face like a gentle breeze of wind. Hunter holds me in his arms so tenderly like I am a fragile object.
I feel that if he stays this close to me longer, I will not be able to control myself and entirely burst into tears. I resent myself. There's no other way to explain how I feel. I easily gave into my feelings for him.
"I'm sorry." His voice continues to caress my deeply wounded ego.
This is exactly the Hunter Stone I fell for, and this is what I should avoid.
"What's wrong?" he asks.
I pull myself back an arm's length away from him.
After stumbling over words for a moment, I know what I just have to say.
"Why? What's wrong, Angel?" Hunter could have not been this worried. His eyes search for mine, but if I look into his, I know I will stumble and will not be able to protect myself from the pain. One wrong move on this one will kill me—heart, body, and soul.
I just had too much of that before, and now that I have risen from the fall, I thought I could give myself some self-respect.
"This is not what I signed up for, Hunter," I say, wiping the tears away from my face. "This is just too much for me. Please stop being nice to me, Hunter."
I turn away from him, proceeding to the walk-in closet and shut the door behind me.
It's better for me this way—and for Hunter, too.
This way, I can preserve my integrity as his employee.
Hunter calls my name endlessly as he knocks on the door with all his might, but if I open it for him, it's just like giving up myself to him entirely.
The more I welcome this craziness, the more danger I am letting into my life.
I should stop it before things get too complicated.
And, I am reminded... Damien's back.