"Wear the green sequence off shoulder gown. It suits you better." Riley instructed Lillian as the other women showed her the closet through the back camera of her phone. "You'll thank me later." She ended with a wink.
Lillian was not particularly keen on attending whatever event that Laura wanted her to attend but didn't want to dampen Laura's spirits either, so she obliged to her wishes.
She didn't talk much to Vincent since that day when he confronted her about not telling him she was raped and often found him staring at her across the dining table- only times they see each other- but before she could interpret his emotions, he'd look away. She also noticed he had been avoiding eye contact with her ever since.
'Likely ashamed for what a terrible parent he had been so far.' Amanda said nonchalantly with a shrug.
'Stop.' She told her conscience, taking a logical stance on the situation. She had her entire life to process through her childhood while he only got 2 weeks. And it was quite evident he was beating himself up.
Right! Every since that 'conversation' with her father she had been thinking about her life so far.
All her fantasies and almost real life characters she had conjured in her head til date.
While she had grown out of many of them and even regarded some of them as cringe, she wondered why not 'reunite' with some of them. She didn't have much to do all day, either. And broadening her fantasy world... she liked doing that. Interacting with people she had 'control' over.
She also realized living with her parents' was different from living with Riley.
She wondered if the comparison was biased, since the difference arose from them being compared to blood related familiar strangers and Riley. Riley and Lillian had some sort of mutual understanding amongst themselves.
Riley left Lillian to her fantasize most of the time and respected her space while Laura- thinking Lillian was Riley- was the complete opposite.
She was much more energetic and was disappointed in Lillian when she didn't reciprocate her energy.
Lillian looked over her shoulder when she heard a knock on the door.
"Well, talk to you later." Riley said before hanging up.
Today was the day phase 1 of their plan was ought to begin. Casey had gotten in touch with several famous journalists and news reporters and if everything went well, Jason would have an epic shock whilst in the ball.
Lillian threw her phone on her bed right behind her and watched it gently bounce on the bed before settling back on the bed.
Opening the door, her mother's face came into view. She was neatly wrapped in a golden dress that was tugged in at her waist, and hips, and and the golden fabric fell freely from knee down.
The old women frowned when she saw her daughter. "You're not dressed." She said.
"I was going too." Lillian replied with a straight face. The party didn't start for another 2 hours and they wouldn't be leaving for another 1 hour, she had plenty of time to dress up.
Laura didn't look remotely satisfied with her answer and wondered for the umpteenth time what was up with her daughter.
She couldn't explain it, it just..... she was... distant, ever since she came to live with them.
Or has she always been that way and she just turned a blind eye to it- satisfied her daughter was there with her and happy- and it just became harder to ignore since she was now so close to them.
"How do I look?"
"Good." Lillian answered. The dress fit her figure and the color blended in with her skin tone. Wasn't that what was necessary to determine if a dress suited you?
If Laura had any doubts about her daughter's indifference, that answer just made it much more prominent.
It wasn't just in her head and she wasn't going crazy, Lillian was actually different!
She recalled the last time she wore a golden gown and Lillian ranted to her how stupid the color was. It 'made the wearer blend in' with the crowd and not 'stand out', 'why go to parties if you don't want to be the center of attention!', she'd asked.
Laura looked at Lillian with a perturbated look, biting her lower lip.
"Lillian." She eventually sighed out, placing a hand on her temple. She didn't want to drag this on longer and just wanted to get this conversation over with. Did she make Lillian uncomfortable?
Lillian took a step back when Laura placed a foot forward, leaving enough room for her to enter the room- assuming that was what she wanted.
Laura looked upset at Lillian's swift movement. Was her daughter repulsed to stand near her? A question painfully tugged at her heart.
"Listen... I'm not going to lie. This is starting to hurt. Your one word replies and lack of interest to talk to me. Or anyone for that matter."
Lillian didn't change her facial expression, giving no indicator of her true emotions.
Lillian wasn't expecting to be put on the spot and felt uneasy- her palms getting clammy, uncertain of her reply.
'They do not know we are twins, makes no sense they'd jump to that conclusion. Just, be confident while talking. They won't doubt you.' Riley had then stated when Lillian voiced her doubts as soon as she noticed Laura analyzing her. Doubting her.
"I'm sorry."
"I don't want an apology!" Laura exclaimed, biting the inside of her cheek, feeling like the bad person.
She wasn't! She just wanted to know why her daughter was avoiding her.... that didn't mean she was a bad person, that just meant she was a mother!
Laura hung around for a few minutes as the room started to get covered in a tense atmosphere. Waiting for Lillian to say something, anything, she'd have been happy if Lillian had just asked about the damn weather. But what awaited her was a long, painful and grueling awkward silence.
........she just wanted her daughter to say that it was all in her head or just give her an explanation. Hell, she'd have been satisfied with 'Maybe later'. Just not silence. It was cold and bleak. And that was a clear depictor of their relationship.
Sighing in discontent, Laura took small steps towards the door.
"How did you meet father?" A small voice asked, if the room wasn't so silent Laura feared she'd have missed it.
"I think I've already told you about it?"
Lillian shrugged in response. Fighting internally to say something more, not well versed in communication. She had sensed Laura's displeasure with her, though unaware of what exactly contributed to her mood.
"I..." Lillian's voice cracked. "I just like hearing it." She managed to get it out.
~~~~~~
"This looks gorgeous!" Melissa's friend Jessica gushed out as soon as her eyes laid on the red evening gown at the edge of Melissa's bed.
Melissa rolled her eyes at her friend. She had her friend over to have moral support, not have her revel in her misery!
She firmly stated she will not be going with Jason to the party and she was not going to change her mind! Not even if the dress was damn good looking!
"What is the matter?" Her friend asked holding the dress closer to her body and checking herself out in the mirror.
"The matter is, I'm being forced to work on my time off."
"Puh-lease. Looking pretty is hardly a work."
Melissa wanted to strangle her writer friend's neck at that statement. She didn't see this as an issue! Just an extract from one of her novels.
Jason was one of the most good looking guy she'd ever met and he was rich and a manwhore, he was the male lead her friend writes about in her romance novels.
Domineering and overbearing.
Hardly the attributes she was looking for in her love interest.
"It's a work event." Rolling her eyes, she muttered under her breath. Having worked long enough to have a good insight about how the elites work. There was no such thing as 'party to relax after a long day', more along the lines of 'let's do some networking that will help further my business'.
"Don't tell me it doesn't get you all hot and bothered to see Mr. Dreamy working." Jessica probed with a sly and playful smile.
"No." Melissa didn't hesitate before giving her answer, much to Jessica's dismay.
"How about, 'the red dress that made her pale skin glow up in the room and bring out the striking blue electrifying marbles on her face. Making her stand out in the crowd. He knew he chose the right dress then, but instead of feeling proud of himself he felt an unnamed emotion tug at his heart string that made him want to lock her up in his room.
Only he could see her looking like a celestial angel! It was his pot of gold! The most beautiful lady in the room. His."
"I'm gonna stop you right there."
Paying no heed to her friend, Jessica continued with a pleased look.
"The slit that started from the middle of her mid thigh did nothing to help calm his nerves, if anything- it clouded his rationality. Everything that screamed at him that she was nothing but a mere secretary earlier, screamed at him to take her right them and there. Mark his territory. Imprint his name on her skin she would know she had been claimed by the beast himself." Jessica had to stop herself from talking to let out a small excited sound. Liking how her story was coming along.
"Stop."
"He shifted and his breath got hitched in his throat when she got closer to him, reminding himself to breath. Feeling like a teenager all over again who's crush finally noticed him."
"That's illegal."
"Her cleavage and her slit did something more to him then he could comprehend. It was getting hotter, all he wanted to do was haul her out of the boring party and have her attention all to himself. He dreamt of his skin trailing her the inside of her thighs, the slit giving him an easy access, leading to her- now his- secret pot of honey. His finger pumping in and out as she quivered and buckled under his maddening touches."
"Please let's not bring my prized treasure goods into this."
"And when she bit her lips that was painted in red, she might as well have hit the nail on his coffin. He knew then he was a dead man walking. He wanted to have her. He needed to have her, he passionately thought to himself."
"OK fine stop." Melissa screamed out, covering her ears with her hands. Goodness gracious, her friend was on fire. She just didn't know whether it was a good fire or bad fire.
"Don't sound so reluctant! This could be your happily ever after." Her friend insisted.
"Or this could just be a damn meeting." Melissa offered. She had been working for the man for half a decade and highly doubted she'd catch feelings out of the blue. God knew there were more than enough chances for her to fall for him.
"Have you fucked him?" Her friend asked, trying to imply something.
"Jessica!"
"No? Maybe his fingers will do the love talking then. Or something much bigger." Jessica ended with a wink. For someone who grew up in a conservative household, she surely didn't talk the part.
"Even Jesus can't save you."
"I can save myself." Pushing her hair over the shoulder, she stated with a lazy smile. "Now change." She said pushing the gown into her hands.
Melissa groaned in annoyance at her friend's stubbornness. She should've called someone else over. She thought, regretting her decision.
"Go. It might help your career in the long run too."
~~~~
Punctual as always, Jason darkened her doorsteps as the clock striked 8. She threw a glare at her friend's direction before walking towards the door.
She slid the bolt through the hinges and opened the door to armani claded man with a red rose peeking out of his suit.
A wave a surprise washed over his face looking at her and Melissa suddenly felt self conscious under his intense gaze. She could almost feel him undressing her with his eyes.
'His fingers trailing the inside of your thighs.'
Her friends talk had certainly gotten into her head, distracting her from her line of thoughts, she glanced at his hand and gulped a handful of air- feeling a blush creep up her cheeks.
'Snap out if it!' She scolded her, placing a hand over her chest and letting out a slow and unsteady breath through her mouth.
She looked at her 'dear' friend through the corner of her eyes and scowled, making Jessica's grin widen. Jessica stood on the other side of the door so Jason couldn't catch a glimpse of her.
"I didn't expect you to actually get dressed." Jason voiced his surprise.
"You and me, both." Jessica nudged her from the side. "My friend talked me into it. Mr. Matthews meet Jessica Mendes. Jessica meet Mr. Jason Matthews, my CEO." She said pushing the door wide open, forcing Jessica out of her hiding spot and introduced them.
Jessica held her hand out which Jason took with a crooked grin.
She squealed internally in excitement. She just shook his hand!
"You must've been very persuasive. I can't talk Ms. Tucker here into anything." He said, impressed with an hint of appreciation.
Jessica just giggled audibly, her head muddled up at the intimate contact with the world's hottest men. He could put top models to shame with just a smile!
"I'm never gonna wash my hand again." She said in a soft tone- so only Melissa who was beside her could hear- after he loosened his grip on her hand, still in disbelief she got to meet THE Jason Matthews. Not only that he touched her hand!
Melissa gave her a disgusted look and shook her head.
"Lucky you, I suppose. I was planning on mailing it back to you." Melissa said with a scowl.
"I'd say lucky you."
Was he gonna say 'if you hadn't changed into the dress I would've forced you into it myself'? Jessica thought to herself eagerly. Gone was her morals and inhibitions, for all she knew she had entered a rom com with a dominant CEO.
Hot. Dominant CEO.
She needed help. Jessica facepalmed herself.
"I'd have dragged you in your pj's if I had too." He said nonchalantly, crossing his hand over his chest.
Melissa glared at him through gritted teeth, while her friend was trying not to drool as his biceps visibly bulged through the suit.
Right! Jessica thought to herself. He can't say that, it might give him a free ticket behind the bars. Nevertheless, his velvety voice made everything he said arousing.
She wanted to be a female lead too. She thought to herself, sulking.
"Shall we leave?"
"Whatever." Melissa muttered under her breath, rolling her eyes.
"Have fun!" Jessica chirped out.
~~~~~~
"How's Linda?" Max asked Alex as he gestured a waiter over for a drink.
"She's much better. R-Lillian's presence has helped a lot." Alex said, biting his tongue as he realized he almost said the wrong name. He didn't understand why Riley would suddenly ask him to call her Lillian or forbid him from calling her Riley.
The change was much too abrupt but he didn't push her, hoping she tell him herself at her own pace.
Max raised his eyebrow at the lapse. "She has... interesting impacts on people." Max pondered in search of the right word to describe his sister as the waiter held a variety of drinks in front of him.
If he could, he'd call her a snake. She had multiple faces and knew when she had to show them. She played her cards all too well. First she put their mother under her spell and now Linda, and not to mention how bad she had been treating their father- bringing up the past over and over again to intentionally hurt him.
And now she'd heard that she was pulling away from his mother, hurting her emotionally, ensuring she'll always be on her mind and she'd never tier of Lillian. She was a narcissist, if anything. A despicable, uncaring narcissist.
She'd been mad their father threw her out but did she even for a second think about 'why' he did it? If she had, she couldn't be hung over by the past or blaming others for HER actions.
"She does, doesn't she." Alex said rubbing the back of her neck with a smitten loom, nervously.
Max hummed in respose, sipping on the champagne.
"I thought you said you didn't want to come."
"I didn't, initially." I only came here to surprise your sister. He mentally added in the end. He wondered how Riley would react when she sees him.
His eyes lit up when he saw an overly familiar figure walk into the room.
He waited for her to look in his direction but knitted his brows together when he saw her looking at the other direction intently.
~~~~~~
Lillian noticed Issac standing beside another man in white as soon as she entered the room. Issac was wearing a green suit. No wonder Riley said she'd thank her later, she had not been her fashion consultant alone.
Issac gave her a tight smile when he caught her staring at him, and quickly broke eye contact.
She remembered Riley's warning to not get too cozy with each other in public, keeping in mind Alex would later here of Lillian's appearance.
Riley had informed her she'd been vague about the party and insinuated she wouldn't be tagging along with her family.
"He's here too." Laura stated beside her with a sour expression, displeased.
Lillian shrugged.
It was clear Laura didn't have a good impression of him after their first meeting, tho she wasn't aware why. She liked Issac. Not really sure when she started feeling that way, but it must've been when she was living with them.
"Lillian." A man breathed out her name in a husky voice.
Lillian turned around to be greeted by an unfamiliar man.
Wait. No, she remembered seeing him in pictures.
She remembered seeing him in reality too.
The only men Lillian warned her about was Jason, so it had to be Jason. But why was he looking at her like that? She wondered. She didn't have the words to describe his expression but it wasn't an intimidating one. More like a.... romantic one? She wasn't sure.
~~~~~
"Isn't that Alex? Lillian's brother's best friend?" Jason asked with a questioning look, but if someone looked deep into him- they could see the malicious intent behind his eyes and innocent curve forming on the corner of his lips.
"Yes." Keeping the convo short, he said, keeping his gaze locked on the pair. He didn't recall Lillian telling him anything about a certain Alex or that they were close enough for him to approach her first.
Laura moved aside to talk to her friends as soon as Alex came closer and Issac didn't miss the sneer she sent his way as she walked by making him roll his eyes.
She should really get a life and quit acting like a high school student.
"I saw them leave together on the evening we met."
Riley!
Right, Riley was seeing someone. So it was Max's best friend. If he had doubts about that man before, that revelation was enough to make him stumble.
'The lesser the better.' Riley's voiced reverberating in the back of his head. He wasn't sure if Riley told Alex about Lillian and herself, but if she hadn't....
"I didn't realize you had so much free time in your hand you remembered who left with whom and when." He managed to say, cold sweat dripping down his neck as a sudden wave of apprehension hit him at the speed of a truck.
This was getting dangerous. He didn't know Alex or what sort of person he was, but he knew Lillian. If Riley hadn't told him about Lillian, then he'd talk- behave- with her like she was Riley, his girlfriend.
Jason barked out a laugh but it didn't reach his eyes.
"I didn't realize you liked sharing your women with others. But then again, you're father wouldn't invest in your resort. I don't know whom I should feel sorry for, Lillian for getting a screw up like you as her boyfriend and felt the need to use her body to convince potential investors or you for getting a whore as your girlfriend." Jason said with a tight smile, his eyes resembled flames. He was trying to get under Issac's skin, and he was succeeding.
"Maybe if you concentrated on your love life as much as you're concentrating on mine. You won't be wasting time, trying to break of my relationship." Issac said in a sharp tone, ice emitting from him as he spat out the last line. "And just for your information. Man and women can talk without flirting, but of course a man who has to kidnap women to satisfy himself, wouldn't know that."
"Do not forget you're resort still depends on me." Jason gritted out, using his trumpcard.
He shouldn't be impulsive. Issac reminded himself, biting back his tongue and let Jason win this one. Aware he won the bigger one.
"I'd be careful there if I were you! Just remember, not everything is as it seems. It'd be pleasing to see you behind the bars." Issac warned him, gave him a smile, turned around and left, leaving Jason to clench and unclench his fist seething silently at letting Issac have the last word- uncertain if he planted a seed of doubt but satisfied he had a leverage on him.
He couldn't mess with Lillian directly, so he had to focus on the weaker links, like Issac.
Just as Issac was walking, he bumped into the person he was looking for.
"You alright, you look a little tense?" Christian asked, gesturing towards his face.
"I'm fine. It's nothing." Issac sighed out. They haven't been on the best of terms for sometime now and he could feel a wedge forming between them. It was killing him to keep his friend in the dark and he had come close to letting the cat out of the bad several times. And it was particularly hard when Christian's mother came over the week before. The lost look on his face crushed Issac.
Christian didn't buy that for a second, then again he knew Issac had been lying to him and highly doubted he'd say the truth now. No matter how insignificant.
He looked over at the man who took a glass of wine from a women wearing red dress and narrowed his eyes a fraction.
If he wanted to pin point the duration since when Issac had been acting weird, it was approximately when Mr. Matthews came into the picture. More specifically, when they had that 'talk'.
He wished Issac would trust him enough go open up, but as days passed- it just seemed like a fleeting hope. Hope, that he was running short of.
~~~~~
"What?" Max asked Alex- who was looking at Lillian with a puzzled look ever since he left her side.
"She seems different." He noted with a faraway look.
Max rolled his eyes. Great now his friend too! His lips twitched in annoyance. Couldn't she have just stayed in whatever hole she was living in till then?
"She looks the same to me." Max stated in scorn. He just wanted to go back to the time when Lillian was far away from them. The only name he had been hearing constantly for the past few months was Lillian this and Lillian that and it irked him.
"Not looks." He said just it fell on deaf ears. Even he didn't understand what he was trying to say! It's just.... she was different.
They way he felt when he was around her was different. It almost felt like all his emotions muted themselves around her. He didn't feel anything for her.
It was..... weird.
"I think it's just in your head."
"No." He stated firmly, confident there was something wrong. He could tell it through her eyes.
Lillian's eyes always sparkled when she talked to him. But now, it looked... dead? She wasn't surprised or excited to see him, quite the contrary, it looked like she didn't even recognize him.
Max side-eyed him, disinterested. "Why don't you try doing something she likes? If she still seems 'different', I'll believe you."
"You might not like it." Alex said aloud, his gaze not leaving Lillian's- who didn't so much as glance at him after their incredibly short talk.
It certainly wasn't her being shy, she didn't have any issue when they met for the first time after a long time.
"Does it involve you killing her?" Max asked rhetorical with a snort.
Honestly, that though sounded appealing to him now that he said it out loud.
Alex scoffed through his nostrils, shaking his head, incredulous.
'I like it when you grab me by the waist and kiss me.' Riley words echoed in his head as he strided in confident towards her. He didn't want to keep their relationship a secret anymore, he wanted to make it official.
~~~~~
Christian gulped down another shot of whiskey, hiding in the bar. His mother confessed considering filing for bankruptcy, Issac didn't trust him. His life was falling apart piece by piece and he didn't have a single clue how to fix it.
"Rough night?" His investor asked, easing into the seat beside him.
He glanced over Jason's shoulder to see Issac standing with his back to the wall- looking at someone from a distance- and bitterness churned inside him.
Christian didn't need to even ponder who he was staring at.
"Kinda." He answered with a nervous chuckle. He didn't expect Jason to grace him with his presence outside of board meetings and was caught off guard.
"How's your mother?" Jason asked, concerned, after ordering a drink for himself.
"She's... good." Christian said awkwardly, he didn't want to talk about his mother with a stranger.
"I recall Issac saying something about filing for bankruptcy." Jason with a thoughtful look. He was testing the waters. He hadn't missed the let down look Issac's friend had as soon as Issac talked to him.
Did he tell him about his threat of pulling out his investments?
He soon got his answer when Christian didn't look at him instead walked towards the bar.
Usually if you received a bad news and it was related to someone in the room, it's a psychological fact that your eyes wander towards that person unconsciously.
If that was the case, he wondered how much Issac told Christian about him. Or if, he had told him anything at all.
A foolish error on Issac's part, if he didn't. It was child's play to manipulate weak minded people like him, and he would be foolish if he didn't exploit it.
Also, he wanted to play with their trust.
The corner of Christian's lips stilled when he processed Jason's words. Issac wouldn't go around talking about it. Especially when he never told him about it.
He regarded the man who couldn't be more than a few years older than him with a wary look. "Issac... would never do that." He started but he took longer time to get the rest of the sentence out, which gave Jason an insight into their relation.
"No? Must've been someone else then." Jason said nonchalantly with a shrug.
Step 1 when manipulating someone: don't be too pushy, lest you trigger their fight or flight response. Let them come to you.
And it was kind of an open secret his mother was running a failing business and needed funds to run it. Funds no one was willing to give. No one liked investing in failing businesses.
"He doesn't know.... about it." Christian then explained, his voice turning softer in the end. Embarrassed.
Jason raised his eyebrow, not convinced. "That doesn't sound really believable now, does it?"
Christian didn't know how to answer that- and something told him Mr. Matthews wasn't expecting one- and looked at him, chewing the inside of his cheek, unsure what he was getting at.
"You're partners and not to mention each others best friend, and he doesn't know about your situation? Sounds like an excuse to me."
"No...."
"Looks like your buddy doesn't care about you as much as you'd like, Christian." Jason said in a apologetic tone using his name to make it sound much more personal, placing his elbow on the wooden table in front of him. "Does he even know how vehemently you've been defending him behind his back. Would he appreciate it?"
Awkwardly laughing, he gulped down the bitter drink, the drink coursing its way down his throat with an addictive burn.
Maybe he was right..... he wasn't certain anymore. Issac has been hiding stuff from him.
"He... just has a lot going on." He said, resting his head on the table, that sounded like an excuse even in his drunken ears, he didn't expect the other guy to believe him. His head jerked back with a hiccup. As he spoke, he started to wonder if Jason's words had a ring of truth in them.
"Things he won't even share with you? Must be a looot." He dragged the word in a sarcastic tone, making a mockery of Christian.
"He does. He told me about Lillian.... Riley." He sputtered out.
A smirk made it's way on Jason's face. He hasn't been wasting his time, Christian did know something after all!
He inched closer, awaiting more details.