Chapter-17
Clip-clop. Clip-clop. Clip-clop.
That noise right there? That would be me pacing up and down my room, my red stilettos kissing the carpet constantly. Even with the carpet, the noise was noticeable, what with my velocity so high and footsteps not-so-lightly treaded. My head was buzzing with incoherent thoughts. I wanted to reach up to scratch and shake my hair, but that would disturb the elegant bun Mom made of my curls; even you would not want to mess with things Mom worked hard on creating – the consequences are worse than dire. My cream-hued gloves were fast becoming sweaty as I ceaselessly rubbed my hands together, sometimes bringing them up to slap my cheeks lightly.
In all this chaos created by your very own narrator, I did not hear the knock on my bedroom door and the subsequent click. It was not until someone commented with a light humour lining their voice that I noticed I was not alone.
“You would wear out your heels into flats.”
My breath tensed for a moment as I stopped to collect myself before facing the newcomer. Only when I wheeled round and took in the view of that sweet smile did my own forehead lose its creases and my lips broke into a smile.
“Damn, you scared me.”
He exhaled a long breath, the hazel eyes under the mask filling with warmth. “You look stunning, my little tiger. All this time apart just for a breathtaking view of you, worth it.”
I don’t know what consumed me the next second, but the moment he said ‘my little tiger’, my heart raced, my body’s temperature rose on its own, and I leapt towards him, a little squeal escaping my lips. As if he had anticipated my reaction, Lucas removed his hands from his trouser pockets and opened his arm to catch me and raise me up slightly.
I gave him a mischievous smile before leaning down and crashing my lips into his, wrapping my arms around his neck. His lips responded almost instantly, his hands easily rounding my torso and tightening their grip. Even with the high heels, my feet were still more than two inches above ground.
When our lips separated, I stared into his eyes for a long time before blushing and burying my face in his shoulders. A tremor of soft laugh ran through his body as he gently brought me down. My head never left his shoulder.
“You know,” he began in a low voice while his hands rested on my hips. My arms were still wrapped around his neck. “I heard you cheated on me already.”
I snorted as I opened my eyes and quickly amended his statement, “That wasn’t me. It was Amelia.”
He chuckled and said, “If someone does ask that publicly, I’ll have to act furious. You know that, right?”
I nodded, closing my eyes again.
“You seemed terribly rattled just now? Why?”
The ominous feeling that had left my mind resurfaced once again and I clutched him tightly. I separated an inch from him and stared into his eyes. Why were they as scared as mine?
“You look the same, Lucas.”
“I have a reason, little tiger. In two months, I will be eighteen and all hell will break loose,” he spoke in a serious tone, his eyes drifting away from mine and staring into some future I could not see.
I looked at him in confusion. “What do you mean?”
His jaw had hardened, eyebrows were brought together with emotion that was unreadable for me. He did not reply for a second. Then, suddenly, all those indecipherable emotions disappeared as he tuned his eyes to mine and a smile formed on his lips. “It means, my little tiger, that it will be time to remove all the masks forever.”
I should be happy to hear that, right? Why was not I? The fear in my heart grew stronger. What if…?
I detached myself from him and turned my back to him. My eyes had started to water and my chest felt heavy. I brought my right hand up and pressed my palm against the pain. Damn. The vengeance? Would it turn into something bigger and worse?
Before I knew it, arms wrapped me from behind and Lucas’ forehead rested on my shoulder. Without a warning, a tear trickled down my face.
“Is it going to get more dangerous?” I choked out the words in a whisper. His grip around me tightened.
“I’ll protect you, I promised you. Trust me on that, little tiger. And just…I’m sorry…so sorry.”
“What –? Why –?” I mouthed in confusion. What was he apologizing for?
But Lucas did not say anything. He simply adjusted his grip to bring me closer to him. I could feel his heart racing like crazy against my back, but it was not the excitement of love – it was fear. I knew it ‘cause mine was going berserk as well.
What the hell was it?! I needed to gather evidence against Rowe sooner. Somehow, it was related to Lucas too, although I had no idea what at the time.
If only I knew what a dark secret awaited revelation… But in that moment, all that mattered was two tensed hearts comforting each other. Were they succeeding?
The evening rolled in, and with it, all the elite invitees filled in our party hall. I stood in front of the mirror and straightened the red chiffon frilled dress Mom had made for me. Her rose was on the back this time. It was shoulder-less, slender until my waist from where it puffed into layers that reached an inch above my knees. I brought the diamond-heart pendant on the thin platinum chain to the front and patted it once to get my nerves straight. I put on the red feathered mask sitting on my dressing table. Time to merge into the crowd. Like always.
Lucas, in his velvet, maroon suit and the same black mask, stood in front of the entrance to the hall from inside the house (the guests entered through a different end, but amidst all the chatter and the large crowd, nobody noticed people entering from anywhere other than where they entered from). He extended his arm and I slipped mine through it, smiling nervously.
“Ready to disappear?” Lucas asked, gently brushing his lips against my hair. I nodded. He brought his free hand to hold mine that was already entwined with his other arm.
The maids opened the door and we entered.
Yes, as I told you, it did not make any difference to these kids that new people had entered. They were busy discussing stocks and trades with the ones they recognized under the masks.
“Is that how they talk at Richmond too?” I asked, feeling slightly nauseated on hearing their talks.
Lucas chuckled. “It’s worse there.”
I groaned. “No offence, but I’m glad I never attended there.”
“None taken! I don’t disagree with you.”
I gave a wry smile and scanned the crowd. I could recognize each one of these snotty kids, and I would so like to maintain my distance from them! Hey, wait! My eyes locked with a pair that had been staring at me and I had not noticed them until just now. I did not recognize the person behind the mask as an elite!
My breath caught in my throat and my nails dug into Lucas’ arm, which made him wince and snap his attention towards me. “What’s wrong, little tiger?”
“I …I need to make a call,” I said distractedly. I delinked our arms and fished in my dress’ pocket (yes, Mom does put in pockets! How cool is that!) for my phone. I quickly walked to the corner of the room and dialled Uno’s number.
“Mia? Is something wrong?”
“We were right about one of them,” I whispered into the phone urgently. I heard him take a sharp breath.
“Are you sure?”
“He’s right here in the party. Where did he get the invitation? Wait –oh no!” A gasp escaped my mouth as confused pieces started to fall into place right in front of my vision.
“Mia? Mia? Hello? You there?” Uno asked in urgency, but the phone automatically left my ear and my finger cut the call.
Still with shock filled in my eyes, I turned to look where I left Lucas standing alone. He was right there; however, he was neither looking at me nor smiling. His head was turned in the direction of the stranger, frown decorating his face and anger filling his eyes.
It took him a moment to realize I was staring at him. He turned his head towards me. No smile was there. Only remorse.
Ten feet separated us. It felt like twenty thousand kilometres.
I stared blankly at him. He wore an apologetic look.
But why? WHY?!!
*****
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