•Viola•
I sat before the dressing mirror,outrightly unimpressed with my reflection. I'd clothed myself in a knee length shimmering silver spaghetti strapped gown with a dangling sequence all over and my emerald green flannel sweater whose sleeves I'd pulled up to my elbows.
I'd been at Sean's place for going to five days and all through the while,he tried to talk me out of exposing my identity. I on the other hand,had firmly already made up mind regarding that. He was just worried for nothing,apart from my parents probably freaking out,there was nothing else to worry about or so I thought.
The launch for the new brand was just around the corner so he had a bit of work to do and I still couldnt be seen in public eye,especially after the stunt Yang Uma pulled. I spent most of the time going through social media and returning Hadley's numerous calls. I tried my best to help out the much I could and I easily persuaded him to let me help this time around as I didnt have any restricting injuries anymore.
Hadley was busy at the company so I promised her we would talk whenever I would be able to meet up with her. For a fact,Hadley took in everything way easier than I'd expected her to. She'd wanted to know if I was okay after what happened at the airport but she asked no further questions.
Sean had suggested that we made our relationship official before our parents first which I figured would be a much easier step but was still very much important. He'd called his Dad and requested that he tried to put a family dinner together for us and he actually did.
So here I was,looking for a set of silver jewellery to match my dressing even though I knew mum wouldnt be pleased at my choice of clothing for the dinner. A knock came from the doorway which made me turn as Sean peeped in.
"Are you ready yet?" He questioned as he walked in. "Someones looking nice" I told him,disregarding his question as I looked over his black dress pants,white dress shirt as well as the zebra-designed blazer which draped loosely over his arm.
"Thank you" he replied the compliment as he took a seat behind me on the bed,staring right at my reflection in the mirror and I got to sneak a look at his perfectly jelled back hair.
"Someone might look even better" he told me as I forwent the earrings,searching for a set of highly studded hairpins instead and attaching them to both sides of my hair.
"I dont think I'm getting anywhere on a scale of ten today" I said as a pair of silver floral studs caught my eye and I picked them out. "Let me help you with that" Sean offered as he took the earrings from me. I smiled,watching him secure them to my ear holes.
"Why do you say so? You look gorgeous" he commented,stepping backwards as he finished and I stood to my feet. "Thank you double time" I told him referring to both his help and the comment.
"But I have a feeling my mum might thing otherwise about me wearing something like this to a family dinner" I told him,clasping my sweaty palms together.
"I personally think it's a perfect choice" he told me as I slipped my pair of emerald green stilettoes with glitters and pearly studs on them on. "I really dont know about that" I told him as I stood to my feet again.
"Hey" he called softly,turning me to himself before placing a warm kiss on my temple,one which lingered long enough for me to shut my eyes for a few seconds."Stop worrying about your parents,everything's going to be fine" he reassured with a smile.
"Yeah,it'll all be fine" I whispered back,mirroring his smile too.
I grabbed a few things like my phone and a silver purse. I knew Sean had gotten me a lot of things when I was injured but dressing from his house today made me realise how much he'd actually gotten me. I found everything I needed with one look.
Sean ushered us both out of the house and into his Chevrolet which he'd specifically picked for today before we headed down the streets of New York. The sun was beginning to hide behind the slightly heavy clouds,reflecting a deep but natural mix of orange and purple on the earth. It was simply half past 6.
"Is your Dad going to make it?" I questioned a few minutes into the drive.
"Yeah,turns out he wasnt too far away from New York yet so he took a detour" he explained to me and I nodded in understanding.
"Why do you suddenly ask?" He inquired as he took a sharp bend towards the highway.
"Well,I suddenly had a strong urge to impress" I told him which made him chuckle lightly. "Dont stress,you'll be shocked at how much he already likes you" he stated.
"Its glad to know I had some early point boosters" I replied cheerfully which made us both laugh.
Through the rest of the drive,it was mostly Sean and I jamming to his reggae music,most of which I'd started learning a few lyrics as I'd been her over a hundred times.
But when we pulled up into our estate,I felt some sort of tension attack my senses as Sean began to manoeuvre through the streets of the estate. I tried to keep my breath steady as the thought of Dad lashing out on me again crossed my mind.
"Candy..." Sean's call finally pulled me out of my reverie as I looked up and realised he'd parked his car before our mansion. "Oh...we're here" I stated lowly before I started fidgeting with my seatbelt in an attempt to take it off.
Sean's fingers brushed over mine as be dislodged the seat belt from its hooker and interlaced his fingers in mine. "Its okay candy,I'm here okay" he assured yet again. I gave a slight nod,his comment seeming to be what I'd needed to take up the bit of courage I was going to need for the evening.
We climbed down from the car and Sean locked it behind us,taking my hand in his again as we headed for the porch.
"Do you feel a bit nervous?" I asked unconsciously as I barely managed to keep my purse hanging on my shoulder. Alaina came rushing out of the house thay very moment,her face lighting up as she waved to us and I grinned.
"Well if theres anything I'd be nervous about,its your sister's ability to chop off my head if I dare make a mistake" he told me making us both laugh as we finally reached the porch.
"I'm so glad to see you baby girl" She squealed as she threw her arms around me. "Alaina,people might start thinking I'm the younger one" I told her as she pulled away. "Get over yourself,its just a five minute difference" she said with a roll of her eyes which made her gaze land on Sean.
"Good evening Your Grace" she greeted with a teasing curtsy which made us let out a laugh. "Good evening Alaina" he told her with a light chuckle.
"This way please" she smiled as she started leading us both into the house. "I swear I was going to kill you if you didnt bring her back with a smile on her face Sean" she stated daringly,turning to us so she was now walking backwards and making us laugh again.
I think I'd finally gathered that Sean and Alaina had planned most of my escape together.
"Alaina!" I called with a warning tone admist my laughs making her roll her eyes and turn forward again. "Says the girl who almost cried her eyes out a few days ago" she commented again and this time I felt heat hover the tip of my ears as Sean looked to me then smiled.
"Its okay,I'm going to ensure she wont be crying again" he told me earning a smile from me. "Urgh,I dont know what is worse. The old guys in the dining hall or you both. Why did I even bother ditching them?" Alaina complained making us laugh again.
"Well,here we are" she said as we finally got to the door. "Is Sean's Dad inside?" I asked her.
"Yeah,unlike you both,he had a sense of extreme punctuality" she told us making me roll my eyes and Sean chuckle as she pushed the door open and we walked in.
The chattering of the room died down as their three gazes were thrown to us. "Oh,they're here" Sean's Dad chimed,taking to his feet with my parents in line as they approached us. He looked down to where Sean held my hand in place and something I couldnt quite detect flicked through his orbs.
"Good evening Dad...Lords and Ladies" Sean greeted breezily which caught everyone in a brief fit of laughter. "Good evening Sean,how are you?" Mum asked with a smile.
"Great,thank you" Sean replied curtly.
I avoided their gazes all the while,afraid of what I might see. "Good evening Your Grace" I directed to Sean's father.
"Oh,Ariana. Give me a hug" he said and I smiled,my hand leaving Sean's as I hugged him. Everyone took a seat afterwards and unlike last time,Sean and I gladly succumbed to the arrangement which we had to sit together or perhaps we already had that in mind.
"Its so nice to see you've finally gotten over wearing sunglasses all the time,your hair is much prettier too" Sean's father commented as the maids started trailing in with the food.
"I always told her blonde was my thing" Alaina commented carefreely,making us all laugh. "Thank you Sir" I appreciated.
"It really makes me happy to see both of you like this,I wish this could be real" Mum commented, a comment I could tag as probably a slip of her tongue. Dad had said little or nothing to me and I didnt know what to make of his silence. I didnt know how pleased they were with me taking my guard down as Ariana.
"What if it is?" Sean questioned back which made all three of their gazes focus even more on us.
"Dad,remember when I told you about a girl I was seeing...." Sean started and his father who both shock and hope had filled his orbs nodded in affirmation.
"At first,I actually didnt know it was her and that's why I wanted to break the engagement the night I came over to their house" he explained and even I felt a bit of shock at his words. So that was why he suddenly showed up at home that day. I felt touched,he wanted to go that far for me.
"That means you really do know about her being Viola?" Dad finally spoke up and I was glad I didnt hear much anger in his tone as I thought I would.
"Yeah,I know pretty much everything" Sean replied with a terse nod. I looked to Dad who also looked to me and our gazes met. I watched him give off a low sigh,though I couldnt decipher if it was one of relief or frustration.
"Wait,let me get this" Sean's father started. "So you met her as someone else but you didnt recognise her apparently and you started actually dating her" he summarised.
"Yeah,you can put it that way" Sean told him with a shrug. "How long has this been going on?" Mum questioned after a while.
"About seven to eight months,if I'm not mistaken" I replied and I could bet it was the first thing I was saying since my greeting. Sean was better at doing the talking to I let him. Alaina simply dived into her food,looking between everyone at intervals.
"Woah"
"Oh my God" I heard different hushed exclamation from the table as they leaned into their seats. "Wow,this is so thrilling" Sean's father started with a laugh.
"Vince,why didnt you tell me Ariana had a second identity all along? I got so confused with all the news lately" He questioned with an enthusiasm I was yet to understand.
"Well,it isnt something we're too proud of" Dad replied with a shrug. "Oh please,what's wrong with living to have fun? Everyone wants to do it once in a while" he laughed,making a smile creep up to my face.
"Eitherways,I'm happy for you both. You have my full support. Oh...this brings me so much joy" Sean's father chartered away,finally taking a spoon full from the food before him.
"You mean you know everything about Ariana and you still want to see her? You still like her?" Dad questioned lowly and then I saw it. It was a mixture and relief and thanks,he'd been trying to keep me safe in his own awkward way.
"Very much Mr Willows,very very much" Sean told him and he gave him a tight smile. "Feels really good to hear,thank you Sean" he told him.
"No,thank you Mr Willows,for giving her to me" he told him.
"So the betrothal is on then" Mum chided as she handed Dad a bottle of champagne to pop.
"Yeah but we wanted to take our time and figure everything out slowly,if you'd let us" I told her calmly. For the first time in my life,I could swear my mother gave me an adoring gaze.
"You have all the time in the world" she replied with a smile which I mirrored before Dad popped the champagne.
"A toast to that" Sean said after all our glasses had been full and the sound of clinking glasses rattled through the room. I was happy,seeing everyone around me radiate smiles,I felt like I'd finally done something right.
"I told you everything would be okay,you're just a scared cat" Sean told me as we climbed up the stairs,heading for my room. We'd excused ourselves from the table while our parents chatted away and I was surprise they didnt give it a second thought. Alaina somehow managed to sneak out after us.
"I really didnt imagine things going as smoothly as they did" I laughed lightly as we reached the top of the stairs and turned towards the hallway.
"You never imagine things going smoothly Ariana" Alaina added,walking before us and opening the door of the room.
I couldnt believe that while I'd spent most of my afternoon searching for the right dress for the family dinner,all Alaina had on was my signature dressing of a long skirt and cardigan,her hair pulled up in a messy manner atop her head and held down with long pins.
"I'll be downstairs people,please dont try anything perverted in that room,I have cameras" she told us as she began retreating down the hallway. I huffed before walking into the room and taking off my heels.
"So this is what your real room looks like" Sean commented as he looked over our room,probably taking in everything. He'd taken off his shoes so that his feet were left in his black socks.
"Well,Alaina and I kind of share the room" I explained as he headed for the dressing table and picked up a bracelet.
"Oh,I remember this." He said before turning to me. "You never wore it again" he told me. "Its our twin bracelet. Back then,I couldnt afford being figured out" I replied as I slumped into the bed.
"I see" he nodded with understanding before placing it back before he continued looking around the room. "Is there something specific you're looking for?" I questioned amusedly as he started looking through the bookshelf at a far corner of the room.
"Not really" he stated. "Ah,that reminds me,what happened to that british accent of yours?" He mused.
"Oh,you mean this. Would you like a spot of tea? " I questioned back,putting my british accent in use.
"There it is" he laughed as he got back to looking through the shelf. "How did you even pick that up? It sounds so smooth" he told me.
"I'll take that as a compliment,I actually attended college in Britain,it didnt take me long to perfect the accent" I told him.
"Makes sense" he told me as I heard him pull out a book from the shelf before coming out with a smirk on his face.
"I had a feeling I would find this here" he told me, mischief glinting in his eyes,making the little flecks of blue come alive as I stared at my album which he now held up in his hands.
"Oh my gosh,nooo" I shrieked admist my laughs as I jumped off the bed,putting on a pair of indoor slippers and rushed towards him but he backed away to the doorway.
"Sean dont look at that!" I squealed as I ran towards him again but he backed away into the hallway,holding it up even higher as I satisfied grin graced his lips.
"Why? Werent you a cute baby?" He laughed as I continued to run to different corners of the hallway and I kept chasing him. "Of course I was,I've been cute all my life" I gave an egotistical reply as I finally caught up to him in the middle of the hallway.
"Then let me see it" he laughed as he held it higher and I kept jumping so I could reach it. "I'll show you,just give it to me!" I laughed. In a split second,his free hand went around me and pulled me to his chest.
The adrenalin pricked my skin as he ducked his head down as quickly as he pulled me to himself and my eyes widened at the instant action. He laughed,pecking my lips before rushing away from me.
It took me another minute to realise that Sean had just played me in order to get away and unlike last time,it had worked. "Sean! That's so unfair!" I squealed even louder as I turned back to meet him laughing heartily.
"Is it? I personally liked that part" he laughed. "Urgh...I hate you!" I yelled over my shoulder as I made my way back into the room,giving up on retrieving the book from him.
****
"Just a few more blocks forward" I directed Sean. We'd finally agreed that we would look at the pictures at home and although I had nothing to hide,I knew I'd taken a lot of embarrassing pictures when I was little. Ranging from my Halloween costumes to the days I played dress up.
I figured there was one more thing I still hadnt told him about so I suggested we head down after the dinner. Sean's Dad decided to stay the night in town and my parents didnt even care if I stayed or left.
Sean managed to chip in the new brand launch and my parents of course couldnt miss it for the world. He promised to send them as well as Alaina,official invites within the week just before we left.
"Looks familiar right?" I questioned as he finally pulled up at some corner of the the street. "Yeah,I've been here about twice recently. That your scumbag of a friend owns a bar across the street,right?" He asked me as we got down.
"Yeah I guess and I,run this cafè" I told him after he'd circled the car to where I was and he looked up at the sign which read 'Morning Cafè'. "Oh,Gwen really did leave this cafè to you" he told me.
"Yeah,she did. I never talked about it because...well...I'm sure you know the reason" I told him. "Yeah,I understand" he told me with a smile.
"Since we are already here,we can as well stay for a cup of coffee right? There arent much people around too" He stated. "Sure,if you want" I replied before we made our way into the cafè.
"Wow,you really have something going here" he complimented as we walked through the door,the familiar sound of the bell ringing through the cafè.
"Thank you" I smiled as we took a seat to one of my favourite corners of the cafè. We ordered a few treats and only one cup of coffee and anothe cup of hot chocolate.
"I cant believe you'd rather take hot chocolate than take coffee" he told me as I took a sip of my drink before tossing a cookie chip into my mouth. He'd rolled the sleeves of his dress shirt to his elbows for effective eating as he'd said.
"Anyday,anytime sugarbaby" I told him with a teasing smile making him laugh. We didnt take time in clearing our plates and emptying our mugs.
Somewhere in between Sean settling the bill and our plates being taken away,I looked through the glass wall and my vision picked out someone in the same black SUV I'd been seeing around me for a while now,staring at me,this time I felt like I could spot a camera in the persons hands.
"Sean" I called lowly,taking hold of him hand "What happened?" He asked probably detecting the hint of fear in my voice.
"Look over there,that black SUV" I told him and the minute he looked past me to where I'd directed,the car was driven off again. The same thing that had happened when Nicole came around.
"I think I'm being trailed Sean,I've seen that car numerous times around me and each time,the person in it is staring at me" I told him,turning to him as my grip over his hand started shaking.
"Calm down okay,let's get out of here first" he told me and I nodded as he slide his hand around me and guided us out of the cafè.
"Are you sure it's the same car? Did you take note of the plate number?" Sean asked me as soon as we'd both climbed back into the car.
"I'm sure it's the same car,I dont know the full plate number but it starts from MA6" I told him,little bits of fear attacking me.
"Black SUV,MA6..." he trailed off into deep thought before snapping back to me.
"Dont worry about it,I'll look into it. Just calm down,okay,dont think about it,dont let it bother you" he told me,grasping my shoulders lightly. I nodded before he pulled away and started the car. But that didnt take away the wariness I had started to feel within me. Why was I being trailed? And by who?
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