Alistair's Pov

I wanted to claim her but it never was as easy as it seemed. "Please... stay"

"I will", I promised. Even though our bodies repelled, our minds were still together, our eyes still locked, her black against my brown. The feeling was not new but every time she was in close proximity with me, it felt different. It felt good.

"Hungry?" I interrupted the silence.

"Kinda", she squinted smiling. She looked cute, really cute.

We decided to order food in our room and save ourselves the trouble of going for the buffet. She decided her delicacies basis her relish and I just agreed to whatever suited her. We filled our stomachs as soon as the food arrived. We spoke to one another, our likes and dislikes, what annoyed us and what turned us on. We were leveling up, knowing one another. Except for the fact, that she yet didn't know me well but someday she would, I was assertive about it.

The evening passed with us gulping the Zafrani tea down our throats. I was yearning for these days ever since I had met Evelyn and I felt contented. My mind was at ease even when it wasn't.

The night passed with us in each other's arms. We spoke to one another and for once it felt like we were a normal couple. Oh wait, did I just say a couple?

It was 4 am in the morning, Evelyn's head rested on my chest and I had my hands around her. I felt a vibration on the table, next to my bed. I carefully placed Evelyn's head on the table and propelled my hand towards the table to reach out to my phone.

I was alarmed when I saw Jane's missed call. She wouldn't call if it wouldn't have been an emergency. "Yes, Jane..?" I called instinctively.

"I don't care where you are. Get Evelyn here as soon as possible. Evelyn's mother is here. She hasn't asked for her yet, but I'm afraid she will", she paused for a while and continued "anytime soon".

Even when I didn't want to wake Evelyn up, I had to. "Leaf, come on. Wake up", I shook her softly because she was sound asleep.

"It isn't morning yet", she squinted her eyes, looking towards the window.

"I know. I really do", I bent my body towards her and took the support of her arms to draw her from the lying position. She let her body loose so that I could. "Rosaline's back"

"She-what?" she was now awake, her eyes widened and she gasped. Saying she was shocked, would be an understatement.

"Let's go", I collected my keys from the table and exited the room. She matched my steps and was even faster than me.

"It's okay, don't worry", I consoled her as we both settled ourselves in my car. "Oh, Crap", on the sudden realization of something, I rushed towards the reception. Evelyn tried stopping me, but I had to go. It was really important. I had to take care of it.

I darted towards the car as fast as I could on my way back. Evelyn's face was plastered with bewilderment, "What could be more important? Is everything okay?" she let me drive the car "I can take a taxi if you've to be somewhere. I'll deal with it. Anyway it's my problem"

"How many times do I need to tell that you're my priority? I'm tired of saying it. I really am", I replied in a low tone.

"I didn't mean to"

"I know. It's okay"

I parked the car haphazardly somewhere close to the gate of the building when we finally reached. We hastened towards the entrance and stayed back for a while when we saw that all of the women there were gathered together. It wasn't a pleasing sight to behold. Their faces were filled with agitation, while their eyes were stuck on the floor. Who was this woman? A 21st-century dictator....? I had to put an end to her, to their agony.

It wasn't just Evelyn but everyone around. No one deserved to be treated like this and I promised myself that I will make sure to get everyone out of this shitty rat hole.

"Evelyn's here", one of the women looked in our direction, her finger pointed towards Evelyn.

Evelyn was perturbed, her face looked pale. She held me tightly as she gasped "I-uh"

Rosaline marched breaking our distance "Where the fuck were you? I've been asking everyone around but I guess they have their tongues tied to their throat", she fumed red; her eyes wandered from Evelyn's to mine and then settled themselves on our locked fingers.

"And I warn, no one fucking lies. Don't even try Mr. Dick---"

"Rosaline", I didn't let her complete the statement. Sometimes I felt grateful about my last name because it sounded more like a curse word "Stop over-reacting"; she obviously pretended that I was mute and her eyes were issuing warning signals to Evelyn.

She looked at Jane, "You fucking cunt. I ask you to take care of my place. I imbibe my trust in you and you pay me back like this. You're a fucking piece of shit. I'll make sure to serve that to you in your meals", she picked up a piece of paper on the table, crumbled it in a ball and flung it on Jane's face.

Jane felt embarrassed, frustrated but most importantly scared.

"Evelyn was sick. Jane asked me to take her to the doctor because apparently, I was the only man she could trust"

"You think I'm a coward to buy that lie?" she smirked arching her brow.

"Here", I removed the medicine along with the doctor's prescription with Evelyn's name. I knew this situation would arise, so I prepared for it in advance. When the sudden realization of cooking an excuse precipitated in my brain, I ran inside the hotel, used some connections to fabricate some prescriptions using Evelyn's name by making use of the medical facility of our hotel.

She looked at it, studied it for a while, her face didn't seem convinced. "We don't go to the doctors. They come to us", she scratched her head "You didn't give many details, did you?" she questioned me pulling me from my collars.

I, instinctively, hauled her hands away from my collar. She clearly crossed the line this time. "Don't fucking dare. I will ruin you if you do something as such once again", I marched one step closer to her "Trust me, I will take you down. Don't you fucking come close to me next time", I pointed my finger poking her forehead harshly "Do you get it", she stayed silent "Do you fucking get it?" I howled.

She nodded but didn't reply. Every nerve in my body was electrified with hatred. Even Evelyn's face couldn't calm me. "Fuck yourself, loser", I clenched my fists and stomped out of that place. I could see it from the back of my eyes that everyone was throwing daggers at my exit.

I was going to end her. I was sure, certain, and now determined.

It took me a good 30 minutes to drive my way home. I was unable to think straight, my mind kept rewinding the incident which recently happened. She was an animal, a cruel one. I sauntered inside my house, my hands clenched, and well dug inside my pockets. Mom, on seeing me, rushed towards me and engulfed me in a hug.

"Haven't seen you since a while"

"Yeah, I was away"

"The question is where", dad appeared out of the blue, his face raging with curiosity. He looked calm but his eyes demanded answers but so did mine. "If you don't remember my son, we've to leave in an hour"

"Where to....?" I questioned. I seriously didn't remember planning anything. I tried focusing by closing my eyes for a while, but the more I tried, the more my head ached.

"Chloe's dad's place sweetheart", my mom tapped my shoulders pulling me out of trance. "She sent us an invitation plus her father was very generous to call and invite us in person", she smiled, "No problem though. You look tired. Freshen up and then we'll keep going"

"Wear something...", my dad eyed my t-shirt and ripped jeans from top to bottom "Formal", he continued.

I tsked loud before leaving. On our way towards my room, I tapped on the unread messages from Chloe. There were 100's of them. I opened her tab and glimpsed through her messages which demanded surety of confirmation from my side. I replied with an "okay, I'll be there", I locked my screen and stripped my clothes when entering the shower room.

The hot water gliding through my body comforted me for a while. However, when I thought about Chloe's situation, the perplexity of my mind rose as there was no way out of the mess I was into. Chloe was the last thing on my mind, the chapter I didn't want to unfold. The complications of my life only kept worsening.

I wrapped the towel across my waist and exited the bathroom in search of formal wear. I liked to disobey, to not adhere to instructions so I decided to not wear a suit. I picked out a denim shirt and paired it with denim jeans. I completed my look with slippers and spikes.

I descended the stairs whilst clutching my wristwatch. My dad eyed me from top to bottom again. "I see"

"How can you not?" I rhetorically questioned. My dad was very well aware of the fact that if he taunted me over an extent, I'd automatically slip myself out of the plan so he decided what was best, which was to keep silent.

We took two cars, one which had my parents and the other which had me, Christine and Charles. Yeah right, Charles. It seemed that dad was quite fine with Christine dating Charles as this was an official gathering for which he was invited. I stayed silent whilst I drove. My mind kept going back to Evelyn as I was unsure of how she would have been treated by Humpty Dumpty.

"Seems like dad's cool", I initiated the conversation.

"Jealous much..?" Christine popped her eyebrows and pouted.

"Can never be", I fake smiled eyeing at Charles and her, disgracing their existence as a couple.

"We all know that I'm Mr.Dickman's pawn to get some votes from my section of the society", he comforted my sister by solacing her whilst curling his hands around her waist "Family members help each other, right?" he questioned Christine flirtatiously to which she pecked him softly on his lips.

I focused my attention away from the mirror through which I could see things. I felt uneasy around Charles. Something about him didn't go well with me. He seemed fake but most importantly cruel. My sister was naive and I always looked after her so I added Charles to my list of troubles and continued to drive whilst ignoring their open display of affections.

I reached the location as guided by the GPS system. I saw Chloe outside the gate of her mansion, busy talking with someone over a call. I stopped my car by the gate, waiting for Chloe to signal the gate-man to grant us access inside. She followed us while we waited for her towards the parking area.

Dad was already standing stiff with my mother. I nodded whilst looking at them. Chloe looked fine in her yellow sheath dress. She had minimal makeup on her face. She hugged me as soon as she saw me. "Oh, baby, you're here", this girl was enjoying the drama I involved her in.

"Hi, love", I kissed her cheek softly because apparently, she was my girlfriend. Today was the end where I'd declare it an off in front of my parents. I had to get myself out of the mess, one by one.

We, along with Chloe, entered her mansion. It was massive and exquisite, the same size as compared to mine. The flooring reflected the shade of the lights which hung across the wall. A spiral staircase was right in the middle and there was a passageway that led to a room, which I'm guessing would've been the kitchen. I could see house-workers neatly dressed around. I was conscious of the fact that Chloe belonged to a really wealthy family and her mansion did justice to my thoughts. Her idea to stay away in an apartment felt weird after looking at her mansion.

A man, in his late 50's came walking to us. Without a doubt, I knew that it was Chloe's father. He wore a loose hoodie which he paired with some striped shorts. His hair was a shade of black and gray, making it obvious that the color he applied to it was on the verge of fading. He looked cool, super cool. His mom was alongside him and was dressed in a quite similar way. White tee and green shorts, brown hair gathered in a ponytail.

My parents seemed over-dressed for dinner. However, I kind of matched their vibe. Chloe's dad, namely Mr. John Simpson shook hands with my father. My father greeted him back but later felt uneasy. I could say that from the way he pinched his brows together.

"Didn't know there was an informal dress code? Alistair didn't warn us about it. Right, darling?" he chuckled looking at my mother.

"Anything which my guests choose to wear becomes the dress code", my dad laughed with his dad. For a new person, it looked genuine but being his son, I knew it was fake. He was up to something and whatever it was, I just hoped that it didn't add to my misery.

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