Alistair's Pov

I waved her goodbye and advised her to stay in the room and call me if any circumstances arrive. She nodded a 'yes', so I marched towards the hotel's office. I had to make some things clear, before actually leaving her alone. No, it wasn't regarding her safety, but, my safety. I had to protect the lie I began with. With every consequent day, the lie got deeper and more intense, ever since I discovered that my father was somewhere involved.

After reaching the office, I rested my elbows on the table after comforting my ass on the chair, clenched my fists, and placed my chin on it, like a boss. Wait, I was the boss. Customers are kings, right?

"I want you to cut down every channel which connects her to the real world. Cut down the Wi-Fi connection in her room. And, cut down your mouths for good", I raised some dollars in the air. He quickly grasped it from my hands, crumpled it, and pushed it in his pocket after examining that no one was present in that specific area, rather than us. "Maybe throw in some DVD's" I shrugged.

He came closer to me, as he pushed his chair in my direction. I was quite relieved when I realized that the table was in between us serving as a partition. I furrowed my brows, as I looked in his direction. He slowly murmured "You sure, someone from the 21st century can survive without those amenities. We not only use them as a luxury, but we also rely on them. It's a part of our lives"

"I didn't really sign up for a 100 dollar counseling program. Do as said", I sarcastically replied and continued "Plus, my girl can survive without those". Oh, wait. I just addressed Evelyn as 'my girl'.

"Okay Sir", he assured. I left the office and made my way towards my car. Today, when we switched the television on, a part of me got scared. Scared of being repulsively exposed, I wasn't ready to confront the truth of my life yet. The news channels always showed some sort of news regarding my family, at least once a day. I couldn't take chances and I also didn't want to.

I drove at my fullest speed to my house. I had to check-in and check out at appropriate timeslots, so that dad didn't get a proper gist of my wrongdoing. I sprinted towards my room, freshened up, changed into a yellow t-shirt after taking a shower. I paired my t-shirt with sky blue denim. I rushed to the breakfast table and checked the time on the wall clock. I was 3 minutes prior to the actual time. I sighed as the servant started plating my breakfast.

When mom looked at me, I gave her a small smile. I looked around, checked the time again, before inquiring anything about my father. When the clock hit 10'o clock, my curiosity reached no limits. "So, mom, where's Dad?" I interrogated as I drank tea.

"Your father is out of town. I don't exactly know where but he'll be home soon in the coming week", she took a bite of her bread.

Various thoughts traveled in my mind in that instance. Was it the truth that knocked straight on my mind's door or mere coincidence? Evelyn's mom was away for a week and so was my dad. Were they together? And by together I mean, sexually together? Was my dad cheating on my mom? Was the situation even worse than that? What if he hooks up with her mom, will that make Evelyn my step-sister? I knew that I was overthinking, but 'what ifs were coming up with new theories after every minute.

"Alistair"

"Alistair"

"Alistair", Christine shouted for the third time. I tilted my chin up attentively and turned my head towards her direction. "I'm sorry", I apologized.

"What's it?" I questioned.

"This week is ours. No one can take it away from us. Live your life brother and so will I", Mom threw daggers at her when she spoke but in the end, laughed. She was well aware of the dramatic lines me and Christine used to phrase our sentences when talking with each other.

I laughed "Of course, I have my week planned", I winked looking at her, and continued "Mom, I have to attend a friend's girlfriend's birthday party. I won't be home this week since the location is away from the city"

"I'll be staying at a friend's place too", Christine interrupted. I exactly knew this friend.

Mom looked at us, pinched her nose, and arched her brows "What will this old woman do without her children and her husband. I feel lonely already. Neither does my husband cares about me nor does my children" her voice sounded low. Okay, she wasn't serious. We knew that she was being dramatic.

"Christine will stay with you for the first 4 days and I, for the rest 3 days", I conveyed my decision. She grinned like she expected some negotiation.

"Fine", Christine pouted. No, we never left our mom alone. She had no friends since she married my dad. She had to break the ties with the world she lived in, in order to adapt herself to our world, the fake world. The only place she went rather than charitable institutions and social events was her own house, in which her parents lived. The reason behind this was simple, wherever she went, the media followed. She just had to be extra cautious about her image.

No, my dad wasn't strict with my mom. He loved her tenderly and totally. At least that's how it looked and I just hoped that the misconceptions I believed in lately were false. My parents were my 'forever' goals. After hearing about today, I was pretty sure that I had to dig the truth, not only for Evelyn but also for my family, for my mom. Since I had no clue, that where my dad was, this week had to be on hold. I decided to keep a check on him, his activities, as soon as he returns.

After bidding farewell to mom and Christine, I shoved some of my casual clothes in a huge bag along with matching shoes and belts. I had to look appropriate at the party. It wasn't just anyone's party. It was Aaron Reynolds's party. Aaron has always been a good friend of mine as well as a family friend. We went to the same school together, so there were chances that I will meet a bunch of old school friends at his girlfriend's party.

The only thing which scared me was, I wanted to take Evelyn along and I also didn't want to take her along. I was scared, scared of being exposed. I just had to think about another excuse to gyp her again. I didn't like it but I also had no choice, I had to impersonate Arnold no matter how much I disliked doing it these days.

I had to plan a lie, another lie, and it had to be real quick. After exiting my mansion, I pushed my suitcase into the trunk of my car. I drove to one final destination before arriving back at the hotel. The woman waited for me outside her store. I greeted her and welcomed her inside my car. I pushed the accelerator again and drove off towards the hotel. When we finally reached the parking area, I opened the car's door for her. She accompanied me inside.

I turned the door-knob maintaining the gentleman's attitude. She marched inside the room, I followed her. Evelyn lay on the bed, her eyes focused on the ceiling. Her face was ethereal. I could gawk at it the whole day. "All the best", I whispered in the woman's ear. She smiled an assuring one.

"Oh, you bought your girlfriend", Evelyn watched her from top to bottom. If stares could kill, then Sandra would be dead by now. Sandra surrendered her hands in the air and replied "No. no, no... We're not what you're thinking"

Was I discovering the possessive side of Evelyn? "Oh, even if you are then I am no one to offend", she sarcastically smiled draining the she's-possessive-for-me thoughts into the sink. Sandra made herself comfortable on the bed. I watched the ladies whilst crossing my arms around my stomach.

"Oh. I forgot to introduce myself. She's Sandra, a good friend of mine", I introduced Evelyn to Sandra. They both shook hands and I watched them do the same. After depositing the fact of bringing Sandra to the hotel, I started showcasing my brilliant acting skills.

"So how's Alistair?" I questioned Sandra. It really felt weird to call upon my name and address someone else like it.

She faced me, sadness plastered all over her face. "I-uh, I guess Alistair is cheating on me"

I marched closer towards her. It really felt strange on hearing about me and pretending that I was a completely different person. "Why do you think such?" I inquired.

I cornered my eyes to examine Evelyn. She was pretty much engrossed in our conversation too. Sandra cleared her throat, kept her head on my shoulder, and acted like she was depressed. "I want you to keep an eye on Alistair at tomorrow's party. Please. Come with us. Take Evelyn along if you want to. I really don't know who the woman is. I want you to stick by Alistair's side and watch out for every woman. I want to catch him red-handed. I wouldn't have overreacted this much but I-uh, I'm pregnant with his baby. Plus you have an official invitation for the party, so there should be no reason for you to say no."

"Wow. Congratulations and Sorry. I-uh don't know if I can make it through the party, or help you"

"We'll be there for you", Evelyn interrupted our conversation. I somewhere knew that she would speak for her.

The plan was simple. Chace will be the fake Alistair. We decided to stick by each other so that if someone calls even one person in front of Evelyn, then we both will turn around. We'll wear the same suit, do the same hair. Evelyn wouldn't know, or probably would be confused even if I turn on behalf of Chace, aka Alistair which will probably be me. My planning was confusing, I just hoped that it went with the flow, as planned.

One thing I noted about Evelyn from her previous behavior was that she'll eventually space out herself after encountering a huge crowd. I knew that it was a big risk, but I couldn't leave her alone for 3 big days which I initially planned to spend with her. The birthday was just an excuse so that I could take her away from this city, to a completely new place where very few or maybe no one knew me, or us.

"Thank you", Sandra hugged Evelyn. She hugged back.

"Won't be longer than 3 hours, I promise Al- I mean Arnold. Love you brother", she propelled her hand towards me, I shook it warmly and waved her goodbye.

Come on Alistair, you can stay alarmed for 3 hours. Look at the better side...You can spend 3 whole days with her. A part of me was convinced with the story we brought up and the other part just considered it childish and irrelevant. I couldn't also think of a better story in such a short span.

I leaned closer to Evelyn. She laid stiffly, her hand on either side of her thighs. "I'm looking forward to our road trip", I smirked and she smiled.

Hours passed. I talked and she listened, sometimes even nodded to some part of our conversation. I was actually waiting for someone. As soon as the bell of our room rang, I opened the door and welcomed some of the people I invited over. They came inside, with a pile of hangers in their hands. There were approximately 6 people.

"She looks great all the time but I want you guys to help her with an outfit so that she can look better than great", I stood up and watched them display the outfits on the bed. Evelyn stood up too and came right next to me.

"You don't really have to do this Arnold. I really can manage some appropriate dress from my bag"

"You can but you shouldn't. These guys are really amazing, trust me", I tried convincing her.

"I trust you. I do", she replied instinctively. If decency wasn't a thing, I would've crashed my lips against hers that instant. The word trust always made me 'cringe', ever since I met her. I was actually playing with her trust and was also guilty about it.

When I said that, I want her to have the part of her life she craved for, I meant it. I was going to spoil her with everything I had. She deserved it. She stepped closer to the dresses and picked up one black sleeveless dress which was paired along with a blazer. The dress was a floor-length gown, which was body-fit. I couldn't stop but imagine how sexy she'll actually look.

"How about this?" she questioned about the same gown.

"Alluring enough", I showed her a thumbs up.

"I'll go with this one then", she picked up the hanger and sided it from the other dresses.

"What else do you want?" I interrogated.

"Um-nothing more" she looked towards me. If only I could escape in those eyes.

I knew that even if she wanted something, she won't dare say a word about it. "I'll buy these two dresses too", I picked up the other two hangers from the bed. These two dresses were really casual so I thought that it'll prove to be helpful for the trip as well. Damn, this woman. She had no idea how much she controlled me.

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