Evelyn's Pov

This party was fancy, but it wasn't someplace I'd fit in. The crowd was full of rich people. I didn't even have an identity. I had an anonymous father, an evil mother, and a title 'whore' prefixed on my name. I wonder why Arnold was helping me, knowing who I actually was, and which community I truly belong to.

Sandra was a sweetheart. She stayed by my side throughout. I doubt the story she told us regarding his boyfriend, Alistair. I noted him in the whole of the party. He had eyes only for Sandra. Maybe, she had misconceptions that should be corrected by someone. "Sandra?"

"Mmhmm?" she choked on coke when all of a sudden I said her name.

"Alistair's a nice man. I don't think he can ever cheat on you", I tightened my lips and looked away. I didn't want her to form an opinion that I was interfering in her life.

She smiled as she looked at me, her face dug in the giant glass of her drink. It didn't seem like she was sipping on the soft drink lately, it was definitely a hard one. "I know. I had a misconception earlier. I'm glad that because of it, I made a new friend today", she side hugged me, as she pushed her body in my direction.

"Me too", I honestly replied.

"Did we interrupt some girl-to-girl talk?" Alistair and Arnold came towards us. Alistair had his hands curled around Arnold's shoulder. Sandra uplifted herself and threw herself on Alistair. He pecked her softly on her lips. They literally looked so cute together.

I separated myself away from them, in order to give them some private space. Arnold followed me. He held me by my wrist, because of which I had to turn around, as my walking speed was ceased by him. He pulled me closer, towards him. I got carried away, in his direction, our body was inches apart.

My hand rested on his chest, I gasped as I waited for him to interrupt the silence. He didn't speak, and I didn't utter a word from my mouth either. The silence between us felt like everything. Sometimes, you don't require words to do the talking, sometimes eyes are enough.

"What if I ask for a dance?" he interrogated.

"I'll say a yes then", I chuckled. He propelled his hand, so I quickly placed my hand in his and allowed him to escort me towards the floor. He took the lead, and I followed him to the floor. The music was slow. It felt like someone was playing the violin. When I turned my head, I located the person who was doing the same.

I curled my hands around his neck. He grasped me closer to him through my back. I gasped at his instant reaction. He smiled slightly, as he moved his hands over my back slowly. My breaths were faster than normal. I've never felt the emotion I was feeling lately. I so wanted to deny it, ignore it, but damn, every time my eyes encountered his face, all the feelings came rushing in.

We swayed our feet according to the music, which hit our ears. Arnold moved his feet in synchronization with mine. He was a good dancer, a real good one. This was the actual first time I was dancing with a man. The only people I have couple danced with, in my life, were Hannah and Allie.

The music was slow, calm, and relaxing. I could keep dancing if the night didn't have to end. I looked straight into his eyes, which were truly focused on mine. It seemed like I could feel the intensity in his eyes like he was hiding something from me. He slowly intertwined his fingers with mine and turned me around. I allowed him to take the lead and danced according to it.

I curled around, my back pushed against his chest and stomach. We swayed our feet, in accordance with the music. No one amongst us stopped, the music changed and so did the people we accompanied on the dance floor. We were constant, for the continuous three songs that the violinist played.

Suddenly, the situation turned passionate. Arnold came closer to me, and I allowed him to bridge the gap between us. Our forehead collided, and within moments our nose did too. I could feel him breathing and I also could feel the cologne he wore. It was attractive, sweet, and sensuous. I don't know, whether I was describing him or his perfume. He cupped my cheeks and tucked the hair behind my ear as he kissed me softly on my nose. I was shocked as I expected his lips to meet mine and I was somewhere prepared for it.

I gasped, taking the air in through my mouth. I licked my bottom lip, as an instinct reaction to his cute gesture. It would be desperate to state the fact that, I craved more and definitely wanted more. The more I had him, the more I wanted. Okay, he wasn't the only person who touched me earlier, but it felt like he was touching someplace of my body that was deep within, to be precise, my heart.

He tilted my chin when I looked towards the floor. He smiled when my eyes met his. The moment stopped, the clock ceased to move. Everything and everyone around felt irrelevant. The only person I wanted close to me, by my side, stood in front and gawked in my direction continuously. He slowly came closer, and gently placed his lips over mine. I didn't pull away, but dug my hands in his back hair, and continued the kiss.

The kiss didn't end, and to be honest, I never wanted it to. It was sealed with love, affection, and compassion which I never felt with anyone other than Zach. Zach was the only person who had triggered any sort of emotions within me in the past. He also was one of the reasons because of whom I gave up on love or any infatuation which was caused because of it. With Arnold, I wanted to believe in it again, but my heart didn't allow me to.

He sucked my lower lip, I allowed him as I spaced my lips, so he deepened the kiss. I tightened my lip when I opened my eyes when I saw the back of a familiar woman. She disappeared from my sight, when Arnold kissed me harder, even when I gave him a red signal. I could now, through the pillar, see the shadow of the same woman. My intuition said things I didn't want to believe. The woman looked like my mom. I couldn't have a clear and better view of her, but her shadow was enough to ring the bell.

"I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have initiated it", Arnold apologized. I closed my eyes, realizing how rude I must have been when I pulled away. I shouldn't have distanced myself aggressively, whilst kissing.

"No-no, Arnold. Don't be sorry about it. I guess I just saw my mother", Arnold gasped as he watched me speak. He was as shocked as I was. What in this world, was my mom doing at this party. Was the party the reason, because of which, she left the place she never left. The building in which I and the other girls lived was our little world. We weren't allowed to cross the border she formed for us.

"You may have mistaken her with someone else", he looked around, here and there to locate my mom.

"I wish so", I sighed.

"Where did you see her, any idea?" he questioned, searching for her in the crowd.

I pointed towards the pillar, I previously detected her. I, carefully, took the lead, to which he followed. "I'm sure that she was here", I stood next to the pillar, and allowed my eyeballs to travel through the crowd. "Oh, my God, look there" I slowly whispered in his ears and directed him to the exact position where I spotted my mom.

"She's with someone" Arnold closely observed.

"Yeah, we can't see that man because of the curtains. Come on. Step ahead. Just one step, come on, please", I muttered.

We waited for the man to make a move so that we could examine his face. My mom was with a mystery man. "Oh no, she's with the politician", I keenly observed the man and realized that he was Mr. Dickman. I took a step backward, in order to analyze their moves. Was my mom secretly dating him, or was he connected way deeper and darker than what I thought?

"FUCK. Oh no. I mean, what the actual fuck", Arnold cursed loudly. I looked at him, his expressions showed the state of shock he was experiencing, which was probably more than mine. He refused to look away, as his eyes were glued towards their direction. He took a step towards them like he was losing his senses.

"Arnold"

"Arnold", I shouted his name from behind. He didn't respond to me but instead kept taking slow steps. I grabbed him closer to me through his arms. On suddenly gaining consciousness, he faced me and took a deep breath.

He shrugged as he diverted his attention from me, "I can't believe this", he slowly muttered under his breath which was audible to my ears. "You okay?" I questioned as I rubbed his shoulders. It seemed like he got a mini anxiety attack. Though he tried, he couldn't stop gawking at my mom and Mr. Dickman.

"I'm okay. Just shocked, actually, very shocked" he confessed. "How can da- I mean da great Ashton Dickman accompany your mother in something so illegal. It's so shocking. I need to ask Aaron about them. He may/ may not have a clue, but we should definitely keep digging" he confessed.

"I need to hide away from them" I rested my back on the pillar, and faced the opposite direction of theirs. "But, it's okay if my mom sees you. Also, you can inquire about things from her. Maybe you should have a word with her", I pushed him towards them, but he immediately took a step back.

On keeping silent for a while, he concluded "Look, Evelyn. I can't just keep doing things you tell me to. There's a way of doing everything and I think that tonight is not the best time for a talk. We need to observe, be confidential about it, and then gather conclusions" he paused and then continued "I can't do this. I'm sorry Evelyn", his behavior was strange, very strange. The Arnold I knew would never use such a harsh tone with me. It felt like I was speaking to a totally different guy, the guy I'd never met or talked with.

He slowly took a step back, turned around, and walked in the total opposite direction I stood. I watched him space himself from me. No, I didn't stop him. I guess that's what my identity and status were: all alone. For once, I thought that I found a friend who'd help me no matter what. But, maybe I was asking too much. Arnold has already helped me a lot, and maybe I was turning greedy.

It was now easier for me to distance myself from him. I was the trouble no one would ever want in their life. I straightened my dress and moved towards the drink counter. I settled my ass there and ordered myself a hard drink. I wanted to forget everything, every emotion I was feeling lately, for Arnold.

Amanda, the birthday girl, was on the stool next to me. "Happy Birthday" I wished her.

"Thank you so much. I'm sorry I don't recognize you", which was obvious. I didn't expect her to know me.

"Yeah, because I wasn't invited to this party, a friend of mine received an invitation", I sipped my drink. "I'm Evelyn. Nice to meet you", I half-smiled. I noticed her with her boyfriend throughout the party. The love could be felt. They looked so cute together.

"Amanda"

"Amanda Waters", she continued.

"Soon to be Amanda Reynolds", I chuckled slowly.

It didn't feel like she was alright. Her face was dim like she was hiding something. "I like the sound of that", she replied. "I hope so", she looked down.

"I've been through a lot in my life. Time passes, it always does. Life always opens doors for us, sometimes it's the devil that knocks and sometimes the angels. I don't know what your problem is or what you're going through but one thing is pretty sure. That man loves you", I pointed towards Aaron. She couldn't control but smile when her eyes located him.

"How long does that demon last?" she metaphorically questioned.

I gathered my hair and answered "I don't know, but, the demon won't last forever", I shrugged. "Is there something you want to talk about", I paused and continued "Anonymously"

"Uh-yeah" she paused and continued "What if someone is getting threats from someone and what if that someone's extra special someone's life is at stake", I was confused, very confused.

"You need to protect that special someone but you also shouldn't let him be unaware of the whole happening. Talk to Aaron", I decided to answer her straightforwardly.

"How did you know?"

"Just guessed"

"Don't tell anyone about it please", she insisted.

"You have my word", she side-hugged me. "Evelyn", I turned around when some masculine voice called me from behind. I turned around to have a look at whoever it was.

It was Arnold. I refused to make eye contact with him. I didn't just pick the glass of my tequila but carried the whole bottle along with me as I walked past him. I knew that he was watching me walk away from him. But, I couldn't stand in front of him and cause any more troubles in his life.

On taking a further step, I was stopped through my wrist. A hand has its grip tightly over it. I breathed in and slowly turned around.

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