Olivia's POV
Did I make a mistake? Should I have followed Alexander to his apartment to get dressed for the masquerade ball? I had no idea if my decision to follow him there was a good decision, but I was going to find out. I did not want to go to my parents house, and Alexander had agreed not to tell them that I planned to run away from home. I was a pretty independent woman, so I knew that my parents would not notice that I was away for a day. Even if they noticed, they would likely think that I was out doing my normal business.
I followed Alexander to his mighty mansion, and my jaw dropped. It was so difficult to pick my jaw up from the floor even after trying not to seem too surprised.
The mansion was different from the first one that I had visited with Mia. This one must have been designed by the architects who designed the castles in Disney movies. It was as if I was in a dream. I had been to many wealthy homes, but never had I encountered a mansion so captivating, so artistic.
It was a tall, black and beautiful mansion that looked powerful and luxurious. The outside walls are made of dark stone, and the doors were huge and heavy-looking. There were two huge lion statues in front, and this made the mansion even more captivating. We walked to the stairs before getting to the huge door that was opened by a huge security man.
I caught Alexander smirking briefly before his face went stoic when he saw me looking at his direction. It was obvious that he brought me to this very beautiful mansion on purpose to try to impress me. I did not like that his plan was working, but it was.
When we went inside, I saw many fancy decorations and artwork that showed Alexander's wealth. At every corner there was an art piece, a picture, drawing, painting, sculpture, that I knew cost a lot of money. The living room was big and grand, with high ceilings and nice furniture. I could tell that the bedrooms were pretty big as well. The mansion was a symbol of wealth and power.
"So is your game plan to win me over with your big mansion", I said, trying not to sound impressed.
I knew that I had already failed at being nonchalant because my facial expressions had given me away that I was genuinely surprised and impressed by the mansion.
"Well I wouldn't say this is the main part of my plan, but if this is enough to woo you, I would like that. The mansion has different rooms for different purposes. There's a study where the owner, which is me, can work, a living room for relaxation, and a dining room for eating. The private rooms are luxurious and comfortable. The mansion also has advanced security systems and secret passages, making it a safe and private place for the me to live and work", he said.
He tried his best to keep his face, but I could see his lips curl up into a little smile.
"That didn't woo me", I said.
I lied. I was charmed by the sight of the building and everything I saw. The thought of Alexander coming to the airport to stop me from running away also added to the charm. But that was not enough for me to stay with him. I still wanted to run away.
They say people do not change. I knew that he was trying to charm me so much because he had limited time. I knew that if I was easily charmed, that would make me easily fooled because he would just go back to the way he was before. Mean and annoying. He was a Mafia boss and I knew all this was just a plot.
"Really now?", he said, his gaze locked in mine.
I looked away, my heart racing. I did not like that. I felt uncomfortable when he watched me the way it did. It made me think about things that I normally did with Ryan. Poor Ryan. He did not know that I was going to run away, and now he does not know that I am in Alexander's mansion feeling horny all of a sudden when Alexander had not made any move at me.
"Yes. Where can I get dressed? You said it yourself that the ball is going to take the entirety of the day and night. I would need quite a while preparing. So, I would need to start preparing as you had said. I need to get this over with", I said quickly, trying not to stutter.
Being in the same space with Alexander made me feel awkward. I needed to be in a room without him in it.
"We should eat first. Aren't you hungry?", he asked.
Immediately after he asked, my stomach growled in response before I could say anything, and that made Alexander smile. It was not a smirk, a mocking smile, a sinister smile, or an I-know-it-all smile. It was a genuine, heartwarming smile. He found my stomach growl funny, while I found it embarrassing. The smile faded in less than fifteen seconds, but at least there was progress. He had not held back from smiling, trying to press his lips together even when they tried to curl up, like he had done before. He did not maintain a straight and expressionless face like he normally did, or smirk like he was my evil superior who found more ways to demean me. So, yes, I liked that he smiled, even though it was brief, and I had felt embarrassed by the way my stomach growled immediately after he asked his question.
"Uhm yes, it seems I have no choice since my stomach has answered", I said.
He said nothing else and led me to the dining room. On the dining table, there were many dishes, some of which I knew and some I had no idea about. But one thing was certain: they all looked delicious, and my mouth watered.
He pulled the seat out for me to sit, and I did.
"Did my parents set you up for this? Did they see the live video of you messing up, and perhaps told your father about it? Because you're not a gentleman, and this act doesn't suit you", I said.
I wanted to trigger a reaction from him because although I knew everything that he did was an act, I still felt awkward, like I wanted it to be real. But the sad truth was that I knew that this would never be real, so I decided to say something that I knew would trigger a bad response from him. That would help me to snap out of any delusion I may have found myself in.
"I think if you asked fewer questions, we would get along better", he snapped.
BINGO!
"I haven't asked many questions today. You just hate speaking to me, so it's better that you quit pretending to be kind now", I shot back.
He ignored me, and began eating his food. I knew that he was not going to say anything else. At this point, there was nothing else that I could do rather than join him to eat.
When we finished eating, he still did not say anything to me. Instead, he called someone to come and take me to the dressing room so I could start getting dressed for the ball. It was close to noon already, and I needed to start getting ready.
He called the person, Jade. Normally, I was sure that he would call Mia. But he did not, and it had been a while since I had seen her. What did he do to Mia?
"Where is Mia?", I asked.
Alexander did not answer me. He did not even look at me. He not snubbed my question, but also acted like I did not exist.
"Oh it's a question", I said to myself, realising that I had asked another question of which I was sure that he was not going to answer.
"I want to see Mia now", I demanded.
If a question was not going to move him, then a demand should.
He turned, shooting me a dark look. It was as though demanding seemed worse to him than asking questions. I was sure that he was not used to people demanding things from him because they were afraid of him. But I was not afraid of him, and was even happy that at least he finally acted like I existed.
"No!", he said curtly.
"Why? Is it because of what she told me? I was going to talk to you about it anyway to confirm if you really did it, and why you did it, but it seems that I have my answers without even trying to ask", I said.
"I don't care what you think. Mia lied to you and you would not be seeing her for a while", he said.
"How did she lie?", I asked curiously.
"I won't be telling you all that today. What matters today is the masquerade ball. Mia is unimportant", he said.
"I hope you didn't harm Mia. Do not harm Mia", I said.
"Don't command me. Mia has disrespected me a lot and will face whatever consequence I choose. Now shut up and follow Jade. She will take you to the dressing room to make you look your best," he stated darkly.
What did he mean by Mia lied? What did Mia lie about? Was her whole story a lie? If she lied about everything, then she was a very good liar. But my instinct told me she did not lie about everything or there were some things that she did not say. My instincts told me Alexander had still done pretty awful things. And now, I was curious more than ever to find out the true story. But I was also guilty. Mia had warned me not to tell Alexander what she had told me, but I couldn't keep it in and had spilled it. I felt so guilty because I had put her in trouble. I had to find a way to save her.
I got up from my seat quietly, and turned to Jade who was right behind me. She looked like she was in her late forties, and I guessed at once that she was a fashionista.
I followed her to the dressing room, thinking about my next line of action. I was going to attend this masquerade ball, find out what Mia had lied about, discover what Alexander was hiding, help Mia escape from whatever sinister plan Alexander had for her, and find a way to escape the arranged marriage. I needed a plan.