Part 7

Lia’s POV

I tensed, hearing the doorbell. And immediately felt a hand over mine to calm me down. I turned to see Alyssa looking at me with concern-filled eyes. I felt Max moving to check the door, and the smell of pizza made me realize that the food had arrived. 

I could not help recalling the evening and a fresh set of tears started flowing down my cheeks. Alyssa embraced me and whispered at me to calm down. But the words gave a reverse effect. I shuddered at the thoughts. What if he had not got a call? I knew his demeanor changed after the phone call. What if he had not attended the phone call? What if he had not cooled down? And so many what-ifs haunted me.

I was not able to recall what happened once he opened the door. I saw some flash, and Alastair was blocking me from those lights. I also heard someone shouting and running towards us. At the same time, Alastair relaxed a bit, and I took the opportunity to run to the lift. I vaguely remember catching the first available cab and reached Max's house. I cannot go to my home in this attire and face questions from my family.

Once I reached Max's house, I immediately changed to my spare clothes and threw the shirt away. Max and Alyssa never asked me a question but sat with me till I opened it to them. I was grateful that they did not bug me to tell what happened or bombarded me with questions once I started. I could not have said them entirely if I had been interrupted. 

"He was telling that it was to teach me a lesson for stalking. But what did I do wrong? Is it a crime reaching out to talk about the contract?"

Alyssa did not answer. 

"He was also threatening about cops. So what did I do wrong?"

Again I was hit by silence. I then lift my head to saw Alyssa crying silently. 

"I am sorry, Lia. This is all my fault. I should not have encouraged you to meet Lucian Alastair. Then this would not have happened." Alyssa looked very guilty. 

"No, Als, this is not at all your fault. I know your intention is only to help me. Don't ever think in that way." I whispered back to her. 

But she never got convinced, and so I hugged her. "You are like a sister I never had. I will never allow you to feel guilty on this."

She gave a watery smile.

"Come on, you two. Enough with these emotions. Get a grip. The pizza is getting cold" Alyssa glared at Max.

"Is the stupid pizza more important than Lia and me?"

Max visibly gulped. "No, dear, I was telling that we should thank God that Lia had come back safe."

Alyssa still did not have convinced and was still glaring at Max. If looks could kill? I chuckled lightly, seeing their exchange.

Alyssa smiled at my change of mood. "Come, Lia, Let's have dinner. And don't think about leaving after. You are staying here tonight."

After having dinner and two cups of coffee, I decided to call my parents to inform them that I was crashing at Max's. I searched for my phone and realized then that I left all my possessions in the hotel while running away. My face drained of any color I gained. I cannot face the same place or persons again. 

Alyssa frowned at my sudden change of emotion. 

"I le.. le.. left my purse, case and my phone in the hotel. I don't want to go back there," I stuttered badly to string my words.

"Then don't go. I will ask my friend to get your possessions from there." Alyssa comforted me with her smile. And I felt a relief that I did not need to face that place immediately. 

**********

I slept the whole night very badly, and every time I managed to get some sleep, I woke up with a start with some unwanted dreams. The night prolonged than necessary, and I waited for the dawn to break. I did not want to disturb Max and Alyssa as I already exhausted their hospitality.

Once I saw the morning rays of light crawling into the room, I jumped out of my bed. I took a long shower to relax both body and mind, and it helped me a little. I felt better by the time I entered the kitchen to have a cup of coffee. Caffeine is what I need most to have a fresh mind.  

I saw Alyssa and Max coming out of their room when I was about to finish my second cup. They joined me with their cups of morning refreshment. Neither of us was willing to move and had a lazy feel of a weekend. 

Alyssa was frowning at her phone, and suddenly she was all thumbs with it. Max bend to check with a puzzled face, and instantly I saw anger creeping out in his eyes. Both of them look up to saw me and gave me a smile that did not reach their eyes. Something was wrong.

"What is the matter, guys?" I asked in a worrisome voice. Was anything wrong?

"Nothing Lia. Do you want to do anything today? Or want to lazy out in the home?" Alyssa's voice showed that it was not nothing.

"I think we can lazy out today. But before that, Als, why don't you check with your friend if we can get Lia's items from Mandarin. I don't want it to get lost. And who knows if anyone tried to reach her." Max stressed to Alyssa, which had some underline meaning, and I saw Alyssa nod back. Something was wrong.

"Guy's cut it. I know something is not right. What is the matter?" 

Since neither answered, I snatched Alyssa's phone before either of them realized my action. It was a FB post with the title "Lucian Alastair's Secret Girl" with a picture of him and me. 

The floor started moving, and walls began closing me. And I felt into comfortable darkness.

.

.

.

I opened my eyes and to see Max's face with a worried expression. I groaned and closed my eyes again.

"Don't you dare pass out again, lady? You freaked the life out of me." 

I chuckled at Max shouting. Wait... He said about me fainting. Did I? Mainly, why did I? Then everything played in my mind like a fast-forward motion picture. I got up in a flick, all alert. 

That's why I saw the flash yesterday. I took Alyssa's phone and again checked the news. It was taken when Lucian Alastair tried to shield me from those cameras. But he was half-naked, and I was wearing his shirt. It looked as if he was hugging me rather than hiding me. Also, with his and my tousled hair, the picture showed a different story. To my horror, I believed it for a minute. What would others think about it?

Max immediately came to my side. "Lia, the picture didn't show your face. I checked almost all the social media. None is showing a picture with your face. So till now, it is only a mysterious girl." I thanked silently for hitting the main issue with no-nonsense talk. It made me relax a bit. 

"Where is Als?" I asked Max as I knew Alyssa was not a girl who leaves me alone at this time.

"Her friend has come to give your items that were from the Suite. We don't want anyone to identify you." What had I done to get such good friends?

I saw then Alyssa coming into the room with a worried expression. I felt a dead weight in my stomach seeing her face. I did not feel good about this.

"Lia.." Alyssa hesitated. Her body language told that she was not sure how to break the news.

"Say it, Als. I don't think I can get any more worst news, right?"

"My friend did not find your items in the Suite. Instead, she found this note." She gave me an envelope.

'Adelia Wentworth' I saw my name written in a neat scribble. Why were my hands shaking this bad? Inside was a single sheet of paper. 

Call - ###-###-####

This is definitely bad news. Me and my big mouth...