5| Cheers Corner.

ROSALINDA.

Sofia’s dress was complicated, so I couldn’t help her pull it off on my own; I had to call Lily to help her out since she designed it.

She was standing in front of the small room when I stepped out. She must have understood that Sofia was not in the best of moods and waited for me to comfort her, hence why she stood outside and didn’t go in with us.

"Is she okay now?" Lily asked concernedly the second she saw me.

"Yes." I nodded slightly. "Her dress is still on. Can you help her pull it off?"

"Sure." She said as she hurried towards the door and pushed it open.

I strolled back to where I was seated and sat on the sofa while trying my very best not to glance at Antonio. A walking temptation.

The scene of what he did to me before Sofia and Lily walked out of that small room kept replaying in my head, and I wanted to know why he did that. Was he also attracted to me?

Before I could stop myself, I cleared my throat and asked. "Why did you sniff my neck the other time? You shouldn’t do that again."

He swung his head to the side, giving me his attention. "Why?"

"Its….inappropriate." It sounded more like a question.

His forehead creased. "If what I think you are thinking is what you are thinking, don’t. Don’t be delusional."

Right. I was overthinking things. Like he said the other time, he simply loved the scent of my perfume, which is why he inhaled it. Nothing more.

"What did you do to him?" I quickly asked in an attempt to change the subject and not look any more pathetic.

He raised a questioning brow. "Who?"

"The guy you pointed your gun at at the club"

"That’s none of your business." He said in a dismissive tone.

I knew I was supposed to keep quiet, but I pressed on anyway. "I know it’s not. I just want to know. Did you kill him? Did you—"

"You should be grateful I didn’t tell your father that I saw you at the club." He cut me off.

I rolled my eyes. Did he want to use that to blackmail me?

"And I promise you, Rosalinda, if I should ever see you sneak out again, I would take you to your father myself." He continued with a firm tone.

I opened my mouth to respond, but my words died on my lips when Sofia and Lily sauntered out of the dressing room with the dress curled up in Lily’s hands.

As Sofia approached us, her phone began to ring, and she lifted it up to see who the caller was.

Hoisting her head up, she flicked her gaze at me. "Rosa, can you take care of the rest, please? Mamma is calling; I should get it. I would be waiting outside."

I nodded in response before she started taking long strides towards the exit as she picked up the call and placed it on her ear.

The caller was Oliver, not Mamma. That I was sure of.

Lily led us to where the payment would be made and went her way afterwards.

While I waited for Antonio to conclude the purchase, a chubby, bald guy approached me with a big grin on his face. I knew in an instant that I was about to get annoyed.

"Hi, I am Liam." He said as he extended his hand forward for a handshake.

I stared at his hand for a few seconds as I debated whether to take it or not. I chose the latter.

"Oh, come on, beautiful." He retreated his hand, then took it to the bridge of his nose and pinched it. "Your beauty caught my attention, and I decided to come say hello. Maybe, perhaps..." He trailed off as he flicked his gaze to my boobs before proceeding to peek at my ass.

Disgusting!

"We could get acquainted with each other. You know what I mean." He continued.

"Fuck off." My irritation was palpable in the way I groaned.

"Why don’t you let me fuck you instead?" He retorted, rubbing his filthy hands together as he licked his lips in a manner that disgusted me.

Sighing in annoyance, I turned to see Antonio approaching us with a scowl masking his features.

I didn’t know how or why I got the idea to spite him, but—

I swiftly returned my gaze to the disgusting human. "If I allowed you to fuck me, would you make me your wife?"

"Of course." A wide grin tugged his lips apart, thinking he had triumphed. Fool. "I would make you my wife and live happily ever after with you."

He tugged his phone out of his pocket and held it out. "Let me have your contact."

Antonio was standing in front of us now.

Without saying a word, he took the phone from the man’s grasp and slid it back into his pocket.

"Get lost." He muttered; his voice was low and dark.

"Who are you?" The disgusting man challenged him as he pulled his phone back out and held it out, refusing to relent.

Antonio lifted his shirt slightly, showing him a glimpse of the gun that was strapped to his pants. "Leave. While I am still asking nicely."

The man gasped in fear, and without further hesitation, he turned on his heels and walked out of there as fast as he could.

"Are you always a bully?" I scoffed and rolled my eyes. "You just chased a potential suitor away."

"We both know you can’t marry him. So, shut up." He groaned, his voice holding authority, which I refused to bow to.

"I refuse, you asshole." I countered, and from the look in his eyes, I knew I had ignited rage in him.

He reached for my neck, and as if I knew he was going to do that, I instinctively bent sideways, dodging him.

"Not again." I smirked wickedly.

He shook his head lightly, and I didn’t miss the irritated look that saturated his face before he started plodding towards the exit.

Is it weird to say that I found joy in annoying him?

…

Sofia and I spent the rest of the day waiting for our plans tonight. As nightfall descended, I helped Sofia escape from the confines of the mansion, as promised.

I knew how risky what we were doing was, and I should have changed my mind after Antonio’s warning earlier today, but a promise is a promise, and I needed to fulfill it.

We met Oliver at Cheers Corner, a pub that we carefully selected for them to meet since it was far away from home.

After exchanging pleasantries with Oliver, I warned Sofia to make it snappy so that we could return home before anyone noticed our absence.

I stepped outside the pub afterwards to wait for them and to also stand guard in case anyone we knew showed up.

After a while, a chill began to settle in the air, causing me to shiver involuntarily.

Instinctively, I embraced myself, crossing my arms tightly in an effort to retain warmth as I continued scanning my surroundings vigilantly like a street drug dealer watching out for the police.

I was lost in thought and nervousness when I suddenly felt a hand on my butt, causing me to flinch. I quickly turned to look at the person who dared to touch me, and a middle-aged man with a potbelly came into view. He was drunk.

"Pretty girl." He slurred, and I quickly held my nose with my hand as a pungent smell hit my nose.

The smell was a nauseating blend of alcohol and foul breath.

"I want to take you home tonight; how much would you like to get paid?"

"Fuck off." I groaned as I started walking away from him, but he grabbed my hand before I could inch far and pulled me back.

I tried to snatch my hand away from his grip, but I couldn’t. He was way stronger than me.

"Come with me, baby." He grinned, and I had never felt more disgusted in my life. I didn’t know if his calling me baby was what disgusted me the most or his bad breath. All I knew was that I needed to get away from him before I puked my lungs out.

"Let me go." I screamed, but he didn’t comply.

With the disgusting grin still on his face, he started dragging me with him, and a pang of fear crawled up my spine as I tried to free myself from his grip, but to no avail.

Suddenly, someone yanked his hand away from mine, and I let out a sigh. I leaned forward, resting both hands on my knees as I tried to catch my breath. That was a terrifying experience.

Slowly, I hoisted my head to see who my savior was, and the relief I felt was quickly replaced with fear.

Oh, no. I would have preferred to deal with the disgusting guy rather than this.

"I thought I warned you about sneaking out?" He inched closer to me and leveled my gaze with those dark but alluring eyes of his.

"I—I—" Words failed me. I couldn’t think of anything to say.

Grabbing my hand, he started dragging me towards the entrance of the pub.

"Take me to them." He groaned, and an immense fear clawed at my chest. "Where are they? Sofia and her so-called boyfriend.”

How did Antonio know about it? I panicked. At that moment, I wished the ground could just open up and swallow me because I, Sofia, and Oliver were in deep shit.