Chapter 5

ELENA'S POINT OF VIEW

King Ryder Asshole.

That should be his name. How dare he drag me to the police station even after I declared my innocence severally? I even cried. I grabbed a wineglass from the top shelf and poured myself a drink.

"Here's my favorite woman in the entire world." A cheery voice said from behind me.

"Not now, Quinn."

I turned to look at my best friend. Blonde hair, blue eyes, very annoying and hot. She was always there for me. Well, except for earlier today.

"Why? What's wrong?" She snatched the glass from me and took a sip of my white wine.

I grabbed another glass and poured myself another drink. "I crashed into someone's car today."

Her eyes instantly went wide with fear and worry. "What? When? Were you hurt?"

I took a sip of the wine. "No, but the person called the cops and I was arrested."

"Who the hell is that?" Quinn asked, anger very noticeable in her tone and posture. 

"King Ryder Smith." I answered, going to stand beside her. "He's a jerk." When she said nothing, I bent forward to look at her bewildered face. "What's with the look?"

"Hold on." She placed the glass on the island. "You mean to tell me that you crashed into King Ryder Smith of Ordene? Like, of this country?"

"Yeah, why?" I eyed her weirdly.

"Didn't you hear the title? King?" She put more emphasis on the 'king.' "He owns this entire country. How did it happen?"

"My car's brake failed and I crashed into his. The psychopath's friend called the cops on me."

"Theo?"

I nodded. "How do you know him?"

"He goes everywhere with the king. Did you know they murdered the king's bride last week? She was killed on their wedding day and he's been trying to find the attacker. It's been on the news for days. Heck, he is willing to pay half a million dollars to anyone who can give him valuable information as to where to find his wife's murderer. I pity him." She heaved a sigh and took a sip from her glass.

His bride was murdered?

Wait... did he think I had something to do with whoever killed her? Was that why he went as far as arresting me?

"What was her name?"

"Whose name?" She placed her glass down, giving me her full attention.

"King Ryder's bride? Her name."

Her mouth formed an 'O' shape. "Isabella Sanchez. She and the king had been together for four years."

"That's a long time." I mumbled.

Quinn raised a brow at me. "What was that?"

I shook my head. "It's nothing. Don't worry about it."

Maybe I was a little mean after they released me. He was just trying to be careful. If there was anyone who deserved to be blamed, it would be that Theo guy. He called the cops on me and was a mean jerk. The Ryder guy was probably having a hard time adjusting. Losing her must have been heart-wrenching.

"Hey, Quinn."

"Sup." she answered after emptying her glass.

"Is it possible to meet the King? I'd like to speak to him."

There was a long silence.

"Why are you quiet? This Ryder guy isn't a bad person, is he?" She still kept quiet. "Come on." I held her arm and gently shook her. "You've been here longer than I have. Is he a bad person?"

"No." she replied. "King Ryder, as far as I know, is a loving person. I was very surprised when you said he called the cops on you. He isn't one to do that. Everything that happened is making him overthink things."

"That's good. We'll go see him tomorrow then."

She got up and began walking out of the kitchen and to the living room.

"Quinn?"

She didn't answer until she had made herself comfortable on the sofa. "I don't think it's a good idea."

I sat across from her and crossed one leg over the other. It was a position I found to be very sexy and comfortable.

"Why not?"

She clasped both hands. "I don't know, girl. I just don't like the idea."

"Fine, I won't go." I got up from the couch to go to my room. "I'm going to bed. Goodnight."

"Night. Sleep well."

I'll try.

I opened the door and let myself into the room. It was an average-sized, square bedroom with coordinating metal and plastic furniture. The floor was tiled and the walls were painted with a paneled dado. The wall lamps were the source of light in.

I did the room in colors that reminded one of a beautiful sunset and overall had a quirky look. If anyone walked into my room, the first thing they would notice was a portrait of me. My brother had drawn it for me as a birthday gift before leaving New Jersey. I lived there until I got into trouble with some powerful people. Thankfully, they hadn't found me.

I stripped out of the light blue dress I had on and made my way to the bathroom. My body hurt and I couldn't help but feel the need to wash off the hands of the officers who had touched me today. Damn, they touched my precious hair. That stupid Theo.

After the soothing shower, I changed into my pajamas and tied my hair in a messy bun. I hated my hair touching me while I slept. Very uncomfortable. I sat on the bed and picked up my phone from the nightstand when it began ringing. It was a number I didn't know.

"Hello?"

"Andrea Garner?"

Fuck.

I swallowed thickly before speaking. "This is not Andrea. Who is this?"

There was laughter on the other end of the line. The sound of a chair scraping on the floor had me cringing in disgust. It sounded like nails on a chalkboard. Top ten most uncomfortable things to hear. The first was Andrea Garner.

"Don't play dumb with me, darling. I know who you are. So, how is life in Ordene?"

I quickly hung up and switched off my cellphone. How did they find me? I was a nervous wreck. They couldn't find me. I worked so hard to become Elena Greene. I would never go back to being Andrea Garner. Andrea was dead and would never return.

"I am Elena." I chanted, trying to calm my palpitating heart. How come? No, no, they could never find me.

I went into the bathroom and washed my face, hoping it would ease the nervous feeling in the pit of my stomach. How was my past coming to haunt me now? I thought it would finally be over once I left New Jersey.

"Elena?" Quinn called from outside the room. Knowing her, she would soon walk into the room. "Elena?" Like I had predicted, she let herself into the room.

I trudged toward her with a strained smile. "Yes? What is it?"

"Someone's been calling the telephone. Do you know any Andrea Garner?"

My legs gave out on me and I collapsed to the ground. Quinn was quick to help me get up.

"Hey, are you okay?" She asked, looking at me worriedly. "Do you need to see a doctor?"

I shook my head. "Just bad cramps. I'll be fine."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes." I breathed. "I'm sure."

After she made sure I was fine, she picked up the gauntlet. "The call." She began and paused. "What do I tell the caller? The person keeps insisting on speaking to Andrea."

God, please don't let Quinn find anything out. I'll pray more, I'll go to church and stop cussing at people. I'll do anything.

"The person is definitely a lunatic. Why wouldn't they get that no Andrea resides here?" I avoided her eyes. "How stupid."

"I know, right?"

I hummed a response and held my lower abdomen like I was in pain.

"Alright, I'll let you get some rest. Call me if it gets too unbearable."

"I will."

She turned off the light before leaving the room. I had to do something, and fast.

<<<>>>

I couldn't sleep at all. Memories of everything that happened in New Jersey kept coming back and it haunted me. They were nightmares I never wanted to remember, but the caller had brought them back.

"You're not eating, Elena." Quinn pointed at my full plate. "I woke up earlier than usual to prepare breakfast for you, woman. You had better eat or I'm going to get offended."

I mustered a smile for her. "No need to get upset." I stabbed a sausage and took a bite. "See? I'm eating."

"Keep eating." She smiled back, "I don't want you fainting when your body can't take the starvation."

"Yes, mother." I teased, earning a chuckle from her.

I wanted things to be like this. Even though my identity was fake, I was happy as Elena Greene. Elena had friends, a stable job, and a home. Andrea was a lonely, homeless, and a worthless girl. She used her body to make money. Heck, she even got her hand greased with illegal money and hung out with the wrong crowd just to make a living. Trash.... Andrea was trash.

Sometimes, thinking about my life in New Jersey made me cry. If my brother ever found out I did so many terrible things, he would cut ties with me and tell me how much of a pathetic person I was. Since I left New Jersey, I hadn't heard from him because I had changed my number.

I didn't need a reminder of how much of a miserable person I was.

"You're not going to push through with your plans to see King Ryder, right?" She placed her fork down, her expression becoming one of seriousness.

"Honestly, I don't know. He himself had said he would like to make it up to me after everything so if he calls me or somehow gets to me, I won't say no. He owes me a very sincere apology and I must get it."

"Elena." She massaged her temple, shutting her eyes. "Let it go, will you?"

"I have." I lied. "What I'm saying is that if for some reason, he gets in contact with me, I'm going to speak to him. I don't know why you don't want me to talk to him. It's not like he's your ex-boyfriend, or is he?" She looked at me incredulously and I shrugged. "What? I mean, it's the only thing my brain can come up with."

"Then your brain is doing a very terrible job." She got up from the dining and picked up her plate. "I'm just trying to avoid certain things. I don t want you getting involved in his life because from what I heard-"

"Rumors." I groaned, sinking into my chair. "Rumors are carried by haters and believed by fools."

"Yeah, yeah. Call me a fool, I don't care. I heard the reason they killed Isabella was because of him." She turned her back to me as she began doing the dishes. "What if the attacker mistakes you for someone he is interested in and comes after you? What will you do then?"

At this, I laughed uproariously.

She turned around and placed both hands on her waist, staring at me with her eyebrows drawn close to each other. She wasn't pleased. "Are you seriously laughing when I am saying something important?"

"Of course not, Quinn." I struggled to keep a serious demeanor. "I'm laughing because that's just bogus. Why on earth would anyone mistake me for the King's love interest?"

"You're beautiful, smart..." She paused. "What other thing do people state at times like this?" She tilted her head to the side. "I swear I was just about to say something inspiring and cool."

"I get your point." I told her, but she wasn't having it.

"No, you don't."

"I really do." I assured her. "Even though it's a little unreasonable, I understand that you're looking out for me and I appreciate it. But I just want you to know that in the future, I will still speak to King Ryder if he ever approaches me."

"Elena!"

Yes, this was the life I needed.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Hello! How are you enjoying the story so far? Boo or yay? Please comment.