Chapter 4 -Dressed to kill?

“I’m sorry, I startled you”, Alex said,” I’m Alex, Damian’s friend”, he said putting out his palm for a handshake.” I don’t know my name, yet “, Bianca said, putting her palm on his gently.” I heard from Damian, you lost your memories”, Alex said,” I can’t believe it sometimes, it feels like I never even existed until now and it’s frustrating sometimes “, Bianca replied removing her palm from Alex’s hand to express her emotions. Alex felt empty when she withdrew her palm and he was surprised he craved the warmness.” Take my jacket, it’ll keep you warm, you’re shivering “, Alex said as he removed his jacket and handed it to her.”You’ll be safe here with Damian at least, you don’t have to worry yourself “Alex said urging her to follow him as they headed to the entrance of the villa.” You’ll come and visit me some time too right?”, Bianca asked, happy she had found someone to voice her feelings to.” Yh, I will I’ll probably be here tomorrow cause Damian’s hosting a party”, Alex replied. Damian wondered what Alex and this freaky girl were talking about, as he stared down at them from the window of his penthouse.” She can do whatever she wants lol, at least she’s not invading my privacy “, Damian said as he lay down on his bed. His thoughts wandered to earlier when he had shouted at her in the garden,” Was I being too harsh?” he asked himself and then dissolved the thought and closed his eyes to sleep.”Why do I keep seeing her face? I can’t even sleep properly, Damian said sitting up after some minutes. His several attempts at falling asleep had been futile. Damian Rivers was a whole lot of things, but he was not a bully. He stood up, wore his robe, and headed to Bianca’s room.” It’s Damian “, Damian said as he knocked on Bianca’s door awaiting her reply. Bianca wondered why Damian had come to her room as she made her way to the door in her wet clothes.” U-umm, so I’m throwing a party here tomorrow, I’ll send you everything you need, just try your best to blend into the crowd and avoid unnecessary attention “, Damian blurted, wondering why he had become confused and said something else at the sight of her .” I’m sorry about the rose and the incident earlier this morning “, Bianca said before Damian got another chance to apologize .” It’s fine”, Damian muttered, trying his best not to look below her face. He smiled faintly at her before turning around to go back to his room. ”oh my gosh!”Bianca gasped aloud as she felt weak in her knees. A single smile from Damian Rivers was enough to melt solid to liquid in her opinion.” Put it over there” bring the golden ones out!” Don’t just stand over there, get moving!”Bianca woke up to orders being called out and she heard numerous footsteps and sounds shuffling downstairs. She remembered Alex and Damian, had talked about a party, but she didn’t expect it would be this luxurious as she looked at the table setting beneath her from the window. Her thoughts were interrupted by a knock on the door and she moved to answer it.” The young master sent these for you “, a housekeeper said as she entered the room holding gowns, followed by two other housekeepers holding accessories and shoes.” I love this fabric, but something is missing in this look”, Bianca said as she trailed her fingertips along a burgundy silk gown.” Please, get me some pins, needles, thread, and some makeup”, she said to one of the housekeepers .” Help me with rollers and a hair straightener “, she said to another housekeeper wondering where she had learned to give instructions like that.” Please come here”, she said to the last housekeeper and picked up the burgundy dress and placed it on her body, improvising with her instead of a mannequin. Bianca felt alive as she got to work slashing, cutting, and stitching the dress to her taste.” Pass me the rhinestone necklace, if you don’t mind”, she said to one of the housekeepers watching her with keen interest. Bianca transformed the mediocre silk burgundy dress, into something unforgettable .” Perfect “, she exclaimed in French as she giggled aloud and the housekeepers joined her.

”Where is Mr.Rivers’?”Bianca asked one of the housekeepers.” He’s in his room”, she replied pointing at the door at the far end.” Thank you “, Bianca muttered as she made her way to his room to thank him for the dress and everything. She knocked softly, bracing herself to speak up when she saw him, without feeling butterflies in her tummy. She pressed her ear to the door and noticed it had not been shut.” Damian, let me lock the door, someone might see us you know “, a red-haired woman said before placing a kiss on Damian’s chin and moving towards the door to lock it.” Who’s there?”, Damian asked as the door creaked. Bianca fled back to her room, feeling a sort of pain she had never known before.” It was a brown-haired housekeeper dressed in some funny clothes, she sped off before I could even scold her”, the redhead said to Damian caressing his face with the fingertips of her artificial nails.” She’s not a housekeeper, Nora, and I’m not in the mood for this anymore “, Damian yelled before ordering her to leave the room.”Ughhh!”Damian grunted in frustration, wondering why he was so bothered some freakish girl had seen him with another woman. He pushed the thought away and went downstairs to supervise the preparations for the party.” Why am I so angry, it’s not like he owes me anything “, Bianca muttered to herself. She heard the sounds of people trooping into the villa and realized she still had a party to attend. Bianca stood up and decided to take a bath, hoping that would stop tears from rolling down her cheeks.

”Where is the young woman Damian brought home?”Alex asked one of the housekeepers, before removing his party mask for recognition. He made his way up the stairs and headed to Bianca’s room.” It’s Alex”, Alex said after rapping his knuckles on the door.” I’m coming “, Bianca said finally zipping up the dress after many failed attempts. Alex could not believe his eyes,” You look beautiful “, he said to Bianca who was busy smoothing down her dress with her gloved hands.” Thank you “, she said flashing him a smile.”Would you like to accompany me to the party? that’s if you don’t mind” Alex asked.” Sure”, Bianca replied gratefully she had a way of distracting herself from thinking about Damian.” Where’s your mask?”, Alex asked.” No one said anything about a mask “, Bianca replied as she peered downstairs to see all the guests wearing a mask over their eyes.” It’s a masquerade themed party to celebrate a recent contract we completed”, Alex explained to her. Bianca’s demeanor changed to a disappointed one.”You know what, take mine, I’m one of the organizers, it won’t be a big deal and besides no one knows you here, you need the mask more than I do to avoid questions “Alex said convincing her to collect the mask from him.” Shall we?”, Alex asked putting his left hands akimbo. Bianca nodded her head in affirmation and moved forward, linking her right hand into his reluctantly. For some reason, she was not scared but felt very confident as she made her way down the stairs.

” Thank you “, Damian said taking a bow after concluding his welcome speech. He moved away from the bottom of the stairs and was soon surrounded by numerous ladies.” Thank you for making it Mrs.Wembley “, Damian said to Elizabeth and moved on to yet another guest. Damian looked around the hall wondering where the freaky girl was, and he felt a pang of guilt wondering if what she saw earlier had contributed to the reasons for her absence, he was soon distracted from his thoughts ”Who is that beside Alex Jones?”Damian heard a woman ask aloud. Damian followed the direction of the woman’s eyes and looked up the stairs. He saw what had captured everyone’s attention in the room. There beside Alex, stood a lady clad in burgundy silk, a simple black mask on her eyes. Damian wondered who had intrigued Alex so much, that he even let her accompany him to a party. Damian froze as he recognized the light brown eyes behind the mask,” Freak?” he said in a whisper.