Kristal Anderson
Click
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My heels echoed through the long hall that Aiden had led me down. It was almost like the universe could sense my fear and was doing everything in its power to ensure that it prevailed ; the hallway was desolate.
After every two steps my head instinctively snapped back to make sure that the masked man was no where in sight, and surely enough I was met with the same sight of the dimly lit empty hallway.
Expensive looking panting lined the walls of the hallway but with my brain running on high alert and my feet doing their best imitation of a sprint they could muster in heels, taking the time to fully admire them became impossible.
Entering the bathroom- that for some reason stood at the very end of the long hallway- I nearly let out a sigh of relief when I saw a lady standing in front of sink reapplying her red lipstick. She was a fairly older woman with her salt and pepper hair up in an elegant up do, a few wrinkles on her face and a deep scowl on her face.
Realistic speaking, there wasn't much that this poor lady could do if the masked man were to walk in the room. But the fact that there'd be a witness of sorts made me feel a tiny bit better.
The self closing door clicked shut behind me, startling me and forcing to move deeper into the bathroom. The door shutting brought the woman's attention to me, meeting my eyes in the mirror.
My lips curved up into a tight smile and my hand lifted up into an awkward wave,"Hi," The nervousness in my voice made the situation even more awkward, and to make matters worst she made no effort to return the gesture. A short nod was all she did, a nod so short and small that I could have easily missed.
I walked over to stand beside her and reached towards the back of my head to undo my mask. To my dismay, almost in complete sync the lady slid her lipstick back in her bright yellow clutch and headed towards the door. Leaving me alone in the spacious and empty bathroom.
Fuck my life.
Now there would be no witnesses to tell my story if he were to walk through that door. With that thought-that made the hairs on the back of my neck rise- I peeled my mask off my face with shaky hands.
Surely enough, my cheap mascara had not been able to withstand the waterworks. Getting my makeup wipes out of my clutch, I began to wipe off all the places that badly smudged before reapplying everything that needed to be touched up.
I had never seen myself work with makeup so quickly, it felt like a ticking bomb was attached to me and I was forced to complete my makeup in record time. My eyes stayed glued to the door through the mirror the entire time but nothing happened and no one came.
The journey back through the hall and down the stairs was a lot less nerve wrecking. I felt a little lighter now that the delusional part of my brain had concrete evidence that I was mistaken and that my father couldn't have been the masked man.
As I descended the stairs, I took the opportunity to scope out the ball room from above, taking note of anyone looked suspicious. However, I was met with a room full of people who seemed too invested in their conversation to care for my existence.
That was enough to ease my mind.
I also managed to spot Aiden in the crowd and swiftly made my way toward him now that I was calmer and my thoughts were more coherent. I needed to ease his worries. My little break down probably made him think that I was insane. Which, though a little true, he didn't need to know that.
He was talking to a man. A man who stood at amount the same height as him but had a much slender build.
The closer I got, the details of his appearance became clearer. He back was towards me so I couldn't see any of his facial features but his back alone was enough to make my blood run cold.
The first thing I noticed was the trenchcoat that he were, identical to the man who had been watching us. Then my eyes moved to his hands that were behind his back, lazily holding the cheap looking white mask he had on.
My feet forced me to a halt at the sight.
I hadn't imagined the man after all. He was real and he was standing right in front of me talking to Aiden.
Now that I was just a few feet away from him, he looked nothing like my father, from the back at least. But then again, it had been over a decade since I'd last seen my father so things might have changed. My brain had done it's best to suppress and erase his image so details of his appearance were blurry.
I forced my attention back to the man in front of me. He was talking to Aiden, putting him in danger. And it was all because of me.
I needed to find a way to get him out, he needed to be far away from the man that I suspected to be my father. I couldn't allow him to get involved in this. My father was here because of me, he had nothing to do with it. I rummaged through my brain trying to find a way to safely get Aiden away from my father but I came up short.
I was standing directly behind the man so I was out of Aiden's line of sight, maybe I could to the side and try to signal my way into getting him to run as fast as he could in the opposite direction of this man.
But before I could even think about executing my poor excuse of a plan, the man turned.
My heart stopped.
Then started back when my eyes met his.
It wasn't him. It wasn't my father.
The relief that washed over me was unexplainable, it was otherworldly. All of the anxiety that had consumed every square inch of my body washed away with ease like it was never even there in the first place.
He was a middle aged man judging by the wrinkles that were beginning to form on his forehead, with tan skin and dark eyes that complimented his complexion. Unlike most men in the room, his hair was still dark and rich either due to genetics or hair dye, I couldn't really tell.
His gaze lingered on mine for a few seconds and there was something about his deep dark eyes that I couldn't quite put my finger on but it was something that left a sense of unease behind. He flashed me a grin displaying his nearly blinding veneers that sharply contrasted with his complexion.
A small nod was all he offered me before he brushed past me walking away, my eyes followed him through the crowd for a moment before I turned my attention towards Aiden who was also watching the man leave, a mixture of worry and confusion etched into his face.
I returned to my spot beside him, "Who was he?" I couldn't help but ask.
Aiden glanced in my direction before looking back in the direction of the man who was slowly disappearing in the crowd, "I don't know, he didn't say his name," He replied but his voice seemed distant like he was deep in thought. I looked up at him, puzzled, "He just told me that he was happy to see me and that I'd be hearing more from him soon," He added still looking ahead like he was searching for a missing piece in his mental puzzle. He blinked and shook his head slightly seeming to come back to his senses, his brown eyes found my hazel ones, "Are you okay? Are you feeling better?" He asked brushing aside his concerns for the mysterious man.
I smiled and nodded, "I'm fine," I told him confidently because now I actually meant it, "it was just my brain being silly,"
He looked a little more convinced, "Don't hesitate to tell me if you need to leave,"
"This is a work event, you can't just leave," I chuckled.
"Kris I could care less about being here, all you need to do is just say the words and we're out of here," His words came with so much conviction and warm feeling spread across my chest at his words.
Our gaze lingered for longer than it should have but before neither of us could say anything someone cleared their throat behind us, making us turn around in unison. An older couple stood before us, a pleasant smile on their face.
The night went on like that, us going around 'networking' as they call it. Aiden did most of the talking and with the free finger food and expensive champagne I was having, I was happy to tag along. Still, every few minutes he would turn to me and ask if I was okay and or apologize for how boring it must be for me. Time and time again I reassured him that I was fine before stuffing my face with food that I probably couldn't pronounce.
He moved through conversations like a pro, he knew just what to say to charm both the men and the women, it was hard to believe that this was his first ever ball. On many occasions, I found myself looking up at him in awe, mesmerized by how well he held himself, how well he communicated. . . his charming smile. . .his dimples. . .the way his Adams apple moved when he swallowed.
Keep it together Kris. I had to tell myself multiple times.
I leaned closer to him when the man who we had been talking to left, "I thought you didn't know any of this people," I couldn't help but ask my voice just above a whisper.
"I don't,"
"Then how do you know so much about them?" His arm had been around my waist the entire time tonight, though I knew that it was all for appearances because to the outside world we were just a normal happy couple.
"The list," He told me like it was obvious.
I looked up at him narrowing my eyes in suspicion, "But you said you hadn't memorized everything and we've practically spoken to everyone in the room,"
He chuckled, "I did, with the help of your narration,"
"That's a lie," I said with an eye roll, "I was horrible, stumbling over words, hell I don't even remember half of the things I said an hour ago,"
"What can I say, I have an elephant's memory darlin,"
"Or you're just a filthy liar and you had it all memorized and you just watched me make a fool out of myself bothering names for like half an hour,"
He grinned, flashing his gorgeous dimples for the world to see, "Just how cruel do you think I am, darlin?"
"Very," I teased, "you probably already knew all these people, from what I heard your father is Robert Vasilakis, and from what I know the elite begin to mingle pretty early on,"
Letting out a low laugh he replied, "Believe it or not, this whole thing is new to me,"
My eyes widen and my mouth moved faster than my brain could filter my words, "Oh my gosh you're adopted," The words spilled from my mouth.
"Close but not quite," He managed to get through a laugh, "my relationship with my father was always. . .rocky so for my sanity and his I stayed away from his business endeavors, until now,"
"What changed?"
He opened his mouth to respond but was swiftly interrupted, "Good evening ladies and gentlemen," A man spoke into the microphone, all the way in the front of the large ballroom was a stage on which the man stood. "I hope you're enjoying the night so far, we couldn't be more thankful for your presence here tonight. Before we proceed any further, I would like to take a moment to give special thanks to a few special guests," He glanced down at the paper in his hand for a brief moment before he spoke again, "Marco Koslov for generously donating thirty thousand dollars to our cause,"
The room erupted in applause, Marco raised his hand making his presence known and waved it around a crooked smile on his face.
When the applause died back down the man continued, "Logan Sheridan for generously donating forty-five thousand dollars to our cause," Logan followed suit making his presence known as the room praised him with applause. "And last but certainly not least, Aiden Vasilakis for generously donating a hundred thousand dollars to our cause,"
My eyes opened so wide I was surprised they hadn't popped out of their socket. What felt like a million pair of eyes turned in our direction making me look down instinctively, Aiden on the other hand was able to hold his ground holding his hand up in a wave as the room exploded with applause.
"We will forever be thankful for all of your donations. Now, moving on to the next part of our festivities, to your left you will see a double door that will lead you into the dining hall where you will find a buffet with an array of delicious, gourmet food for you to enjoy. Thank you and please enjoy the rest of night,"
Slowly we began to clear the ball room moving into the dining hall that was just as beautiful decorated. A big part of me was still trying to comprehend the amount of money being given out as donations, and how it was merely loose change to these businesspeople.
Our table for ten comprised of three couples and two men who had come on their own. The pretentious small talk going on at our table during dinner service mainly focused on work. I zoned out almost immediately, there was just something about listening to rich men desperately trying to one up each other that nearly made me lose my appetite.
However, my attention was swiftly brought back to the conversation when one of the men's wife asked us a question, "So how'd you two love birds meet?" A warm smile on her face.
Everyone's eyes at the table were now on us, my eyes widen at the long pause that has spread between us. Maybe he was waiting for me to answer so I did, "Neighbors-" "-College" We both said at the same time and just as the words left our mouths, our heads snapped in each other's direction both of our eyes wide in disbelief.
"We were neighbors in college," He corrected.
They seemed to have bought it because we managed to briskly move the conversation back away from us.
Dinner continued and I had managed to stuff myself with two plates of the delicious food being served, though my second plate garnered weird looks from the women at the table I didn't quite care. This was a once in a lifetime experience, when else would I be able to eat expensive, fancy, rich people food for free?
The phone that Aiden had placed on the table just a few minutes ago lit up bringing his attention to it. By now, everyone had finished their meal and was settling down with a drink of choice, a few had gotten up from their table to mingle with the other guests. Now that practically everyone had at least a little alcohol in their system, more laughter filled the room.
Bringing my attention back to the man sitting beside me, I watched as his eyes scanned whatever text he had just gotten and the color slowly draining from his face.
Something was terribly wrong.
What could it possibly be???ð§
Thanks for sticking around for yet another chapter my loves <3
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