After she had completed her classes, Alisha was picked up by the chauffeur, she did not say anything and only nodded as she stepped into the Maserati. She expected that he would immediately take her home, instead he drove in the opposite direction.
Alisha had not looked outside for a few minutes, as she was distracted by her phone, but she noticed that the turns felt wrong she looked outside and realised what had happened. She turned to Mr Thompson, her driver, and asked "Mr Thompson, where did father tell you to take me?".
"Ma'am, I'm sorry. I can't disobey the big man. We're goin' to Lecour Boutique, I assume to get you looking flashy, and then we're headin' to La Delta. Blind date, eh, good fer ya, maybe he'll be a good man." He quipped and grinned at her through the reflection of the driving mirror in the car. He was a jolly old man, but he was fiercely loyal to her father. She knew there was no escape from the car or boutique. She would have to escape from La Delta, or else fate wouldn't be undone as quickly as it should.
"Mr Thompson, please, please just this once. I will owe you forever but please, can I skip this blind date. I've never disobeyed him before and I never will again, but if I attend this date everything I have worked for, everything I've lived for, all of it will be gone." Of course, she couldn't say any of that. Instead, she sat in the car, waiting for an opportunity to escape.
Upon reaching the boutique, Alisha noticed the tight security and rush of maids, only a blind person wouldn't notice them. Her 'no' had truly irked her father, how bothersome, she thought. As per usual, she rolled her eyes as she waltzed in, the hoards of people following her as if she were a serial killer requiring the police to escort her from vehicle to vehicle.
Inside she was immediately bathed, waxed (unnecessarily) and moisturised. Then came the many dresses. She needed something she could easily escape in, and she truthfully looked good regardless of what she wore. She chose a white jumpsuit, with pants that gave space around her ankles, they clinched in at her waste and were spacious enough for her to do yoga in. The top part of the piece was also simple, two thick straps held it up, it had a deep v-line that showed some of her cleavage and made her pale skin look like it had some life.
Her make up was light, just some mascara, blush and nude eye-shadow to make her features stand out. She was quite used to being stuffed and made-over in a random rich boutique, so she went along with whatever they did. They put a silver choker on her neck with a necklace that hung off it that was simply a diamond. A thin, delicate bracelet on her right hand that glimmered when light shone on it and a white handbag to place her things in. Her books were delivered home with her laptop. Her shoes were also white.
The white theme looked chic and fashionable, sticking to a colour was very 'in' nowadays, and Alisha's beauty certainly complimented the outfit. Her black waves and doe eyes staring back at her, her perfect red lips, pursed. Beauty can be a burden too.
She was, once again, escorted to a car, a limousine this time for a high-end restaurant like La Delta only served a certain tier of people. There was a strict dress code and transportation limit from which a person could enter. So, as Alisha sashayed into the restaurant, all she thought of was how to escape. In the car, Mr Thompson had already told her what table to sit at. But she had already known, for every year, Bryan had booked the same table, on this day, to have dinner and enjoy the night. In fact, two years before her death, she had told Bryan at this very table she was three months pregnant.
Once inside the restaurant, she decided to walk to the ladies room, hoping to find a window to escape. Alas, there was no real window, only small sections dedicated to ventilation. They weren't big enough for her to escape. So, she decided to see if Mr Thompson had left, she peered outside from the entrance, and he had not. She deduced that he would be staying for the night, how troublesome!
What should I do? she wondered, Why did Bryan fall in love with me in the first place? Which was a good question, he wasn't vain enough to fall for her beauty, he wasn't naive enough to fall for her 'wonderful personality', what had she done last time? She tried hard to remember what had triggered his insanity.
Last time, she had assumed he was George, asked him about his father and mother, and they had eaten the same meal, and said the same thing to the waiter. She found it funny too, and decided that if she had to get married to someone, she wouldn't mind if it were this man. She didn't recognise him, because she had only met George once when she was young. But she knew before the end of the night that he wasn't George, he wasn't the man her father intended for her to marry.
Perhaps meeting George would change things, but she knew that George was the man for her sister. The man who loved her and cherished her, but met her too late. If he met her now, as Alisha had arranged, their love would make them the ideal couple. Two people that complete each other without having to be total opposites, they were similar but different, they would be best friends.
But they both were married when they met, so friends was all they could be. Before she had died, Eliza had told Alisha that if we were to do it all again, she would find George and bag him before he could marry someone else or she could. She had married another man, his name was Leo, someone who could only be describes as: Absolute Trash. If there was enough time in the world, Alisha would make a list of everything she hated about Leo, she hated him more than she hated Bryan, and Bryan freaking murdered her.
But that was simply Alisha's over-caring character, she had been brought up told that she had to care for others and that she did not matter as much as those 'better' than herself. Her step-brother on her mother's side was someone she had to 'serve', Diana had warned her from the second she stepped into the mansion belonging to her father that she was to always do what Eliza ordered, always be worse than Eliza and that everything, absolutely everything belonged to only Eliza.
After her rebirth, Alisha made a pact with herself, this time she wouldn't be the doormat she was, this time she would put on her fighting boots and stand up for herself. Yes, she was lazy, but that no longer would be her excuse, it was quite fulfilling to stand up for herself, even fun. The reactions she received were generally priceless, and she never got tired of a good reaction.
Perhaps she had always lost herself in that sense, she didn't have a sense of identity before she died, even if it was out of her hands, she didn't before she met Bryan too. Most people can answer 'Who am I?' before they are twelve years old, but some, who have been emotionally, psychologically and mentally harmed, it was almost impossible to answer that question. This identity crisis had never tormented Alisha, because she was content living the way she did, until she was shot in the head by her dog of a husband.
Leo was someone who went against everything Alisha stood for, and anything any sane human being stands for. He was abusive, greedy, selfish, lazy and someone who blamed everyone for his own problems. He was simply delusional. And he took out his anger on his successful wife, torturing her whenever he had the chance. Why did Eliza marry trash like Leo? Bryan arranged it, he was 'friends' with Leo and Eliza somehow slept with him one night. They were married since the press was called to her room, and father was furious upon finding out. Thus, she was tied to the terrible man for the rest of her life, turning it into a true misery.
In this life, she would make sure all the people she loved would be protected from Bryan, his influence over her life had to be diminished if she wanted to live peacefully. So, she went to the designated table and saw Bryan, who was twenty-one years old at this time. He was quite handsome, even if he was evil to the bone, his looks and charisma made most women swoon and fall for him quickly.
Alisha was never sure if she loved him, he was her husband, a man she had given all her firsts to. She was told she loved him, and that he was the only one for her, and his betrayal had truly hurt her heart. But that was the only aspect of his wrongdoings she could bring herself to forgive, for she had enjoyed the good times, and he was a good husband when he wasn't sleeping around and killing the people she loved. It was confusing, how she had once felt about Bryan, but she knew that after learning about all he had done, she could never feel that way about him again.
He smiled at her, and nodded and sat opposite him. She felt goosebumps rise on her skin as he looked at her, his golden eyes seemed to be tearing off her clothes. How disgusting, she thought as she raised her eyebrows at him. His eyes were glancing at her cleavage and collarbones, making her want to change into a dress worn by a nun. She 'ahem'-ed at him and he looked up again, a slight blush on his cheeks.
"Nice to meet you Miss Richards." He stated, bored, as if he'd rather be talking to a rock. Alisha smirked, he spoke the same words last time too, she knew she hadn't quite won his love yet as his first impression of her had not been created. What kind of woman did he like? One that didn't seem too infatuated with his looks, one that needed to be conquered.
She began blinking more, twirling her hair and smiling, even if she felt like a clown doing so. "Nice to meet you too, Bryan." She intimately said while swirling the glass on wine that had been prepared. Her red lips slightly bitten by her upper teeth, she blinked twice looking at him, looked down, for a second and then looked up again.
Bryan was used to these tricks, and lost interest in her quickly, though he was slightly surprised that she knew his identity. "How do you know my name? I was told you didn't know who George was." He inquired.
"How curious of you. Well, there are only a few men that can marry the daughters of James Richards! You, the heir of DSN, and George the successor of the old man, Andrew. Of course there are others too, I need to keep track of potential marriage partners. Though, I am not interested in marriage, not with you or George. Is there anything you'd like to ask?"
Bryan's lips curved into a crescent as he was suddenly fascinated by the woman in front of him, suddenly he could read her better. What most people, including Alisha, didn't know about him was that he could spot a liar easily, he had studied human psychology to the point that he could teach it. She was not lying, but she wasn't interested in him either, earlier she was simply putting on an act. It seemed that now that Alisha thought he wasn't interested, she had opened her guard slightly.
Her feet were pointing to the door and her hand bag was also on that side of the room. She had placed it close to herself indicating that she wasn't comfortable around him, which was unusual for someone attracted to him. Her hand was placed on her hand bag and she kept looking outside. She didn't even want to be here. All of these cues indicated to her want to leave and her lack of interest in him.
"Alisha, can I call you that?" she nodded, he continued, "I find you interesting. Why did you come tonight?"
"It's a blind date, why do you think I came?" She retorted.
"No, you don't want to be here. You... you don't like me, do you?"
Shock filled Alisha, she felt her palms dampening and her heart quicken. She realised that she had let down her guard and quickly tried to cover up with a seductive smile. "Of course I like you, I just wanted your attention."
But Bryan did not believe her.