Aurora and Linda were at the club. Aurora had no interest in coming tonight, but Linda insisted since it was her birthday, and there was no saying no to her.
The music was so loud it was giving Aurora a headache. She pinched the bridge of her nose, wondering when all this was going to end so she could go back home already.
"Come on Aurora, let's go to the dance floor, it's my birthday, let's dance," Linda said excitedly. Bouncing on the tip of her toes.
"I'm okay here, why don't you go and enjoy yourself, I'll watch you," Aurora replied. Linda knew there was no use in forcing Aurora to join her on the dance floor, coming to the club was a feat in itself, so she went by herself.
Aurora had dressed in a simple knee-length peach-colored dress, nothing special, very conservative, which bordered on old-fashioned. But even with her simple attire and nothing on her face but moisturizer men were openly staring at her and admiring her beauty. Their scrutinizing and sometimes hungry gazes were making her feel uncomfortable, so she lowered her head to avoid them.
After a few minutes, someone touched her shoulder, ready to thwart their advance and rudely send them away, when she looked up and saw Niall. She didn't know if she should be glad or afraid that he was here.
"Hey, Aurora! I thought I was hallucinating when I saw you from the other side of the club. I'm glad that it really is you, though," he said joyously.
"It's Linda's birthday, and she wanted to come here," she replied curtly.
"Oh, I didn't know it was her birthday, I should have gotten her a gift," he said, acting surprised. But the truth was that he had already given her a very expensive cell phone as a gift a few days ago so they could keep in contact for his plan.
Linda had noticed Niall from the dance floor, so she decided to join them. She had dressed sexily for her birthday in the hopes of meeting somebody handsome at the club, and what do you know, here was the most handsome one of them all.
As she stood in front of Niall, she demurely tucked a strand of loose hair behind her ear as she smiled encouragingly at him.
"Linda! I heard today was your birthday. Let me make it special for you. The owner here knows me," Niall smiled.
"Thank you Niall, but that is not necessary...having you here is enough," Linda said shyly but her expression betrayed her words.
"Don't worry, the birthday girl deserves to be spoiled, and I am going to make today very memorable for you," he said as he called the manager to give him instructions.
In a matter of minutes, the manager managed to get the table decorated with flowers, tea lights, and chocolates. In the middle of the table was the biggest cake Linda had ever seen. This was the first time her birthday was celebrated in such a manner. At the orphanage, birthdays are considered just another regular day. They never had cake or gifts like people in regular homes did.
She was hesitant to come to the club because of what Niall asked her to do, but after seeing all the special treatment she was getting right now, she knew that she had made the right decision. He was lavishing her with treats already, and they were not even dating yet. So once they get together, he would surely treat her like a princess.
Aurora did not like Niall taking charge of Linda's birthday, this was not what they planned, but when she saw how happy her friend was, she decided to let her have her day. She did not feel like eating anything, but she let Linda order her some orange juice to parch her dry throat. With Niall around, she was not comfortable drinking anything alcoholic, she needed all her senses when he was around, who knew what else he had planned for tonight.
After a few minutes, she felt her head start to ache, and her sight blur, a little. It was probably just from the music and the smoke inside the club, she thought.
"Linda, I don't feel so well, I think we need to get home," Aurora said as she touched her forehead.
"What? We just got here. I think you're just not used to being in a club. Let's go to the washroom, once you freshen up I bet you will be okay," Linda said as she guided her away from the table.
Aurora felt dizzier when she got up and almost fell, but Linda held her up. She could not see where they were going, so she blindly followed where Linda led.
"I am so dizzy, this room is spinning... What is happening to me?" Aurora whimpered.
"It's okay Aurora, we're almost there, it's not that far," Linda spoke softly beside her ear, guiding her to the elevator. When they reached the designated floor, she was supposed to deliver Aurora to Room 405, just as Niall had instructed.
When Linda heard voices in the hallway, she got scared, not wanting to get caught, she placed Aurora's hands on the wall so she could use that to brace and guide herself to get to the room.
"Aurora, just keep following this wall, it'll lead you to the restroom. It's on your right. The door will be open, and I will wait for you downstairs when you're done," she said.
For a second, Linda felt bad for doing this to her only friend, they had a lot of history growing up together. Aurora had treated her like a sister and had done so much for her, but she had to think of her happiness too, and if she had to harden her heart and betray her friend to get Niall then she was going to do it.
" Linda? Linda?," Aurora reached around her, "Where is the restroom? The room is swaying… I can't see things clearly… Linda?" Aurora murmured looking for her friend. Linda hightailed it out of there and never looked back.
"Linda? Linda… Where are you?" she cried as she touched the wall behind her. She just wanted to lay down so she could feel better and make the room stop turning.
Linda said to follow the wall, and it would lead her to the restroom, so she did just that with what little strength she had and got into the room with the open door on the left. She rambled into the room, tripping and falling into the bed.
Her last thought before she closed her eyes was, "I finally got home, and now I can sleep."
Dimitri had come to dinner as Peter requested so he could check and sign all the documents. He was wary as Peter handed him a glass, "This is a special drink from my private collection, please take it so we can celebrate."
When Dimitri hesitated to take the glass Peter said, "What? You think I poisoned your drink? Don't be absurd. Here let me take a sip." And when nothing happened to Peter, Dimitri took a sip. It was very good wine, he had tasted this once before, but he could not put his finger on it.
Peter had signaled the waiter to bring out their food as they enjoyed their drinks. A few minutes after having some of the soup, Dimitri frowned and narrowed his eyes.
"Are you okay Mr. Santoris," Peter asked.
"Yeah, I am fine," Dimitri replied as he pulled the neckline of his suit. He wondered if they lowered the AC, or was the soup just too hot?
Peter smirked as he bowed and drank more of his soup. His plan was working, and in a few minutes, he will show Dimitri Santoris, who was smarter.