Adeline was back into normal clothes, finally out of her wedding dress which she adored the most before buying it. She liked the dress at first glance and didn't care how many dollars she has to spend buying it.
She was getting married and all she wanted for her wedding was to be always remembered as the best day of her life being the most beautiful bride in her nation.
But it was all ruined in some parts but not fully. Her dream of wearing the dress and looking beautiful was fulfilled. Also, her dream of walking on the aisle was fulfilled too, but weirdly. Instead of walking with her partner to get married, she ran alone on the aisle to not get married.
Thinking of the part where she ran out in her wedding dress made her chuckle at her foolishness. "What an awful day to remember," she glared at herself in the mirror as she grunted. "You wanted to remember this day in your life, right? see, you will forever keep this day in your mind, Adeline."
Adeline talked to herself seeing her reflection in the mirror. She was disappointed in herself for the first time in her life for the decisions that she made without thinking.
But deep inside her heart, she wanted to cry but she couldn't do or it will make her weak. Adeline might be fragile with heart but she shows the world that no one is stronger than her. At the end of the day, she fakes herself to the world in some or other ways and no one cares to see her real side.
"Was getting married and having a loving husband is a big dream that it didn't fulfil Adeline?" she questioned herself.
There wasn't anyone in her restroom but Adeline alone, standing before the mirror and talking to herself as if she is talking to the other side of her personality.
However, she was late to leave for her meeting with Augustus which is in an hour and the address that Augustus mentioned is far away from the city.
"Better tell you, heart, to not skip a beat for any boy who approaches being a sweet guy" she sighed as she turned a little to see the fitting of her blazer and trousers before deciding which pair of heels to wear on her elegant look.
"Adeline?" Ellen suddenly started to knock on the door. "Are you ready?"
"Yeah, five minutes," Adeline answered politely.
"Babe, there is a problem. can you please open the door? I need to explain it quickly" she sounded to be in hurry.
Adeline walked to the door numbly as if she is left with no energy in her, she looked energetically bored at the moment.
"What is it?" Adeline inquired as she yawned while snapping fingers before her mouth.
"You need to leave the building quick from the backside. the car is ready for you and this is the key" Ellen hurriedly made Adeline hold the keys. "you have to drive to the address alone, sorry I can't come with you right now, Adeline, the reporters need some answers to your scandal and I need to look after that before they attack you"
"wait, are you saying me to run from them? why should I? I haven't done any wrong!" Adeline grumbled, her eyebrows meeting together making a straight line in confusion.
"no babe, this won't be you running from them. It's just about you protecting yourself from the attackers who won't leave a chance behind to defame you more" Ellen explained, her facial expressions flowing out with concern for Adeline.
"But, it will get darker until I have to come back to the city. how can I drive alone on a silent street like that in dark?" Adeline complained. She was never given the car ride alone in the dark.
"Adeline, the challenges won't leave you right now. Please you have to work harder for getting your career back which Mr Dumas can give you. Until now, four of our upcoming projects have got terminated within a day, followed by the two recent ones that you almost forgot to quit. If you lose Mr Dumas then you have to forever see yourself in that dark street, so better hurry rather than standing here whining about things"
"What gibberish!" Adeline didn't like the way her manager talked to her right now. It triggered her which Ellen actually wanted. Triggering Adeline motivates her. "Do your job properly or it will be you floating in the dark and not me," Adeline lashed out before leaving her restroom in anger while picking up any random pair of heels in her hand and walking out barefoot towards the elevator.
Ellen sighed in relief, she successful made Adeline hurry to meet Mr Dumas. But deep inside, she was truly worried about how Adeline will be driving alone back home when it gets dark.
»»»«««
When Adeline stepped out of the elevator, she finally realised why Ellen might have been so worried about her.
Adeline hurried herself to run back into the elevator when she saw a crowd of people standing out through the glass walls, with cameras and mics in their hands and waiting for their chance to rush inside the company.
Adeline pulled out her mask and cap from her handbag and quickly wore them. she was now way harder to recognise than before are her eyes were already covered with black goggles and her dressing was different from what she preferred to wear.
Checking out herself for the last time in the mirror of the elevator, Adeline quickly walked out to go to the back entrance of the building which opens from the kitchen into an alley where garbage bins are kept.
Even though she doesn't want to, she has to go through the alley towards the main road where a black local car was parked, unlike the gorgeous but not luxurious cars she prefers to travel in.
"What if this trash runs out of fuel in the middle of the road? what if its tire gets punctured?" she has so much of things running in her mind while staring at the old car that Ellen has left for her.
crossing her fingers, Adeline let out a sigh before stepping inside the car and firstly turning on the maps with setting up the destination. "Hope that today won't be my last day" grabbing all of her positive energy with a deep breath, Adeline finally started the engine to go to the farmhouse.
»»»«««
Adeline somehow managed to reach to the address mentioned in the text from Ellen to her. According to the maps, the huge mansion was a farmhouse of Mr Dumas.
"I thought it would be a 40 x 30 sq. m. plot with 20 x 10 sq. m. small bungalow" she gasped gaping at the luxurious and vast farmhouse while standing by the large gate with no one around but a watchman who was running to her way.
"Hello? Is it the farmhouse of Mr Dumas?" Adeline raised a question and he said yes on his way to her.
"Sorry, Ms Elsher" he managed to speak between his heavy breathing. "I just went out for some work, did I make you wait long?"
"No, I just came here," she said. "But, how do you know my name?"
"Come on Ms Elsher, who doesn't know you?" he praised her.
"But I'm wearing my mask!"
"I'm sorry but you don't have your mask" he smiled shakily before he added. "And, Mr Dumas already informed me that you were coming here so it didn't take much for me to recognise you."
"Oh, Mr Dumas" she repeated his name with a nod.
The watchman nodded as well before he walked towards the gate to open it, "Please follow me inside " he escorted her inside the mansion. "Can I get your car keys? I will take it inside"
"Yeah, give me a second " fishing the car keys for a minute in her messy handbag with full of stuff she doesn't know existed, Adeline finally gave him the keys. "Please inform him that I'm here"
"he might have learned already that you came" he smiled as he looked around. " all of this area is covered by many cameras that even I don't know where they are. Mr Dumas has his eyes over everything "
Adeline wasn't surprised by this. He is a billionaire and having such a luxurious farmhouse away from the city, he must have his guard on 24/7 over this precious place he would be rarely visiting.
Adeline glanced around herself in the front yard, it was beautiful and "expensive" out of her limits of spending. Though she has seen luxury for a year after being Miss Universe, the luxury which Mr Dumas holds is something beyond that.
Adeline felt nervous to meet a filthy rich man who holds the golden key to her career that made her think to walk back to her home but something in her also fired her soul to not give up on her career once again.
"Come on Adeline, you can do it" she took a deep breath, grabbing all the courage in her, before making her way towards the mansion or a farmhouse.
Sejin noticed Adeline walking up the small hill towards the mansion which he was said to not let her walk in. Sejin was ordered to escort Adeline into the backyard instead of letting her walk in.
Meanwhile, as Adeline stepped on the first stair, Sejin called out her name from behind, almost making her jump in her place with his sudden appearance.
"Ms Elsher, Mr Dumas has asked you to come in the backyard instead of walking into the house " Sejin cleared his throat. "Please follow me"
Adeline blinked. "Have I seen you before?" she asked confused making Sejin glance back at her.
Sejin was about to answer her before he noticed another guest of Augustus walking out of the house.
"Can we talk about it later? Please, let's get into the backyard before he comes" Sejin didn't mean to be rude to her but had no other choice than to use cold words to make Adeline hurry before the girl walking out would see her.
Adeline nodded and followed Sejin but kept glancing behind to see who was the man making her hide from. She was suspicious of his rude and hasty behaviour.
Luckily on her sixth attempt, she got a glimpse of a girl walking out of the house but it was difficult to see her face as Adeline walked far away from the front yard.
However, it was none of her business to know who the girl was and what was she doing at Mr Dumas's farmhouse.
She sighed letting her thoughts go and finally reached near the swimming pool where a man stood back facing her by the edge of the pool. She guessed if something would be fascinating in the swimming pool making her rise a little to peek into the blue water.
"Mr Dumas, she is here," Sejin let him know before leaving both of them alone by the poolside.
Adeline looked at the man walking away before she took a quick glance around her. There was no one around except them. It was a vast backyard where a kid could get lost in it if left alone.
Adeline cleared her throat but has no confidence to utter a single word before him. She has heard that there is no rich man like him, he is handsome with a body of a Greek God.
Adeline was anxious to see him, she wants him to turn around and look at her so that she could tell if the rumours were even true of pea size or not.
"Good Evening Mr Dumas," she nervously spoke up. "I- It's an honour to see you in person."
The man standing before her chuckled leaving her in bizarre.
Adeline's eyebrows met in puzzlement thinking of what funny did she speak to make him laugh?
"And it is pleasure to see you again in person, Ms Elsher," He glanced back with a devilish smirk on his face.
Adeline gasped, he was the same handsome man that she bumped into the company a few hours again.
"Yo- you?" she was left with no words.
"Let's have some talk," he said.