Mrs Parker sat on the giant sofa in the middle of the living room, in front of the TV. Since it was a Saturday, she didn't have much work to do. Thus, she thought of watching a movie out of habit.
The movie went on for half an hour and it was reaching its peak when Mrs Parker heard a sound from her daughter's room.
Click Clack
Click Clack
Click Clack
Annabella came out of her room, wearing the high heels Damien had left for her. When she came outside, she was greeted by her mother's curious gaze. She gave her a smile asking, "Mom, How's this dress for me?"
She was wearing a red and black strapless dress. It perfectly wrapped around her slender figure as it hugged every curve of her body, showing off her charms and attractiveness in it. It looked like it was made just for her.
Annabella wore a ruby not-so-long necklace that reached her collarbone. It specified the big red rose on a corner of her dress. When she walked, her milky white long legs could be seen through the cut which reached to her right thigh.
With a single glance, Mrs Parker could tell that her gown, jewellery and black high heels... They must cost hundreds of thousands of dollars.
"Whose dress is this?" She would never believe that her daughter bore to pay such a huge sum of money. Could it be... Someone took a liking to her and gave them to her as a gift?
'No way!' She firmly shook her head, dismissing her wandering thoughts. Those kinds of things happen in fairytales only. She didn't dare to think of something that exceeded her expectations. Or else, it would be painful if her thoughts got crashed one day.
Annabella gulped nervously. She didn't want to arouse her mother's suspicion hence, she answered, "Grana's. It's Sarah's birthday party today and I told Grana that I didn't have something to wear so she handed them over to me."
"What a good friend." Mrs Parker sighed. "She must be filthy rich, right?"
Annabella gave it a thought before shaking her head. "Not that much."
Mrs Parker rolled her eyes. "Don't lie to me. Or are you feeling jealous of your friend? I know little things about fashion and I can confirm that... This dress smells money!"
Annabella wasn't convinced yet. She waved her left hand at her mother. "Yeah, whatever."
When it was exactly 6 p.m. Damien came to pick her up in his Mansory Rolls-Royce. Wait a minute! Rolls-Royce?!
Fortunately, Annabella's mother went to her room to take a small nap otherwise, if she was there, she would freak out for sure.
Annabella widened her eyes and looked at the car in front of her in disbelief.
"Who exactly are you?" She asked the boy who came out of the car in an expensive black suit that kinda matched hers since he had a red handkerchief in his left coat pocket.
She looked at him up and down as if she was seeing him for the first time in her life.
The boy let out a soft chuckle. "Damien, I guess?"
Annabella took a deep breath to control her rising heart. She wanted to address him as a fool but she got scared to do that as she realized the fact that he wasn't a normal person for her to mess around with.
"I mean... No, I'm trying to ask who the... I mean... Aaah!" She held the urge to brush her neatly combed hair out of frustration. She couldn't possibly make him feel humiliated in front of others later.
Now her mother's words made sense to her. Her dress must be so expensive!
Gosh! What did she get herself into?
"Just relax." The smirk on Damien's face widened as it turned into a grin.
Annabella mistook him for mocking her.
"Hey, are you teasing me?" She was about to throw the dress in his face when he grabbed her by her wrist, preventing her from doing so.
"No, I'm not. I just found you super cute and it made me smile, okay?"
Annabella felt relieved. But her mind was still in chaos.
"Sorry, Damien. I can't do this."
"Why?" Damien's voice sounded disappointed despite his struggle to hide that from her.
"Because of two things."
"What are they?" Damien enquired, straightening his back as if he was showing her that he was all ears.
"Firstly, I don't know who..." 'The hell' "...You are."
Damien cleared his throat. "As I told you before, I'm Damien."
Annabella rolled her eyes in annoyance. "You worked as a waiter boy when you're so freaki... I mean when you are so rich. Why did you do that?"
Damien shrugged his shoulders. "Experiencing life, I guess?"
Annabella secretly grinded her teeth in anger. 'Experiencing life my ass!'
"So... Are you finished with your questionnaire? Can we go now?" He asked, opening the car door for her.
"No, wait." Annabella quickly blurted out. "I can't possibly be your girlfriend."
Damien massaged his temples, looking tired. "What's now? Duh, it's an act and it's NOT for real, okay? Just relax. It's only for today. As I told you before, I won't pester you anymore, I swear!"
Annabella sighed heavily. "You can't understand me, Little Mister. We are from different social statuses. I can't act like your perfect girlfriend before noble, and elegant women. They'll definitely make fun of me!"
Damien patted her head. "Don't worry, I'll be by your side and protect you."
Ba-dum
His words made her heart skip a beat. She never felt something like that before. It was simply... Weird.
Eventually, Annabella agreed to come with him. The minute she approved the idea, Damien didn't waste a single second as he quickly stepped on the accelerator and drove off like he had to catch a bus later.
"Woah!" Annabella subconsciously held onto the grab handle. "Why are you rushing? Slow down!"
"Can't. We must go there early."
Annabella, who was always late for everything including her job: "..."
'What a punctual freak!'
An hour later, the car came to a halt. Annabella's jaw dropped when she saw the beautiful hotel in front of her.
It was a freaking 5-stars hotel! Someone must be kidding her!!!
Then she looked at the person beside her who didn't seem to be affected at all. Again, the difference between rich and poor people!
The hotel alone was a paradise to her. But to a billionaire boy like him, it was actually nothing.
"What does your father do?" She asked, out of curiosity. She really wanted to know more about him.
"Business." His reply was straightforward.
"What kind of a business? There are so many businesses in the world, you know. Don't tell me he sells drugs."
"Are you crazy?" This time, finally his attention was on her as he looked straight into her brown eyes with his captivating sky-blue eyes.
The guys she had dated were nothing compared to the boy next to her. Then again, she shouldn't compare others. But... She couldn't help it because... He was just too handsome to be true.
'Ugh, it's a pity that he's younger than me.' Annabella's cheeks flushed at the thought of it.
'What the hell am I thinking about? Snap out of it, silly.'
After checking Damien's ID and invitation, the security let them in with all due respect, opening the silver gate.
Damien started the car again and drove it inside the gate. Annabella looked around with her curious, big eyes. Everything felt like a dream to her. They were so surreal that she got scared of the fact that she might wake up from that beautiful dream soon.
Damien stopped the car in the parking lot before pushing open the door to get out. Annabella didn't wait for him to open the door for her. She also got off the car and looked around yet again.
"You look like a cat that entered a fish shop." Damien teased her, wrapping his arm around her waist.
Annabella pouted her lips, aggrieved. "Hey!"
She struggled to break free from his clutch whispering, "What are you doing?"
There were people around them so she didn't act harshly, afraid of getting humiliated by them.
"What's the prob?" Damien raised one of his eyebrows. "You're my girlfriend and I'm your boyfriend. So it's perfectly natural for me to act like this, isn't it?"
Annabella was about to refuse it when she saw the girls' gazes on her fake boyfriend. Soon, her face turned dark.
The girls didn't even enter the hotel as they mumbled something to each other, pointing in their direction from time to time. They even gave Annabella a few glances filled with envy.
Annabella gulped before sneakily taking a peek at Damien. She lovingly patted his hand which was holding her waist, acting like a caring girlfriend.
'Nevermind, let's forget it.'
Damien took her to an isolated place, further away from the banquet. Annabella's heart squeezed. Did she fall into a trap again? Shit, how foolish she was!
"Where are you taking me?" She finally managed to ask, pretending to be as casual as possible. However, she couldn't stop her voice from being cracked.
"Don't be afraid." Damien patted her head like he was consoling a little puppy. Nevertheless, she loved when he did that. It made her anxiety fade away instantly. So strange!
"I'm taking you to meet someone." He answered, looking down at her, still walking.
Although Annabella was tall and her heels added extra height to her, she still couldn't reach Damien's height. He was simply too tall like a coconut tree.
"To meet someone? Is it your father?"
"You'll see."