Two days later
***
It's been two exhausting and stressful days since she has last seen Grace. In these two days, Ariana couldn't imagine how slow the time went by, staying locked up in the villa as per her agreement with Harry.
Not only did the choice she made to save her friend turn out to be a weapon against her, her tutor, Mrs. Gina didn't give her a breathing space, not after kidnapping her from her house to stress her out about teaching her to be the ideal woman for that nutcase, Alexander.
This isn't the 1900's.
Like….
Are these people okay?
Is she getting married to a king or something?
Ariana had ended up with sore legs and hands, and dark circles under her eyes as a result of sleepless nights, while reading books after books to heighten her IQ. According to her tutor, she was no level near that of the main fiancée, which had nearly made Ariana insult her.
But when she realized that she was the one who openly walked into this, Grace had warned her but she had failed to listen. So, it couldn't be helped that she's trying to blame anyone for her fate.
But in those two days, despite being busy trying to do as instructed by Harry, who was supposed to be here at the end of the week to evaluate her. She has missed Grace.
Ariana has tried everything possible to escape, but it was like Mrs. Gina could see through her. The house was fully guarded, that one would think that it was the president that was living in the house. So, her plans of escaping to go find Grace had always ended up biting her in the ass, which would result to Mrs. Gina, stressing her the more everyday after her useless escape attempt.
But not anymore.
In a space of two days, the young lady had taken time to learn out everywhere in the villa. Including the back door which had served as her escape way away from that prison.
It's not like she wasn't going back, but Mrs. Gina has refused to let her speak to Harry, after all, he didn't agree on not allowing her to see Grace. If only they had given her some time to sort things out with Grace. She won't be here, out on the street with no thick clothes to cover herself against the harsh weather.
But the young lady was resilient, if there's anything that Ariana was good at. It had to be the part where she sets out to achieve anything she sets out her mind to do, and right now she's going to find Grace.
Not even Harry, nor Mrs.Gina's cranky ass would stop her from seeing her best friend to sort things out with her. Only then would she sleep well at night and wake up the next day to fully give her mind, body and soul into playing her role into being a fake Selina White.
With that being said, the young lady trekked till she arrived where many people were. The villa was an estate where not many people stayed, apart from the richly rich. She would have been happy if she got to enjoy such luxury with Grace, but she wasn't happy, not at all.
When Ariana arrived at the bus stop, she could not enter the bus because she had no money on her, nor could she find it in her to beg anyone to pay for her ride.
The ride from the city to the urban area where she lived, would be a fifteen minute ride, but if she's to trek, it would take enough time, which means more time for Harry's men to start looking for her, she only prayed that they dont notice her disappearance, but that's nothing but a lie.
That house was huge but it was just her, her tutor and the guards. There's no way they wouldn't have noticed her disappearance. Thankfully, her phone was taken away the moment they took her from her home.
They committed a crime , but Ariana knew that there was no need to report anything to the police. She owes Harry smith, she's the debtor and he's the creditor, it's only a matter of time before he finds her.
The young lady hurried up in her steps, only to stop when she noticed movements on her leg. She looked dork to see a little cute puppy. It seems like it was lost from its owner.
Everyone seemed to be going about their duties, making it hard for her to know who exactly it belongs to.
"What a cute little thing you are." She gushed at the puppy, carrying it into her arm. The dog has a collar which carries a name in front of it.
"Mia, is that your name?" She asked, petting its head before looking at the back of the collar to see that it had an initial.
R.
It seemed to be the name of the owner, but now wasn't the time to look for him. Instead of leaving the animal behind, Ariana took it with her.
She hoped that once the owner reports it to the police, then she will be able to return it, because she can't go to the police, knowing fully well that she had wasted a whole lot of time here.
A smile graced her face when she arrived at her neighborhood. The thoughts of seeing Grace again had her happy, but when she entered their room, she found it empty.
Grace wasn't there.
Looking at how everything was still the way she placed it, it made her scared because at that moment it made her realize that Grace hasn't been coming home.
Where else could she have slept?
Ariana thought.
She heard voices outside and stormed out of her room to meet the landlady in the hallway.
"Ma'am," She called for the woman's attention who turned to look at her. She didn't look like she was happy to see her."I just.. I just wanted to know if you had any idea if Grace came back home in the past few days?" Ariana blurted out, trying to calm her racing heart, she was really worried and if she didn't calm down, she would have a panic attack at the moment.
"That room has been empty for the past two days, what exactly is going on with you two? You youngsters! I knew i shouldn't have given you a room, you are lucky that your rent hasn't expired. After that drama with Madam Sophia, it brought bad luck to my business. So, just to make sure that you are aware, after your rent is due next month, I would like you two to leave my house."
The landlady said harshly.
"But ma'am, Grace is still nowhere to be found, I can't just pack out.." Ariana tried reasoning with her, but the woman wasn't having it.
"Do i look like Grace's guardian? If your friend is missing, then go to the police and report her! You are leaving my building next month just so you know." The woman yelled, earning a bark from the puppy Ariana was holding.
Her eyes watered at the woman's words.
"And get that thing away from me!" The woman added, referring to the puppy she was carrying before walking past Ariana. As usual, some of the neighbors have their heads out of the door and window to know what's going on again.
Walking back inside her room, Ariana went through Grace's things insearch of anything that could lead to her finding Grace. She couldn't think of many friends that Grace could crash at their place, apart from one person.
Joyce. Her coworker at the company.
She recalled Grace talking about Joyce often, and has mentioned something about where she lived. The young lady dashed out of the room with the dog in her arms, only to stop in her tracks when she reached outside to hear a familiar voice.
"Miss.Kings."
It belonged to one of Harry's guards, but she didn't turn around to look at which one of them was here for her. How could she be so stupid? Ofcourse, they knew that this was the only place that she would come to,
But before she could make a run for it, she yanked by her hair but kicked the male who withdrew back and tried to run, only to fall to the floor and scratch her face against the rough floor.
"Shit!" She heard the man say, likewise the constant barking of the little puppy who was trying to get the man away from her.
Ariana groaned in pain, she carried Mia close to her before she yanked up to meet the cold eyes of Leo. He was one of the guards who took her away from her home.
"You are hurting me!" Ariana cried out, trying to get her arm away from his hold. She looked up to see the other guard, looking at her with pity in his eyes, but was pushed her into the car like some slave.
Mia continued barking, she could sense the tense atmosphere. "It's okay, my love." Ariana said, rubbing its fur to calm it down.
"We were not supposed to hurt her." She heard the other guard said to Leo.
"Get out of my way." Leo spat, making Ariana glare at him. The side of her face was hurting, and she didn't need anyone to tell her that she had injured herself.
Once again, she couldn't meet Grace. But one lived to fight for another day. This time, Harry won't like the way she would talk to him. He promised to let her see Grace but he lied.
So, why would she help him?