Melanie.
It's a Monday morning in LA and am happy today, because I've got a top celebrity on my list of clients.
I stare at the door, waiting for my clients to arrive. My black hair, held in a professional bun. My navy blue pumps, clicking sharp on the floor. My dress, a black designer, knee length dress, all sharp.
I work as a real estate agent for Tenshaw Real Estates. A big arse company owned by the Tenshaws. A family known in these parts for their vast wealth.
Rumored to be a Mafia family. But those accusations are debunked, because the last I remember, the Tenshaws are reputable people.
Got foundations set up for orphans, vulnerable kids and widows. So no they aren't Mafia.
The door opens and I paste my best smile as the clients walk in. Slender Lucinda in blonde curls and a very handsome man, whose face I'd never forget. Whose face I never thought I'd see again, after these number of years.
Regan Heartstone, the man that took me for the first time, six years ago. Is all cozy with her.
The man that rescued me from his Mafia family exactly six years ago. I freeze as memories come flooding back. Evoking a sickening feeling inside me. One bound with horrible memories that any human being in my position would rather forget.
Instantly, I turn my back to them. Panting, even with the airy space that surrounds me. It's like the walls are closing, each time they draw closer.
I flick my eyes to my tablet, rechecking the appointment. Set for a Miss Lucinda Grove. No wonder I had no idea he would be present. She's Lucinda Grove; heiress to Grove Styles. A classy fashion for notable clientele. No mention of her being accompanied by Regan Heartstone. Only that Lucinda Grove was looking for a house.
No this can't be happening!
I need to banish memories of Regan and my horrid past and do my job. The Rita Schofield Regan knew, died years ago, when I changed my identity. This is the new me. Melanie Berry. A career driven American. And not the girl his family had abducted and killed her entire family, six years ago, right before her eyes.
And worse, the last thing I need is to get fired now. At 24, I don't think I have the mental fortitude to job hunt, at this stage of my life, when I should be building a career. Especially after I just picked my pieces together.
Steadily inhaling, I turn to the couple. Masking all emotion that should give me away.
The instant my eyes meet Regan's our gazes lock. It happens so fast, the intensity palpable. But it looks like we stand there forever. His eyes are steady on me, his arms which were loosely draped around the woman's waist, fall to his side. My expression is tight, as I continue to gaze at him. Seeing that tears threaten to spill from my eyes, I avert his gaze and turn a forced smile to the lady.
After all, she is the celebrity I was eager to see.
"Good morning. My name is Melanie Berry. And am your agent. I hear you are in need of a new home for your new family. Congratulations." I don't spare Regan any look. I can feel his heated gaze on me. But I ignore him. I want to pretend he's here. But I fail miserably.
"Thank you very much, Miss Berry…"
"Please. Call me Melanie." My eyes finally flick to Regan, and I see he's watching me like a hawk. His brow raised to my name. He knows my real name. He called my name endlessly that night he first made love to me in the bushes, where we had hidden from his family.
'Rita…Rita…'
The sound of my name from his lips, echo in my heart, as my eyes linger on him.
"Oh, we're not married yet. We just got engaged discreetly, a month ago and I wanted us to see a new home that will fit our new family. A home fit for the Heartstones." She flicks him a gaze, adoration in her eyes.
His eyes finally move from me and turn to her. A tight smile tugging his lips. I look at the both of them, sickened. The adulation there, revolting, knowing who he is.
Does she know who he is?
Dispelling the feeling, I focus on my work.
Dragging their attention, I tour them round the house. My smile not reaching my eyes. I'm feeling Regan's presence, as he stands beside me, checking one of the rooms, and it's killing me. Tearing me from inside. It's a large pool house. One perfectly suited for this LA weather. It boasts rooms and fittings, suited for a Sultan's Consort.
I have a boyfriend, but he doesn't illicit the feelings that Regan had elicited in me, within those two weeks that I was captured and freed. Am really failing in my concentration, right now.
We finish the tour and Lucinda is ecstatic, while Regan just holds a tight face. A call comes for her and she goes to answer it outside.
"When did you become Melanie?" I gasp at the intimacy of his voice that grazes the shell of my ear.
I don't turn my eyes away from the tablet in my hand. Yet I don't see anything on the screen.
"Your fiancée would be here shortly. I don't think she'd want to know who you really are." My tone is clipped.
"You're working for my family's arch nemesis. I don't like that?" He asks me.
His voice low, yet firm.
How are they his family's nemesis? The Tenshaws are nothing like the Heartstones.
Trying to dispel my nervousness, I speak, bitterly.
"The Tenshaws are a reputable family, Regan. They don't have blood on their hands like your family does."
My tone comes out really clipped. Anger flaring.
"They're a family built on blood, just like mine."