Chapter 82

Dahlia and Crystal left, said they'd be back to pick me up after my shift ended. I didn't even know what they wanted help with, I was oblivious to the facts, and truth be told, I didn't really care much for them. There were chances of me getting home late, so I had texted Arden and told him that I was helping Dahlia out with something. He made me promise to call incase I needed a ride back home, it was either that or have him attend the party himself and wait for me. And Crystal had made it quite clear that she didn't want a lot of people there. 

I actually came to realize that it was a good thing they had asked for my help, I desperately needed the distraction. Anything that would get my mind off that look he had given me as I walked out of the car. I wondered whether he was playing mind games with me, trying to get me to worry by acting the way he was. But something told me he was indeed angry. 

Eventually, my shift ended. I had told Cassie about the event and she had immediately agreed, said she'd get to the restaurant as soon as she could. She got there half an hour before my shift ended and sat down at one of the tables, waiting for me as she slowly sipped on a glass of wine. 

And when I finally finished off for the day and went to meet her, my eyes widened in amazed shock. She was all dressed up from head to toe. 

Her blonde hair expertly curled and her outfit nothing of not classy. She flipped her hair when she saw me, standing and smiling brightly. I could only stare, then I looked down at myself and I felt very underdressed. I had been feeling lazy that morning so I had worn blue jeans and a rather plain white top. Black flats on my feet. I never did makeup! I looked average. Not at all special. Meanwhile, Cassie seemed ready to walk the runway. The silver dress hugged her curves and the matching heels on her feet could not be missed. 

" Hey! I've missed you!" She confessed as she stepped forward and hugged me, I chuckled and hugged her back. But my mind was still on how marvelous she looked, but the good thing was that there wouldn't be a lot of people at the function. Actually, there were chances that Cassie would be the center of attention. I was okay with how bland I looked. Yap! Couldn't be more elated. 

" Missed you too. "

" This place is like five-star or something, I'll definitely recommend it to my clients!" She said as she looked around the place. 

" So, where to now?" I shrugged, then I sat down at the table and told her that Dahlia and Crystal were coming to get us since I didn't know where we were going.

She sat down as well and started telling me about her last job or something, I wasn't really paying much attention.

Now that him and I were done, did it mean he'd never talk to me again? And did his anger mean he had only ever wanted me for my body and now that I had denied him that, he saw me as disposable? 

I suddenly felt sick. What if that was truly the case? I had to leave that house as soon as possible, before he got even angrier and decided to ask me to leave. That would definitely be the peak of my humiliation, and I was sure that Arden was going to understand. Tonight I'd ask Dahlia for an advance and I'd find a motel tomorrow and move in until I found somewhere else to stay. I wasn't going to be free till Sunday so the search for an apartment would have to wait a while. 

" Earth to Layla!" Cassie snapped her fingers Infront of my eyes and I blinked, then I looked around as I tried to recall my surrounding.

" Hey, what's wrong?" She reached over and placed her hand on my arm, silently offering me comfort. I didn't want to think about it. I was sure that if I started talking about it I'd end up bawling my eyes out, and we still had to help out. 

" I'll tell you later, after we're done helping out, " I assured her. My voice a broken whisper. She still seemed very concerned but she nodded, never retrieving her hand from my arm. I was glad I had her as a friend, otherwise I would have gone back home, locked myself in my room and cried until I couldn't shed tears any more. 

Dahlia and Crystal finally arrived, she called me and asked me to meet them outside. We walked out and headed straight towards what I assumed was Crystal's car. And the second we got in, that feeling of not fitting in returned in a much stronger blow. 

They had changed as well. They had looked great before, but now they looked even better. I didn't even want to focus on them because the more I stared, the more my self-esteem dropped. They both turned towards us and said hi, I introduced Cassie to them and then I went completely silent and let them converse. These were all girls that were naturally social, they were great at making light and casual talks with people even if they had never met before. If you listened to them talk, you'd think they had known Cassie all their lives, I wondered how people could do that. I always shrunk and buried myself in my shell, unwilling to get out, to let strangers see me because I always sensed some sort of judgement. But those feelings had actually been starting to fade, over the past weeks I had been slowly growing more confident and it was all thanks to him. But now I felt that confidence diminish.

I feared I would be worse than before. 

I'm not sure how long the drive took, but the car finally stopped. I looked out the window, we were on a street I had passed by a couple of time but had never particularly visited before. It was quite busy, there were a number of people walking everywhere outside. Cassie and the two other girls were still talking. 

" We're here!" Crystal excitedly declared, then she reached into her purse and quickly took out her phone, like she had been waiting to do that all along. 

" Come on Crystal, no more sexting! He'll be here any minute and you'll get to tell him everything in person, " Dahlia complained, then she snatched Crystal's phone away and placed it in her own purse. 

" We have work to do! Your opening is in an hour, remember?" 

Crystal groaned, dramatically fisting her hands in her hair. And as she did so, I noticed the large diamond on her finger. 

So they were both engaged, on top of everything, they were in stable and committed relationships where they could freely sext each other just for the fun of it. 

And for someone who was allegedly married, it occurred to me that I was the only single one amongst all three of them. Ouch!

" Okay, let's do this!" Crystal finally said. Mimicking a soldier in a mission.We got out of the car and she led us to a door in one of the buildings, taking out a key and opening the door for us to step inside.

I was even more shocked. 

It was an art exhibition of sorts. There were a lot of pieces displayed on the walls, I frowned, stepped back outside for a second and looked up. I noticed the very obvious detail that I had missed, the name of the place was clearly written in bold and colourfully calligraphed letters, "Hilton Art Haven" was the name. Stepping back inside, I looked around, amazed by all the art pieces in there, wondering whether they were indeed Crystal's.

" They're pretty cool,huh?" Dahlia suddenly asked me, then she came closer to where I stood and smiled a subtle smile. 

I nodded, agreeing with her. 

" Umm, I've been meaning to ask you, are you okay? It's just that you seem a bit off. "

Was it really that obvious? I stood straighter and pushed away all my thoughts, then I assured her that was fine. 

" You sure? "

" Yeah, I'm sure. "

She did not believe me, and she was about to ask me something but decided against it. Then she told me that if I ever needed to talk, she was around.

From what I could tell, everything was in perfect order. There were snacks and drinks set out on a table, the place was neat, there were systems installed to play music and everything was in its place. Why did they need us?

" Okay, I need to completely rearrange the art pieces, " Crystal said. Then she glanced at her wrist and sighed, a sort of sad look flickering across her face, she turned towards the exit before her focus returned to us. I didn't know why she wanted to rearrange everything, it all seemed fine to me, but she was the artist, not me. Gabriel and her would have made the perfect couple, as Cassie and I had been carefully moving a piece on one side of the room, she had told me that she had googled Crystal. That her dad was literally the best lawyer in the state, that they were crazy rich. 

" Don't worry, I was there when Miguel called him. He promised to be here, " Dahlia was saying when we handed them the piece to place wherever they wished. 

" That's wonderful! This will be great for me, " Crystal said. 

" I know, Miguel and I attended his last gala and-" 

Dahlia's words were cut short when the door was unlocked and in stepped...whoa! I slowly looked up at the stranger. The dark hair, the dark suit, the height, the focused look on his face. He had taken off his suit jacket and was holding it over his shoulder, a casual action, but he somehow accomplished it with the grace of some kind of GQ male model. But something about him naturally made me a little fearful. He looked...feral. I watched as he scanned the room, then his eyes fell on Crystal and I watched in shock as a smile suddenly appeared on his otherwise stoic features. 

" Why are you still standing over there baby?" He asked in the most husky voice, and in the seconds that followed, I watched as Crystal basically ran to him and threw herself into his arms. He picked her up, kissed her like his life depended on it before he buried his head into her hair and stayed still. I concluded that he was her fiance.