Chapter 6

As Merryl would soon find out, Alexis lived not in a high apartment that was not even ten full minutes away from where Felix lived. Of course, this did not matter much to Merryl. She needed to get out of the freezing cold. Winter was only around the corner, yet here she was, walking around outside, drenched.

As soon as they stepped into the elevator, after ignoring the interested glances of those in the lobby, Merryl sneezed, which did not surprise Alexis in the slightest.

"Oh, no. You're catching a cold. That means you'll have to sleep in my bed while I take care of you. What do you prefer? Chicken noodle soup or French onion soup?" His tone was light-hearted. She sensed a warmth in his voice that made her want to cuddle up inside of it.

"Please. I'm not staying with you for that long. I just want a change of clothes, then I'll be on my way," she said, covering her arms with her hands. He did not have a jacket on, otherwise he would have given it to her. His shirt was wet as well, so it would not have made it easier for her.

His eyes wandered down her body. The wet fabric of the dress was clinging to her skin, outlining every curve. It was wrong to feel this way, but he wanted her to stay that way for a little longer.

"Stop… staring at me," she said in between shivers. He simply smiled and kept his eyes forward on the doors.

"You know, I despise your mother," he started, and she looked at him with curiosity. She wasn't expecting him to say something so bitter at that moment.

"I don't like the way she treated you, even before she kicked you out," he continued. She nodded and looked down at the puddle that had formed, at her reflection. She couldn't say that she hated Diana, yet she understood how Alexis felt about her.

"Is that why you're always avoiding her?" She asked. He looked back at her and looked away just as quickly.

"Huh? Yeah, that, too."

She smiled, "I'm thinking of getting revenge on her next. I've been thinking about it on the way here," the doors opened and right before he walked on ahead, he flashed her a smile and reached his hand out for her to take.

"Taking revenge on Honey was not enough? I heard everything you said in that party room. Honestly, I'm not surprised she was cheating on me," he led her out the elevator to the nearest door and knocked on it. She raised her eyebrow curiously. Shouldn't he have a key to his own apartment? Not only that, but she was also familiar with some of the buildings in the neighbourhood and this particular one only hosted single bedrooms per apartment.

"Yeah," she said as they heard footsteps hastily approaching the door, "I get that Diana is upset about what Honey did, but it's not enough for me-"

"Alexis?" The man who opened the door seemed too surprised to see him, "What are you-"

"What? I came back to my apartment," he responded with the same wide smile. The man, a youth who was probably around her age, shirtless with messy hair and the conventionally attractive face, looked Merryl up and down before shrugging his shoulders and opening the door to allow them into the room.

"Merryl, this is Oliver. You've heard of him," Alexis said, hinting at the secret they had been speaking of earlier.

"Yeah, I bet you've seen me, too," Oliver joked from across the coach where he had been playing a console game on the television. Merryl blushed. She had never seen him but now that she was seeing him in person, she understood why he was so popular amongst the female audience. He was very fit and tall. Despite that, he wasn't Merryl's type to watch.

"She's not like that," Alexis began, swiftly turning to look at Merryl for confirmation, "Are you?"

Still blushing, she said softly, "I've seen some… things… sometimes." It was safe to say that Alexis hadn't been expecting that answer.

"Right. Oliver, I'm gonna borrow somethings from your friend's bag," he called out to Oliver, who simply waved his hand back in approval. He led Merryl to the bedroom and walked straight to the wardrobe to pull out a traveling back at the bottom. He opened it and rummaged through what appeared to be women's clothes.

"Friend?" Merryl asked and Alexis nodded.

"Girlfriend would be the proper term, but he doesn't want any attachments. So, dress? Pants?"

"Dress… I have some friends in the modelling industry. And some of them work in Press," she started as he rummaged through the bag.

"That popular modelling magazine?" He asked. She had a plan, and she wanted to execute it as soon as she could.

"Yes, that one. They've been asking me to feature on it for years, and I never took interest. I'm going to make a submission to them tonight," he pulled what he thought would be a nice dress. It was a red, lengthy one that hugged her full body and was long-sleeved.

"What are you planning exactly?" He asked. He had to admit that he was very curious.

"Mom and Dad have always cared about keeping appearances. They threw a fit when Honey was held back, and I decided to become an archaeologist. They don't know what it truly means to be ashamed. Oliver gave me an idea," she smiled, and that smile gave Alexis the scope of what she wanted to do. Diana would never allow her daughters to enter the modelling industry- It was unbecoming of women of their status. Well, Merryl wanted to take a step further from just modelling.