Gathering 1

Alina's pov (Charmaine would be referred to as Leon in chapter seven and eight)

I looked at Leon as the car rolled out of the mansion. His purple hair was packed in half a ponytail and the rest of his hair falling on his shoulder. He had this cold and protective look in his eyes, his tuxedo was matching my dress and as my eyes trailed down...I gasped.

"Is anything the problem, my lady?" He turned to look at me with a small smile, I blushed as I looked away from him.

"No, I just saw a car whizz pass us really fast" I lied as I heard him mutter a long 'hmm'. He turned away from me leaning on the car seat as he closed his eyes.

It was as if her breasts had disappeared and I don't know why I had the urge to feel if they were still there. I shook my head, I shouldn't be thinking about that.

The car soon stopped at a big hall that was built on the outskirts of the city. Other luxurious cars pulled up right at the parking lot. I could feel my heart racing and I couldn't help but look up at Leon who just gave me a small smile.

"Don't be nervous, we got this" He just said plainly. He pushed the car door from his side as he got out of the car, leaving only me in there.

I can do this.

I muttered to myself before getting out of the car. We still had to walk a bit before getting to the red carpet, Leon walked over to my side, grabbing my hand as he glanced at me before pulling me to the red carpet.

Numerous of reporter's stood around taking pictures and asking questions to the guests. I gulped hoping I could turn invisible any moment but it was almost impossible.

Soon, we got to the red carpet. I looked up at Leon and he had a faint smile on his lips, his shoulders lifted up and he didn't show that he was nervous or anything and I did same.

"Miss Monroe, who is the handsome man standing beside you?" A reporter asked and I turned to the person with a faint smile.

"You can call him my partner for tonight" i said, I kept everything brief without allowing them suspect anything.

"Is your father aware of this kind gentleman?" Another reporter asked.

"Yes he is" They looked shocked.

Yes, my father didn't allow me have any boyfriend's till after college and I still didn't have one.

"Could you give us a lovely pose, miss?" A kind reporter said to me and I smiled.

I turned to face Leon and he just chuckled, I noticed anytime he smiled, his eyes were still cold which I found weird. He pulled me closer by my waist, turning to face me as I wrapped my hand around his neck.

I was probably blushing hard now but he didn't seem to say anything about it, he lowered his head, his lips just few inches from touching mine when I felt several camera's taking shots of us.

"Thank you, miss" The reporter said and Leon let go off my waist as we smiled at them before heading into the venue.

The place was packed as usual and the last time I came here was when Mom was alive. It brought back memories that I wanted to forget.

A waiter passing by stopped in front of me and Leon, I picked up a glass of wine and he took champagne.

"Your dad gave me a job to do, stay out of trouble" Leon kissed me on the cheek before walking in an opposite direction. I looked at the red couch at the corner of the room, I walked over there taking my seat as I sighed out.

I just got here and I felt tired already. I took a sip of my wine, my eyes running around the room. I knew most of the kids here but let's just say we didn't have quite the relationship together.

"Oh my gosh, look it's Alina" I heard a voice say and I couldn't help but turn to the group of women who were now staring at me, I flashed them as smile out of curtsey.

The group consisted of four ladies who i couldn't exactly remember who they were but they kept staring at me like I committed a huge sin.

"I heard she hasn't had a single boyfriend, people say it's because of her father"

"I think she's gay, she's only with that her annoying best friend"

"Being gay isn't bad, Mia"

"It's still weird"

I couldn't help but chuckle as I downed the rest of my wine, dropping the glass on the snack table before standing up. "If you plan to gossip about someone, try thinking about yourselves"

I left them with that remark as I left the hall. I had a reason for not socializing and maybe this was one of them. After wondering round the building for a while, I finally got to the garden that was at the back of the building.

I sat on a swing there, allowing the cool breeze calm my nervous self down. I heard footsteps and when I looked up, I saw Leon staring at me. "Hey"

I said quietly as he walked around, standing behind me, he placed his hand on my shoulder, not saying anything.

"It's just a party, Alina. Don't allow what they say get to you" He said and I turned, smiling at him.

We stayed like that for a while before I finally stood up from the swing. "Let's go see what exactly this gathering is for"

I heard him mutter, and he was right. This gathering was definitely for something, maybe a campaign or bidding. He held my hand as we proceeded back into the hall.

Before we could leave the garden, I wasn't looking at where I was walking and stepped on something soft.

*Woof*

I screamed, I saw a large white dog staring at me with it's teeths bared.

"C-charmaine!" I almost screamed as the dog took a step towards me.