Sold to the Devil

VII - LOVERS

“You shouldn’t hold your fork like that.” I heard Emmanuel’s irritating voice again.

We are sitting in front of each other at this round table with complete sets of formal dining setting. Why do I even need this many utensils for one meal? He had already explained which are for which but I instantly forgot them. The knives all look the same to me!

He’s starting to get into my nerves and I feel like he will get into my dreams when I sleep. Or nightmare rather.

I find all of these ridiculous! Why would I need to study how to eat? I know very well how to do that but apparently it isn’t good enough!

Ugh! Fvck these rich people and their etiquette!

“Chew slowly and close your mouth when you do that!” he almost yelled, and I was really tempted to roll my eyes at him. I sucked in a deep breath to stop myself.

Today is only our fifth day of training, but I already feel drained from all this s**t. The first days, I was trained to walk like royalty. I felt like someone who's supposed to join a prestigious beauty contest with the way they are training my walk to perfection. It's not only about walking, it also includes the way I pick up things or not pick up anything at all.

The way I hold my bag or phone and the way I talk, Emmanuel wanted to change it. Even the way I laugh should be different. Ugh! Now they are trying to train me on how I should f*****g eat!

There's no doubt that I would be a totally different human being after this training.

Before, I always thought that the life of the rich and famous was nothing but glamorous. Now that I am trying to be like them, that's when I realized that it wasn't easy at all. It seemed that all their moves were numbered. They can't do anything outside the norm. Or at least that's what it seemed to me.

Sadly, I have no choice but to put up with it because, just like what Devin had said, he owns me. I have no choice but to follow all his bidding like a lapdog!

"Remove your elbow from the table." Emmanuel's stern voice brought me back to reality. I sighed and sat up in an upright position. I really want to shove this fork into his throat, but I don't want to be a murderer. I am too beautiful to end up in jail.

Hours passed by ever so slowly until it was time to finish the class. Finally!

I can’t wait to go back to our suite and dip my whole body into a nice, relaxing bath.

"M-miss Heather..." Walter quickly met me as soon as I stepped out of the studio. He kept on calling me that way no matter how many times I told him not to.

He took my bag and carried it as we walked out of the building. He almost tripped but I just rolled my eyes. I am already used to him right now. He’s so clumsy even for his own safety that I sometimes doubt why Alistair hired him.

Did he purposely do it to piss me off?

Anyway, I don’t care. At least I have someone beside me all the time. I don’t have to worry about anything because he does everything that I want as long as it doesn't conflict with his real master's orders.

“I want to visit the Eiffel tower!” I said when we got into the car.

“W-we can’t miss Heather…” Walter stuttered.

“Why? I’ve been here for almost a week but I haven’t gotten around yet!” I complained after slamming the door.

“Mr. Alistair w-wants us to go back to your suite as soon as possible.” He stuttered in an almost frantic voice.

I rolled my eyes before slumping on my seat. I was so excited about coming here, but now I can’t even enjoy myself. What’s the use of going here if I can’t even walk around? I only walked inside that damned studio the whole day to practice my “dignified walk”!

I am not joining Miss Universe or any kind of pageant for goddamn sake!

Why do I have to train that hard? Who is that Alistair? I haven’t even heard of him before, but he feels so entitled. He must be delusional. Worrying too much about his non-existent reputation.

Ugh!

I’m beginning to regret this!

I slammed the door behind me again the moment I walked out of the car. Walter scrambled to his feet to follow me. He fixed his glasses when we reached the elevator. I took a deep breath to stop myself from lashing out at this poor man. Like me, I know that he also has nothing to say about things. He just does whatever that man orders him to do!

The elevator opened and I immediately walked out. My heels were clicking on the floor with each angry step I made towards our suite.

I was about to shout at that man, but only complete silence welcomed me when I went in. Where the fvck is he? He wanted me to come back here for what? Is he trying to keep me in the four corners of this suite?!

“Where is he?!” I angrily turned to Walter.

“Uh, he- he will meet you in an hour, Miss Heather. His a-assistant prepared everything you need in your room.” he stammered when he saw my face.

My eyebrows knotted as I tried to understand what he said. Why can’t he even talk straight? He’s only making it worse for me!

I turned around and went to my room before I could say anything to him. A box lying in the middle of the bed immediately caught my attention.

“What’s this?” I opened it and found a black dress inside.

“Hmm, why do I need to wear this?” seeing it suddenly changed my mood. If I had to dress up, it only meant that I would go out. Right? I picked up the dress to take a good look at it.

It’s an evening dress with a haltered top but completely bare on the back. I suddenly felt excited. I feel like we’re going somewhere special because of this. I almost ran to the full-length mirror to see how it would look on me.

I held it in front of me and almost squealed in excitement. This dress is so me, unlike all those dresses inside my walk-in closet. I quickly took a shower and put it on, then I went back in front of the mirror.

My jaw almost dropped at my own reflection. The long slit exposed the entirety of my left leg but it still looked elegant. I can’t help but gape over my own sexiness!

The dress hugged my body so perfectly that it makes me wonder how he got my exact size. I touched the Swarovski crystals that adorned the neck part of the dress. They look real, but what do I expect from that arrogant man? Of course they are real!

But I have to move now because Walter said I only had an hour to prepare and almost half of it had passed already. I blow dried my hair before pulling it up into a messy updo to emphasize my bare back even more. Then I put on natural make-up on my face except for my blazing red lipstick.

I twirled in front of the mirror several times and took dozens of pictures on my phone. I wouldn’t remember that we had to go if not for Walter’s frantic knocks on the door.

“Miss Heather, we have to go,” he called out.

“Coming!” I replied, but I sprayed some perfume first before grabbing the pouch that came with this dress.

I strutted outside and saw how Walter’s jaw dropped upon seeing me. I smirked. I wonder if Alistair will have the same reaction. I can’t wait to see it. I will have him begging on his knees!

I swear, I’ll make him fall for me. Hard! He would fall for me until our roles were reversed. He would be the one to follow my every whim. I smirked. Actually, I wanted to let out an evil laugh but suppressed myself from doing so. Walter might think that I was already losing my mind.

“Let’s go.” I sashayed outside the hotel confidently, enjoying the glances and stares that I got from almost everyone I met on the way out.

Walter opened the car door for me and I felt more like a queen. All that’s missing is a crown on my head!

“Where are we going?” I asked Walter when he sat on the front seat beside the chauffer.

“We’re going to meet Mr. Alistair.” He vaguely answered when I was expecting a concrete answer. I swear I wanted to punch him but I stopped myself. I wouldn’t want to ruin my perfect get-up, right? So I sat there quietly watching the beautiful streets of Paris that we passed by.

My breath hitched when we stopped in front of the Eiffel tower.

Oh my gosh! Finally!

I didn’t wait for Walter to open my door. I quickly got out and stared at the majestic beauty before me. My breath hitched! It is even more beautiful now that it’s starting to get dark.

“Let’s go, Miss Heather. Mr. Alistair is waiting for you.” He led me to the elevator under the tower and we went to the second level as he told me.

My excitement only intensified as we got higher. I watched the European sky in awe. It’s so beautiful!

I walked out of the elevator with my eyes still glued on the scene outside. It caused me to almost bump into Alistair who was waiting in front of it. I gulped as I took a whiff of his musky scent. My heart skipped a beat when I caught him staring down at me with his face devoid of any emotion.

“What took you so long?” he asked in a low, cold voice that gave me shivers.

“Uhm…” I couldn’t say anything because my mind suddenly went blank. I was expecting him to be awed by me but it seems the tables have turned pretty fast. Now I am the one who was dumbfounded by his presence. Damn!

Why does he look so freaking hot?

The way his dark brooding eyes stare into mine is enough to make my knees go weak.

“Never mind.” His arm snaked behind my waist, which made me flinch. The sudden jolts of electricity that traveled from his arm to the bare skin of my waist surprised me.

He looked at me grimly. I think he took it negatively.

“Act like we’re lovers. Do I still need to spell it out?” he whispered in a threatening voice behind my ear. For sure, those who will see us from afar will mistake it for a sweet moment, but it was far from that.

We are the only ones who know what's really going on, but my stupid body still reacts differently. His lip touched my earlobe for a second and it was enough to bring sparks all over my body. I almost shivered as his warm breath fanned my exposed neck.

Wait a minute.

He should be the one to feel like this. Not the other way around! Ugh!

You should be making him fall for you. Not the other way around! I internally chastised myself.

I took a deep breath and tried to compose myself as he led me to a table far from the others. He acts like a perfect gentleman as he pulled a chair for me. I wanted to throw up at his fake pretenses. When we’re alone at the suite, he treats me like I don’t exist, but now I suddenly feel like his treasured gem. Tss.

I shook it off before it ruined my mood. I should just enjoy Paris tonight! I took a deep breath to calm myself but my eyes nearly popped out when I saw the dining set in front of me. Emmanuel’s irritating voice came ringing inside my ears like a broken record. Damn. Just look at how many knives and forks there are!

“Take this as a test. I want to know if you’ve improved.” He said lowly, just enough for me to hear, but it still irked me.

A test?

What the fvck?! Does he think we're in school? Why do we need a test?

“Excuse me but… What are you, really? Are you a prince? A king of an unknown kingdom? Why do I need to undergo all of these just to be your wife?” I asked sarcastically with a sweet smile painted on my lips for other people to see, but the venom in my voice was unmistakable for him to hear.

“Just do as I say. Remember, you have no right to complain here.” He leaned on the table to move his face closer to mine.

It gave me a better view of his lips. It looks so inviting. I wonder how, even with his cold and rugged facade, his lips remained looking soft and velvety. I was so tempted to grab his face and kiss him to get a taste.

“Bonsoir Madame, Monsieur.” A waiter approached us to give us the menu.

I cleared my throat and leaned back on my chair. I can’t believe I just thought of that. I tried to focus on the menu. I pursed my lips when I realized that I didn't know those foods on the list.

I turned to Alistair and smiled at him sweetly.

"Why don't you order for us?" I whispered while leaning towards him. I batted my eyelashes as he looked down on me. He sighed before turning to the waiter. They talked for a while before the man walked away. He came back with two glasses of water for us. He also put down a bucket of ice with a bottle of wine in it.

We quietly waited for our food.

"Can I have some wine?" I asked after a when I got bored looking around.

"Are you alcoholic?" he asked.

"What?! Of course not." I hissed. Why would he think that? "I'm just bored."

"Our food will be served in a few minutes," he said.

I sighed. He was right though. It didn't take long before our food came after that.

The whole dinner, I tried my best to calm the fvck down. He may be tall, dark and handsome, but I am also equally beautiful and gorgeous. I shouldn’t be blown away by his presence.

"Are you done?" he asked after wiping his lips with the table napkin.

"Yeah." I breathed as my eyes followed the movement of his lips. I'm really going crazy.

"Let's go." he stood up and stopped in front of me.

"Are we going back now?" I felt disappointed. I haven't even taken a photo yet.

"No. We'll go up." he said. Then he took my elbow and helped me get up as if I couldn't do it on my own.

He took me to the top level of the tower. I couldn't help but gaze outside in amazement. The cold breeze instantly hit my face when we got out of the lift. We walked over to the edge where we could see almost the whole city and beyond.

He stood behind me with his arms wrapped around my waist. His body gave me warmth against the cold breeze of the night. I leaned my head against his chest as I let my eyes feast on the beautiful scenery. This could have been a perfect moment, one for the books, if only it was real. Just like that iconic scene in the biggest ship wreck movie.

But it's not...

A sudden flash of a camera from the corner woke me up from day dreaming.

“What’s that?” I asked him while looking where it came from.

“Oh, a paparazzi perhaps. Don’t mind it. That’s the reason for this,” he answered nonchalantly. His eyes are still glued to the scene before us.

“What do you mean?” I asked confusedly.

“We need to be seen together. We can’t just get married out of the blue.” He said as he kissed the top of my head.

I gritted my teeth in anger. Now I don’t think he’s royalty. He’s more like an actor with his skills. Feeling pretty annoyed, I stepped the heels of my stiletto on his shoes and deliberately squished them.

“Aw! What the hell are you doing?” he asked, his fingers digging painfully into the small of my waist. He couldn't do anything more than that since there were cameras around. I think he could even throw me out of here, but he stopped himself. I smirked while looking at how he clenched his jaw. I raised my hand to caress it. I felt the harsh tips of his stubbles. They were too short to be seen but I could definitely feel them under my palm.

“Oops sorry!” I said innocently while looking up at him.

Before I could even stop myself, I tiptoed and reached for his lips. It was when another flash of a camera ripped into the place. I just hope that they captured it well. I pulled away but what he did surprised me. He grabbed my cheeks and smashed his mouth down to my lips.

He was French kissing me! Right at the top of the Eiffel Tower! It would have been romantic if only I didn't know that this was just for show. However, I still couldn't stop myself from responding even though I know the whole truth behind this.