His Exclusive Stripper: You Are Mine, Don

“It’s okay to forget most times. I always knew you were the bookworm type,” he laughed.

I had to laugh too. “I guess I might just go in and sit my ass home for the rest of the day.”

“You know i think You’re limited to just your room and that’s why you feel so tired. There’s a library and a gym house upstairs and if you love music, there’s also a sound room, the boss goes there to play with the piano, his sister’s piano. Why don’t you visit one of those, instead of just staying locked up in your room?” He suggested.

“Great. I think I would do as you’ve said,” I answered, turning around to head back to my room.

Maybe if I wasn’t so rude to Debbie yesterday, I could call her and ask her to help me get the note, but I can’t now, not until I have apologized. ‘What do I do now?’ I pondered on my way up the stairs. I didn’t go to my room, I passed through the gym, the door was slightly opened and Antonio was working on the punching bag that hung from the ceiling.

His muscles flexed with so much energy. He was shirtless, and the sweat that formed on his back glistened all the way beneath his pants. I stared for a moment, admiring the burst of energy, until it came to my mind that i wouldn’t be seeing this much energy in a short while, if Charlie did something bad to harm Antonio. It would be all my fault.

I moved from the gym down to the sound room, the door knob was a bit stiff, i had to push hard to get in. The room was stuffy, the air moist, I was attacked by a tiny web of spider. I imagined the room hasn’t been used for a long time now. I turned on the light switch, illuminating the dark shadows that lay around. Whoever used the room must have been a big time rock star.

There were several guitars hanging on the war, a set of drums arranged at the corner and a giant piano. I moved over to the piano, cleaning off the dust with my fingers, dabbing gently on the chord to produce a sound that echoed in the room. I kept dabbing on random keys, enjoying the sound that came out of it.

“You terrible, you know right?” I heard from behind me.

I turned around to see Antonio standing at the door. His shirt unbuttoned, revealing his sweaty chest. “I know.” I answered, not looking at him.

He moved forward, taking a seat beside me. “It used to belong to my sister,” he said, tapping on the white and black keys professionally.

“You learnt how to play?”

“She would not play if I do not come down here with her, she was good at it, I guess it just rubbed off.” He explained.

“What really happened to her?” I couldn’t help asking.

He was quiet, playing solemnly and focusing on the key. The lines on his forehead had gathered and his eyes were a natural shade of dark grey. “Bad people…” he started.

“Antonio!” We turned at once, hearing the voice from the corridor outside the door. His fingers paused on a white key, he was staring at me, looking as confused as I was about who the caller was.

“Antonio Baby!” The voice came again, this time clearer, that even I could guess who it was. The earlier confusion on his face disappeared, replaced by a look of disgust.

“I would be back,” he said, standing up and heading for the door. I perched on my seat not knowing exactly what to do. It wasn’t long before I heard arguing voices at the corridor. Her voice was way louder than that of Antonio, she was using curse words on him.

I stood up, heading out to see exactly what was going on. It was Reina, she wore a pink dress that was slitted way above her thighs, giving her a sluty look. Her makeup was a heap, masking her main futures. Yet, she stood elegantly in a black heels. If I wasn’t so proud of myself, I might have felt a little intimidated by her presence.

“Is she the reason you’ve been avoiding me?” She pointed at me as I approached, speaking at the top of her voice.

“Reina leave, you do not come here until you’re invited,” he ordered her.

“Well you wouldn’t invite me, I figured I’d do the invitation myself. Baby ain’t you excited to see me?” She drew closer to him, putting one of her hands on his chest and the other on his chin, trying to draw him in for a kiss.

“Reina stop! Get your hands off me. Can you just leave?” He pushed her hands away, trying to turn her around to face the exit door. She stopped struggling, standing still for a moment and when I did not expect, she walked up to me, smacking me hard across the cheek.

“That’s for stealing my man!” She yelled.

I didn’t have enough time to recover from the shock, before Antonio was dragging her away roughly. He promised he was going to do something bad to her if she sets foot in his home again. She kept yelling and threatening to deal with me.

A guard appeared at the end of the corridor to take her away. I stood there watching, not knowing exactly how to feel about what had just happened. After handing her over to a guard, Antonio trudged his way back to where I stood.

“Are you okay?” He asked, stepping so close that I could feel the heat of his angry breath.Text property © Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org.

“I don’t know,” I snapped, walking away from him, he was the reason I just got slapped. I was heading for my room, the anger just starting to build.

What right did she have to lay hands on me? If I didn’t accept to be here for Charlie’s sake, this wouldn’t have happened. This crazy lady wouldn’t have gotten the chance to slap me.

Talking about Charlie made me remember the note. I knew I had to go get it, but how? It would be impossible telling Jacob the reason I had to leave the castle and without a valid reason, I knew he wouldn’t drive me out.

I decided to send another message, warning Charlie against doing anything at all. I tried convincing him in my message that the information I had dropped off in the apartment wasn’t accurate. I told him to abort whatever mission he had, until I was able to contact him for more information.

I reasoned that if he hadn’t gotten the note already, this would make him uninterested in going over to get it and if he did already, it might dissuade him from going on with his plans. I felt a little relaxed after tapping on the sent button.

What if he isn’t getting my messages? I wouldn’t know what to do until I know for sure if he has gotten the note or not. I made a conclusion to sneak out of the house by dawn the next morning.

****

Having stayed in the castle for over fourteen days, I knew when and where had the strongest securities. The garden with the invisible gate was really watched, so I leaned close to the connecting walls, dodging the shades of light. Behind the shrub of flowers, the fence was lower, the first two attempts to climb over was futile, but a third trial landed me at the other side of the wall.

I fell over in sharp pains, but I didn’t care much at the moment. I had to get to my apartment before Charlie, I needed to destroy that note, so I ran through the semi-dark streets, hoping to see a cab.

After running and walking for about fifteen minutes, a cab passed by, giving him my address, I settled into the passenger seat. The driver kept stealing glances at me, perhaps, wondering why a sane person would leave their bedroom with only their pyjamas.

I sent a text to Debbie, apologizing for my rude behavior towards her. I told her I was on my way to get something from my apartment and will make a brief stop at her house, when coming back, if she didn’t mind.

I highlighted from the cab when it got to my destination, thanking my stars that it was stil a bit dark, it would be easier sneaking around without much questioning eyes on me. I inserted my keys, turning the locks and sneaking in. This was going to be fast, take the note, leave to Debbie’s place, make her call Jay, when he comes around, I could return to the castle with him.

The moment I stepped into my apartment, I felt the presence of a person, a strange fragrance of cologne danced in the air. I was one breath away from asking who it was, then it descended on me, first choking my breath, then thick darkness.