Chapter: The Party

2 weeks later

Fleur's POV:

It's been two weeks since I've been in this house, and honestly, it's not as bad as I thought it would be. In the house of Fillip De Marco. Apart from the incident I had with his brother on the first day and obviously the everyday banter with Agnes, it's not as bad as I thought it actually would be.

Still, that does not change the fact that I'm planning my escape out of this hellhole. No matter how well they treat me, in the end, I'm a prisoner, a gift, an amusement they would use then throw away, and I won't wait until that happens. However, I will wait until I think it's the right time, and I can't rush that. If I ever have a chance to run, then it's going to be only once. If that were to fail, then I'm either dead or back with Alberto, which could also result in death at this point.

Today, I sense a change—a buzz around the hose. While I'm walking from my bedroom to the kitchen, I find all the maids putting on decorations. I enter the kitchen looking for Nina. She's there doing the usual cooking she does every morning. Recently, we have gotten really close—not that I ever thought that would happen in any house I go to, but Nina is a great friend. Someone I really needed.

"Hey, what is all that?"

Oh, there you are; here's Fillip's breakfast; take it to him; you're already late." She cut me off before I could continue my question. I take the tray in my hand, sighing. Since the last time we spoke, which was two weeks ago, he hasn't acknowledged me. Not that I care; I just don't want to be his personal maid.

I got used to the place. I barely get lost anymore, but there is this one place that I'm not allowed to go; no one is. Not Nina, not Agnes, not anyone. It's the northeast wing of the mansion.

Just as I was about to open his bedroom door, someone does. It's that man that eyed me up the first time I brought Fillip his breakfast; I haven't seen him since, and I hoped I'd never see him again, to be honest. The way he stares at me stirs something in my core, and not in a good way. I don't even know his name. He stands in my way longer than he should have and eyes me up in the same disgusting way he did the first time.

"Excuse me," I say, making sure to sound irritated, and he just smirks and moves away. I quickly entered the room and shut the door behind me, glad to be away from this man.

Seeping through the huge windows, light illuminated the room beautifully. While Fillip sat on his desk, his strong back was to the light. His broad shoulders were bent down a bit, stretching his usual black suit. Morphing into a spectacular shade of gold, his hair shined greatly in the sun. Fillip doesn't seem to have noticed that I entered the room because he continued writing something on the paper in front of him.

He finally looks up and then studies me; for some reason, his gaze didn't make me feel anything near what the other creep's gaze made me feel. It's still uncomfortable, but not as disgusting. "Your breakfast." I break the uncomfortable silence, make my way to his desk, and put the tray down.

He locked our gazes, and I should have looked away, but his eyes were spellbinding to look at. They were lavishly riveting to behold, study, and cherish. They felt like a work of art, drawn by the most gifted hands, and yet the darkness that hid behind the beauty was the most compelling thing about it. How ironic that behind such beauty would hide such pain and darkness. Crinkling all around the edges, the movement around his eyes pulled me back to reality, and I found his usual smirk plastered on his face. I glare at him and move away from the desk. His smirk stretched wider with amusement. Damn him.

"What is everyone preparing for?" I decided to ask, wanting that smirk off his face.

"Oh, our annual Christmas parties."

I raise an eyebrow, asking, "In mid-November?"

He chuckles, replying smugly, Well, we have a series of parties at different houses every week; we always start at my house since I'm the don of New York."

"What makes that so special?" I ask, and that makes him look annoyed at me. Ha, I've hurt his ego.

"I have the biggest business, and parties always start in New York."

I just nod and stand there, waiting for my dismissal, or whatever these ridiculous men with power like to call it.

"You're going to... just stand there?"

"I didn't get dismissed," I reply simply.

He laughs again, and I glare, which makes him laugh even more. "I wonder why Alberto kept calling me, asking to replace you; you seem okay."

"Have you forgotten what happened to your brother already?" It's my turn now to be smug. Crossing my hands over my chest, I give him the same smirk he keeps flashing in everyone's damn face. This time, when he smiles, his face is not filled with amusement like earlier; rather, his smile is dark and sadistic. Just the way you expect a man like him to smile. My smile doesn't fall, though, and neither do I move; I stand there, holding his stare.

No, I haven't," he replies in a low, rough voice, a tone I've never heard him use before. I bet that's the tone he uses with the people he interrogates. "Maybe you are trouble." He pauses for one last second, studying me. "You're dismissed." His tone changed to indifferent as he waved me off with his hand. "Make sure to help Agnes and the maids with whatever they need; I don't need her complaining, not today," he orders me just as I am walking out the door.

—————————————————————

It's been nine damn hours of decorating this damn house, and the guests have already started arriving. I look at the clock on the wall, and it reads 7:15 p.m., and I already want to kill myself. I also don't want to see anyone, nor do I want to serve them in any way. When more guests start arriving, I take that as my cue to leave. I will just tiptoe my way out of here, and no one will notice. I will just walk out.

"Where do you think you're going?" I stop dead in my tracks when I hear someone say that. Turning around, I realise it's Nina, and a sigh of relief escapes me.

"Nowhere," I tried to sound as normal as possible, but I was tense; even I could tell.

One eyebrow is now hooked over the other. "Really? Do you think I'm this stupid?"

I just raise my shoulders, shrugging, and when I start opening my mouth to blurt out more stupid things, she raises her hand, stopping me. "Come on," she urges. I give her a questioning look, but she already has my hand in hers, pulling me after her.

"Where are we going?", I ask, skeptical of the whole situation.

"To have fun."

"I don't think I'm fond of your idea of fun."

A smack landed on my arm, and I faked being hurt, laughing at her as she did the same. She really is one hell of a friend. "We are going to attend the party, wear hot dresses, and drink.

No, no, no, wait, we are going to attend the what?" I am sure I sounded shocked, because what in God's name is she even thinking? "I don't think Fillip or Agnes would like this."

Oh, come on, as if you give a shit about Agnes." I mean, she has a point, but still, what about Fillip? " Neither do you give a shit about Fillip either, and you know it. Anyway, Christian asked Fillip if I could attend, and he agreed, so I'm taking you with me because I don't want you to be miserable. I will make the plus one excuse."

"I mean, you're right. I don't give a shit about him, but still, I'd like to avoid trouble," I answer simply.

"Sweetheart, you are trouble. Honestly, he will just look at you in that hot lover way of his," she said, giving me her signature wink as my mouth dropped.

"Hot what? You know what? I don't give a fuck; let's just do it. I don't care anymore, not after what you just said." She jumps up and down like a kid, and a smile creeps its way onto my face.

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"That would look great on you." Nina holds a ridiculously short, black, extremely open dress.

"I'm not wearing that," I tell her, making sure to sound final. Nina lets out a huff and continues to raid her wardrobe for a dress, throwing about a hundred per second.

"Yes!" she yells, and I jump in my place, startled a bit, glaring at her.

"Sorry," she giggles childishly, continuing, I got excited, but look at this!" She says pulling out a long, silky, snow-white dress. It was beautiful, honestly; it had long sleeves, which made me like it even more. I hated it when people stared. It was not just white; it had this shining thing about it, and when I touched it, it felt as if I were touching the clouds. It would cover my whole body except my shoulder and a part of my cleavage. It was simple and elegant; that was what made it feel perfect.

"I love it!" I tell her with a smile, perhaps the most genuine one I've had on my face in years. She claps again and pushes me into the changing room, saying, "Go on, put it on then." So I do. She also gave me a simple rose gold necklace and earrings that match the way the dress has a gold gleam.

Grateful for the privacy, I started changing into the dress Nina gave me. Just as I was doing so, I turned and took a look at my back. Some of the scars were starting to heal, but some never would, both physically and mentally. I am even more thankful for the dress now; it wouldn't show any of it. The ugliness was always attached to my body. Even if that ugliness wasn't because of me, it was simply a part of me, whether I liked it or not. When normal people saw it, they felt repulsed and would look away. And even the men who did this to me would be disgusted as well, cover my back, or simply hide it by any means they found, despite the fact that it was all because of them.

"COME ON, WOMAN." Nina yells from outside the door while banging on it. She gave me such a fright.

Patience, oh my God!" I yelled back. Then, I got into the dress quickly, put on the accessories, and went outside.

Nina's mouth dropped the moment she saw me walk outside. Her head started to shake slightly as she continued to stare; her mouth was still wide open. I smile at her reaction, looking down at myself while running my hand over the dress. "It just fits perfectly. This was made for you. You look amazing, Fleur." She then pushes me onto the vanity chair and starts styling my hair. "Would you like it down or pulled up? By the way, you look perfect. I already said that." She talks to herself, and I blush. How long has it been since someone complimented me and it felt good? Not said while slurring and leaving disgusting kisses on my skin.

"So how do you want it?" Nina's voice snaps me back to reality again, and I look at her through the mirror. "I don't know. You do it."

She starts taking different strands of my hair, and I assume she is braiding it. "Tell me if I pull too hard." I just nod, and minutes later she already chirps "Done."

She braided parts of my hair as if they are a crown over my head, and left more than half of it to be on my shoulder.

Then she starts adding makeup to my face, despite my protests against the idea. It's simple makeup, though; that's why I agreed, and the fact that she said, 'Please, you look like the walking dead, especially under your eyes; have you been sleeping?' I acted hurt, gasping. But she's right, though I've barely been sleeping.

"You go on to the party, and I will come after you," she says after she's done, and I almost panic.

"I'm not going alone."

No, you are. I'm going to take a long time. You don't have to wait for me, plus you'll do great if Fillip decides to be a dick. Just give him one of your infamous kicks in front of everyone," she says, smirking with a wink while technically kicking me out of her room.

I walk to the living room and find a lot of people there, but mostly everyone is in front of the pool. Also where the drinks are, so no surprise here.

A low whistle starts behind me, and when I turn around, whoever was whistling stops immediately. "What the hell?" Christian is shocked.

"What?" I look down at myself. "What is it? Do I look bad?" I ask again when he just stares.

"Hell no, you don't; you look hot," he almost yells and proceeds to whistle.

"I don't think your sister would like the idea of you flirting with her best friend."

"Oh, you're best friends now?" I nod.

"Well, she can be damned, Come here," he starts taking a step towards me, pulling me to him from the waist, and I playfully push his shoulders. Stop, you know it isn't happening, not after what you did to me on my first day."

"Oh, come on, you can't go around torturing us with that hair and those blue eyes of yours. Plus, I had to do what I did on the first day to scare you; you have to cover the bases. Apparently, though, it's not that easy to scare you since you went on and kicked the boss's brother."

"Am I ever going to live that down?"

"Nope. Never. And neither would he trust me."

Well, then see you around, Chris," I say, turning around and making my way to the outside pool. Man, I need those drinks.

"Vodka martini," I tell the bartender.

"You shouldn't be here, and certainly not dressed like this." I turn around and see Leo standing there.

"What's wrong with the way I'm dressed? And Why shouldn't I be?" I asked innocently.

"Because you should be working."

"Nina said Fillip agreed for her to attend; why can't I?"

"Nina is Christian's sister."

"Now that does not seem fair; she should be working too anyway," I tell him.

"Thank you," I say to the bartender as I take my drink.

"And you're drinking too?" He asks, and I shrug, sipping at my vodka and savouring its stingy taste. God, I haven't had a good drink in literal years. "Just stay out of trouble and stay low, even though I know that's hard for you," he orders, and I roll my eyes at his last comment.

"I'm serious; if Fillip sees you, he's going to lose it, so stay low." He warns again.

"Fine, mom, I won't do any trouble."

"Where is Nina? Why are you here alone?"

"She is still changing, and I can take care of myself; I don't need her," I lied. I was probably going to mess all this up without Nina with me. He shakes his head, walks away, and leaves me alone again. I would have liked it if he'd stayed, but I guess he has work or something else I don't know.

A lot of people come around and ask for a dance, but I don't agree. I'm not here for a dance or someone's pleasure; I'm here for mine. I'm here to have fun, so I reject them politely. I try to avoid people as much as I can, at least until Nina appears again. She hasn't arrived yet; maybe this was a bad idea. I'm on my god knows vodka number what, and I already feel a bit tipsy; it's been that long, huh?

I haven't even seen Fillip yet either, and it makes me wonder why he isn't here. He was surely so smug about the idea of the first party taking place in his mansion, so I don't know. Neither did I run into Agnes, which is a relief, honestly. Let's just hope everything stays that way.

'Careless Whisper is banging through the speakers, and I'm quietly vibing with it. "May I have this dance?" I hear someone beside me say, I twirl around and see a random guy. Eyes blue like mine, sparkling in the night, a charming face, not going to lie, and blond hair neatly combed. He looks good, and I'm a bit drunk. Why not?

Yeah, ok," I agree, taking his hand in mine as he guides me towards where everyone is dancing.

"How come a stunning woman like you hasn't danced with someone yet?" I laughed at his words.

"I am being serious."

"So am I. A lot of people tried to dance with me; I just didn't agree."

"I am the lucky guy then." I only shrugged.

We danced for a bit. Silently staring at each other, he has such a charismatic smile. Then he started talking again. "What's your name?"

"Fleur, Fleur de Lis"

He looked at me confused, saying, "That doesn't sound Italian, or even American."

"It's not. It's French. What's yours?"

"Stephan."

"Nice name. Definitely Italian," I say, and I mean it seriously, but he laughs. He has a nice smile. I've said that before, haven't I?

"I've never seen you at any of the parties before."

"Well, I've never been to one."

"Why are you here then? You know who this house belongs to, don't you?" He asks, and I want to scream yes, and I'm stuck here, gifted as if I'm a toy, a toy ripped from its freedom, but I don't scream. Yeah, I know. I guess I'm here for Nina; I just met her weeks ago," I say instead. Keeping my composure.

We fall silent again, but I don't feel awkward dancing with this random guy, slowly moving our bodies together to the music; it's fun. In a sort of way, it makes me feel normal, even for a minute or two. Suddenly, I'm dipped down when the beat drops, and my heart stops for a second. Then I laugh as Stephan pulls me up again, and he smiles back at me.

Not ten seconds later, I feel my hand being pulled, and I'm hardly yanked away from Stephan. "What the-"

I look up, and I find Fillip staring down hard at me. "What the hell?" I yell, but he yells back even louder, "Shut up."

Stephan is looking between us, perplexed. "What is wrong with you, man?" He asks, and Fillip's nose flares. Big mistake Stephan, big mistake.

"Who said you can-" Stephan doesn't even let Fillip finish when he interrupts.

Alright, calm down, man. I didn't know she was yours; she said nothing. She said she was Nina's friend," he just threw me under the bus just like that. Men these days.

"I'm not his," it comes out half a scoff, half a scream, because what the hell is that? Now everyone has stopped dancing, talking, and drinking; instead, they are staring at us. The embarrassment was killing me, causing redness to take over my face.

"I said shut up." Fillip repeats, giving me his death glare, and my face becomes redder. Then he shifts it to Stephan. "Now you know."

Stephan raises his hand in surrender as a response, backs away, and then he's gone. I stared at his back in disbelief, and just like that, he left. Pulling my hand way too hard, I now remember Fillip's hold on me. It was extremely tiring trying to keep up with his strides as he pulled me behind him. "Slow down," I demand as I try to get away from him, but he's too strong and I'm drunk. He just turns around to give me a look, then continues. At least his hold on me stops me from falling. I did trip a couple of times, but that didn't stop him.

As we made our way through the living room and up the stairs, I could see the people staring at us, which made it even more embarrassing. I shouldn't have listened to Nina.

Filled with silence, we finally reached the upper floor. He continues to pull me to what I suppose is going to be his office. I was right; he does take me there. Slamming the door, he pushes me inside while still retaining his hold on my hand. Oh, I know this is going to blacken tomorrow. The pain from his hold was also starting to settle in, and it was causing my eyes to sting. Maybe it was also the terrible embarrassment of being dragged like an animal in front of everyone at that party. Anyway, I could feel the tears about to spill.

"Let go of me." I try again, and he finally does. Shaking his head, rubbing his palm all over his face angrily, hand on his waist, he scowled. Oh, so he's the angry one.

Air stretched with irritation between us both. And before I know it, he shouts at me, "What the hell were you doing?"

"Dancing!" I shout back, using my anger to stop myself from crying. If he thinks that he's going to scream at me like that and I will just stay silent or beg for his oh-so-called forgiveness, then he's dreaming.

"Dancing? Oh, I didn't know that," he says in a mock tone. "What were you even doing at this party? You shouldn't be there," and the shouting continues.

"I was having some fun; Nina said you agreed," I reply.

"Nina. I'm going to..." He stops for a second, then continues, "You're not fucking Nina. She's Christian's sister; I agreed for her to be at the party, not you."

When I open my mouth to reply, he beats me to it. "And what the hell were you doing dancing with this man?"

"I could dance with whoever I want; you don't-"

"Oh, but I do, darling. I own you." His voice drops. It dropped to a dangerously low tone as fury flashed and flickered through his eyes.

"No, you don't." I stopped yelling as well, and I'm not sure if it was because I was tired, scared, or drunk. Maybe it was all of those. One thing I'm sure of is that his gaze was unsettling. Shaking his head slowly, he takes a step closer, and I take one backward. That sinister, sadistic smirk of his is now plastered on his face. Looking me up and down, he takes another step, and I take another.

He doesn't stop, and I feel a lump in my throat forming. The more he came closer, the more it would grow. Suddenly I hit the wall, and realisation hit me. Damn it, these walls I cursed inside my head. Not wasting any time, he takes two strides, and he's now in front of me. Dangerously invading my personal space, our chests nearly touching, and my breath hitching. I tried avoiding eye contact, but when I looked up at him, his eyes bore deep into my soul. His ash-grey eyes got darker by the second, and if it was because of anger or something else, I don't know.

I tried slipping away from him, but his hand immediately slammed beside my head, making me slightly jump in my place from how loud the impact was. Now I'm a prisoner caged between his chest and his hand, and I'm sure if I tried to do the same thing again, he'd slam his other hand beside my head too. He is still close—too close. How tall could a man be? I thought. He was towering over me that if my head was looking directly to the front, my line of vision would only catch his neck. Speaking of which, the veins there were almost pooping. He was really angry.

Without warning, his other free hand slithers up and finds its way to my neck. His hand is so large that it wraps around my neck easily. Then he applies pressure and squeezes—not hard enough that I can't breathe, but it's a warning. Face coming closer, he stops just beside my ears.

"I do own you, darling. And don't you ever defy what I say again." His hand squeezes tighter with the word 'ever, and it takes me by surprise. "You shouldn't have been at the party because you work here, and I didn't say you could attend; you take orders from me and not from Nina. Do you understand that?" He asks

When I don't respond, his eyes snap back to me, asking, "Do you understand?" He asks again, slightly adding pressure to my throat, so I nod.

"Use that little pretty mouth of yours, sweetheart."

"Yes, I do."

"Good." He says, backing away. "And that man you were dancing with—don't dance with him; don't even talk with him again." He continues backing away and stops when he's finally a few good metres away. I stay stuck to the wall. I was tempted to ask why I shouldn't talk to Stephan, but I think this was enough for the night.

"Don't go back to the party too, and if I hear from my men that you did, I will not be this kind with you."

I nodded, and he glared. "I won't." I spit out quickly.

"You're dismissed," he says for the second time today, this time meaning something. That he has power over me, and it kills me on the inside.

I start moving, but I trip on my dress. I almost fell face first onto the ground just before I felt Fillip's hand wrap rapidly around my waist. Keeping me from embarrassing myself further. I forgot I got drunk today; anyone would when someone as intimidating as him is this close to them.

"You're drunk too?" He questions me as if I have just committed a crime or something.

"I'm not. I had three drinks, and this dress is long." That's a lie. I have no idea how many drinks I've had, but the dress isn't a lie.

"Yeah," he says, sounding unconvinced.

"Can you walk?" His tone is lighter now, as if he wasn't just threatening me mere seconds ago. It's funny how someone can go from this to that in a matter of seconds.

Yes, I can walk; I'm not knocked up, for god's sake." I raise my voice a bit, and his hand tenses around my body in irritation. "Watch your tone with me," he warns.

"Leonardo," he calls; the door opens, and Leo is in the room. "Take her to her room and make sure she doesn't get out."

"Oh, so you're going to trap me in a room too?" I didn't mean to say it out loud, but the lines between right and wrong are really blurry right now, and I still can't believe I got that drunk. At least I had the sense to agree with him when he was angry.

Leo looks concerned while Fillip keeps his hold on me, not letting me go. "You know, I wasn't going to trap you; it was just until the morning. Since you think I'm trapping you, I will do it. You're staying here with me." He decided just like that, "You can go, Leo."

Leo hesitates, though, looking between both of us. "I said go," Fillip repeated impatiently, and Leo has no choice but to obey; at the end, Fillip is the boss and Leo is his soldier.

"Go sit there."

"What?"

"On that couch there, go sit."

He lets go of me, and I walk exactly two steps and stumble again. This time I don't lose my balance enough to fall, so I continue walking and thankfully make it to the couch with no accidents.

"Don't move, don't talk; I don't want to hear a voice," he orders.

"What if I want to use the bathroom?" I ask, and I'm really drunk. His head turns in my direction, and he regards me in disbelief as if this question were weird.

"If you are ok with a mess in your office, then fine; I know I wouldn't be," I shrug while telling him. God, I'm drunk and stupid right now.

"What the?" He stops mid-sentence, frowning at me as if I'd really do it. "Shut up and just say if you need to use the restroom," he says, sounding disturbed while saying that.

*************

"Do you-"

"Don't even start, Fleur." He said, his eyes focusing on the papers in front of him.

"Why not?"

"Because I said so."

"Well, If you're going to keep me here for God knows how long, then expect me to start a conversation at least."

No, I won't expect anything except you shutting up, and I'm not the kind of man you'd start a conversation with."

"You really do like shutting women up, don't you?" Filter Fleur, filter.

His palm slammed on the desk, and he finally looked up at me. "Would you like me to show you how I do it?"

"No thank you," I scoff, and he just shakes his head. Well, we've got a long night ahead of us...