SEVENTY-FIVE

ANISHA'S POV

As much as Dylan would have wanted Valentina and I to stay in his mansion, we felt it was not appropriate. On my part, I felt like a highly dependent person, forcing my way into the man's life. But the fact was, we had nowhere else to go at that moment. We had no jobs and no money. Swallowing our pride, we ended up agreeing to go there. Although Valentina insisted that it would be only for one night, she ended up staying two nights, since she was waiting for her interview results from the pet shop. Unfortunately Valentina did not manage to get the job.

Since both of us had missed school for such a long time, our dean advised us to defer. Our main duty then, was job hunting. Valentina had made up her mind that she wanted to go to Hallowcave and visit Ms Meyerton, as well as look for a job that side. She said she believed that she could get a job there. Although she understood that Lakeworld was way better than Hallowcave, financially, politically and in many other ways, she still felt that she needed a break, and she needed to visit Ms Meyerton. When we all failed to convince her, we saw her off at the airport on the next morning. I would have also loved to go with her, but I felt the both of us would be a burden to Ms Meyerton. She was already suffering from the stroke; and I also did not want to leave Liam. As uncomfortable as it was to go to Dylan's house, I promised myself that I was going to get a job and be able to take care of myself in no time. It was just a passing phase, I promised myself. And indeed it happened as per my plans; with the referral of the young man who had given me a roof over my head, I secured a job at an elementary school. Since I had successfully completed the first eighteen months of my music and theatre, I joined the school as an assistant to the music teacher. My duty was mainly to teach the young ones music, including teaching them how to play the piano, the violin and the guitar. Most of the theory part of the classes was taken care of by the senior teacher. I did not start the job immediately, for the authorities asked me to start on the coming semester, which was three weeks away.

Besides the security guards that were always at the mansion, there were also numerous house staff of all ages. I hardly knew their names, save for Mrs Silva, the head housekeeper at Dylan's house. She was a very lovely woman. Many times I asked myself why Dylan would need so many people to work for him; but I always ended up telling myself that maybe that was the way of the rich. I stayed in a wing of my own, and the man respected me enough to let me have my own space. I could not have been happier.

The pain and consequences of the kidnapping was still there, and we were separately attending professional therapy. For me, for example, before I managed to get the teaching assistant job, two prospective employers, who had later on recognized me as the babysitter who kidnapped a child, decided they were no longer going to hire me. Although the police had cleared my name, it seemed like some damage had been done already. That caused me a lot of stress.

I woke up very early, because Dylan had told me that he was taking me shopping for new clothes. He had a very busy day ahead of him, so he told me that the plan was that he would take me to the place and leave me there while I do the shopping, and pick me later.

I had a brand new phone bought by Dylan, and I was starting to enjoy a life that was way above what I was used to. Part of my heart told me I had to leave before I got too used, but I still had nowhere to go, so I decided to stay a bit longer. The plan was to get my first pay check and stand on my own.

Downstairs, a driver was waiting for us. He swiftly opened the car doors and nodded before greeting me. Never in my life had I ever been treated in such a way. I got in the car and Dylan came in and sat next to me. He took my hand and held it. The atmosphere in the car was awkwardly quiet. Driving another car behind us was Chris. The man who covered the roles of driver, personal assistant and friend to Dylan, was always around with the latter and they got along very well.

When we arrived at the mall, I instantly realised that it was one of those high end places, which on my own I would have never dreamt of visiting. Dylan took me to one of the shops and, the lady who was there was busy unlocking the doors. She smiled at Dylan. "Doctor de Milo! It's an honour to have you here today!"

Dylan nodded and we got inside while he held my hand.

"Listen," he spoke to the shop assistant. "Assist her to get anything that she wants. I want her to look perfect for a dinner, give her the best that you have! If she needs anything else, please help her."

The girl looked at me and nodded politely. "Take care of her, Chris", Dylan said as he handed me his black card and immediately left with the driver. Chris and I remained.

I started to flip through the dresses. All of them were stunning.

"Would you care for a makeover, ma'am?" the shop assistant smiled at me. Seeing that I was contemplating and taking a bit long to respond, "no, sorry, I don't mean that you don't look beautiful. You are very beautiful! I am only saying if you're going for a dinner with the de Milos, then you really have to look the part!"

"Oh, OK. I guess I will have it." I smiled, slightly offended by what she said. What exactly did she mean?

I looked through the dresses, and someone entered. It was a middle-aged woman who was headed towards the back of the shop before the shop assistant stopped her.

"Morning ma'am, I have with me here a lady brought in by Dr de Milo junior. I was wondering if we could open up the new stock of dresses for her! She needs dinner dresses and formal wear too."

The lady stopped, turned and sized me from bottom to top; top to bottom.

"Doctor de Milo brought her here himself?"

"Yes he did." The shop assistant smiled. "This is the shop manager", she informed me, pointing at the lady who had just walked in.

The shop manager immediately ordered for me to be brought to the back. I was taken into a room and shown a lot of magnificent dresses, the new stock, I assumed.

I tried on one dress after the other, and I felt myself going crazy. It was exciting. It was a new experience. Because Chris insisted that I do; I ended up choosing five dinner dresses and five formal wear. If I was on my own I would have taken only one dress. The feeling of being a dependent friend (what were we, anyway?), kept haunting me. I picked out the matching shoes and bags too. The manager told me that she was going to take me to their other shop which was just opposite, for my makeover. Chris carried all the bags and started to head out.

"Let me drop these in the car, I will be back now," Chris said.

As the manager was leading me out, I heard a loud voice from the other end of the shop; the same shop which we were leaving. I looked to see a lady who was wearing a stunning silver dress, and she was smiling widely. She was trying on the dress, and also saying something about loving the dress a lot. Our eyes met and out of politeness, I smiled.

"What are you smiling at?", she said. "What are you doing here anyway? With the way you're dressed, one would wonder why you even dare come into shops such as these!"

I looked at my faded jeans and t-shirt. They were not bad, I told myself. I thought they looked decent, but I just slowly turned to leave. She called out after me, "What! Wait! Are you not that girl who got famous for kidnapping the la Martina' child? Where is the child? What did you do with the la Martina child!"

"If you followed the news closely, you would have known that I was proven innocent, and I was also a victim of kidnapping." I responded, starting to get really upset.

"Whatever, get lost!!" the woman looked the other side.

I decided to ignore her; hurried outside and followed the manager, who had already gone a few steps ahead, and was talking, for she had not realised that I was left behind.

In the shop, the manager gave strict instructions that I was supposed to be taken extra good care of. The staff was very nice, and they treated me well. I got the massage, the manicures, the pedicures, and other things I did not even know existed.

Chris brought me some food and after I had eaten, I continued with the makeover. My hair was trimmed down a bit, thoroughly washed and styled. I was surely getting exhausted. Evening was already approaching. I realised that I was going to spend the whole day out. That was mainly because I had spent many hours choosing my dresses.

When I was almost done, Chris came in and handed me the phone, "Sir Dylan wants to talk to you", he said.

I immediately answered, "Dylan!"

"Why aren't you answering your calls?"

"Oh I am sorry. It's in my bag. My bag is not here with me now!"

"How was your day? Are you still at the mall?"

"Yes, I am almost done! In about…." I looked at the lady who was fixing my hair, whispering to her to tell me how much more time she needed with me.

"Maximum two hours," she whispered. I was shocked to hear that, for I thought we only needed about ten minutes to go.

"Two hours max", I said with embarrassment.

Dylan's chuckle could be heard from the other end of the line.

"OK so is it ok if I go home and get dressed, and I will pick you and go straight to Clear Opal Manor?"

"Umm, I guess so".

"OK please give Chris the phone," he said and I handed over the phone back to Chris.

When I was finally done, I stood in front of the mirror and for a moment I thought it had a defect. The person who was standing in front of me could not have been me. My mouth opened in awe, and I did not know what to say or do.

"Wow Miss, you really look beautiful!", Chris smiled.

"Thank you," I said in a low voice.

The ladies offered me to freshen up, and I wore my new dress and shoes….everything about me was new. The ladies at the shop made me feel like royalty; I loved every moment spent with them. My heart started wishing Valentina was there with me; for I was used to sharing all of my highs and lows with her.

"Do you like it?", the hair stylist asked me.

"I love it. Thank you", I said to her.

Chris made a call to Dylan, and he said he was on his way.