Raymond's mansion

Ariel trembled. She couldn't believe Marco was doing well after what he did to her. She couldn't believe how things were going in his favor after how he... She wanted to scream really badly.

How did he get so far? The Albert family would never let just any body marry into the family unless he had become somewhat capable over the two months and had acheived great feats.

No, she didn't want to think about it.

"He's enjoying the best moments of his life while you had to stay in the hospital. Say, at this point, wouldn't the shake him up a bit? Let him come back to reality."

Raymond's words slithering into her ear like a snake was no different from the devil whispering sweet nothings and tempting her into the road of vengeance.

But no matter what it sounded like, she had no plan of resisting. She was ready to follow that path. Be it revenge, be it retribution, she was going to met it out on those bastards that thought they could get away after making her suffer so much.

"Yes." She answered and raised her head. "It is the best time to take revenge."

Raymond watched her like she was some sort of masterpiece he had created with his own hand. Now that the stage was set, it was time to position the characters.

"That's good." He said. "Now, one more question. What height does a person need to get for his fall to sound the loudest?"

"That would be the very top. He needs to be at the highest for his fall to be epic."

"Good." He dropped his hand on her head. "Keep that in mind."

Ariel could not get what went on in Raymond's mind and like before, she did not even want to try to guess. It was useless.

They got to Raymond's mansion and like every successful businessman, his abode was one to write home about. Truly impressive.

The garden was massive. The dolphin waterfall made of beautiful transparent stones at the center did not fail to attract her attention. The Albert family's mansion was also huge but honestly, it could not be compared to this 'castle'.

As soon as the car stopped, the door was immediately opened but upon seeing it was a lady in simple wear, the butler blinked his eyes twice. He thought he must've been seeing things.

"Aren't you going to get down?" Raymond asked Ariel who was slightly taken aback by the butler's reaction.

"Yes." She got down and waited for him to get down as well.

White, who came in with the car behind them, immediately took his position right next to Raymond and they walked in.

Ariel marveled at what her eyes beheld as she walked in. The row of maids were not anything new but rather, it was the interior that caught her attention. She always wanted to be... She felt her heartbeat and she touched her chest... She always wanted to be an interior designer.

When did it start? She couldn't tell if it was her strong desire to have a home of her own or if it was because of how much she adored the decorations in the Albert family but one thing was for sure. She wanted to design her own home. But unfortunately, she could not go to college so that dream went down fast.

Raymond suddenly stopped walking but did not turn around.

"Edward." He called and the butler, whom Ariel did not know had been following from behind her, answered,

"Yes, master?"

"How's the room I asked you to prepare?"

"It is ready, my Lord."

"Good. Take her to that room." He glanced over his shoulders towards Ariel and said, "They'll take good care of you."

She subconsciously nodded, even if she wasn't sure what exactly that meant.

"My Lord, may I ask?" Edward politely requested and he nodded.

"Go on."

"How long will our guest be staying for?"

"It's indefinite but prepare for the long run." He said and finally walked away with White in tow, leaving Ariel in Edward's care.

"Ahem, right this way, my lady."

"Oh, you can just call me A..." She paused, remembering Raymond's rule not to tell people her name casually.

She looked at the butler who was waiting for her to finish her response but she never did and just walked along with him towards the room that had been prepared for her.

"This will be your room."

"Alright." Ariel nodded and he opened the door to her said room. As soon as she saw how big it was, her mouth fell.

"I hope it is to your liking." Edward said.

"What's there not to like?" She asked as she walked in with Edward, two maids and the guard carrying her stuff.

Such a huge room, would she stay inside alone? The space was as big as the entire apartment she shared with Marco... Remembering that, she felt her lungs lose air. Ah, she was so mad. Why did she have to think of him? Her hands trembled and she clenched her fists.

She looked at her hands. Guess he had a larger influence on her and a stranger grip than she imagined. Well, she intended to break that grip and influence one way or another. No more would she live in shackles and Raymond was her key to breaking free.

"Thank you." Ariel said as she took her stuff from the guard, who slightly bowed his head and left.

"Now, these two will be in your care." Edward said, referring to the two maids that were present. "Please do not hesitate to pour out your worries and let them know if you ever feel uncomfortable."

Ariel nodded. As much as she wanted to say, 'I am fine on my own' or 'This room is too big for me alone, can I get a smaller one?' She wanted to be exactly what Raymond wanted. And if he said he wanted her to possess the character of absolute confidence, arrogance and pride then this was the starting point. There was no need to decline.

"What are your names?" Ariel asked.

"Betty and Allison." Betty introduced, pointing at herself and then at Allison.

She sounded rigid like this was something she was doing out of obligation and not because she enjoyed it.

"Okay. Betty, Allison. I'm going to be here for quite some time so I'll be in your care. Please," she smiled warmly. "...do take care of me."

"Of course, my lady. It is our duty to serve our master's guest." Allison's response was a bit more rigid compared to Betty's.

She had indirectly stated that they were doing this simply because she was their master's 'guest' and that they found no pleasure in it.

Ariel understood their attitude well and nodded.

'Well, in all, it's fine. I'm not here to make connections with people anyway. All that matters is pleasing Sir Raymond and getting my revenge.'