Chapter 3 - The Escape

C H A P T E R  3 :  T H E  E S C A P E 

"What?! Princess?! You call that ugly meng 'Princessa'?!" Crystal snapped in annoyance, placing her hands on her waist, and glared at the man. Wow, this cat's eyes were blue, Crystal muttered to herself.

Crystal was used to being a trendsetter, even for upper class people. It showed that she was higher than the rest of them. However, finding a cat plagiarizing her name was more attention-grabbing, Crystal could not accept it!

The man looked at him, frowning. "Huh? Meng? Ugly?"

"Change her name! Princessa is my middle name!" Crystal insisted, without bothering to explain if Meng was the Indonesian word that her grandmother used for her pet cats. She just wanted the cat's name to be changed, period.

The man raised an eyebrow. "Then? If you are already using the name Princessa, other people can not—"

"It is not 'other people'! It is just a cat!"

"Even so, she is just a cat."

"Change."

"Are you the only one whose name is Princessa?"

"Still, change."

"Gosh. What a brat!”

"I am Crystal Leonidas! I will always get what I want. Now, change that Meng's name!" snapped Crystal.

"Leonidas?" The man snorted, shaking his head slowly. "Then just change your name to 'Meng'. Princessa is too graceful for you to scream." As he finished his sentence, he gave her a seductive gaze all over her body.

"W-what?!" Crystal stuttered, either because of the man's teasing, or her own growing anger. She regained control of herself quickly and looked up arrogantly to show her position, not forgetting to also look disdainful. "What is your name?"

"Xander Peter Raul William," the man replied lazily.

Crystal clenched her fists, struggling to contain herself.

"Xander Peter Raul William," Crystal repeated. "I want you to change this cat's name. Or do you prefer your big boss or your superior to fire a brat like you?"

"Waiter? Me? Are you drunk?"

"Am I wrong?" Crystal looked away, arrogantly patting Xander on the shoulder. "Do not think that I do not know. Even if you dress up like a rich billionaire, I can still remember that you were that lowly waitress who served me at the Bag O'Shrimp restaurant in New York, or the bartender at the Casino—" Crystal stuttered, realizing that she had given too much of information. Shit. The one who had met this man was Amber Kimberly, the red-haired beauty — not Crystal Leonidas. "Anyway, you are still a lowly servant!"

Crystal subconsciously held her breath while Xander was simply standing still with a probing gaze.

Do not tell me he is suspicious. Do not tell me he remembers. If anyone found out Crystal Leonidas was playing with servants, it would be the end of the world, Crystal muttered to herself.

Crystal breathed a sigh of relief, as the man nodded respectfully with a regretful smile. "My apologies, young lady." He swiftly smiled, then turning his attention back to his blue eyed cat again.

Crystal groaned, knowing fully well that this man was deliberately teasing her pride. However, she had not had any time to protest yet.

"I am flattered, Meng, you still remember where I work." Xander looked back at her, his smile widening. "Do you also remember how you asked me to take your clothes off, Meng? Ah, wrong. Amber Kimberly?"

Crystal glared. It felt as if her blood had frozen. Not only because this man dared to change her name, but also because this man could recognize her. He remembered! What did he mean by undressing?! There was never such a thing! The last thing she remembered about this man was that they had met at the casino, this man had poured her a drink—then the next day she had woken up in her Shanghai mansion. Nothing had happened, her maid herself had said, they had picked up Crystal after a bartender had called her mansion.

"Watch your words! I never asked you to take off my clothes!"

Xander laughed. "Ah, you are right. Hi, Meng, how are you?"

"Stop changing my name!"

"Aren't you the one who does not want to have the same name as my Princess?" Xander smiled wider. "Now everything is under control. My princess still got her name, and now you got a new one too."

"Do not play with me."

Xander shrugged his shoulders then turned around, and quickly descended the stairs. "You should not mess with my Princess. By the way, does your daddy have a history of heart disease? I am afraid he would be surprised to hear the news that his only daughter is very wild."

"William!" she shouted, hastily chasing after Xander. "Are you threatening me?! Just because of that damned cat!" she snapped as soon as she managed to grab his arm.

"Miaw!"

He stopped, staring at her, looking bored. "She is not just a cat. She is the cat I would give to the girl I like."

"Ah, I see." She forced a smile, hiding her boiling blood. That was not exactly the answer she had wanted. She was angry for no reason. Wait! No! She felt insulted because of this cat, that was the real reason. Then, she saw Quinn and Christian at the far end of the room, looking for her.

Shit. Without thinking, she grabbed Princessa and carried her up the stairs, ignoring the cat who kept on meowing.

"Hey, Meng! What are you doing?!" Xander shouted while chasing after her. "What grudge do you have against my Princess!"

Ignoring him, she continued to run despite the difficulty, bumping into the maid who passed her and dropped a large vase, then almost slipped a few times. Xander who was only a few steps behind her cursed, and continued to be hampered by her mess.

At last, she made it to the cruise ship helipad. Without bothering to search, she quickly found Quinn's black Sikorsky S-76 Helicopter. She had seen Quinn use the same helicopter many times. Poor people.

However, she knew it was also an opportunity for her. Quickly, she cracked complicated codes to open and turn on the helicopter via her cellphone. The next second, she was already sitting in the driver's seat. She had put Princessa in the seat next to her.

But then she heard his voice.

"Damn it! I have always known that Leonidas are all crazy and like to do whatever they want. But how could this Leonidas kidnap my fucking cat?!” 

* * *

"Seatbelt!" Crystal shouted as he had gotten into the helicopter and shifted the cat onto his lap.

"What?"

"Hurry up! There is no more time," she continued, half shouting.

Xander was still digesting her words when suddenly the helicopter took off, just as Quinn and Christian had almost reached them. "Are you insane?!" he screamed, even though he had only intended to get down once he had saved his cat from there.

She did not heed. She did not even pay any attention to her cell phone that kept on ringing. She did whatever she liked, typical of Leonidas.

Xander could have taken over the helicopter and landed it again, but given Xavier Leonidas' reckless nature, she could be like that too. Like it or not, he reluctantly gave in. He told himself to be patient. At least the cat he had promised Axelion was now safe. He should have known from the start, dealing with a Leonidas would only bring him bad luck.

"Where are you taking me?" he finally asked. He closed his eyes and leaned back against the back of the chair.

"Why are you coming?" asked her haughtily.

"Since you took away my Princessa, what else do you think, Meng?"

"Stop calling me Meng!"

Xander stifled a laugh but his laughter ceased once the sound of the warning alarm made him open his eyes.

"Quinn! You are such a piece of work!" She screamed in panic.

He frowned. What is going on?"

"It is running out of fuel. Looks like we have to make an emergency landing at sea."

"Are you insane?!" He had no clue how many times he had had said the same thing since he had first met this crazy woman.

"Why? Are you scared?" she sneered, giving him a mocking smile.

"Of course not. But my Princess can not swim, damn it!"

Crystal turned to look at him with a flushed face full of displeasure. Victory once again for Xander William.