Behind Closed Doors

Astrid still couldn’t move from where she stood. “Good evening, sir!” The bodyguards greeted, standing upright. The man dismissed them with a wave of his hand. They left without the slightest bit of hesitation.Astrid finally snapped out of her daze, but not fully enough to take her eyes off him. Her breath caught in her throat as she was about to talk, making her cough dryly. “Is anything the matter?” Darius asked, frowning. He never liked delay or awkwardness, and that was just what the lady in front of him was serving to him. “N-no. Good evening.” Astrid stuttered, not knowing what to say. Her knees almost gave, but she managed to maintain her balance. Darius scanned her with a raised eyebrow and frowned even deeper, making Astrid’s heart beat faster. He did not approve of her demeanour, she could tell.She started to suspect that her appearance had something to do with it too. He had never seen her in person, anyway. She had only sent about two pictures of herself, and those were

The next morning, Astrid woke up feeling refreshed. She took a good look at the room. The ceiling, instead of being completely white—like most ceilings—was made of glass. It had an illusion made to look like the sea, with large and small different, colourful fishes. The floor was similar to the ceiling. Anywhere her feet touched would shimmer under her, making her feel like an otherworldly creature. The walls were made to look marbled with black and white colours. There was a sixty-inch  television mounted above a small fireplace, right opposite the queen-size bed. On the left side of the bed was a balcony that could fit thirty people and gave a good view of the countryside. Why have such a large balcony? She wondered. There was a knock on the door, followed by Thelma’s soft voice. “Miss Astrid, are you awake?” “Yes, come in!” Astrid answered. The door opened, revealing Thelma, Mary and Darius. Astrid fumbled with her wor

By three o’clock that afternoon, Thelma had announced to Astrid that Darius wanted to have lunch with her. Her heart raced fast in her chest as she put on a silk flower-print dress, reaching the middle of her thighs. “I see you’ve started to have your meal.” She said as she was led to the garden at the back of the house. She saw an array of different flowers, even the ones she never thought she could see in real life. Butterflies hovered above them in different colours, along with birds. It gave the place a serene feel. She sat on the picnic bench, beside him. He said nothing as he downed his orange juice. “Why are we having lunch together? It's not really necessary.” She mumbled. “Let’s just go by my rules.” He responded. “I have rules that you need to follow, too.” She turned to look at him. “Oh,” he seemed taken aback by her statement. “And what rules are those?” He asked, suddenly interested. “I should be allowed do whatever I want

Darius was frozen in place, too deep in his own thoughts to see that Selene had opened the door. At least, she was smart enough to not open it fully and expose her naked body. “Hi, who are you?” Selene asked, acting like she didn't know who Astrid was. “Have you seen Darius around? I need to speak with him.” Astrid said, playing calm. A little too calm for someone who found another woman in her fiancé's room. What could she do, really? Her stomach still had a mild ache. Besides, why would she want to start a random fight over a man? “I think he went out.” Selene lied smoothly. There was silence as the two women stared at each other for a long time. “I'm sorry, do I... know you?” Selene frowned, exerting a form of dominance to intimidate Astrid. “I don't think we've met. Do you work here?” Astrid asked, having every idea how insulted it would make Selene feel. She was no idiot to know that Selene was having an intimate relationship with Darius.

Astrid sat alone in the garden until nightfall. Her parents would arrive anytime soon, and she had to be there to make sure nothing went wrong. She walked to the dining hall, where she found Darius, Joaquin, Derek, and Ki-woo sleeping with their heads on the table. Joaquin had a pencil stuck to his face, and Astrid couldn't help but laugh at the cuteness of all of them combined. Darius was a good-looking man. Nobody could deny that he sure had good-looking friends. Darius's eyes shot open immediately and he sat up, looking around. Astrid noticed that his tousled hair made him look quite the opposite of his usual self. He was always so put together, one would think he slept and woke up in a perfect state. Astrid giggled at the look of his hair. He looked at her in confusion before flexing his neck and stretching. “What's so funny?” He questioned, the thickness of voice doubling since he just woke up. “You should see your hair.” She replied.