CHAPTER FIVE- The Celebration

Chapter 5- The Celebration

Sophia’s POV

As the car glided smoothly along the expressway, the soft kiss of the tires on the road surface was the only sound breaking the thick silence that filled the atmosphere. I caught the driver's eye in the rearview mirror, a brief moment of connection with the stranger Damian had sent to pick me. I wanted to utter a word but the words stuck in my throat, my lips narrowed, but I quickly shifted my gaze to the road side, it was still busy, people were still by the roadside going about their business, I watched the driver turn the steering, he turned right and it was a huge white gate in front of us, The gate went open on its own, he drove in with full speed, the street lights in the compound were so bright and shining, the road paths were so lonely, the buildings were all painted white, he drove carefully, straight into the Compound, we passed the water fall and got to the garage, then he packed, and switched off the ignition key, he quickly came down from the driver’s seat and rushed to open the door for me, “Welcome ma’am,” he said holding the door for me to step down, I gave a wry smile, My heart started to race faster, another servant dressed in black suit rushed to where I stood, “ Evening ma’am, Mr. Blackwood asked me to come get you,” she said bowing her head, I stared at her for a few seconds, how did he know I was here? I turned my gaze to the mansion, it was a huge one, Damian must have done a lot of work in there, I thought within me, “ Okay let’s go in,” I said and she led the way, we got to the entrance of the mansion, I could feel my heart race again, I could see myself from the thick glass door, I quickly admired myself in the red short dress and black heels I had put on, the red lipstick gave perfect aura for my outfit, the door swung open with a soft whoosh, despite how tensed I had become, I walked in majestically into the living room with the servants murmuring their greetings and bowing their heads, the interiors were all perfect, made of gold, the living room was filled with a few individuals ,Damian’s family, some workers and men of his caliber, I walked carefully and Damian turned like he was alerted of my presence, he gave a small smile, and quickly hugged me when I had gotten to him, The hug was a chill that sent cold shivers down my spine, then he whispered into my ears, “Welcome to my place Elena,” I swallowed hard and stared at him, “Good evening Da.. Damian,” I said almost stuttering, “ I bet you don’t want to leave here without any piece of information, don’t you? He said giving me smirk, then a servant dressed in a black overalls walked down to where we stood, she gave us a quick smile, in her hands were a small grey tray and two glasses of wine on it, he quickly collected his and nodded for me to collect mine, I hurriedly took mine and she turned and left, Damian sipped his drink, he gave a quick glance, “ You look good, but do better next time,” his voice coming out colder than ever with a smirk that disappeared, I glared at him, I wanted to curse, but he was putting on a red designer’s suit and black shoe, then he spoke again, “ Let me introduce you to a few people,” he said giving me his hands to put mine, I quickly objected, “Don’t worry I’m good,” I said and he quickly turned and led the way, he walked to where his friends were sited, I followed immediately, “ Damian, your woman,” One of his friend’s said pointing at me with a smile on his lips, “ You never told us about your new girlfriend,” Another said, Damian just gave a quick smile, I squeezed his hands for him to tell them who I was, “ You look beautiful,” The second guy continued I just gave fake smile. “ Elena this is Shaun and Donald ,” he said, I stole a glace at him and greeted the men, Then a lady called him and everyone turned, it was a fair tall lady on white fitted gown, “ I called you on phone and you weren’t taking my calls” she spoke confidently, I guessed it was his sister, She was so loud and comfortable talking to Damian in that way, “ Damian is this one of your whore? She said glaring at me and then she laughed out loud, a flicker of embarrassment flashed in my eyes, Damian gave her a cold deadly look, “Let’s go,” He said and slowly slipped his drink, we turned walking away from his friends and the lady, “ Who is she?” I asked, my voice showed all curiosity in me, “My sister,” He said, sounding angry, we walked quietly, the slow music being played, Then he broke the silence as we walked along the hallway “ This celebration is about the Enterprise, We finally got a contract I’ve been working for over some years now,” He said with a big smile on his face, “Wow congratulations,” I said sipping my wine slowly, “Thank you,” he said with his eyes on my neck, then he slipped his drink, I felt uneasy within me, why was his eyes on my neck?

“ Do you have any friend from childhood?” He blurted out immediately, I quickly sipped the drink, I thought in my head for a moment, the only friend I have always had is Claire, “ No childhood friend,” I said and turned my gaze to Damian who stared at me like someone waiting for answers, then I spoke again “I only have one best friend, a girl,” I said, my voice coming out softer than usual, “ How about you tell me about your own childhood because you keep asking about mine and I admire your pendant, it’s reminds of someone,” He said and my grip on the glass tightened, who does my pendant remind him about? I had nothing in my head about my childhood, “ There’s nothing Damian, I’m just a girl that grew up and found life this way,” I said rolling my eyes,

“Mmm..” he lowered his head and continued, “ You know life in the orphanage wasn’t all good for me, but one day you will hear the story,” He said and I picked interest to hear more, “ You met Emilia at the orphanage?” I asked in curiosity, wanting to know more, “ Yes,” he said with a cold stare, his expression became unreadable, “ She always….” My phone started ringing, I took a quick glance at it, it was Hillary, I stole a glace at Damian who was now talking to a man who stood beside us, “Damian I want use the toilet,” I whispered into his ears, then he gave a smile and my burrow furrowed in confusion, why was he smiling, “ Take the staircase and go by your right,” he said and turned to meet with invitee’s, I hurriedly hopped on the stairs.

I tuned my right as I got to the stairs, I pushed the first door on the right, it swung open, it was a well furnished study, I carefully stepped inside and shut the door, I quickly picked Hillary’s call on the third ring, “ You need to be in his study now and check for a file that have to do with the new contract, find it and bring it to me,” I quickly nodded my head, “Okay,” I said almost whispering.

I quickly walked to the Marble desk, I gazed at the wall paintings behind the chair, I smiled and admired it, I quickly bent behind the desk, to search for the document, Hillary had asked me to, I pulled the drawer, my heart began to race faster.

The door swung open immediately and I froze, I hoped for the ground to open, “ Good day Sophia,” His words sent chills down my spine, he was dressed in a black suit, his eyes were hidden behind the black shades, how did he know my name? Who is he? A lot of thoughts ran through my head, I quickly rushed to the door, I glared at him, “ my name is Elena ,” I said pointing my fingers at him, my voice coming out low, his lips twitched into a small smile, he gave a cold look, his expression unreadable, “ Play your card well,” He said, my stomach tightened, I quickly dashed out heading to the stairs, I bumped into Damian and he held me against falling to the ground, his eyebrows knitted, he looked confused, “ Who’s after you? I’ve been looking for you to come and make a toast with me. I had left my drink in the office, I bit my lower lip, hope he doesn’t find out I was in his study, I felt unease within me, the atmosphere was thick and I was getting tensed, he gave a quick smile and spoke again, “ Let’s go down.” I swallowed hard, who was that man?

A trickle of sweat ran down my face as we walked down the stairs.