chapter 3***MAKE UP ARTIST

Tiana hadn’t expected that she wouldn’t see him for over a week.

At first, she'd assumed that he would come to her and explain more in details about the deal they'd made, perhaps sign some documents too but it had already been two weeks since that day and she hadn't even seen his shadow.

She had roamed almost every space in this house and one thing was certain.

 

This house was massive.

Dark marble floors stretched along the floors while white dominated the walls.

Tall ceiling to floor length windows were lined at calculated distance from each, covered behind dim golden curtains that barely let the natural lights in.

She'd known rich people lived in wealth, yes, but this kind, was different. It was the kind of wealth that didn't need to be loud to be known, quiet, old.

Everything here were mostly coated in black, white or gold. Tiana found the colours dull and gloomy, not a single ounce of warmth or life.

She had toured several parts already. The music room where she'd seen severel musical instruments with a view that overlooked the garden behind the house.

It made her curious to know if Mr blue eyes-a name she'd given him when she realized she didn't know his actual name- she wondered if he fancied music to have so many instruments.

She'd ventured into the library, where shelves were towered with books that would probably take years to go through. When she'd seen the dining room, she'd gaped in astonishment.

It was big enough to be considered a hall. Fancy decorations loomed around from the walls. The crystal chandelier sparkled, illuminating the room with rains of light.

She'd been allowed to go to anywhere in this house…except for one place.

 The third room on the second floor, she had been warned sternly that she wasn't permitted to go there. With no explanation of why. 

She also wasn't allowed to leave the house either, the tall gates were heavily guarded with men in black suits. They stood like statues, eyes sharp and intimidating. Tiana didn't want to test her luck with them, especially when she noticed they were armed.

With her diary placed lightly against her lap, she sat over the edge of the bed in the room that had been assigned to her. 

It was almost same size if not bigger than the small apartment she'd once shared with her parents before it had been demolished. At the thought, her mood plummeted but she forced it away.

Her pen was held tightly between her fingers as she wrote about her experiences here so far. 

She wrote about the food, every meal had been prepared like it was an art piece, dishes she'd never eaten nor knew names of.

She wrote about the services from the staffs and how they worked. For some reason, they always knew what she needed even before she herself knew.

Tiana literally felt like a spoiled princess. 

Although, she observed something unusual among them.

No on here talked much. The people here moved silently and carefully as if walking on eggshells.

Whenever she's tried to strike up a conversation with one of the staffs that attended to her, only their silence replied her. When she asked about their boss especially, she could see them visibly stiffen, before ignoring her completely.

Flipping a few pages of her diary, she pulled out the neatly folded paper inside.

It was her death wish list.

Only one item was ticked so far.

Unconsciouy, memories of that night flashed in her head.

The bar, the burn of the whiskey in her throat, the dim light and then….him.

The man whose name she still didn't know. Her first sex experience hadn't been as she'd expected surely. It had not been tender or sweet like the ones she'd read in erotica novels, it had felt slightly painful, urgent, and desperate. Not something she looked forward to experiencing again.

Today, just like the previous days that passed, Tiana had expected it to be the same quiet and lonely experience but surprisedly, the sound of voices echoed outside, approaching footsteps reached her and soon, the door of her room bursted open with an unapologetic thud, startling her.

There were two women standing there, Tiana recognized only one, she was a staff here, while the other with brown hair seemed unfamiliar.

The woman's eyes sized her like she was looking at an unfinished project. Silently observing like she was looking for something.

'' Common now, up, we don't have all day''  The woman with  brown hair spoke, immediately walking off. Without questioning, Tiana followed, walking behind them carefully.

She was taken to a seperate room down the hall, inside, many clothes were heaped in a pile on the bed.

By the side, she saw boxes of shoes, handbags, purses and pieces of jewelry.

The door opened shortly after and someone else walked in, it was a man who looked lavishly dressed.

''Is it her? '' The man asked with a disappointed look to his face as he stared at her.

When the woman who brought her here nodded, he thinned out his lips and gestured for her to move forward.

''Well, good day..” The man began

“ I'm Theo, your makeup artist for today”

Tiana froze at his words.

Makeup artist?

What for?

“ It's a pleasure meeting you” He said, stretching his hand out but Tiana only stared at it, trying to dilute his words. When she realized her mistake, she immediately reached for his hand, shaking it in hers.

“Alright then, so instruction from the boss was to make you look your best today, we've selected all types of beautiful dresses for you, all that's needed is for you to try them”

He explained, pointing towards the bed.

Tiana watched as the woman picked up a brown gown and gave it to her. She was slightly confused but held back any question. 

The other woman who was a staff in the house had already excused herself.

''Start with this. '' The brown haired woman said as she handed the dress over, Tiana went into the bathroom and put it on,still confused.