Chapter 8 - Number

So Vladim left. After throwing shitty words at me he said he would send Ilya with my cream for me. 

He couldn't even nicely give me his number, instead he pulled out a business card and dropped it on my hand, then left claiming that he will shower over there, he doesn’t have time to be here.

He's lucky I wasn't going to argue with him, looking the way I do, that's more embarrassing than actually letting him walk all over me.

I sent the name and image to the number, I'm currently just waiting for Ilya. I took a warm shower because it could make the symptoms a bit better but my face was sour so I could only steam it.

After having waited over 30 minutes, I finally heard the soft knock on the door. I called out for whoever it was to come in.

The door slowly pushed open and Ilya walked in. I had wrapped a scarf around my face to make it look less ugly, leaving only my eyes visible. The place wasn’t bright but I could see his muscular figure through his tight shirt. His hair is set loose today and as usual falling on his face.

"It's that bad?"He laughed.

"You're not supposed to laugh, you know, I could be insecure" I responded, sitting up properly.

"That's good I like to worsen people's insecurities… especially girls" He winked.

I threw my head back in a whole hearted laughter before meeting eyes with him again "Did you get the cream?" I asked.

"Yes…" He pulled a box out of his front pocket and took a few steps towards me to hand it to me "What happened?" 

"Well your dear best friend slash boss fucked me over " I responded, analyzing the box "His products are strong and I have a sensitive skin"

"Sounds like your fault to me" He shrugged "Is it what you wanted? I think the box is different from the picture you sent but the pharmacist says they have similar effects"

"It seems good enough…" I say "I hope it works, thanks"

"Why are you sitting in the dark?" He asked, and within seconds he's all the way at the other end of the room, throwing the curtains apart from each other.

My eyes burn to the sudden ray of light flashing into them. I hadn't opened the window since morning because I have never been one to enjoy brightness. The room lights up, revealing all the beautiful features of it that get hidden in the dark.

"Aghh shit it" I groaned "It's too bright" I used my hand as a barrier between my eyes and the light.

“Come on, it’s great” He pulled the balcony doors open and the wind blew into the room. It felt so good I had to get up and check out. It’s my first time seeing the view from the balcony.

Ilya stood by the glass railing, looking up at the sky, with a smile playing on his face. I stepped into the balcony, analyzing the open space. It’s almost as big as the bathroom. The far left end is covered in grass and a hammock is placed, hanging and on the left and a cushion set with a coffee table in the middle. The area was sheltered with a wooden structure. The rest of the space is just an open area for air circulation.

I walked and stood beside Ilya, looking up to see what he was looking at. The blue sky.

“I love to just stand outside and stare at the sky, it brings me some sort of comfort” He smiled between his words “You should try it, it helps a lot. And you should also let me know what product you use. I will get those for you so that this doesn't happen again” He looked down at me.

For the first time I was able to really see the color of his eyes, his honey eyes are bordered with a hint of emerald and somewhat yellow. The soft wind glides through his hair, making it move around softly and magically. A gorgeous man right in front of me and there is nothing I can do about it.

“Yeah well…” I sighed, looking down the balcony. I spot a few guards around and cars parked around “I will try and handle this one first then we can discuss the other” I say, waving an obvious hand around my face.

He laughed at my not so funny words, then turned around and walked back into the bedroom.

“Well…” I followed him “You have my number now, when you're ready to come out, let me know. I will always be available. Vov-” He stopped “Vlad is at the mansion if you want to go there too, call me” He said heading for the door.

“I don’t think I have your number Ilya” I said.

“You do, the number you texted this morning” He responded, standing by the door.

“I got that number from Vladim’s business card…” I frowned.

“Yes, I handle his business calls” He turned to his phone.

I nod, forgetting that he’s not facing me to see the nod but before I could send him a verbal response, he shut the door behind him. I sighed and softly pulled the scarf off my face. I could feel the swell going down but I was only able to see it when I looked into the mirror.

I knew exactly how the cream worked and I jumped right into it. After smearing the antibiotic all over my face, I picked the remote off the table and somehow managed to turn on N*****x for myself.

I never pegged Vladim as the N*****x type of guy but he had an account. I clicked on the account to see what type of movies he watches but of course there was nothing. He simply has an account but doesn’t watch anything.

I created a profile for myself with the name Love and picked a new show to watch. I have always been a sucker for mind twisting sci-fi shows so I started a new show called 3%. Halfway through the episode I realized that I haven’t eaten all day.

I glanced at the clock on Vladim’s office table which read 1pm. I sighed and thought of going down, which didn’t feel particularly appealing to me so I  did the one thing that felt relevant. I texted Ilya.

Now that I know that the number I have is being handled by him, I can text it comfortably. I happily picked up my phone and opened the messenger and began typing. I asked him if he could tell Marie to bring some food up for me, that I haven’t eaten all day and even threw in a puppy eyes emoji in there. 

I threw my phone a few centimeters away from me and directed my attention back to the movie. By the time the first episode ended, Marie knocked on my door, coming in with a platter of good food. The smell was enough to have me bow down to her.

“Hello dear,” She placed the tray on my bed and walked to me. “I was worried that you didn't come down for breakfast, Ilya told me what’s going on” She grabbed my chin and scanned my face “It’s getting better I guess” She said.

“Yeah… The cream works a charm” I smiled and looked down at the food as soon as she released my face “Thank you so much for the food” I smiled up at her.

“You’re welcome” She smiled “Eat, I’ll come and check up on you later” She caressed my cheek, then headed out.

As soon as I heard the door close shut, I dived into the food. I have a terrible habit of eating food like a very uncivilized person when I’m alone. I eat like a starved cat who hasn’t eaten in days and it does not look good. My brother caught me doing it once and took a video of me. It took a lot of bargaining to get him to delete it. I lost a lot of things.

The food was great, the movie was great and I slept great. Right after eating, I slowly fell asleep while watching the show. The sleep was so good but unfortunately it wasn’t long. I only slept for about 2 hours before I got woken up by the sound of my phone buzzing.

My eyes snapped open and I picked up my phone, it was an unknown number. Being the daughter of a drug dealer 101, do not answer unknown numbers. But I did anyway.

I answered and let the person on the other end speak first. There was silence on both ends, until he finally spoke “I’m sending Ilya to pick you up, come to my office”

If not for his very strong unique voice, I wouldn’t have known who it was. The command was so strong and powerful that I didn’t even have the power to fight against it, and neither did he give me a chance to because he cut the call just as fast.

I stared down at the phone in disbelief, feeling a wave of anger starting to bubble up in me but I pressed it down. There was no point ruining a good day because of an idiot like that. 

I knew that there was nothing that I could possibly do not to go because that will only cause a fight between us and I don’t want to lose too many brain cells in these 6 months. Fighting with Vladim is like fighting with a wall, literally.

I got off the bed and walked towards the mirror, smiling as I approached because I could tell that the swelling had gone down. I analyzed my face and ran a hand down the rashes under my chin. Everything else is gone, I just have to wait till tomorrow and get back to normal.

I washed the cream with plain water, with no products then cleaned my face and walked to the closet to get ready while moving to the beat playing. I took out one of my baggy overalls and put it on with a fitted crop top.

After getting ready, I put the cream on again, a lot less this time, then waited for Ilya to arrive. After about 10 minutes of waiting, he came to my door and we both headed downstairs.

“The cream is a miracle cream” He smiled.

“Yeah, look at me. Brand new” I twirled around.

As soon as we pulled into the mansion, once again I was amazed. It looks so much better during the day, the garden looks heavenly and in my opinion, the only thing pulling it back is all the guards and workers flying around.

As soon as I opened the door and stepped out, the breeze blew my bare arm and waist, sending chills down my body. It’s a lot colder than I thought. The guard greeted me and I nodded with a smile in response.

This time, I’m walking in through the main entry and I feel like a complete princess. The door was pulled open from inside, revealing a beautiful beige washed hall. I wasn’t able to analyze it this well the last time I came here, it was swamped with important figures.

I wasn’t given a chance to take in the beauty when Ilya walked past me, muttering a “Follow me”. I tailed behind him, going up the ame stairs I came down yesterday. The handrail is epoxy, giving the steps a modern touch. 

Once again, his office was at the very end of the hallway, he seems to have a thing for pushing himself into tiny places.

We walked down the hall, and Ilya knocked on the door and started walking away.

“Where are you going?” I asked.

“I was ordered to bring you here, my job here is done” He winked, before walking away, his steps slowly faded and I was left in a silent hall, waiting for the door to open.

After patiently waiting for a few seconds, I reached to knock again but just as I was about to place my hand on the door, it was pulled open but before my hand was given a chance to land on air, it was pulled forward, dragging my whole body along.