Don't You Love Me Anymore?

 When the door was opened for Della to leave the room it was eerily quiet, too quiet for there to be a party going on. There were not even any house staff that could be seen. 'Has he even given the house staff a pass to the party? Or did it just take them all to run the event?' Della wondered to herself as she was being escorted to the staging area behind the back doors of the ballroom.

  Della was uneasy about the silence, so she turned to the young maid on her left and she tried to read her face. She had very long strawberry blonde hair with long ringlets in it. She had a tiny frame and captivating blue eyes, that weren't giving away a damn thing.

  That was all in stark contrast to the second young maid, who had white blonde hair. It was shoulder length and straight as a board. She was slightly smaller than the first girl but every bit as fair. It was obvious from their features that they were somehow related, they even seemed to communicate with each other without saying a word. Della thought it was a bit strange, the whole set up, it was just....strange.

  The girl noticed the change in Della's body language and immediately looked up at her, "Miss, my name is Kate, are you feeling unwell?" the young lady asked her sweetly. She couldn't have been more than twenty years old. Della made a gesture with her hand as to ask where everyone else was at.

  Kate understood, and she hurried to answer her, "Oh the people?" Kate asked her, "They are all in the grand ballroom awaiting your arrival, Miss." Kate explained, "but it's well on the other side of the castle grounds, so we must hurry," she told her as she picked up the pace. Della wanted to scream, but she knew there was no use. She couldn't scream again, even if she had wanted to anyways, so she locked arms with the maids again and carried on the long walk to the grand ballroom.

......  

  Robert's long silver limo pulled up to the castle gates after at least four hours on the road. He was not even sure what town he was in anymore. The road up the mountain to the castle had beautiful scenery, but it was long, and void of other houses or people for miles and miles. He was tired, and ready to freshen up before this damned engagement party that he didn't want to attend anyways.

  The driver stopped at the guard shack and rolled his window down. The guard stepped forward to see the specially colored VIP invitation that the he was showing, and they were quickly waved through. The driver pulled through the gates and started along the driveway to the castle doors. The path was winding, and it really was an awe striking site at sunset. There were finely manicured flower beds, and every tree and shrub was groomed to perfection. There was a grand waterfall in the center of the drive and it was surrounded by an actual koi pond. There were statues here and there and even the grass was exactly right.

   The car finally came to a rest at the end of the long driveway, at the bottom of a very large set of stairs that sat perfectly in front of two giant wooden doors. After the car came to a complete stop the driver got out, and he rushed to open the door. 

  "Thank you James," Robert said flatly, as he got out of the car and looked up at the doors at the top of the mountainous stairs. They were wide open and a uniformed guard was standing at each door. There was a podium in the middle and a nice looking uniformed woman standing at it to collect the invitations from arriving guests. Robert began to ascend the stairs while James opened the trunk and retrieved Robert's luggage, before making his way up the grand stairs as well.

  "Mr. D'Rose', so nice to see you. We have been expecting you sir." The nice looking young lady said, as Robert flashed his VIP invitation again. "Your room is ready. If you would, please follow Pearl, and she will show you to your quarters, but do hurry Mr.D'Rose', the party is set to begin very soon." The woman said as she gestured towards the head maid who was standing just inside the door.

  "Very well," Said Robert, as he looked around the castle entrance in a very judgemental way. He had to admit, it was far more beautiful than he had ever imagined. A slight smile spread across his face as he looked back over his shoulder to see James coming up the stairs to meet them. "Right this way please," Pearl said, as she gestured towards the open doorway. She stepped aside and allowed the two men to enter the castle, she then led them quietly to their quarters. Mister had made sure that Robet's quarters were in a whole different wing than Della's, that way there was less risk of them meeting up by accident. 

  After the walk to their quarters, Pearl showed them inside, and she asked if they needed anything else. They said that they were fine, so she backed out and told them that someone would return in a little while to show them the way to the grand ballroom. They thanked her and she shut the door as she left. Robert was feeling a little better about the arrangement he had made after seeing the castle with his own eyes. "This should work out well for us all," Robert said to himself as he looked around the elaborate suite.

  He was in a happy mood and anxious to see Della. He was sure that after he explained himself, Della would come to understand that this was best for her, and everyone else in the family. Of course, he couldn't tell her the whole truth, but enough of the truth was still available to help her see things his way. Robert had a light heart as he began to dress for the party.

.....

  The men that Caine had sent watched Robert from the parking area of the castle. They had managed to slip in between some other cars coming in for the party, one of them distracted the guard while the others slipped through the checkpoint and into the parking area. They called Caine as soon as they saw Robert go up the steps and go inside the castle.

 "Caine, how far out are you?" the head investigator asked as soon as Caine answered his phone. "I'm only about an hour away. I'm coming as fast as I can," Caine said as he laid into the gas a little bit harder. "I don't know how much time you will have left, but Caine you better hurry. I can't even begin to imagine what is going on here," the investigator said. "Ok, I'm on it, don't do anything until I get there," Caine said as he hung up the phone and mashed the gas pedal down as far as it would go.

  As soon as Caine laid into his truck, he saw blue lights running up behind him. "Shit!" Caine shouted as he tried to decide what to do. He knew he needed to stop...but at what price would that be for Della? No. He decided quickly, he could not and would not stop. He HAD to get to Della, right now. So he dropped a gear and laid on the truck even harder.

  He was quickly pulling away from the cop. He went over a huge hill in the road and as soon as he was in the valley...he whipped the truck over into the woods and shut off all the lights. He prayed it would work, just then he saw the police car race by him still in hot pursuit. "Thank God," Caine whispered to himself as the lights drove ahead and out of sight. 

  As soon as he was sure that the police car was gone, Caine turned his lights back on and pulled out cautiously. He eased back onto the road before hitting the gas again. He was determined to save Della. He was so afraid for her life that he was almost out of his mind. He knew she loved him and that this had to be against her will. He would get to the bottom of it all tonight and bring Della back home, and then he would deal with her father. At least, that was the plan anyhow.

.......

   The guests were all there at the nightclub and ready for a party. The MC was signaling that the party was about to kick off, but Deena could not find Della anywhere. She was feeling very disappointed after traveling so far to be there for Della, so she made her way back to the main bar in the center of the dance floor to find Jason.

  He was right where she had left him. He smiled when he saw her coming back over, but the look on her face made him do a double take. His smile dropped away immediately as he asked Deena over the extremely loud music what had happened. He was sure that the two friends wouldn't squabble after being apart for so long, so he was really concerned.

  Deena was about to explain that she could not find Della when the siren went off and the intro music started. All of the lights went dark and smoke filled the room. Confetti and glitter fell from the ceiling just as the pyrotechnics lit up the stage. There was an amazing laser show that lasted about five minutes that was expertly coordinated with the newest songs on the most popular DJ's playlist. The crowd went wild. Everyone was screaming and laughing and they all began to jump and dance together.

  Deena couldn't help but to smile. She was so surprised at this type of party. Deena always thought for sure that Della would be married in a barn or in a quiet country setting. She never dreamed that Della would let it go down like this.

  Suddenly Deena thought to herself, 'I didn't tell her that I was coming, and I'm sure that I will see her here tonight,' that thought put Deena at ease and allowed her to relax enough to enjoy the party. It also gave her a new sense of excitement for seeing her long lost friend again.

  She looked over at Jason, he didn't see her, though, because he was so enthralled with the show. She remembered that she loved him. He had sleek, deep auburn hair. It was thick and it ran to the top of his ass. He had red-gold skin and a perfect smile, and his thick arms and chest rippled when he laughed. Watching this made Deena laugh out loud and let go of her worry all together. 'This is going to be a good night,' she thought to herself with an edge of anticipation. 

........

   Caine was pulling in to an extremely long line of cars, that were all lined up at the castle gates. They were displaying their invitations one car at a time, causing the line to move very slowly. This aggrivated Caine to no end. Also, he did not have one of whatever those invitations were that the guards were checking for. Caine thought about it for a moment, then he called his investigator.

  "Where are you?" Caine asked as the phone was answered by his head man. "We were in in the parking area but we started to look suspicious, so we moved to the waiting line at the door," the man answered. "How are you moving about so freely? I don't know how I'm even going to get through the gates." Caine asked him in an irritated voice. "I had the men separate and step into different crowds. We're all just hanging out in line at the moment," the man on the phone replied. "Good work, John. I'll find a way in," Caine said and he hung up the phone.

  Caine left his truck in the line and approached the car ahead of him with a cigarette in his hand. He knocked on the driver's side window of the white stretch Hummer, and the annoyed man rolled his window down slowly, "Is there something I can do for you, Sir?" The driver asked.

  "Excuse me, Sir." Caine said, "but do you happen to have a light?" He asked with a smile as he held up his cigarette for the driver to see. "Oh, yes, of course, Sir," the driver smiled and said as he turned to retrieve the lighter from the dashboard of the Hummer. Caine began to make small talk with the driver until he relaxed and got comfortable with him, that's when Caine made his move.

  "Sir, what color is your pass?" Caine asked innocently. "Why do you ask?" The man returned  politely. "Well, I see that most of them are white, but a few people seem to have a pass of a different color," Caine explained. "Oh," the driver said as he laughed and handed Caine his red VIP pass. "This is the VIP pass," the driver said, "it gets you into the good parking area, they have a driver's lounge and all," the driver explained with a smirk on his face. 

  Just then someone behind them blew their  horn to alert the two men to the moving line. That couldn't have happened more perfectly. Caine looked up and said, "Oh shit, I can't believe the line is finally moving," as he said that, he turned and ran to his truck and slid the pass into his pocket.

  "Sir, my pass?" The driver yelled behind Caine as he watched him move away from the Hummer. "Oh, yeah, I'll bring it right back," Caine said as he jumped into the seat of his truck and threw it in reverse. He hit the gas and headed away from the castle gates as fast as he could.

  He found a side road that seemed to run parallel with the outer walls of the castle grounds. He drove a short distance and then he backed his truck into a well hidden spot off of the road, and he shut the engine off. He grabbed his jacket and all of his nessecities. After he got out of the truck he checked his weapon and holstered it.

  Caine looked around to be sure that no one was watching him and he began to make his way back to the road. After he walked for a few minutes, he spotted a yellow sports car coming down the road in his direction. Caine stepped into the road and flagged the driver down, barely managing to get them to stop. When he approached the car the young man let his window down, allowing Caine to look inside to see the attractive young couple, who appeared to be on a date. 

  "So sorry to bother you," Caine said to the young man, "but I need to borrow your car," Caine told him. The young couple was taken aback. "Ummm...I don't think so.." the young man replied to Caine. "I'm not asking," Caine said as he tapped his weapon on the top of the door. The couple looked scared. "It's  not worth it Billy," the young lady said, "just let him have it," she pleaded with the young man. Billy put his hands up and they both jumped out of the car as Caine apologized and sped off, back to the castle gates.

  Caine pulled up to the guard shack at the castle gates to find the guards loudly arguing with the man from the car who's pass he had stolen. With the first guard busy, the second one waved him right on through with barely even a glance at his stolen pass. 'Thank God,' Caine thought to himself as he realized it had actually worked.

.......

  Mister  came to wait in the private room behind the stage in the grand ballroom with Della. They sat quietly awaiting her father's arrival to the head table, so that the ceremony could begin. The hall was full to the brim with highly polished people. Some gossip could be heard across the stage, that seemed to make Mister's face tighten. Della didn't care, though, she didn't want to be there anyways. Della was lost in her thoughts when Pearl came to the door. "Excuse me Sir," her big voice said as she stuck her head inside, "but there seems to be a problem at the gate," Pearl told him anxiously.

  Della hoped deep in her heart that Caine had come to save her, she snapped to attention and watched as Mister stood up to leave. When he stepped into the hallway, Della heard a man's voice tell Mister that they had caught someone sneaking around the castle, and that they had him in the study. Della's heart sank and tears began to fall on their own. She knew who it was without having to be told.

  In the study, Caine unknowingly sat in the same chair that Della had just been in, and he waited to see who was coming for him. Two thugs stood over him with guns in their hands, but they didn't need to watch him. He intended to sit right there and wait to see what in the hell was going on. The door opened and Mister stepped inside the room. Caine tried to stand up but the thugs each put a hand on Caine's shoulders and pushed him back down in the chair. 

  "Hello Caine," Mister said as he sat down leisurely behind his desk, "I don't have a lot of time to dicker with you, as tonight I'm getting engaged," Mister said in an extremely irritated tone. "So sorry to bother you, but I believe that you may know where my fiance' is," Caine said matter-of-factly.

  "I can assure you, sir that I have no idea at all about where your fiance' is, but mine is waiting for me now," Mister said as he stood up, "but, since you are here, let me privy you to my engagement, instead," Mister said as he turned his computer monitor toward Caine, and carelessly left the room.

  Caine's eyes got wide when he saw Della on the screen quietly waiting to go on stage. She was as beautiful as he had ever seen her, and what was worse was that she seemed to be waiting willingly. Caine's heart broke as he saw Mister enter his view on the computer screen and take his place next to Della backstage. 

  Just then the camera switched to the stage. Caine's heart almost stopped as he clearly saw Robert seated at the head table there. He was immediately enraged, but he kept it together. His soul melted as he watched the scene unfold, It all felt like a really bad dream. 

  Della and Mister were introduced. They introduced him as Mr. Wattingsly, and you best believe that Caine remembered that on purpose. Della also seemed to be startled when the MC said his name, which was a good clue to Caine that she was not doing any of this on her own. Della would never agree to marry a man whose name she didn't even know, and he knew that for sure.

 When they walked out onto the stage and Della saw her father sitting there, she was even more confused. She felt that Mister must be threatening him too, there just couldn't be any other explanation. Della tried to pull away to go to her father, but Mister tightened his grip on her elbow and whispered something in her ear. She looked at him wide eyed and then she seemed to relax. She continued to walk to the stage area where the engagement ceremony was to take place. 

  Caine could hardly breathe as he watched helplessly. Della stood face to face and hand in hand in front of a priest....with another man! He tried again to get up, but again he was restrained. He watched as tears began to fall from Della's eyes softly as she smiled through them and accepted a proposal from someone else. Caine thought he might die right there, he was so heartbroken. 

  He just couldn't understand why she wouldn't scream, run away , or at least deny his proposal, but she didn't. She just stood there silently as she cried softly... and accepted another man's proposal. In front of God and all of the people who were present, including her own father. Caine was crushed.