Chapter 3 - Riddled in Rumours

--Alaric POV--

Holding her smaller hand in mine, I led her out of the elevator once the doors slid open, and she quietly followed, not a peep of a sound escaping her as I typed in my pin code, pushing the black door open once the beep was heard.

"Come on in." Slipping out of my shoes and into my slippers, I pulled the spare slippers out from the cupboard before placing them in front of her.

But as I stared at her standing there like a statue, I wondered what to say to ease her tensions even a little bit. Whoever she'd been running away from, I knew they didn't mean well for anyone, especially her.

But to start off, I squatted down in front of her, untying the laces of her trainers as she squeaked her surprise at my actions. But still, she didn't stop me so I continued onto the other foot, putting her trainers to the side before sliding the slippers that were far too big for her feet in front of her, and I didn't move until she slipped her feet into them.

"...Thank you." She mumbled, clutching onto the end of her denim jacket which she wore over a white sundress, the sunhat on her head covering most of her face from my view. They were plain clothes, not branded, but didn't look cheap either, yet she managed to look like she'd just walked out of a vogue photoshoot.

"Do you want to eat something?" I asked, standing up straight as I turned to walk into the open space living room, slipping out of my jacket as I discarded it onto the sofa and headed to the kitchen to pour her a glass of water.

"Are you... not going to ask me anything?" She spoke timidly, in a way that made all the rumours about her sound fake, which I won't be surprised to find out.

Handing her the ceramic mug, she quietly took it, looking into it as if the water were fake. 

"It's not poison." I heard myself say.

"I'm not sure I'd care if it was..." She surprised herself more than me with her bleak words. Shooting her head up to look at my raised brow, an embarrassed look overtook her face, and not being able to say anything, she simply sipped on the water.

"Thank you." She echoed for the second time within the last minute.

"So, what's your name?" I asked, leaning against the island with crossed arms as she stood in front of me, both hands on the black mug she occasionally sipped water from every now and then, her pink lips hovering over the edge.

"Ines." She whispered her answer, confirming my prior thoughts.

"Just Ines?" I asked.

"Is a surname that important?" She curiously asked, looking up at me from the top of her eyes, pausing in the sip she was about to take of her water.

"I guess not. But I'm curious." I responded in a cool tone of voice, gulping back the heat this woman was able to stir in me with such subtle actions.

"Will you tell me your name if I tell you mine?" I nodded.

"Ines Silvia Agua... is my name." Tilting her head back, she gulped down all the water that was left in the mug before standing back up straight and handing me the mug, which I took, placing it on the island I leaned against before turning back to look at her.

"Now your turn, what's your name?" She asked.

"Alaric Clemente."

"Alaric Clemente?" She tested the name out on her lips. I've heard my name so many times in this life that I've gotten bored of it, but she was somehow able to make it sound so unique.

"Thank you, Alaric Clemente, for saving me." And the corners of her lips picked up into a smile, her almond-shaped eyes narrowing as they did, the blue embers of her inhumane eyes seeming to glow as her whole being lit up with that single smile.

"Why do your eyes look like that?" I spoke without thinking, having to take a moment to regain my composure at how silly that question came out as. I sounded like a pre-school bully, one of those annoying kids that no one liked and would grow up to either join a gang or die young from having so much debt to pay back to the said gang.

"My eyes?" She was confused for a moment, until a surprised little gasp left her lips.

"Oh, I forgot to wear contacts... Now, he's really going to be angry." She cussed at herself, her head falling to look at the ground, seeming ashamed of herself.

"You need glasses?" I curiously asked, almost smiling at the cute picture of her with glasses that I put in my head.

"No, I don't like my eyes... So, I wear contacts." That was a lie... I've been in the acting industry for over 10 years, and I can tell bad acting from good acting as easily as breathing air at this point. The question is, why is she lying? Or rather, who's making her have to lie?

"You've got unique eyes." I stated, watching as she slowly picked her head up to look at me.

"...I am aware of that."

"You shouldn't cover them." Standing up straight, I carefully brushed her fringe out of her eyes, clearing the view to be able to see her eyes, and as my hands rested on her cheeks, she blinked up at me, surprised as I smiled a small smile at her.

"They're beautiful." And she blushed, cheeks staining a deep pink colour.

"Thank you." She mumbled, embarrassed.

"You're a very thankful person." I stated, having spoken from observation, but she seemed surprised by the said observation.

"I am?"

"Yes; You don't know me, or what my intentions with you are, but you've said thank you a number of times for all little things. It's not bad, it's just something I noticed," I politely explained, gesturing for her to take a seat on the couch which she did after a moment.

"I guess I am; A thankful person, I mean... I've recently come to the realisation of how important the little things in life are, and how I should cherish them more. I need to grasp onto every bit of happiness that I can." She spoke to herself more than to me, but as I heard her words, I couldn't help but grow more curious of her.

"But, you too..." She looked me in the eyes, gracing me with yet another smile.

"What?" I asked, confused on what she was referring to.

"Your eyes. They're the same colour as his, but for some reason, his eyes have never looked as beautiful as yours." I gulped back the questions of who exactly 'he' was when she leaned in, entranced by my said eyes, and apparently, unaware of the position she was putting herself in.

"I can see a sunflower, a bright big one that's smiling under the summer sun. Either that, or it's like a Kaleidescope of the sun and moon eclipsing, a mirror within a mirror. And like moondust, as if Selene herself is hiding in their depths, there are flecks of gold..." She spoke like a poet, unaware of the magic her words wove into my heart. She made my eyes sound like one of a kind, but before this moment, I've never thought that. They were just a pair of hazel eyes, nothing more. 

She spoke as though she's never seen her own eyes, and I couldn't even begin to wonder, that if she were able to make my eyes sound so magical, what unique concoction of words would she use to describe her own.

"Are you a poet?" I asked, breaking her out of her trance as she blinked, quickly sitting back up straight as if never having moved in the first place.

"No. I'm a singer." I knew that, but I didn't say anything.

"Then, you must be a famous one. If your lyrics are as poetic as the words you've just spoken to me, then you're sure to be a popular singer." Once again, I wasn't lying, nor was I speaking the clear truth. She had a voice that made her a celebrity amongst celebrities, not just anyone could reach that level in life.

"I'm not sure about that. But my voice does earn money, so I know it's good enough." Has she been living on a separate Earth from the rest of us? How can someone not know of their own popularity, especially when they're as popular as she is?

"You are an odd woman, Ines." Was all I was able to say to that.

"Thank you?" Unlike the previous times where she'd been confident in saying those same words, she was confused this time. 

And I couldn't help but chuckle, holding back my full-blown laughter at her questioning self, she looked like a child that stepped out into the world for the first time ever right now. Raising a hand, I ruffled her hair, almost surprised by the softness of her strands, but before the timing became too long, I retreated. 

My eyes slowly crept over her body, wondering how a human could look so flawless. I understand the feelings of falling in love, I've been in love before too, and I understand how that feeling can blind a person to see perfection in the person they love, but this isn't like that. I was looking at this woman through normal eyes with no bias, and there's something eerily peculiar about her, something that separates her from the rest of humanity.

Her skin was flawless, like a filter covering any blemishes, there were no signs of acne scars, spots, or ageing, her hair was softer than any conditioner could ever dream of accomplishing, the very bone structure of her face was something people getting plastic surgery would spend more than thousands of dollars on, and I could only wonder how unrealistically perfect the rest of her body was. What kind of human was this woman? Her beauty was almost terrifying.

Was she even human?

"How long am I allowed to stay here?" Even her voice was unreal.

"Pardon?" But it snapped me out of my thoughts.

"In your house, how long am I allowed to stay here before I become a burden?" She repeated, standing up as I watched her go over to the floor-to-ceiling windows, leaning her hands against it as she looked down to the streets where we'd been a few minutes ago.

"Stay as long as you like. Are you running away from someone?" I finally managed to ask the main question that had been nagging away at me from the moment I first saw her.

"Not running, I've already tried that a number of times and failed every time. I'm just... Hiding. That's all I can do at this point to make myself feel better," But now I'm left with more questions.

"Ines." I called her name as she turned her head over her shoulder to look at me. I stood up off the couch, going to stand in front of her, watching as she turned her body fully around to look at me, her head falling back so she wouldn't break our eye contact.

"You're not a burden, and you won't become a burden. So, stay as long as you want."

"Really? Are you sure?"

"I'm sure, but in return, answer me this; Why are you running from him?" The question wasn't one she expected, having forced her to break eye contact as she turned to look at the ground for a few moments, thinking up how to reply.

"To put it simply, he's a home that I never asked for."

"Home? Do you even know what that is?" I was baffled, to say the least, the words coming out before I knew to even think them.

"I probably know it better than anyone else... I didn't ask for it, but he's my home in this world, whether I like it or not."

"So, prison would be a more fitting word."

"Prison?" She picked her head up to look at me, confused as if never having heard that word before. And with each conversation I had with her, I grew increasingly suspicious of her; She's like an oblivious child in a grown woman's body, but even a child knows what prison is.

"Being held against your will... Metaphorically... Literally, it's a building where people are held as punishment for a crime that they committed," I explained.

"Oh." She mumbled.

"And in this case, if anyone should be in prison, it sounds like it should be him." I stated, crossing my arms as she raised her head to look up at me once again.

"Why?"

"Holding someone against their will is against the law." I said, and she hummed, but slowly shook her head at my words.

"Not in this case. While questionable, he didn't break any laws where I'm from. He did everything according to the rule book, I'm the one that got unlucky and fell into his trap." I feel like we're having two different conversations at the same time, this woman was confusing me, and I'm not a man that gets confused very easily.

But from what I've deciphered, she's in some sort of relationship with a man that she hates, but due to some conditions, she's unable to leave his side for good, hiding is the best she can do.

There were several varied reasons I was able to produce from these facts, but something didn't make sense about any of them. But one fact is certain as of right now; This woman is nothing like the rumours made her out to be, she was far too naive to be as scheming as they said.

And I had one guess of who the man was. She's a top star that's known internationally for her voice, but she knows very little about the world and how it works, this woman that's supposed to be earning millions of dollars from her voice and should easily be able to get what she wants is stuck at someone's side. Her CEO, the only man at a position to be able to control her.

"Want me to help?"

"What?" She blinked.

"I'm one of the highest paying actors in the world, I'm popular amongst all genders, and to add to that, I come from an influential family that no one would dare pick a fight with."

"That's nice... I'm happy for you," She spoke with furrowed brows, confused on why I was suddenly tooting my own horn, and I sighed, running a hand down my face, an amused smirk crawling onto my face.

"I'm saying that if anyone can help you, it's me."

"How can you help me though?"

"We can file a lawsuit against him, take back everything he took from you, and have the world on your side. And by the looks of it, there's a lot he's taken from you..." My words faded away when I caught her softening expression. She was confused a second ago, but after hearing my words, a dawning realisation looked to fall over her features as she smiled at me, a warm smile mixed with a sense of sadness.

"I fell in love with a human that was actually a monster in disguise. If only it had been you that I saved that day, maybe I would have been able to find a happiness that was real." My words lost themselves in my throat as she whispered to herself, looking at me as though I were a saint.

"Is it too late? To save you from the monster?"

And she laughed, face scrunching up as she did. But unlike her smile which sparked fireworks in my stomach, her laughter almost made me cry. Never had I heard such a broken laugh; It made my stomach churn and my heart throb. This woman spoke words like art, but this sad laughter didn't need any words to relay the sheer pain of her heart; She wanted to be saved. But she was too scared to ask for help.

While I wanted to cry for her, I didn't let myself. Whatever sadness that man brought her, it was an inexplicable one that she couldn't bring herself to speak of, and I'm not sure I could bear to hear it even if she chose to do otherwise. 

So, all I could bring myself to do was step forward, embracing her in my arms. Her head nestled itself in my chest, my hands stroked the soft locks of her hair, and I didn't care whether she was human or not. A man calling himself human hurt her, and she didn't deserve that.

"You don't need to act."

"Why do you think I'm acting?"

"I'm an actor, I can tell bad acting apart from good." She hummed, but as we continued to stand there with my hands stroking her head, she didn't push me away, instead, she raised her hands, clutching onto the material of my shirt in her small fists.

"You're a good man, Rick." Rick?

"What makes you think that?" I couldn't help but smile down at her, noticing that I've been doing an awful lot of that in her presence. Her scent wafted through all my senses, it was a sweet smell of freshness that reminded me of the ocean, and while I wasn't sure what scent it was, she reminded me of a water lily.

"I just know it. You saved me without asking any questions, and welcomed me into your home, telling me I can stay here as long as I like. You didn't ask questions that you thought would make me uncomfortable, and instead, you're comforting me in a way I didn't know I needed. And..."

"And?" She leaned back. Arms still wrapped around each of our waists, she grinned up at me, not a hint of sadness in it this time.

"Your smile brings me happiness." I coughed, her blunt words catching me by surprise, but she didn't hesitate, standing by her words.

"What?" Is all I was able to say as she chuckled.

"You're not a man that smiles much, but when you do, it's a real smile, and no one can find fault in it... You look pretty when you smile, and happy." I was done being surprised by now, I simply chose to accept her words and cherish it. 

So, I smiled. And she smiled back.

...