Chapter 5: His Place

Looking at Haylee that finally transformed from a miserable girl to a decent woman, Niel couldn't help but felt satisfied. He was scanning her again from top to bottom, then to top again.

"You're good now," he said and smiled at her.

Haylee just stared at him in dubiousness. She too couldn't believe that she could transform so much in just hours. She then looked at her reflection from one of the glass walls of a store. She changed! She could hardly recognize herself. 

"Do you have a cellphone?" Niel suddenly asked her.

Haylee shook her head slowly. Niel straightened his body and with arms akimbo, he slightly frowned as he saw Haylee was shaking her head.

"Did your mom lost her mind?! Did she really try to kill you?! How can she just throw you out without anything?!" Niel was suddenly throwing a tantrum.

Hearing him, Haylee's eyes started tearing. She looked down trying to hide her sad face. Niel instantly felt guilty as he saw her reaction.

"I'm sorry... I didn't mean to be mad at you. It's not you that I'm mad at," he tried to console her while patting her shoulder.

He then took out a handkerchief from his peacoat and gave it to her, just in case she needed to wipe her tears. Haylee took it immediately and patted a little on her eyes, not wanting to ruin her makeup that she just got from the beauty salon.

"Let's go buy a new cellphone for you," Niel grabbed her arms and slowly led her to an electronic gadget store.

As soon as they entered the store, Niel went directly to the main counter to meet the shop assistant.

"Bring me three of the latest cellphones that you have," he ordered the shop assistant.

Looking at Niel that dressed so lavishly, the shop assistant quickly brought him the things he wanted.

When the shop assistant aligned down three cellphones on the counter, Niel called Haylee to came forward to him and Haylee quickly walked slowly towards him.

"Did you own this shop too?" She asked softly.

Niel turned his gaze to her in wonder. 'How did she knew I own some shops in this mall? I haven't told her that.'

"No. Not this one. Choose," He answered her and then making a hand gesture telling her to choose one of the cellphones on the counter.

"Then, don't buy. It's expensive," Haylee refused.

Niel gave a quick glare at her as if he was offended.

"I own half the stores inside this mall. Do you really think that I can't afford to buy one cellphone?" He sarcastically asked her.

Haylee's face turned sour upon hearing him saying that. Then she slowly moved her finger and pointed at one of the cellphones that caught her eyes.

"Okay then, pack it up and gave her a number as well," Niel ordered the shop assistant in an instant. He then gave him his credit card to pay for the phone.

***

Now that Haylee already had everything she needed, Niel brought her out of the mall and entered the car again.

Just when he was about to start the car, Haylee asked him a question again.

"Where are we going now?"

"You'll see..."

He drove the car around the city and then stopped near a tall building that looked like a luxurious residential property called Anderson Grand Plaza.

"I lived up there," he told her.

Haylee lowered down the car window, peeked her head out of the window and looked up at the building. She saw a penthouse at the top of the building. She then gasped in disbelief. 'How rich is he?' That question kept banging on her head. She then slowly moved her head back inside the car and slowly turned her gaze to Niel.

"Did your parents live with you?" She doubted it actually. Niel was more like a billionaire that capable to take care of his life by himself. Niel shook his head.

"My parents don't care about me," he said casually.

"Why?" Haylee was somewhat surprised.

Niel looked intensely into her eyes and leaned his face closer to her.

"Because I am richer than them," he whispered slowly to her.

He was a complete narcissist. He laughed a little when he saw the look on Haylee's face. She's completely wasn't expecting that.

"How can that be possible?" She asked unconsciously.

Niel rested his back on the driver's seat and crossed his arms to his chest. His face became serious in a flash.

"My late grandfather hated my dad so much, that when he died, he left his entire fortune to me," he answered firmly.

Haylee was speechless by his words. 'Really? Did he had a broken family too?' She wondered. But then again, he was the complete opposite of her. Although his parents didn't care about him, he was rich enough to sustain his life. Haylee on the other hand wasn't like that at all. She was chased out from home to become homeless.

"If you are that rich, why did you go to regular high school like now? You should be able to afford a private school." Haylee asked again, wanting to dig in his story.

"Because I like being the hottest guy in school," he answered simply, admitting that he liked being the center of attention.

Haylee gasped in disbelief. 'This guy is unbelievable!' She screamed in her heart.

"Well... since you are so rich... Can you lend me some money so that I can rent a room to stay near the school area?" Haylee was hesitated to ask him.

Niel turned his gaze to her again, then he laughed sarcastically at her.

"Why would you need to rent? I can just buy you a house." He said seriously.

"No! I don't want to owe you that much!" Haylee refused him instantly. She already owed him so much from the stuff he got her at the mall. She couldn't possibly owe him a house now.

"Then consider it as a gift," he said simply.

Haylee's eyes widen in disbelief. 'Did he realize what he had just said just now?' She wondered.

"Who would buy a house just to be given as a gift to someone else?" She asked unconsciously.

"My grandma gave me a house as a birthday present on my fifteenth birthday. That's not really a big deal," he answered casually.

Haylee was speechless. For a brief moment, she didn't know how to react or what to say. 'Of course, buying a house is just like buying a toy for them. That kind of elite people, they played with money like coins," she thought.

She was silent for a while, and then Niel suddenly spoke to her again.

"I have another house, but it's kind of isolated since it's a private property. You can live there," he suggested.

The word 'isolated' gave a strike to Haylee's heart. 'Did he wanted to do something bad on me?' She was terrified for a moment. She looked at him with the gaze of a girl who was almost being kidnapped by a psychopath.

Niel locked his eyes with hers again and by looking at her gaze, he felt somewhat humorous. He then laughed sarcastically again.

"I am not going to kill you. Don't worry. Do you really think I would buy you all those things at the mall, and then kill you afterwards? Gosh!" He said bluntly, feeling amused by Haylee's reaction.

"You can live with me up there in the penthouse if you want, but... I'm kind of a busy guy. You might feel bored. So, I guess you would be better to live at the lakehouse. Ben and Martha were there to take care of you," he explained longly.

Amazingly, none of his words was understandable by Haylee. 'Lakehouse? Ben? Martha?' Her mind was blank.

Ignoring Haylee who looked puzzled, Niel sat still, looked forward and drove the car again to go to his lakehouse.