Chapter 2: The Visitor

Aria's POV 

***

  Five seconds after my Dad asked me to stay where I was, I followed him. I know. Not my smartest decision. But after everything that had happened, there was no way I was sitting quietly in the dining room pretending I wasn't curious.

I stepped into the hallway as quietly as I could. The front door was already opened with my father standing in the doorway. A man standing outside. He looked to be in his early thirties. Wearing a dark suit and a dark tie. There was nothing unusual about him. Yet something felt off. Maybe it was the way he stood or maybe it was the way he looked. He was completely relaxed while my father looked like he was about to have a heart attack.

“I wasn't expecting you”. My father said. The man smiled politely.

“Neither was I”. His voice was calm. I mean very calm. Like someone who always knew more than they said.

My father glanced glanced behind him. The moment he saw me, his expression changed and his face darken.

“Aria”. Oops. Too late now. The stranger turned. His eyes went straight to where I was. That made me a little scared. Not because he was intimidating but because it felt like he already knew who I was.

“Miss cole”. It wasn't a question to ask. He knew. I crossed my arms.

“And you are?” A tiny smile came from his lips.

“Just someone delivering a message”. Of course, here is another person who is refusing to answer a simple question.

I was starting to think everybody in my life had join the same club. The stranger reached inside his pocket. My body became tensed immediately. He pulled out a small envelope. It was white, plain, nothing fancy. He held it out. He wasn't handing it over to my father. He was actually handing it over to me.

“What's that?” I asked.

“A message”.

“I figured that much”. Something that looked suspiciously like amusement flashed across his face. My father stepped forward.

“Give it to me”. The stranger didn't move.

“I'm afraid I can't do that”. The atmosphere changed instantly. I could feel it. So did my father. The stranger wasn't trying to be rude. But he wasn't asking for permissions either. Fact is that whatever was inside that envelope, it was something meant for me and me alone.

Slowly, I took it from him. It felt surprisingly light. When I opened it, inside was a single piece of paper. Nothing more, no contract, no documents, no photographs. Just one folded page. 

I unfolded it and my eyes scanned through the words. Then I frowned. That was it? Just one sentence? I read it again and again. And for a third time. My heartbeat slowed. Then sped up. Then became normal again. Because suddenly I understood why the stranger had come himself.

The note read: Do not sign anything until you meet me.

I stared at the words. My father went pale. Actually pale. The kind that made a person look sick.

“What is this?” I asked. But no one replied. I looked at my father then back at the stranger. Then back at the note.

“Please tell me, who wrote this?” The stranger's expression remained unpredictable.

“My employer”. Employer. That Same word came again. Always his employer. Never a name, a face or an explanation. I was getting tired of this. I was getting tired of explanations being treated like it were some national secrets. I folded the notes. Very carefully. Then looked up.

“Why?”

The stranger blinked. “Excuse me?”

“Why shouldn't I sign?”

For the first time since he arrived, he hesitated. Just slightly. But I caught it. Suddenly I knew something important. Something so important that he knew the answer to but he just wasn't going to tell me.

My frustration boiled over. “Everybody keeps talking in riddles”. I waved the note in the air. “My father won't explain anything”. I pointed towards the contract which was sitting on the table behind me.

“The man’s name isn't even on the paperwork”. My voice rose. 

“And suddenly a random stranger shows up at my house telling me not to sign anything”. 

Silence. The type of silence that makes you want to scream. Then the stranger looked directly at me.

“Because if you sign it, there is no going back”.

The words hit me harder than they could have. They came unexpected. More than I could imagine.

No going back. Something about the way he said it made my skin prickle. Like he wasn't talking about marriage. Like he was talking about something else. Something bigger and something much more dangerous. Before I could ask another question, he stepped back.

“I've delivered the message”.

“Wait”. He stopped and my heart raced.

“Who are you working for?” This is the first time his smile disappeared completely. When he answered, his voice sounded different. Much serious and very careful.

“The man you're going to marry”. Then he walked away. He left just like that, no dramatic goodbye, no explanation, nothing at all. 

I stood frozen in the doorway. Watching him leave. A black car had been waiting for him at the gate. The stranger opened the back door. Before getting into the car, he looked over his shoulder and directlt at me, he nodded once. Like we had just shared some secret conversation no one else understood. The care pulled away. Gone within seconds.

The street felt quite again again. I looked down at the note in my hand. Just a sentence. Yet somehow the note has left me with a lot of questions than just answers.

Slowly, I turned towards my father. His expression made my stomach sink. Because he was angry with me, he wasn't annoyed with me. He wasn't even surprised. He looked scared. Seriously scared. 

Then I realized something. The stranger hadn't frightened me. The note itself hadn't frightened me. It was my father's reaction that did. Because whatever was happening, he already knew that it was far worse than I imagined.

And for the first time since this whole nightmare began…. 

I wasn't sure I wanted answers anymore.