Chapter 17

"Relax, it was probably just a journalist," she said.

"I don't think the press knows where you live, that's confidential," I replied.

"Well, in these cities, everything is known," she responded. "The thing is, don't wait for me. You can continue your meeting peacefully, and I'll try to call someone to fix the car. Once it's ready, I'll leave."

"Send me your location on my phone, I'll come to pick you up."

"Alright," Aileen immediately sent him the address. "Done..."

Two knocks on the car window made her look in that direction. There was a group of guys talking to her and saying things. They were vagrants, drug addicts, and thieves. Moreover, seeing a vulnerable and defenseless woman there made her an easy target for them. They could easily steal her car or even harm her.

"Come out, beautiful, let's have some fun," they said.

"We want to get to know you."

"Don't be shy."

"Aileen, who are they?" Oliver asked her, hearing perfectly well what they were saying to his girlfriend, albeit falsely.

"I don't know, some vagrants," she replied.

"Stay there and don't come out for anything in the world. I'm coming over," Oliver ended the call, not caring that his mother was sitting right in front of him, not caring that they were talking about his fiancée and all the details his mother wanted to know. Oliver stood up.

"Where are you going? We're talking," Miranda declared.

"We'll talk later," Oliver left the office, encountering Anna in the hallway. She had perfectly styled hair in a high bun, not a single strand out of place. She was wearing a platinum dress that hugged her body perfectly.

"Oliver, where are you going?" she questioned.

"I'm in a hurry," was all he replied. He got into the elevator, feeling anxious because he rarely took it. When the elevator doors opened, Oliver quickly exited, searching for his car. He thought about Aileen and hoped she was safe. He didn't like at all how those idiots had treated her. The thought of another man touching her or even brushing against her made him furious or jealous.

Aileen locked the car doors so the guys couldn't open them. She thought that maybe she would be safe inside until Oliver arrived. However, she noticed that one of them was holding a rock to break the window.

"What do you think you're doing?!" she snapped at them angrily. Aileen was generally a calm girl, but if they made her angry, her inner demon would emerge. And those guys were making her very angry.

"We want to get to know you," the guy repeated. "Since you don't want to come out, we'll come in."

And the guy threw the rock at the window, making Aileen scream at the noise. One of them reached inside and opened the passenger door, getting in.

"Hello, beautiful," he started touching her legs.

"Let go of me!" Aileen shouted, trying to prevent that guy from continuing to grope her. She got out of the car and started running down the street, but they were faster and caught up with her. They grabbed her shoulders, searching her bag.

"Let's see what we have here," they took out her cellphone, a little money, and other worthless things. "You're even poorer than us," one of them laughed.

"I say we go to that corner and pay ourselves with something else," a tall, dirty vagrant approached her, trying to touch her, but Aileen kneed him in the groin.

"Don't come near me!" she threatened. The guy groaned in pain, Feeling angrier with her. Now he would show no mercy.

"I've had enough, take her over there," the man demanded. The others began to take her towards a corner where they used to violate girls.

"No! Let go of me! Help! HELP!"

A gunshot in the air made them stop abruptly, looking back where the great Oliver Price aimed a gun at them as he approached.

"Release her, or the next bullet from this gun will go straight to your heads," he threatened. He was furious, feeling powerless to see Aileen in that situation.

"Calm down, buddy, if you want, we can include you in the fun," a guy murmured. Oliver showed no mercy and shot him in the leg. The others were now scared, finally letting go of Aileen and running away, except for the injured one, who threw himself to the ground to complain. Oliver took Aileen in his arms and carried her to his car. She was terrified, frightened. He put her in the passenger seat, and he got in as the driver. He drove, leaving that horrible place and parking near a safer park.

"Are you okay?" Oliver hugged Aileen, caressing her head. Aileen couldn't resist and started crying because she thought those disgusting men would abuse her. She hated knowing that their dirty hands were on her. She never imagined she would go through such a horrible experience.

"I'm sorry," Oliver said, "I'm sorry I couldn't prevent them from laying a hand on you."

"You saved me, Oliver. If you hadn't arrived, I don't know what would have happened to me. Thank you."

"You don't have to thank me. You're my girlfriend, and I love you. I can't let anything happen to you. Nothing."

Aileen felt good when he said those words, but she also felt bewildered by the way he said she was his girlfriend. It was supposed to be fake, right? So why were they acting as if they were truly a couple? Perhaps they were crossing a boundary they shouldn't. She was confused now, unsure what to think about them, about their relationship.

"Why are you saying these things to me?" she asked, pulling away to look at him. "It's supposed to be fake, isn't it?" she looked at him, hoping he would say that it's no longer fake, that he truly loved her. Then Oliver felt stupid, realizing that for Aileen, it meant more than just a contract. Taking advantage of a paparazzi taking photos from a distance, he said:

"It is. It's just that there's a paparazzi over there, and I need them to believe that I'm the best man in the world with my dear girlfriend."

Aileen was extremely disappointed with that response. She felt foolish and used. She smiled sideways so that Oliver wouldn't see that he had hurt her. But he was right, Oliver Price only needed her to get his scholarship back and nothing more.

"Perfect, Mr. Price, let's go to your company and continue pretending that we're the happiest and most in love couple," she spoke sarcastically. Oliver had hit her pride. Did he want to play like this? Well, she was very good at playing those games. He would regret his words.

"Perfect. Do you feel better?"

"Brand new."

Oliver started the car, and the rest of the journey was silent. No one said anything, even though Aileen was usually very talkative. Her fear of those men had already passed. For a moment, she thought that she truly mattered to Oliver because of how he took care of her, because he came every night to sleep with her, keeping her company... In the end, she was only trying to play along with her own game: the fake engagement. She was good at pretending, she thought. When they arrived at the company, Oliver took her by the waist to walk together. The employees stared at them, surprised that the unattainable Oliver Price was going to marry a university student instead of a businesswoman, as everyone had thought they would. Upon entering the boss's floor, Miranda watched them. For Miranda, the ideal woman for Oliver would be Anna, and the two of them were planning whatever it took to completely end Oliver and Aileen's relationship. Miranda thought Oliver had gone crazy with that stupid decision to marry that girl. When she saw her, her suspicions were confirmed. She was nothing compared to her.

"Mom," Oliver said upon arrival, "I'd like to introduce you to my future wife, Aileen Warren."

"Pleased to meet you," Aileen smiled, but without offering her hand or anything. She had noticed the way Miranda looked her up and down, and she didn't like that expression at all. She knew that woman was against their engagement.

"I can't say the same," Miranda dared to say.

"Mom, enough," Oliver exclaimed, feeling fed up with the situation with his mother. He was no longer a child for her to choose his women for him. "Let's go to the meeting now," he demanded, holding onto Aileen's hand and taking her to the boardroom. Anna and the other shareholders were there. Aileen wouldn't let anyone intimidate her, not even Oliver's mother, who seemed like a witch. And especially not Anna.

"Sit next to me," Oliver whispered to his girlfriend. Aileen sat next to him, on his right. Anna was angry because she should have been the one sitting there.

But it wouldn't be long, Anna thought. The best was about to begin.