Chapter 19

And yes, Oliver Price was on the second floor with some friends. Each of them had a girl sitting on their laps. Oliver couldn't help but be the man he was, Aileen reminded him of that. But he didn't want to think about Aileen anymore. He knew that girl didn't love him, and they were together out of convenience.

"Hey!" his friend called him. "My date says your girlfriend is around here."

Oliver was surprised to hear that. He didn't think Aileen would come to his bar. Was she looking for him? He stood up and searched for her in the crowd. But instead, he saw Anna going up the stairs. Great, just what was missing. Anna reached Oliver; she was wearing a very short dress, high heels, and a high ponytail. Anna looked like a model, with that poise, elegance, and mischief in her eyes.

"My dear Oliver," Anna hugged him, getting very close to him.

"Anna..." Oliver said firmly.

"I know," Anna interrupted him. "Relax, you act as if we've never been together. Oliver, we were together for a long time. Why are you so distant?" Anna wanted to kiss him. She felt like she could win him back and have him marry her instead of Aileen.

"You said it yourself: we were. Now I'm with someone else."

"Come on, Oliver, we both know that won't go anywhere. Aileen doesn't know your world. We are meant to be together. Both of us."

"Anna, we've talked about this. I'm marrying Aileen, don't insist," Oliver turned his gaze back to the crowd, trying to find Aileen among so many people. Why did he want to see her? He wondered, considering that just a few hours ago, she made it clear they were only fake partners, nothing more.

"Oliver..." Anna kept insisting.

Aileen already had about three margaritas in her system. She felt the need to dance and laughed at anything with her friends.

"Let's dance!" the three girls headed to the dance floor and started dancing. Every guy wanted to approach them and invite them to dance. That's what Aileen needed, she thought, to be herself again without being accountable to anyone. A guy approached her to dance, and she accepted.

"You're beautiful," the guy told her.

"Thank you!"

Oliver finally spotted Aileen; he found her in the center of the place, dancing, but she wasn't alone. The neon lights made her look even more magical. He felt jealous at that moment seeing her dancing so closely with that guy. He noticed the man had his hand on her waist and his head on her neck.

"Oliver, I know we had many problems, but they weren't that big..." Anna kept talking to Oliver, but he paid no attention. Oliver wanted to go and punch that guy, but he restrained himself.

"Come," he took Anna's hand, and they both went downstairs, heading towards where Aileen was with that guy. Oliver wasn't much of a dancer, but he wanted to be close, even if it meant being with Anna.

"If you wanted to come and dance, you could've asked me," Anna whispered in his ear, embracing him and starting to dance seductively. Aileen still hadn't realized that her fake fiancé was just inches away. The guy was getting too touchy, as he felt him touch her buttocks.

"Hey, stop right there," she told him.

"Relax, just go with the flow. Do you want something to drink?"

"Yes," Aileen nodded. The guy went to the bar for another margarita, but without anyone noticing, He took a pill out of his pocket. It was a type of drug. He slipped it into Aileen's drink and went back to her. Aileen was dancing seductively to the song that was playing, just like that. Oliver was about to leave Anna behind and go to her. He was so close that he could touch her hair. Anna still didn't realize that Aileen was so close and that Oliver could smell her hair because she was very focused on slow dancing with Oliver.

The boy returned to Aileen.

"Here you go," he handed her the margarita. Aileen was thirsty, so she drank it all in one gulp. The boy only smiled satisfied when he saw that. He hugged her, wanting to kiss her, but Aileen didn't allow it.

"What's wrong with you?" she pushed him.

"Calm down, love, we'll have a good time tonight, I assure you."

Aileen wanted to leave because she started feeling a bit sick, dizzy, and everything was spinning. The lights and everything. But the boy held her in his arms, stopping her. Oliver left Anna behind and confronted that guy.

"What's wrong with you? Didn't you hear? He told you to let her go."

"Oliver..." Aileen managed to murmur. She felt so weak now.

"And who the hell are you?!" the boy snapped. The security guards saw what was happening and approached to detain the guy.

"I'm the owner," Oliver replied with grandeur. His opponent had nothing to say.

"Let's go outside," a security guard took him away. Aileen was disoriented, feeling scared in that state. Her friends, Vanessa and Trisha, didn't realize what was happening with their friend because one of them, Vanessa, was too busy flirting with the bartender. Besides, she was also drunk. And Trisha was in a bathroom kissing a girl, passionately. Aileen didn't know where she was or who she was with.

"Oliver," she managed to murmur. Oliver carried her, going upstairs to take her to his room. He knew she had been drugged, and it was that guy's doing. He wanted to go and beat him up as much as possible, but he wouldn't leave her alone. He opened the door to the room and laid Aileen on the bed. She was weak, drowsy, and disoriented. Oliver felt so powerless seeing her like that, thinking he hadn't taken care of her.

"Relax," he lay down next to her, stroking her hair.

"Oliver," Aileen continued murmuring. At that moment, Aileen's phone started ringing. Oliver picked it up and answered.

"Hello?"

"Who's this?" Vanesa questioned. They were still at the party since Oliver heard the loud noise from the music.

"I'm Oliver," the boy replied. "Don't worry about Aileen, she's with me."

"Oh, brother-in-law! We were looking for her, but since she's with you, we won't bother you anymore," she said playfully. The call ended. Oliver left the phone on the nightstand, thinking he couldn't take her home in that condition, and it wasn't a good idea to move her around either. He carefully took off her shoes and covered her.

"Oliver?" Aileen half-opened her eyes and looked at him. She felt lost at that moment, but when she saw him, she felt relief. Aileen hugged him, pulling him closer to her.

"Relax, I'm here."

The next morning, Aileen woke up, furrowing her brow because she didn't know how she ended up in that room. She recognized it from somewhere.

He sat on the bed, placing a hand on his head because it hurt.

"Where am I?" he wondered.

"You woke up," a voice from the bathroom door made her turn there. She looked at Oliver, he had his chest bare and black pants.

"Oliver, what are you doing here? How did I get here? I don't understand," Aileen couldn't remember the previous night. She remembered going to the bar, dancing with her friends, and then with a man. She remembered him giving her a Margarita, but after that, nothing. Her mind was blank.

"Last night, some guy put something in your drink that made you sick, that's why you don't remember," Oliver murmured, pacing around the room.

She frowned. "What was it?"

"Maybe it was some drug because that idiot wanted to take advantage of you. Luckily, I was there, Aileen, otherwise, you would be telling a different story."

Aileen swallowed hard as she imagined that guy taking advantage of her. She felt scared at that moment.

"It seems like you saved me twice last night," Aileen murmured. "Thank you, Oliver."

Oliver calmed down a bit as he had been acting tough all the time.

"It's okay. Consider it an experience not to accept drinks from strangers."

Aileen nodded, but then she remembered that her parents would be waiting for her at home. Especially her father, she didn't know how to act now that she had one, she didn't know if she had to give him explanations since it was all easier with her mother, who hardly asked where she was going or with whom. She got out of bed, feeling a bit dizzy. Oliver took her by the arms to prevent her from falling. There was some kind of electricity in his touch, in the way he looked at her. Oliver felt so many desires to kiss her and make her his own, but he couldn't yet. At least Aileen wouldn't allow it.

Aileen wanted to kiss him, their lips were so close she could feel his breath. But she thought that Oliver would reject her in a horrible way and preferred not to go through that humiliation.

"I'm sorry," she apologized, stepping back a bit. "It's just that I have to go home. I'm sure my dad must be wondering where I spent the night."

"I can take you if you want," Oliver offered.

"Hmm, alright, that way I'll get there faster."

Aileen put on her shoes.

"Here, put this on for now," she handed him a coat. Aileen silently thanked her as she felt very exposed in that tiny dress. She put on the coat that reached a bit below her knees.

"Shall we?" Oliver looked at her.

Aileen nodded, leaving the room followed by Oliver. Seeing the bar in daylight was strange, there was no music, no people. It was empty, silent. They crossed the main door and went out into the street. They were surrounded by forests only, Aileen wondered why Oliver would want to have his bar on the outskirts of the city, in solitude.

"Do you like it?" Oliver asked.

"It's very beautiful," she murmured. "There are only trees, no buildings or houses around. Now I understand why you have a room here, you're away from people."

"Only during the day," he replied. "At night, it's the opposite."

"I know, but it's nice. Have you walked through the forest? Have you explored it?"

"I once went running to find out what was beyond."

"And what was there?" Aileen looked at him.