Paige was on the verge of hysteria. Who had she slept with?
But with Louis about to enter, she knew she had to get out fast.
Looking around the room, her eyes locked on the window behind her. Without thinking, she bolted to it just before the door swung open.
Thankfully, Windrain Tower was just five stories high. Paige managed to scale down, using the ledges of each floor's windows, until her feet hit the ground.
Once her concentration relaxed, she could feel the pain in her body; so, what people say was true; the first time was indeed painful.
She didn't have time to dwell on it. Just as she was about to head back to Windrain Tower to call off the engagement with Louis, noise from a crowd caught her ear, "Is there a doctor here? Please, someone help this old man!"
Without hesitation, Paige pushed through the crowd. An elderly man was lying on the ground, clutching his heart, his body convulsing relentlessly.
As Paige dialed emergency services, she turned to the gathering crowd with composure, "Please step back, folks, the patient needs some fresh air." After issuing the instruction, she swiftly adjusted the elderly man's position and began performing CPR with practiced ease.
Compression after compression, Paige only allowed herself a moment of relief after she listened for the man's heartbeat, confirming it was still there. She then rummaged through his coat pocket; sure enough, she found the pill bottle he always carried. She took out two pills and sat on the ground, she took the man's head in her arms. Asking a bystander for water, she carefully helped the man swallow the pills.
Soon after, an ambulance arrived and whisked the man away. Paige dusted herself off and set off towards Windrain Tower to break off her engagement with Louis. But this time, she walked in with her head held high, handed an item to Louis's aide to state her purpose, and waited in the main hall with earnest patience.
Meanwhile, Louis entered the very room Paige had just left. He scanned the space, even peered into the bathroom with scrutinizing eyes, but detected no sign of anything amiss. With a light-hearted chuckle, he said, "Raymond, grandpa really went out of his way to have you at this ball. Don't let the old man down. Choose wisely and settle down; it'll give grandpa some peace of mind."
The man who towered over Paige and had effortlessly lifted and tossed her onto the bed was at that moment confined to a wheelchair, his complexion ashen and a sickly pallor overtaking his face.
Raymond Carnegie, slumped in his wheelchair, coughed weakly, his voice barely a whisper, "With my condition, getting married would just hold some innocent lady back, wouldn't it?"
Louis, after thoroughly checking the room to no satisfaction and growing visibly impatient, turned back and said firmly, "Grandpa's always wanted to see you married and settled, Raymond."
With a hint of resignation, Raymond replied, "Then I really should make a proper choice. Have all the girls invited to the ball arrived? Charles, help me get ready."
Hearing this, Louis realized it was time to depart, "I'll see you in the ballroom, Raymond." He left just after speaking.
Raymond watched Louis leave, and as soon as the door shut and Louis was out of sight, Raymond stood up swiftly from his wheelchair, the room devoid of any trace of a woman.
His expression darkened, "Where is she?"
Charles Lucas, still trying to comprehend the situation, asked, "Who, Raymond?"
Despite an exhaustive search, even flipping open the wardrobe, Raymond found no one. Frustrated, he yanked back the covers and his gaze skittered across the sheets, only to land on a stark and jarring stain of crimson blood.
Raymond Carnegie's gaze lingered on the bloodstain, his mind flashing back to previous events, grasping the awkwardness; it had been her first time.
As Raymond struggled to divert his attention, Charles caught sight of the coins and the note on the nightstand.
Picking them up, Charles read aloud, "Mediocre, fairly mediocre.' What does this mean Raymond?"
Hearing this, Raymond felt a rush of blood to his head. He snatched the note, his eyes scanning the bold strokes complementing the single dollar coin.
He got it; the nerve of that woman to mock him!
A dollar as a tip and calling him mediocre?
Mediocre? Raymond Carnegie, just mediocre?
Gritting his teeth with a mocking smile, Raymond barked, "Find her immediately. I want that woman found."
Charles caught on. But for a moment, he was truly shocked, "No way, Raymond has been compromised? Mr. Carnegie, is this really how you spend your days?"
Clutching the coin and note, Raymond walked over, handed the humidifier to Charles, and said, "Seems this pawn is playing games, and Louis seems to know about her and is looking for her too. Beat him to it. Find her and deal with the matter!"
Taking the humidifier, Charles nodded, "On it!"
---