Chapter 26 Leave!
Ariel
My eyes started searching for Anastasia the minute I walked into the hall. Jeez, there were a lot of people. Billionaires, millionaires, those damn investor bastards.
I swiped a drink off a passing waiter's tray as I walked deeper into the room and took a sip with such a serious look to make it look like I belong. I think it worked because no one is paying attention to me.
That is the trick.
If I didn't belong, I would stand out like a sore thumb and then probably get thrown out because I wasn't the target audience. This party was for the rich-rich and the classy and I wasn't even rich on paper. In society, maybe, but anyway...
Oh my God.
I felt my eyes widen when they landed on the one person I've been looking for all day. My reason for my being here. Anastasia.
She looked quite miserable, might I say, around the table she was at. A man had his arms wrapped around her waist possessively; he was laughing at a joke that was supposedly fun because everyone else was laughing except for Anastasia.
Oh okay. She was laughing, but only after that guy glanced at her.
How do I approach her now? Do I just pull her out of the group? Oh wait, I could try mingling with the group, get her attention and then...
But before I could do that, she noticed me first and… If I were reading her facial expressions correctly, I would say she looks horrified.
Okay. I might just have messed up more. I didn't know she was this angry about me refusing to go for drinks that day after our coffee date. And I hadn't even refused. I only took a rain check. I had...
Shit. She was approaching me now and looking quite angry. I took a step back when she got to my front but instead of screaming, "What the fuck are you doing here?!" She took my hand in hers, gave me a glare and dragged me out of the room in a way I'll describe as discreet or quiet. Like no one even really noticed that she was about to go murder me in the hallway outside.
She took me straight to the restroom once we got out and flung my hand out of hers.
"What? The fuck are you doing here?!"
"I... I..." Of course I'm stuttering. She literally looks like she's going to murder me. "I wanted to see you. Y-you just blocked me on all your socials without any warning so I thought something was up."
"Nothing is up. What do you think it means when someone blocks you on all their socials? It means I don't want to talk to you or be friends with you! I don't want to be around you."
Oh okay. Ouch. "And what did I do for you to decide that?"
"N-nothing. I can decide not to be friends with anyone and you're that anyone. Please don't try to contact me or come close to me ever again!"
She turned to leave but stopped at the door. "And leave this party now. You're not meant to be here."
What?
I stared at nothing in particular for a full minute after she left, my heart pounding so hard it felt like it might bruise my ribs.
Leave the party? After everything I just spent to get in here?
Yeah… no.
By the time I got back into the hall, the guests were already being led to the ballroom for dinner and the main event. I recognised the back of Anastasia's figure as she moved into the ballroom with the guy that had had his arms wrapped around her earlier. She looked stiff.
"Enjoying the evening?" I whipped my head around sharply to see a very tall man standing behind me in the hall. He had on a tuxedo, as was expected for an event like this and was no other person than Victor Coleman, the host himself.
Oh my. He looked better than the Internet pictures had shown and he was flashing a smile at me now. Why? He knows me.
"You must be Ariel Bennett." Oh my God, he knows me.
I nodded my head vigorously. Should I be scared or elated? He would look kind of scary if he weren't flashing a smile at me right now.
"I've heard a lot about you from Anna."
The smile on my face dropped. You mean the same Anna that has just ripped my head off with screams and given me no reason on why she hates me now.
Yeah, I'm not so sure about that. We've also just had one one-hour-long coffee date. Where the heck did she get the information to tell him a lot about me?
"Oh... Really?" He nodded.
"I'm just glad to see she has such nice and thoughtful friends who would go out of their way to support a cause like this. It's lovely to see."
Oh okay.
"Yeah. Thanks."
"Shall we?" He pointed in the direction of the ballroom that now had all the guests in it. The event hall was empty, except for some staff. He paused to whisper something into the ear of a staff member, and we continued our way into the ballroom, where he led us straight to the centre. "You don't mind joining us at our table, do you?"
Uh... That was a surprise but uhm... I don't know. I was torn between avoiding Anna for the rest of the night and getting that party's invitation out of her mouth because I fucking need it to live.
"No," I replied. I'll risk my head once again. Maybe I could get some information from family and friends. They might know something about this party.
Anastasia was saying something to a woman on her left-hand side when we got to their table and I caught the last part of her statement just as we got there. "Who is it for?" She pointed to a chair that maybe shouldn't be there.
There were already about eight people around the wide table.
"For your friend," I heard her dad say before the woman could respond. She turned to face us because her back was towards us and the blood drained from her face almost immediately.
"Ariel..."
Victor Coleman placed his hand on the small of my back and led me to the seat Anastasia had just been pointing to, opposite her. "Everyone, this is Ariel, Anastasia's new friend. She came here to support the cause and spend time with her friend, I'm guessing."
The table was silent as he said that, if you could call the room silent at all. Classical music was playing but it was quite loud and there was chatter scattered all over the room, though a few people close to the table were staring.
I immediately felt flustered. "Hi everyone," I greeted, trying to ignore their blatant stares. No one was even trying to look like I was welcome here until...
"Well, are you going to say hello or what?" Everyone's demeanour changed immediately. I saw some smiles and nods; someone even stretched their hand out to shake mine but I wasn't focused on that.
What I was focused on was Anastasia's face, which immediately threw me off. She didn't look like she was angry with me anymore. No. That look in her eyes, that blank stare – it looked resigned.
Everyone's attention turned away from me as someone came onto the podium.