Chapter 20 New Adventure
CHAPTER TWENTY
New adventure.
SCARLETT – POINT OF VIEW
Roman gives me access to the main gate before he leaves.
In his absence, he makes sure I’m the one who can allow anyone in. It soothes my paranoid heart. He also tells me that no one really knows this place, so I’m safe here.
“I’ll send the pictures to you before I post them,” I inform him as he walks to the door.
“Alright. Call me if it’s urgent. If I don’t respond immediately, I’ll respond later. I’ll be back tonight.” He says, and I nod.
I follow him to the door, and for a moment, he looks at me, and lingers, then he gets in his car and drives off. My heart twinges a little as he drives off, but I push every damning feeling. I am here to work. This is a job, a very important one, and I cannot mess it up.
Rick and Caleb walk out, carried away in a conversation.
“The pictures are golden,” Eve gushes, and I nod.
I take the curved staircase to my bedroom. It is bare, empty and has a void. It is time for me to fill it up with wonderful memories, the happiest ones. I am going to make this good. Roman and I will do our jobs perfectly. In two years, I’ll walk away a free and rich woman.
“This is such a beautiful bedroom, but it’s so empty.” Eve walks in.
“It’s our next adventure.” I remind her, warmly.
She chuckles, “You’re right. Our next adventure. Do you want to redecorate?”
“Definitely. I’ll write a list, and Rick will go get it. According to Roman, I’m not supposed to leave. I don’t want to leave either.” I shrug coolly.
For the next two hours, we redecorate my bedroom and other parts of the house. I keep wondering who the Piano is for, who has the bedroom I must not go to. It makes me uncomfortable that he is keeping secrets in the house we share. I want to ask Caleb, but I don’t want to cross a line, so I just focus on fixing parts of the house.
My bedroom finally has colours. I’ve always loved nature, and for a long time, my mother tried to cultivate it out of me. She wanted me to be prim and proper. She signed me up for ballet class, for Barre, and etiquette lessons. It worked, and I finally balanced my responsibility with my passion. I always made my way to the woods nearby, to the pond she always called dirty, to my makeshift garden. I have always loved deep green and flowers.
Caleb and Rick are a wonderful team. They are at our beck and call. They didn’t even blink when I told them I wanted to paint my bedroom. They painted the wall, where my bed is pushed against, dark green, then the rest of the bedroom another shade of green. It is very complimentary.
I add aesthetics, flowers, lights and more beautiful things. If I’m to stay here, I want it to be beautiful. I replace the sheets with softer ones. I use my credit card for everything.
In a matter of hours, I’ve transformed my bedroom.
I am cautious about touching other places, but I add some touches to the kitchen. I add flower plants and a touch of colour.
We finish in the evening. I am exhausted, and thankfully don’t have to cook. Eve decides to cook for everyone, and I scroll through the edited pictures. Eve managed to capture Roman and me in a certain light. We look absolutely besotted with each other.
While she cooks, I create an account on my new phone. Scarlett Sterling is the name I chose. I know we are not married yet and might never be married, but it’s important to present a unified front.
I send the pictures to Roman, and all I get back is a thumbs-up. I take that for a yes, and post certain pictures with a simple caption, Couldn’t keep our new adventure a secret any longer.
I tag him in the picture and turn off the comments.
Seconds later, my phone beeps with an overwhelming amount of notifications. It gets annoying, so I just turn off the phone instead.
“I followed you from a secret account,” Eve informs me with a grin.
I roll my eyes and lean against her. She smells of spice and curry. My stomach growls in hunger, but I push it back. I’m too anxious to eat anything.
“Are you still worried?” She nudges me lightly.
“A little,” I admit, and fold my legs under me. “I know this can be good. It will be good. I’m trying to focus on the best parts, but I can’t help but freak out.”
“I know, and that is normal. You’ll be safe here. No one will find you, and if they do, they wouldn’t dare to touch a hair on your head. This might be just business, but Roman won’t allow that disrespect. You’re safe. You’re rich. You’re beautiful. Life is good, my love.” She beams at me.
I nod, slightly overwhelmed with everything but happy nonetheless. I have two million dollars.
“You still want to own a Photography studio?” I ask softly.
“Of course, I do.” She walks back to the kitchen and turns off the cooker.
“Well, since I’m obviously rich now, I’d like to donate to your cause.” I smile at her.
She frowns, “Donate to my cause? Scarlett?”
“Well, if I give you the money, you won’t take it, so let’s cover it up under donations.” I point out.
“The money is yours. You work hard for it. You’re going to keep working for it for the next two years. I don’t think you should splurge.” She tells me.
I scoff, “I got two million, Eve. Two million dollars for nothing. I’m not going to spend all the money at once. He gave me his card for upkeep, and next month, I’m going to receive four million. I want to splurge on you. Giving you five hundred thousand dollars won’t be too much.”
She cut in, horrified, “Scarlett!”
I ignore her and continue, “Your studio will be standard and professional. We are going to take advantage of Roman’s connection. I have no passion or dream right now, so let me invest in yours. Please don’t argue, Eve, this is the least I can do. I’ll get paid next month and give you more, Rick, too. Let’s eat and move past this conversation.”
She is speechless and gobsmacked. She nods and dishes out the food.
She cooked enough for everyone.
After eating, I fall asleep on the couch, with my heavy heart dragging me down.