In which I began my grand plan of white-washing the former scum Blake and made him into a nice CEO UwU
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Anticipation is an interesting game, only while you're hunting. Once you've caught your prey, the joy is joy no more; then it becomes pride.
I was really nervous when we came here at noon, but since I saw how comfortable it's to be around uncle Alfred and Alexander, I began to feel relaxed.
Actually, I've already been feeling like I was at home, but I paid extra attention to the stuff around the house in order to not damage anything. I was even extra careful not to break the plate or drop the cup of tea Uncle Alfred prepared for lunch. You never know what kind of man the owner of this mansion is.
Uncle Alfred had no stamina to run around these two troublemakers which was probably why Melissa asked me to come despite there being someone in the house. A little girl and an elderly man would be a bit lonely in this house alone. But according to their words, the owner of this place was a good man. And rich. Filthy rich. Sometimes, I wonder what kind of person would have become of me if I were born into a family like this. Would I be a prodigal daughter that caused trouble outside or an elegant lady? Damn, that was scary to think about.
Once again I had to admit that the guy had style. This place didn't give away the homey feeling, but it was like a shelter from darkness and loneliness. As an ex-artist, since I haven't painted for two years, I could easily read someone by their surroundings. With all those cheerful colors in every single room and piano next to the fireplace in a specially prepared music room with the entire wall being made of glass where you could see the garden from, you could say that he was the man who wanted company but was lonely deep inside his soul.
I somewhat wanted to meet the person, to assure him that he was not alone and that everything was just fine. We're only human. It's only natural for us to stick together and want more company. We can never learn to function if we keep ourselves isolated. One can only achieve so much on their own, but it's when we meet other people that they ignite sides of us we never thought we had.
I sighed. It's not like I had the right to complain. I forgot about every single one of my friends from the past after my parents died, and I wasn't really the type of person who formed deep bonds with them. I shook my head, trying not to think about negative things.
Hours after I came here, those two wanted to eat something sweet and miraculously, there was none of it, save it for an entire box of hot chocolate. Don't judge, I wanted to try and bake something, but with my baking skills and his expensive things, that was just impossible. I still wanted to live.
Uncle Alfred was out of the question. He, in his words, couldn't cook to save his head. However, he was good at anything else and it was his wife who did the cooking when Melissa's brother couldn't, yet she left for their daughter's wedding preparations.
With no better solution, I decided to go out and buy something. Uncle Alfred explained to me where the closest market was and how to get there, so trusting in his sense of directions, I armed myself with confidence of arriving there and getting back safely before the house was set on fire.
Turning myself to those two who almost dramatically died on the ground with cries for me to get them up, I began to warn them. I swear they were evil.
"All right kids, you stay here while I go to buy some sweets and please don't cause any problems for Uncle Alfred, alright?" I pleaded and both Ayden and Amy nodded their heads at the same time. How cute were they? I almost forgot about my previous statement about them.
"We promise, we will be good," Ayden replied, standing proudly in front of Amy before she huffed and pushed him aside.
"Yes, we will. We'll play hide and seek," she said, making me stare at them in awe.
"Not fair, I said it first!" he protested, standing in front of her as she only pushed him again.
"I'm a princess. I'll stay in front!" she replied and they started yelling at each other as I only sighed. I haven't even left!
"Uncle Alfred!" I called and he suddenly came behind me making me jump in surprise as he chuckled. I swear, he's Batman's Alfred. The owner of this house is definitely a Batman!
"Just call me Al, it sounds like I'm some old granddad with my full name. Trust me, I am far, far from that," he said before trying to flex the nonexistent muscles on his arm. "You know I'm still able to do the action and feel like I'm in my teens." He wiggled his brows while having that stupid grin plastered on his face making me smile along with him. Heavens! Are adults more unreliable the older they get? Was I a fake adult or were they the fake ones?
Alexander came rushing towards us and started chasing his tail. I relied on his good behavior he's shown me through the entire day to assume that he won't be making problems.
I kneeled down and petted him. He barked in satisfaction before lying down and rolling on his back so that I could scratch his belly.
"Take care of them while I'm out, Alex. And don't cause any trouble, deal?" I gave him my hand and he high-fived me with his paw. He then stood back on all four before barking again. "Good doggy." Look, he's so smart. He's definitely a good dog.
With a confident smile on my face, I headed on my way to the nearest market, which was around twenty minutes away from the mansion by foot.
Surprisingly, that night was warm and as I was leaving the mansion, I raised my head to see the stars still visible from here and gasped. They weren't like this at my home. And so I smiled. I liked stars, they often used to be my inspiration when drawing. I could literally put them anywhere in my painting or drawing, and they would still be able to blend in, like they were supposed to be there. But I stopped with it completely. My thoughts would always drift to that night, so I gave up on the paintbrush.
Ah, how I loved to paint back in the days when my parents were still alive. After they died and my aunt grabbed all of the money before leaving us alone, I managed to sell more than half of my paintings to an old antique shop that used to be down the road. That, plus some of other things I managed to sell before my aunt got hold of, were enough to take care of the house I currently live in with Ayden. Soon though, I'll be using that guy's money to buy a bigger and better home for my little family.
Giving one last glance to the mansion before I was about to pass through the gates, I gulped. Nothing bad was going to happen while I was away, right? They were with Uncle Alfred and Alex. It was not like they could wreak havoc in the mansion, I hoped. Chuckling for worrying too much just because it says some rich billionaire's house could behead me if a scratch appeared on the wall, I slapped my cheeks twice before finally leaving the mansion grounds. Everything was going to be alright. Just peachy!
Boy, was I wrong.
* * *
My jaw almost fell to the ground as I stood amazed by the sight before meâor should I say dumbfounded.
Bottles of juice were scattered all around the room. Feathers of pillows were everywhere in the air. Pictures that costed more than my house were all destroyed. Carpet I could pay for my college cost with was completely soaked in milk. Uncle Alfred had grass and mud stains all over him with a barking Alexander next to his leg, who wasn't in any better state and had managed to leave paw traces everywhere, even the walls. The ceiling was entirely splashed with juice and one window was broken as I stood with only one question on my mind: "How the hell did all this happen?"
Oh my God. I was dead. Whoever the mansion's owner was, he was most definitely going to behead me. While I was worrying about a possible scratch on the wall, they destroyed the whole living room! Holding my head, I thought that it was about time I started digging my own grave. How much did it cost to buy a grave in the cemetery? I should have enough money to pay for the next hundred years, right? Life is so difficult for us adults. Even in death we must pay for land!
No, wait, what the heck was I thinking about? My life was over, and I've never even fallen in love. I never went to college nor to Disneyland. I've never even met a mermaid for cupcake's sake!
I looked around to be met with three faces smiling sheepishly at me as Alex covered them up with barks. The two troublemakers were in the same state like the rest. They were all covered in mud, milk, spaghetti, and grass. What in the holy name of the Earth have they been doing?
"Whaâwhat happened?" I asked again but before Alfred could answer, I heard the front door open. Without any second thoughts, I hid in the wardrobe in the hall on the other side from the living room. I silently pleaded others not to tell him my location.
"What the hell?" I heard footsteps and a man's voice I was positive that I've heard before. I immediately shook those thoughts away. Whether I knew him or not, I was going to end up being dead anyway since he saw the mess.
"Sir, welcome back. As you can see, we had great fun tonight," Alfred said. I heard a loud thud. The guy probably fell on his knees from the shock of seeing his home trashed the way it was. I mean, I did the same and it wasn't even my house.
"What the hell happened?" He sounded like he was on the verge of cracking.
"Ah this, we were just replaying Ayden's heroic act when he had beaten a monster in the hospital. We might have gotten a bit too much into the act." He was happy. His boss was about to fire him and he sounded happy? Damn it Ayden, I told you to retell the story to Amy, not to replay it! Once I get hold of him . . .
"And the girl that was supposed to take care of them? Where was she when you were destroying my house?" he asked again, his voice laced with anger. I gulped. That was it, I was done for good. I was dead.
"Oh she just came from the market. She left an hour ago. I assure you it was our entire fault. She wasn't here when it all happened." Woohoo, thanks Al, you saved me.
"And where is she now?"
No, no, no, no, no, no, no! Don't, please don't tell him.
"She's hiding somewhere in the mansion, Sir," he replied. If I weren't trying to conceal my whereabouts, I would have facepalmed myself. Oh my God. This couldn't get any worse, could it?
"Why?"
"I believe because of you, Sir." Really uncle Alfred, really?
"Where is she hiding?"
No, no, no, no, no please, don't tell Al.
"I'm afraid I can't tell you, Sir. She begged me not to say where she is."
What? I didn't beg! I pleaded! That's not the same. Moreover, what's the difference between saying and not saying anything with that attitude, Uncle Al?
"It's already late for them to head back home now. Take those two to bed, I will go looking for her. Put the kid in the room where Amy is going to sleep. I bought the double bed that she wanted last week." To that, Uncle Alfred replied with a simple "Yes Sir."
Before they left, he spoke again. "Wait, kids, do you want to sleep?" They both protested since it was just 9 PM. Of course they didn't want to sleep. "Alright then, go play more, but after that, I'm running a bath. No excuses." They groaned and complained as they left, making me bite my lips to prevent myself from smiling. I heard their footsteps as they went who knows where. Then, there was nothing but pacing footsteps coming from that guy. I was screwed. Officially done for.
"Come out, come out, wherever you are," he said in a singsong voice. I gulped. No way in hell. I was so not coming out of here! I swear I knew that voice.
"Fuck, why this vase of all . . . Mother's going to kill me and throw me to the dogs!" I heard him complain, making me feel sorry for the guy. Soon the footsteps became more and more quiet. That left me guessing that he had left the room. I started scheming a plan for my grand escape. I could wait until I'm sure that he's no longer on this floor level, then grab Ayden and run for my life far from here. The question was, how was I going to know when he went upstairs?
Since I began to feel tired, I yawned. Before I could stop myself, my head hit the wall and I let out a loud "ouch" which made me immediately put my hands across my mouth. For the next few seconds, there was no movement. I almost sighed in relief until I heard footsteps getting louder and closer. It was the end. I'm sorry, mermaids, Disneyland, all those sweets I'll never try, and all those college plans I'll never get to finish.
Suddenly, the doors of the wardrobe opened and I was greeted with a smirking face I knew all too well. But suddenly, his face also froze, turning into the familiar indifferent expression. It was the one I could never forget, even after all this time. Blake. Well, I was definitely done for good after all.
The signs were all there, but I ignored them, believing that everything was going to go in my favor. No, I didn't believe it, but hoped so because I didn't know how to deal with the problem once I faced it. I didn't want to face it. I was simply afraid and couldn't admit it to myself.