Chapter 4 Aiden Salvador

"Are you going to wear it?"

I scoffed at the idea of wearing the audacious gown sent last night. "Of course not! You'll never catch me wearing that. Not only does it look expensive as hell, but it's also not ours. I mean, my Mom won't send something like this." Gaze wandering at the box which Alex placed on top of the coffee table, I frowned at it.

There's no way that it came from Mom.

"Well, as far as I know, there's only one Elise Skylar in this apartment building. The delivery man can't be wrong. What if it's a surprise?" Alex wondered aloud. "You know, maybe some friend of yours sent it. Probably bought it because she wants to see you in it, I don't know..."

Heaving a sigh, I pointed at the box. "I'll just take it back. Say that it's not ours." Whoever really owns the gown must be a proud woman, a confident one. One who wears a red dress demands attention, all eyes on her. As much as I want that kind of attention from agents looking for a new star to polish, I'll never wear an expensive gown.

Just the thought of wearing a gown so expensive that its price could probably feed a whole neighborhood makes me dizzy.

And who the hell demands such a thing? 'Wear it tomorrow, Elise Skylar'? Seriously? Am I some kind of dog that would follow a stranger's orders? I don't think even a dog would obey a stranger.

"Are you sure, Elise? To be honest, the gown is nice. I just don't like the color-"

"I'll bring it back. We should bring it back." I don't like to come back and see the annoying box there. See the gown glittering in front of me, reminding me of the life that I would never have even if I wanted it or not.

And I don't want it at all.

Alex raised both of her hands in surrender. "Sheesh! Alright, woman! No need to get your panties in a twist. Just bring that gown back or burn it-do whatever you like with it."

"Sorry..." I mumbled. "Just seeing something like this brought up the past. You know that very well."

She gave me a knowing look. "Of course, I do. We've been together for so long I'm starting to worry that I'll never be able to have a husband because you'll be there-"

"Shut up, woman." I shook my head at her, slightly amused. "You have a boyfriend."

At the mention of her boyfriend, a professor in her college-it was shocking the first time Desmond Cole, she smiled. "Of course I do. You should get one, Elise. Oh wait, if you're really going to be Aiden's wife, then you don't have to look for one anymore!"

I rolled my eyes at the mention of the man's name. "No way I'm marrying that guy. I don't even know him! Why on earth would I marry a stranger? I might find a man once my acting career finally set sails!" I laughed and added. "And I did have a boyfriend before. Remember Jason Achilles?"

Alex made an annoyed face that all I could do was laugh. "Really? As far as I could remember, you and Jason only had a fling. Not officially dating. And, if your memory still serves you well, we did agree not to touch him! You and I swore back then!"

"It wasn't my fault he liked me." I chewed on my lower lip. "And I only liked him because he was handsome. I didn't know he really liked me back then. Besides, we didn't last long because we were too busy with other things..."

Alex sighed. "Alright, that was back in high school and every girl did like him anyway. Oh right, did you search about the Salvadors last night, right? Like I told you to do so?"

"I did and I don't have to search for more information about them to know that they're rich." I sighed. "Seriously... was that audition for real? It's a joke, right? Must've been a scam or some sort. Why on earth would they do that? Auditioning women to marry that man... Those women wasted their time there. Aiden Salvador... is he really a real person?"

Alex raised an eyebrow. "What? I thought you searched them up on the internet? Wasn't it stated there that he is-"

"Real or not, I don't care. I'm not getting involved with any rich people's shenanigans. They were just playing a joke on everybody for fun! Those bastards..."

Aiden Salvador must be some kind of a wimp, scared of us women for his family to host an audition and see who would marry him. Didn't those women mention that he had a girlfriend? What happened to them?

"Alright, if you say so..." She gave me a deadpan expression before turning her back, waving goodbye. "I'm off, woman! See you later."

"You too. Take care, okay?" Then, I smirked teasingly. "Don't have too much fun with your professor, okay?"

"No promises." Alex responded with such seriousness the smirk on my face disappeared. What the fuck? I-is she joking right now?

"I'm serious, Alex." I walked up to her with urgency. "You and Desmond might get in trouble-do you want that to happen?"

She faced me and frowned. "No! Of course, I won't let that happen. I'm not dumb! I'll... make sure to keep it under wraps, okay? No one will find out."

I heaved a sigh, nodding softly. "Okay, okay. Sorry, I'm just worried about you. I don't want you to be kicked out or something."

"Stop worrying, nothing will happen. Alright? Everything will be fine. Just get yourself a boyfriend." she chuckled and patted my shoulder. "By the way, don't bother cleaning my room. I'll do it myself."

The image of her room messy, clothes everywhere, and crumpled papers in her waste bin made me frown hard. There was no problem with her being busy with college. I, too, went through that hell until I dropped out but I never had any problem cleaning up after.

Alex, however...

"Really? Can I count on that?"

All she did was laugh as she walked out of the door. I knew it. Leaving me in the apartment all alone, she gave me the freedom to do whatever I want. And I want to clean the whole place right now. Hands on my waist, I gave the door to Alex's room a look before deciding to clean it after.

The dirty dishes were still in the sink and dust was starting to collect on the bookshelf. Tying my hair, I went straight to the cleaning supplies kept under the kitchen sink. I took the broom and dustpan as well.

I should start cleaning or I'll have another sinus attack!

~ ✼ ~

Excited for the auditions I could stumble on today, I grabbed my phone and placed it in the pocket of my skinny jeans. The smell of the lavender-scented air freshener continued to surround the apartment. It took me around twenty minutes to clean the place, plus fifteen minutes with Alex's room.

Seriously, that woman. She said I didn't have to worry about her room, that she'll clean it-it's like a hurricane hit her bedroom!

Giving myself one last look in the mirror, I snatched the apartment keys from the shiny clean kitchen counter and left. Proudly walking out of the clean apartment only to be reminded that Alex will slowly trash the place. I blinked a couple of times only to accept the fate.

On the streets, I stared at the mannequins posing in the shop's windows. Wearing chic outfits that some women who passed by went in and saw if they looked good in them. Continuing my way, not wanting to be tempted to buy a new pair of shoes on sale, my mind wandered to the auditions held today.

I wonder what role they're looking for... I wish I could play a role of a young teenager or a woman in a forbidden relationship. It would be nice to be in a lead role once in a while-

Spotting a taxi, I hailed it and hurriedly got in. I must get there quickly or I'll be late! I smiled at the driver once I was settled comfortably on my seat.

"To the nearest theater please."

The driver merely nodded his head and faced the wheel. The taxi slowly went back to the bustling road, passing by a slow driver. Leaning back, I pulled out my phone and zipped my bag open, looking for my earphones when I stumbled on the business card given to me by Mr. Salvador yesterday.

Staring at it, memories of him asking me to go to the address crossed my mind. I heaved a sigh and tossed it back into my bag. There's no way I'm going there. It's obviously some kind of trap.

"That's weird..."

I glanced up to see the driver looking at the side. Eyes not on the road. It scared me a little.

"Mister? Is there something wrong?" I inquired, about to turn around and see what was distracting him from behind. He only waved off my concern.

"It's nothing, Miss. Just sit down."

Okay...

The rest of the ride was quiet save for the busy world outside. Cars honking and people chatting at the sidewalk as they made their way to their destinations. Different music was faintly playing outside as we passed by. Even the restaurants were already filled with customers. Devont city is definitely a huge city filled with diverse people. However, it was still a dog-eat-dog world out there. Only the strongest and the wisest survive.

I scratched my head before running my fingers through my hair. I may not be the smartest person in the class, but I try so hard... And there's no way I'm giving up on my dreams-

"Miss, we're here."

"O-oh! Right..." Slowly, the taxi turned to a stop in front of the theater. Fishing the money out of my wallet, I paid the taxi driver and got out. Eyes slightly squinting due to the heat that suddenly hit me-it was pretty cold inside the taxi-I hurriedly walked to the theater.

I'm not late. I'm not late. I'm not late.

Seeing that the people lining were already heading inside, I began to panic.

I'm late. I'm late. I'm fucking late!

Then, as if the world was playing tricks on me, I couldn't feel the ground anymore as I was grabbed by the arms. Eyes wider than the moon, my head shot up to see the same two tall bodyguards that worked for Mr. Salvador.

"W-Wha-" I thrashed around, hoping to get free. "L-let me go! What's happening? What did I do-hey, let me go!"

Teeth gritted, I was aiming my foot on one of the man's knees when one just threw me on his shoulders. Making me see the world upside down. "Hey! Didn't you hear me? I said put me down!"

Oh god, this is so humiliating!

One person passing by walked up to us only to be stopped by the other bodyguard who showed him something. The person immediately backed off and just watched as I was placed inside the car. My heart was pounding and my head was spinning.

"W-where are you taking me?" When none of them answered, I hissed. "I demand an answer! Do you know this is kidnapping?"

Suddenly aware that my phone was still with me, I quickly took it out and dialed Alex's number. Surprisingly, none of them took the gadget away from me. Mentally chuckling to myself, I held my phone against my ear as I waited for Alex to pick up.

Come on, pick up. Pick up!

"Woman, do you know I'm busy here-"

"Help me! They're kidnapping me!" I yelled in panic. "Hurry up and call the police, they might take my phone away-"

"Are you fucking kidding me, Elise?" Alex sighed on the other line. "Hold on a second..." she then proceeded to talk to someone else, taking so long that I was losing my patience. Woman! What are you doing! Can't you feel the urgency just by the tone of my voice?

"Alex! Hurry up!"

"I can hear you, Elise." she groaned. "If this is one of your silly pranks again, please stop. Your pranks never work and you always end up laughing before you could even begin. So I'll go now..."

"Alex, no!" Just as those words came out of my mouth, she hung up. I merely stared at the screen of my phone, counting to ten mentally. Wait until I get home, I'll kill that pet leech of hers-how on earth can I get back?!

"Where are you taking me?" I tried asking them again. "Can I talk to Mr. Salvador? Did I do something wrong for him to do this to me?"

Is this my last day of freedom?

The ride was silent, destination unknown to me but when we passed by a few huge houses, I didn't have to guess where we were anymore. The extravagant houses, the sleek cars that went by, and even the people that were walking their dog seemed like a model out of a magazine. We were definitely on the side of town where I swore I'll never go.

"Please take me back home now..." I whispered when the car slowly went to a stop in front of a large black gate. The mansion in front of us was beautiful yet it scared me at the same time. No, it wasn't fear what I felt but strong intimidation.

The car drove in once the gates were opened and parked right at the front. Panic tainted my whole body as the bodyguards climbed out of the car first. As soon as the two got out, I hurriedly went and ran. Not caring if I was about to stumble only for my efforts to be wasted as they grabbed me again.

"Let me go!" I screamed. It echoed around the area as we walked in. Maids in uniform stopped to stare at us as we passed by them. Elegant furniture, chandeliers, and things only the rich could afford greeted me. It almost burned my eyes at how extravagant everything was. We then entered what seemed to be the living room.

Before I knew it, they brought me down and my butt landed on a comfy surface. I narrowed my eyes at the two bodyguards.

I'll make sure to get out of here-

"So glad you could make it, Miss Skylar."

That voice! I turned to where it came from only to see two men sitting far across me. I recognized the man seated on the left to be Mr. Salvador. The old man smiled faintly at me. So this is his house? I should've known...

Gaze moving to the other man, I lost my voice and just stared at him. His gray eyes pierced me, judging me from afar. He looked like a younger version of Mr. Salvador. The brown locks and the sharp jawline he has. And for a moment, I thought my heart would burst until I narrowed my eyes at them. Reminded as to why I was here.

This is no time to get distracted.

Mr. Salvador didn't mind the look I gave them. He then gestured to the stoic man beside him proudly.

"Miss Skylar, this is my second son, Aiden Salvador. He's going to be your husband."

A-Aiden?