Chapter 4 I promise.

I shudder, my light skin stained with dark crimson blood, as I stare down at my hands.

It was not me.

It was not me.

I promise.

I open my eyes and let out a trembling breath, growing accustomed to being startled to wakefulness by such horrible pictures.

"You're awake," Theo says in a seductive voice that I hear. "Perfect timing. We have arrived at the packing house.

"Oh," I say in response, unwittingly chuckling. I hope it didn't come out as harsh as I could have made it out to be as I cleared my throat and collected myself again.

He stops and looks at me.

"Yes?" I ask him a question.

His voice is concerned as he asks me dubiously, "Is something wrong?"

"Ha. No. Merely a pointless fantasy," I digress.

"That's not it," he mumbles. But in a fraction of the time, he returns to his indifferent state. I let go of a breath I was unaware I was holding.

I get out of the car with Theo and follow him. The others had obviously arrived much earlier. And when I say "others," I mean my four really loving friends. They wouldn't be in the same room as me, so Theo had to drive me separately. I mean, they obviously thought well of me.

To make sure I still had my hood on, I patted my head.

The sight of the imposing building causes my eyes to swell, and I attempt to contain my breath. A magnificent villa in the Mediterranean style stood before me. The mansion barely covered what I could see with my own eyes. This was a typical Beauty and the Beast kind of thing.

The bright yellow lights shining through the windows from within the mansion added to the glitziness of the gloom.

There was a magnificent marble fountain in the center of the big lawn in front of the manor. The thought of forcing Celestina into it was unavoidable. Of the four, there was something about her that I found most objectionable. Her picture of a good girl annoyed me. Her appearance was too pure, and her aura was too suspicious for my comfort.

I can't focus on my thoughts because Theo laughs and pulls a drawl: "Someone's enjoying this."

When I look at his face, with his chest pushed up and a proud expression on it, my heart thrills.

I smile and add, "Just thinking about how much money I'll be making after stealing all the goods and escaping."

A smug expression appears on his face as his lips form a smirk. "What a great time I'll be having chasing and catching you, love."

"Try me."

He says, "I don't think that'll end up too well," and then he looks at me. "Let's make our way inside, shall we?"

I just nodded in answer. He opens and unlocks the enormous doors, then ushers me inside.

I see.

Oh, my.

God.

What kind of pay would I be getting? Hell, I'll be making millions in less time than that! Theo says, "I'm not sure if I should be worried about your expression or not." "I promise I could see dollar signs in your eyes."

"I'm glad you know me so well already, Theo."

For around thirty minutes, he leads me through the hallways and provides me with a brief tour. Lamps, chandeliers, and ornaments gleamed. Shiny, shiny, shiny. I forced myself not to reach for them.

I could see my reflection on the spotlessly clean flooring, which was almost shining. I realized the interior of the mansion was traditional gold and white. Not too horrible.

I gape shamelessly. The gold vase on one of the tables caught my eye, beckoning me closer. I quickly jotted down a mental note for myself.

That's how it goes: I break my jaw and neck and look around the place, high and low, shocked.

Then, far too suddenly, Theo stops. I hit his back too hard because I reacted too slowly. I get a surge of pleasure, and at the same time, my skin starts to tingle.

"I apologize," I mumble. My cheeks get hot and bothered.

He notices my predicament and chuckles. "You're a clumsy one, I see."

I furrow my brow and growl, "It's not my fault you ended so quickly. Even so, why did you stop?"

"Everyone's gone to rest; I figured out we should too."

"We?" My mind wandering off course, I inquire, heat rising to my cheeks once more. Thankfully, I was not good at blushing, unlike other people.

He gives one of his trademark smirks. He grabs a doorknob and proceeds to force the door open.

"At this very moment, You're not correct, Alex. I promise not to rush you. He gestures to the right, where another door was slammed, saying, "You have your room." "And I have mine."

"Oh," I quickly respond while massaging the nape of my neck.

"However, I'm up for anything," he continues, winking.

I lied, "No thank you," and hurriedly slammed the bedroom door behind me.

His bedroom door closes, and I hear it a few seconds later. I let out a sigh as my mind at last acknowledged how exhausted I was.

I dash to the bed and savor its softness. This was paradise! Tucking my head under the blankets, I give the pillow a hug and try to fall asleep.

It was useless.

I was tired, yet I couldn't sleep. I shut my eyes, opened them, and stared at the ceiling for an hour straight like that.

It was too uncomfortable to sleep in the dress. I thought about just taking off everything, but that felt naked and awkward, even for me.

Shouting to myself, "Fuck this,"

I toss off the sheets, and before I know it, I'm peering into Theo's bedroom door.

Without giving a damn, I knock fast three times and twist the door open.

I wanted to go back to the comfort of my bed since I was exhausted.

I look around the room, trying to find Theo.

Theo was lying there on the bed. Without a shirt. His lower body lies behind bed linens. I lustfully follow my gaze all over his physique. I count his torso's abs. Oh my gosh, one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, and eight. I really hope I wasn't slobbering.

I look up into his face, his eyes piercing me. "I'll take it you're enjoying what you're seeing."

"H-huh." I stammer like a foolish person. "No, I'm not. I'm simply imagining how much money I could make if I put you up for auction."

He raises his glasses with a finger and says, "Oh, really?" I sigh quietly, enjoying the boyfriend's look as well. "Do you need anything, or are you thinking about the other option I gave you?"

"Ha, funny!" I feigned laughter. "Could you please get me some clothing to sleep in? It feels a little awkward."

"Pretty, anything at all for you. On your left, in a closet. Take hold of whatever appeals to you. He pauses and grins. "If you'd like, the door closest to you is the bathroom door." Unless you want to change right in front of me, of course."

"I'm fine." I hurry to the restroom, open the closet, and take out some random clothing.

[To be honest, she could have changed by going to her room, but please excuse my laziness and excuse me from editing this.]

I was happy that I had tennis shorts on underneath the dress when I put on the big black t-shirt. I knew I wouldn't wear the satin dress again, so I threw it in the garbage.

I step out of the bathroom and sigh. This time, I was more exhausted than before, and I was having trouble keeping my eyes open.

I groggily make my way to the door and say, "Thank you," to him.

He says, "Goodnight, Alexandria," with a playful expression.

"Goodnight, Theo," I whisper to him.

I then scurry out of his room, praying that I won't become ill before I get to bed.

I was craving a taste of the restful sleep I hadn't experienced in a long time.

As soon as I entered the room, I leaped over the bed and took a position beneath the covers. I shut my eyes and slip into a comfortable, deep sleep.

I am overcome by darkness.