The Elite Circle

Betse stood before the gates of the grandiose Belmont Mansion, her heart pounding in her chest. Charles stood beside her, watching her with a mix of concern and disapproval.

His eyes flickered with worry as he asked, "are you sure about this, Betse? You don't have to go through with it."

Betse took a deep breath, her eyes fixed on the distant glow of the mansion's light. "I've worked so hard, Charles," her voice was determined. "I've spent years living a good and perfect life, and where has it gotten me? Nowhere. I need this chance. I need to break into the elite circle, and this is the only way to do it."

"But at what cost, Betse?" Charles implored, his brow furrowing. "Is compromising your integrity really worth it?"

Betse hesitated, her resolve momentarily shaken by his words. She thought about her family, drowning in debt, and the burden she carried to lift them out of poverty.

"I've spent my life trying to secure a future for my family, Charles. If this is what it takes, then so be it."

"As a member of your family, I don't support this decision."

"And who said you have a say in this? Because you're my brother?" A rhetorical question from Betse.

"I'm trying to save you from the humiliation. You don't know these people. They're different from you and I," Charles explained.

"Yes, you're right but they're nothing special, just people like us. Look around us, the only difference between us and them is that they shine and we don't. Aside from that, we're not so different."

Charles folded his hand in silence, knowing that whatever he said won't stop her. Her mind was made up.

She continued, "this is an opportunity I must seize. Just like everyone in that mansion did. No one was born with diamonds."

"Since I can't stop you, goodluck!"

Betse poked him with her finger, "that's what you should have said from the start. But thank you, I'll need it."

"But can't you just change your mind?" Charles was persistent but that didn't push Betse away from her decision.

Standing firm on her decision, Betse straightened her shoulder, adjusting the neckline of her expensively rented designer dress which she had scraped to the depths of her savings to get. With a deep breath, she stepped forward, her heels clicking against the pavement as she moved towards the mansion.

"I'll see you at home."

"Don't do anything stupid. Your charms are natural so just be you."

Approaching the entrance, her pulse quickened. The doorman, dressed impeccably in a black suit, eyed her skeptically. Betse summoned her most confident smile, handing him the invitation she had forged, praying he wouldn't see through her ruse.

"Welcome, Miss," the doorman said, his tone was a fusion of suspicion and courtesy, allowing her to enter into the world of extravagance beyond the gates of the Belmont Mansion.

Inside the mansion was a display of wealth and ridiculous outlay of meticulously placed art, expensive art. Crystal chandeliers adorned the ceilings, casting a dazzling array of light across the marble floors. The air and atmosphere was thick with the scent of expensive perfumes and the murmur of elite conversations.

She grabbed a glass of wine from one the event waiters. As the charity event unfolded, the crowd of self serving philanthropists weaved through the crowd, their smiles as bright as the stars, making contributions that would pave the way for a brighter tomorrow. Auction paddles waved in the air, each gesture a promise to support causes greater than themselves.

Betse scanned the crowd, her eyes finally landing on Kini Belmont. He stood across the room, his presence commanding attention. With a newfound confidence, she made her way towards him, her steps purposeful, her smile seductive.

Kini, who was engrossed in a conversation with a group of influential guests, glanced in her direction. Their eyes met, and for a moment, time seemed to stand still.

Betse approached him, her voice smooth as silk. "Mr Belmont, what a pleasure it is to meet you. I've heard so much about your renowned art collection."

Kini, captivated by her charm, offered a charming smile in return. "The pleasure is mine, Miss...?"

"Betse," she replied, her gaze unwavering. "Betse Walters"

"I don't seem to be familiar with that name."

"I.."

Before she find words to save herself, a young man walked toward Mr Belmont and whispered to him.

"Excuse me for some minutes," Kini said politely and walked away.

"Oh, what a relief!" She let out a sigh of bliss. "I was almost caught, need to be smart about everything." She said to herself.

Turning around, she noticed flocks of eyes wandering over her. Two girls, standing not too far from her, rolled their eyes at her and whispered conversations loudly enough to her hearing.

"What a slut!"

"Trying to seduce my boyfriend. No way!" Big budget dressed Joice exclaimed with fury.

"No need to bother, she is not his type." Viola, her friend, tried to soothe her pride and anger.

"I'll let her know her place."

"Wait! Who is she? She seems new."

"Probably some new money."

"Or some joke?"

"I'll find out"

A voice broke the gossip and reverted everyone's attention back to the event of the day.

"Attention everyone!" Mr Belmont lips play out a pretty smile.

"Ladies and gentlemen, tonight has been an evidence to the beauty of human kindness. In this room, we've witnessed a unique power of unity, where strangers become friends, and friends become a community bound together by a shared purpose to make the world a better place."

He gestured to the attendees, "every contribution," his eyes met with Betse's and she smiled brightly at him, "every smile shared, and every connection made tonight has sown seeds of change."

The attendees nodded with agreement and acknowledged the truth in every word he spoke while the two girls were still stuck scheming evil plans against Betse. Fuel was added to the fire when they realized Kini eye's were locked with Betse's.

"I'm not going to stand here and just watch this," she left the room.

"Wait!" The other girl called out as she followed behind her.

"As we depart from this magnificent gathering, Let us carry the spirit of tonight in our hearts," Kini continued, his voice resonating with passion. "Let us remember that love and empathy know no boundaries. Our collective efforts tonight have not only transformed lives but have also reminded us of the boundless possibilities that emerge when we stand together."

A thunderous applause erupted, a manifestation of the attendees' shared commitment to a better world. Kini's eyes glistening with emotion, concluded, "thank you, from the depths of my heart, for your generosity, your compassion, and your unwavering belief in the goodness of humanity. Together, we have inscribed a chapter of hope, and I have no doubt that the echoes of tonight will reverberate for years to come."

And with those words, the evening culminated, leaving a legacy of kindness that disappeared as soon as Joice could no longer control the jealousy in her heart.

Joice, consumed by envy, approached Betse, her eyes filled with rage. "You think you can just waltz in here and steal my place?" she hissed, her voice sharp like a dagger.

Betse, caught off guard, stammered, "I-I don't know what you're talking about."

In a moment of fury, Joice hoping to humiliate her and get the better or her, angrily grabbed a glass of drink and poured it on Betse's dress, "Know your place, you charity case!"

"What did you just do?" Betse couldn't believe what just happened.

She was dumbfounded and at the same time bitter. Her concern was more for the dress. She was already freaking out. It cost her a fortune to rent that dress, what would it cost her to buy it off?

Gasps rippled through the crowd as the icy liquid trickled down Betse's dress, casting the stain wider. Betse's eyes welled up with tears, but she held her head high, refusing to let Joice's cruelty break her spirit.

Just as Joice was reveling in her malicious victory, Kini approached the scene. His piercing eyes scanned the situation, and his gaze settled on Betse, who stood there, drenched and embarrassed.

"What's going on here?" he demanded, his voice stern but concerned.

Joice, realizing she was in trouble, quickly pointed an accusing finger at Betse. "She's an imposter! She doesn't belong here, she doesn't belong with us. I mean, does anyone here even know her? I don't. Makes me wonder how she got her invitation. Gosh! And ruined my evening."

Kini studied Betse for a moment, then turned back to Joice, his expression softening. "I don't believe that for a second. Joice is one of our esteemed guests. I personally sent her an invitation."

Joice's face was covered with embarrassment as she realized her plan had backfired. The crowd murmured, their sympathies shifting to Betse.

He whispered to Joice, "Grow up love! Things don't always have to go your way."

Then he turned to face Betse, his eyes filled with kindness, and placed a gentle hand on Betse's shoulder. "I'm terribly sorry for this unfortunate incident, Miss Walters. Please allow me to make it up to you. Let me escort you to the VIP area, where you can freshen up and enjoy the rest of the evening without any further disturbances."

Betse, touched by Kini's compassion, nodded gratefully. She wondered if the universe was finally playing by her rules.

As they walked away, Kini cast a reproachful glance at Joice, silently reprimanding her for her jealousy-driven actions.

Meanwhile, Joice was left standing there, her heart heavy with pain. She hated it so much that Kini favored and walked away with Betse right in front of her.

Within seconds, the crowd moved on and it was like nothing ever happened that night.

****

Kini had taken Betse upstairs and given her a shirt to change into which she did in the convenience and now it was just the two of them in an empty exquisite room.

"Is this the VIP room?" Betse broke the silence and slithered into the king-size bed.

"It sure is." Kini answered with more than a cupful of pride. "Why? Doesn't it look like much?"

"Oh it most certainly does. Perhaps too much in my opinion." She spoke with a playful voice that echoed the voice of the seducer. But she regretted her answer almost immediately, as she thought it made her look beneath him.

"Then why do you ask?" Kini asked, leaning on one of the posters.

"It seems more like a personal room, like a master's bedroom." She answered, taking note of the slightly opened walk-in closet with shirts and suits and shoes in it. Not to mention the cosmetics and shaving clipper she saw in the convenience when she went to freshen up.

"Quite the perceptive one, aren't you?"

"Well, I am what I am."

"God complex. I like it."

"I am nothing, if not likeable." A naughty chuckle followed those words with a subtle lower lip bite. She figured if she was swimming with the sharks, why not a submarine.

"You think too much of yourself, don't you think?" He questioned softly as he slipped onto the bed like a child on an oiled slide, laying beside her.

Their eyes met with such immediacy that one would suspect they developed invisible hands and grabbed each other. The friction that laid between their barely inches apart faces was so intense it held every molecule between them in place.

Kini gulped in a large lump of saliva and said "I'm rather shocked you didn't give me a reply."

"I don't think." She suddenly blurted out.

"What?" Kini was confused.

"You said I think too much of myself. I don't think, I know." She said with a cute smile that didn't make anything she said seem too egotistic, it was just the right amount.

"Oh my God!" Kini laughed and got off the bed, "I'll definitely be needing some alcohol to dampen your corrosive cockiness."

Betse sat up while he walked to his desk by the window and pulled out a bottle of scotch with one glass and walked back to the bed where he kept them and took off his suit.

"Just one glass?" Betse asked him.

"It's the only one." He answered and sat on the bed.

"There's a plethora of glasses downstairs."

"Well, I don't want to leave this room, this moment, this magical science we both feel. If I leave, I might ruin it, we might lose it and we might not get it back."

Betse was lost in the sight of heavenly being sitting in front of her, "I like the way words roll off your tongue. And we can share the glass."

Kini poured a little scotch into the glass and Betse poured the entire cup down her throat, she needed that golden liquid courage to carry on this charade of hers.

"Whoa, wow! Okay, I've got a competitor." Kini expressed shock.

"You wish."

"Oh, okay. Let's make this interesting." He said and pulled out his phone. "Fastest to finish their glass by the time this bottle finishes, wins. If you win, I'll give you whatever victory trophy you want. And if I win, you'll tell me how you got into my party."

This was suddenly not going Betse's way, she did not expect to be gambling with a billionaire who was suddenly determined to find out what she was hiding. His smile was no longer so sweet to her any longer as she was feeling pressured. She couldn't decline but she also couldn't tell him the truth, so the only solution was to win this challenge.

"Fine. Challenge accepted."

Kini grinned and opened the timer on his phone before they began their game. And naturally, by the time the bottle was emptied, the one with something to lose and something to hide, Betse, won.

They were both now drunk, Betse moreso. And she began talking in gibberish.

"Okay, your clearly wasted. Let's get you some shut-eye." He said and tried pulling her further into the bed but the he tripped halfway and almost fell on her, using his elbow to balance himself on the mattress. With his elbows on both sides, Kini's lips were just an inch away from Betse's.

Her eyes were open enough to see his face above hers and his lips almost touching hers. His heart was racing and just then, he realized the shirt had slipped off her right shoulder, exposing her neck and shoulder and her beautiful skin.

"You're beautiful." He whispered to her in the most ravishing voice possible.

"Thank you." She blushed.

His head slowly shifted to the right and with his lips pouted, he gently lowered them to her neck, reaching to plant a sensual kiss on her pulsating neck.

Betse woke up in the lavish bedroom next to Kini Belmont, the billionaire host of the charity event. She blinked, last night's events came flooding back into her consciousness.

Reality crashed over her like a tidal wave, and guilt clawed at her insides. She covered her mouth with her hands in shock. What had she done? She slipped out of bed, careful not to wake Kini, and dressed hurriedly.

As she made her way towards the door, a voice, soft yet filled with authority, stopped her in her tracks. "Leaving so soon, Miss Walters?"

She turned, her eyes meeting Kini's intense gaze. She stammered, "I have to go. I have work, and I shouldn't have stayed this long."

Kini looked firmly at her, his expression unreadable. "I had a great night, thanks to you. Join me for breakfast before you leave."

Before she could give a response, he walked out of the room and called out, "Give me five and everything will be set."

***

"I hope you're enjoying the breakfast, Betse?"

She blushed. What she had been dreaming for her whole life was finally her reality plus the bonus content of dining alone with Kini Belmont in the Belmont Mansion.

"Sure, thank you. The food is quite good," she remarked, as she took another bite of food.

"You can't expect a billionaire's food to be anything less."

Betse chuckled, "Well, being a billionaire doesn't exempt you from being served low quality meals, does it?"

"Around here, we employ the best chefs in the world."

"Mmm, as expected."

"But I prepared this myself." He bragged.

Betse was surprised, "Really? You're quite the chef. I don't expect billionaires to cook for themselves"

"Being a billionaire doesn't mean I can't cook. Besides, a man has to have some hidden talents."

Betse served an infectious laugh. "Hidden talents, huh? What else are you hiding, Mr. Belmont?"

Kini feigned a look of innocence, his hand pressed to his chest in mock shock. "Oh, a gentleman never reveals all his secrets, Betse. That's what keeps the mystery alive."

She rolled her eyes playfully. "Mystery, huh? I thought you billionaires were all about flaunting your wealth and charm."

"Charm, maybe. But as for wealth, I prefer to let my actions speak louder than my bank account."

Emily tilted her head, her curiosity took over. "That's surprisingly humble of you, Mr. Belmont. Not what I expected from a man who probably owns half the city."

Kini smiled with a twinkle of mischief in his eyes. "Well, I do have my moments of humility. But it doesn't last so best enjoy it while you can."

Kini couldn't resist a playful comment. "You know, Betse, I have to say, having breakfast with someone as charming and beautiful as you is quite the treat."

Betse mock-gasped, her hand flying to her chest in mock surprise. "Flattery, Mr. Belmont? I thought you were all about mystery and hidden talents."

Kini winked, his confidence shining through. "Well, there's no harm in appreciating beauty when it's right in front of you."

She laughed again, "You're certainly not lacking in the confidence department, are you?"

Kini leaned back, his expression smug. "When you look like this, confidence comes naturally," he said, gesturing to himself with a grin.

Betse shook her head, her laughter bubbling up once more. "You certainly have a high opinion of yourself, Kini."

He raised an eyebrow, his tone playful. "Can you blame me? I mean, have you seen these jawlines?" He struck a pose, his hand dramatically framing his face.

Betse burst into laughter and Kini joined in. Just as the breakfast session was over, they moved to the sitting room. Everywhere was awkwardly quiet unlike last night. No guards or help were present. Not like Betse seemed to notice during breakfast or now. Her attention to that was unknown, she didn't concern herself with the situation. For her, she was happy, she got to do this alone with Kini. That was her major concern and happiness.

"I have something for you."

"Huh?"

He stood up, grabbed an envelope, and gave it to her. "This is for you."

Looking confused, "what do you mean?" Betse was grateful, knowing that fighting her way in no matter the circumstances was not in vain.

She looked at the content, "whoa! I was not expecting this."

"I'm not sure about that. But I'm paying you off"

"I'm lost," not the goodbye she was expecting.

"I mean, it was just a one night stand. No need to harness feelings."

"Did we actually...?" Her eyes widened.

"Yes! What were you expecting? Wasn't that your desire all along?"

"I refuse to be insulted."

"You already insulted yourself, the minute you walked into my event, uninvited."

"Then why did you save me?" She needed answers.

"I didn't save you, I saved my event"

Betse was perplexed. Was this really the Kini Belmont she met last night and over breakfast? What changed?

She was also flustered by the cash. It was a whopping sum of money. She needed money, her family needed money. She didn't know what to do. Walk away with the money and jeopardize her reputation or refuse the money and save her image?

Her pride was stronger than her needs. "Keep your money, I'm not a slut." She handed over the envelope to Kini.

"I never said you were." Kini held her hands with the envelope.

He moved closer to her, she kept adjusting till she reclined on the wall. He leaned closer to her, his right palms on the wall while his eyes were plastered on hers. The envelope fell down but Kini's gaze didn't shift. She looked somewhat like a frightened cute cat. Everything around them seemed to pause and time was moving slow.

He whispered, "Forgive me, I will never call you such." He gently pushed the hairs lingering on her face right behind her ears. "I can sense something deeper in you. Why were you here in the first place?"

Betse's heart raced, she looked away, "I can't. I can't tell you," she whispered, her voice breaking.

Kini reached out, his fingers gently tilting her chin, forcing her to meet his eyes. "I don't know what game you're playing, but I'm willing to find out. There's more to you than meets the eye, Betse Walter. And I intend to uncover every layer."

He pulled away, "one more thing," he pulled a card out from his pocket. "This is for you, I sent your clothes over to the best dry cleaning service."

He gave her the card, "reach out to them and get your dress. It's all been paid more."

It was as if Kini's actions seized her voice. She was unable to utter any words.

He picked up the envelope, "You'll need this. Keep it"