It has been three days since I last talked to Sean about my Dad and his Dad. He and Lucas had been staying out of the house for the most time and I have been spending most of the time cooking with Jason, talking to Jenny or reading books.

But it was different today. When I woke up, I was welcomed with some noises from the ground floor. I walked downstairs and found people everywhere, mostly men, decorating every corner of the house. There were new maroon curtains, dark floral decoration and some men working on the lighting.

"What is going on?" I walked towards Lucas who was giving directions to who I assume was the head of the interior designers.

"There is a business party here tonight." He replied.

"Oh." I said and stared at the decorations in awe. The black and maroon decor had turned the lounge into a dark fairy tale. I wish I had a house that big to throw a whole business party there.

"But I don't have any clothes." I said, remembering.

"Oh, poor you." He said mockingly. "Good thing you aren't invited."

"What do you mean I'm not invited? I live here." I asked.

"It means you'll keep yourself in your room from 8-12 pm tonight." He said with a smirk.

"That's not fair. I'm not a servant." I said.

"That you aren't. The servants will be in the party actually." He shrugged and my face flushed red at this.

"Fine. It's not like I'm dying to be at your party." I rolled my eyes and walked into the kitchen instead where Jason was busy making omelet.

"What happened? Why do you look so sulky?" He asked.

"I'm not invited to the grand party of the Millers. As if that's the most fun party in the town." I rolled my eyes.

"Actually, it is fun most of the time. Gives you a sneak peak into rich people's life." He said.

"Ugh, don't make me jealous." I said and poured some cereal in my bowl. "Will you be there?"

"Yeah, I just need to find a mask." He said.

"Mask?" I asked.

"Yeah, it's a masquerade party." He said, fully engrossed in perfecting the omelet.

"Is it?" I raised my eyebrows as the wheels of my brain started to churn.

"Yep." He shrugged.

"Great." I finished my cereal and made my way back to the room as I had only few hours to arrange a dress, shoes and a mask.

•••••

"These are some bomb gowns. Where did you get them?" I asked Jenny as she showed me all three of her dresses.

"Mr. Miller gives us an allowance for clothing on Christmas every year." She said. "Which one do you want?"

"I don't feel good taking your dress. You've bought these with your bonus." I said.

"No silly. I'd love sharing with you." She said. "Just don't tell Mr. Miller where you got this dress from."

"Of course I won't. You have my words." I said and observed all the dresses.

There was a red dress with sweetheart neckline that Jenny was planning to wear. Other than that, there were two mermaid gowns, one was lacy black and the other was shimmery blue.

"The black one." I said and tried it on. The dress was a little tight on my chest region but it looked gorgeous nonetheless. It was at least better than going there in ragged jeans.

"You look amazing." Jenny commented as she saw me.

"Thanks." I said as I observed myself in the mirror.

•••••

At around 8, I dressed up in the black dress, curled my hair from the end and applied some light makeup on my face. I didn't have any heels so I wore sandals under my dress, wishing nobody will notice as the dress was quite long.

One might wonder why I was so persistent on going to the party. The reason was, staying locked inside the mansion was making me crazy. This was the longest I had been without interacting with other people and if I stayed like this any longer, I might consider jumping from the window in my room.

On the bed, I put all the cushions under the blanket in a way that it will look like me sleeping and then sneakily walked downstairs. I had already stolen a mask from the huge collection downstairs that matched the color of my dress.

As I stepped down the last stair, I came across men and women, dressed in the classiest suits and dresses, all busy in talking among themselves while drinking champagne.

I searched around to find a familiar face, which was difficult considering everyone was wearing masks covering half their faces. I walked forward and tried to mingle in the crowd as to avoid getting caught.

"Thanks." I said to the waiter as he handed me a glass of champagne but the first sip made me gag so I put it down.

I was busy observing my surroundings when I caught the sight of a tall and broad man, talking to a group of people. It didn't need a genius to figure out the identity of Sean Miller despite the mask. His toned lean body, dark eyes and dark hair was enough of a tell. He was wearing a fitted dark blue suit hugging his lean muscular built, making him look even more handsome than usual.

To hide from him, I turned to the other side and started talking to the first person I ran into.

"The party is nice, isn't it?" I said to the woman dressed in a baby pink gown.

She stared at me from head to toe in an arrogant manner. "Who are you wearing?" She asked.

"Uh, I think you mean, what am I wearing. It's a mermaid dress." I said confidently.

"No, who are you wearing? Is this Giovanni's? I saw that design there." She said.

"Yeah. Yeah. Giovanni's." I said, not knowing what she meant by it.

"He said the dress is not for sale." She said, narrowing her eyes.

"Yeah, it was custom made for me. You see, this is imported lace from Italy." I said, trying my best to fake a foreign accent to look rich and exotic.

"Who are you again?" She asked.

"Uh.... I'm Sarah, Sarah Elaine. I'm Sean's university classmate." I replied.

"But he hasn't been to a university. That's common knowledge." She said and I bit my tongue.

"He hasn't?" I said. "Did I say university? I meant, of course I know that. It's the champagne, making me dizzy."

"So who are you?" She asked again.

"Uh..." I retreated my steps until I was many steps away from her. "I need to go to restroom."

I rushed to the other side of the pillar to gather my nerves where I bumped into someone else.

"Easy, señora. You'll hurt yourself." The guy said to me. He had dark hair, a hint of stubble and light green eyes.

"Hi." I said and that's when I caught the sight of Sean again. I turned to my side so he couldn't see me.

"Can I get your name?" The guy asked.

"Sarah... Sarah Elaine." I said nervously.

"And you are?" He trailed off.

"I am a florist. I helped arrange the party." I chose my words carefully this time. Plus, Sean was also out of sight that helped calm my anxiety.

"I must say, the floral setting is mesmerizing. So are you, Sarah." He said.

I felt shy as I had never been flirted like this before. The only men that have flirted with me were drunk, sloppy college boys at frat parties.

"You are so kind, sir..."

"Call me Brandon." He said.

"Brandon." I smiled.

"Would you like a dance?" He said, motioning towards the centre of the lounge where people have gathered to dance. This had left only a few people where I was standing, increasing my chance of being caught.

The man named Brandon led me to the dance floor and started swaying me along the rhythm of the music. Our feet moved somewhat out of sync but it was nice dancing with a tall, handsome guy, or as I imagined he would be, once he took off his mask.

"You are a good dancer, Sarah." He said.

"Thanks. You aren't so bad yourself." I said.

He laced his fingers with mine and then twirled me around, an action that made me giggle. I felt normal after a long time, without a pair of dark eyes glaring me down.

Speaking of dark eyes, our dance was stopped by a familiar intruder. The sight of Sean made my stomach do a somersault inside my belly but I tried to remain normal, wishing he hadn't recognised me.

"May I?" He said to the guy, who probably knew him. He made way for Sean, who took his place and then stared into my eyes.

"Didn't Lucas tell you to stay in your room?" He said as he placed his hand on my waist roughly.

His hands were warm, the heat of them spreading through the thin cloth of my dress He was standing a little too close to me, his masculine scent filling the air around me. From this close, I could see the specks of gold in his dark eyes and along that, the anger in them.

Fuck me, I'm caught.

••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••