12 - diamonds

"And the graveyard in my heart grows."

- V

. . .

OLIVIA WOODS

I looked down at the boxes.

Wear this, was all the tall scary guy who dropped the boxes said. There were three boxes.

I opened the largest one.

I took the dress out and just looked at it. My inner fashionista was screaming and jumping up and down in excitement. This dress...it was too pretty.

It was a silky black dress with a long slit and a straight neckline with tiny straps and a deep back. The material felt so soft in my hands. There were white stones set up like show flakes along the edges of the dress, shimmering in the lights of my apartment. It was a beautiful dress.

It was a too beautiful dress which looked too pretty.

I sat down on the bed, inspecting the small stones along the edges. Why did they look like diamonds? Could they be diamonds?

Maybe they thought I'd wear a bad dress and then make them look bad. They were powerful men, they could not be seen with a woman not wearing an expensive as heck dress. I looked down at the dress.

Should I wear it?

. . .

I felt...exposed and a little...good. The dress hugged me perfectly. The white heels they had sent were covering my feet. Under my dress, I was wearing lingerie, the only good one I had. It was black and beautiful. I did not normally wear lingerie but under this dress, I would have felt horrible wearing my granny panties and bra which did nothing for my breasts.

Around my neck was a thin diamond necklace, a necklace they had sent. I had just worn it before I could overthink. I could bombard them with questions when they picked me up. Two hours were not enough time for me to get ready but I was ready in just an hour because I was...excited. I had straightened my hair, parting it in the middle and tucking one side behind my ear, showing the matching earrings they had sent, too.

I sat down on the bed.

God, what was I doing? My phone dinged.

George Washington - Have fun tonight. Be careful. I love u.

I frowned. I did not get it. How was she not being protective? It felt like she was hiding something

Love you, too.

. . .

XERXES CREED

I came to pick her up alone. Zavier and Ashton were busy trying to make the Valentinos understand why the party had to be bloodless. It was a mafia party, at one of our five uncle's houses. We would not have gone if Olivia had said no.

But she didn't. It didn't feel real. She wanted to go.

I got out of my car, looking at the awful apartment building she lived in. Her apartment was good but this area was not. I walked inside and climbed the staircase, as the elevator was occupied, till I stepped on the fourth floor.

I knocked on her door twice. "Olivia?"

I heard the click of heels and then the door opened. I looked at her face.

She appeared nervous and a little excited. She had done a little make-up.

"You look gorgeous." I kissed her cheek, wanting to kiss her lips. And her whole body.

And that was when my eyes fell upon her body covered in the dress Zavier had chosen. It was tight on her hips and breasts, and loose along her legs, the slit showing her almost full right leg. She barely reached my chest, even in heels.

I looked back into her eyes, knowing she had caught me staring at her body. She was blushing, nibbling on her lip.

"Olivia..." How was I supposed to have control when she looked like that? Having her as a friend in our life was good. I did not want to fuck it up. Ashton and Zavier were doing plenty of fuck ups already. One taste of what we wanted to do to her and she'd run for the hills.

She thanked me, her cheeks flushing again as her eyes moved over me. I was wearing a black Armani tuxedo. I saw her press her thighs together. Dirty little girl.

"Go grab what you want," I ordered.

She nodded and walked back inside her little apartment. I leaned against the door frame, looking around her room. It was small, too small. How could she live here? She had decorated it well. I could recognize some of the

books on her bookshelf. That stack of books beside it irritated the hell out of me.

She grabbed her phone and a small black clutch. She switched off the lights of the room. I moved away from the door as she locked it.

Soon enough, we were settled in my car with her playing with her hands and me speeding through the traffic.

"Where are Ashton and Zavier?" She asked me. "We'll meet them there."

"Oh."

She seemed awkward. She kept sneaking glances at me. "Xerxes..."

"Yes, little love?"

"Are these real?" She pointed to the neck of her dress which was glittering with whatever it was glittering with.

"Probably." I shrugged. "Jewellery?"

"Yes." I chose that.

She stayed silent.

. . .

OLIVIA WOODS

According to my calculations, I was wearing thousands of dollars on my body.

Xerxes helped me out of the car, throwing the key at the valet. He wrapped an arm around my waist and led me to the entrance of the large mansion

which was colored white with ivies running up the walls.

"This is beautiful," I whispered, trying not to think about Xerxes's arm around me which felt too warm.

Xerxes hummed. "Ours is better."

They had a mansion? Of course, they did.

"Can I see?" I asked before I could stop myself.

He looked down at me just as we entered the large hall and smiled. "Yes, Little love. Anything for you." He pressed his lips on my forehead and just then I felt eyes on us.

I looked around. The mansion was sparkling with a large chandelier hanging from the ceiling and everything decorated with white and red. Waiters and waitresses walked around in uniforms with drinks, some women were huddled together and men were talking amongst themselves with some women by their sides.

Xerxes led me through the crowd.

I noticed things. Women who were in the presence of men were not talking much. Almost all of the men had visible scars and tattoos. There was nearly no laughter in the room, something you would not expect at a part held on Christmas eve. There was not even a tree here. I had expected a tree.

They were all looking at us. All of them. I felt them accessing me. My body and the arm which was protectively wrapped around my waist. I looked up at Xerxes. His face was neutral, eyes hardened and no hint of the smile he had given me.

Xerxes led me to a corridor. "Where are we going?" I asked.

"To meet Ashton, Zavier, and a few friends of mine," He told me, and now, where so one could see him, he gave me another one of his dazzling smiles.

"Who?" I asked as we stopped in front of black double doors. "Valentinos."

He pushed open the door and my eyes fell upon the five men inside the room.

. . .