Love, Lies & Legacy- chapter 19
CHAPTER 19
I woke groggily with a crank on my neck. I rubbed my eyes vigorously, adjusting it to the shining sunlight. I was still in Darius's car. The thing that caught my eye was the scenery. Even in the most inappropriate state, I could still stop and breathe in the beauty around me. The grass were a beautiful shade of green with drops of diamond water, ready to fall. The hills were lush and tall. Massive trees sprouted everywhere, standing tall and healthy. It was different from the Parisian countryside that I have experience.
"Beautiful is it not?" Darius said, picking the words right out of my head. I turned to gaze him. He looked calmer than before.
"That was the first question Annaliese, I mean you mother asked when I first met her. By the way, why didn’t you tell me Annaliese is your mother?" I asked irately.
"Is it really that relevant if I told you?" he said calmly. I think he was beginning to get use to my resentment. I just stared at him as he drove. Taciturn, that is one word to descried Darius Cuza.
"Where are we?" I asked suddenly. He smirked at my question, looking amused for some reason.
"Have you figured out the riddle I gave you when we first met?"
"Yes. Oh my, we are in
"Clever girl," he said seductively. I could see the speedometer still reading 150 miles per hour. In that speed, no wonder we were already half way through
10 minutes later, Darius made a turn over the hills and sped down a dirt road. At the end of the road, was a massive white mansion. The shape of the mansion was different from any house I have seen. The tall green roof tower gave it a cozy feel. Vines blooming with violet flowers crept up the walls. It was 3 storeys high with old-fashioned windows and next to it was a garage big enough to fit at least 5 cars. He stopped the car in front of the door.
"We will be staying here for a while. Until everything is safe," he said while turning off the engine and stepping out of the car. He opened my side of the door to let me out. 2 butlers opened the doors as we stepped inside the house. The inside was as beautiful as the outside with a winding staircase on both sides as we entered. The mahogany floors gave the mansion an old fashion feel plus the shade of it reminded me of Darius's luscious hair. Darius led me up the stairs to show me my room.
"You will be sleeping here. Do not be surprise with the walk in closet, wash up and wear whatever feels comfortable. Breakfast is in 20 minutes," he said while opening the door to my room. The room was pretty, with a big dresser, shelves full of books and a king size bed in the middle. I gave him a small smile and close the door.
Maybe I was overreacting. I knew that Darius is very reticent and deeply mysterious but he did saved my life. That counts for something. Plus, he is Annaliese’s son and I trust Annaliese with my life.
I decided to take a long shower and went into the walk in closet afterwards. The place was as spacious as the bathroom with racks of endless clothes. Everything was colored coordinated and each rack had a different piece of clothing. There was a rack full of jeans, a rack for coats, a rack for skirts, everything you could imagine. But I wondered who the owner of all this fabulous clothes is?
I made a note to ask Darius as I slipped in to a denim mini, turquoise tank top and a knitted bolero with kitten heels. I went down the stairs to find Darius. He was sitting on the wide patio, playing with his PDA while looking handsome in a thin blue shirt over a white tee; sleeves rolled up with jeans and dark Armani shades.
The table was filled with food, assortment of breads and pastry, every flavored jam you could think of, juices, coffee, tea and fruits. As I walked his way, he slid his shades down a little and his gaze lingered from my feet, slowly making its way up to my face.
"Beautiful legs," he said while shifting his attention back to his PDA. I just rolled my eyes over his remark.
"Good morning to you too, Darius," I said standing directly next to him, hands on my waist. I stared at him for a while, thinking of all the questions he needed to answer.
"You know if you are going to stand there like that, you might as well just sit on my lap," he said with a naughty smile. As much as I wanted to, I sat down on the chair opposite him nonchalantly, flashing him a smile as he took of his shades to kill me with those mismatched eyes.
I poured myself a cup of tea and helped myself to a scone. Darius was still meticulously typing on his PDA while casually looking at me every few seconds.
"I am waiting for my interrogation to start," he said while putting the PDA aside.
"First, how come your mother never told me that I was going to the ball with you?"
"I told her not to tell you," he said with a grin.
"Why?" I asked instantly.
"I wanted to see the look on your face when you find out that your escort is me and not Jesse Everard. By the way, how is he? Does he still carry around that scar on his back?" he asked childishly.
"How do you know about the scar?"
"I gave him that scar. Poor boy did not even have the fortitude to hit me back. Yet it was his idea to battle with those swords," he said, sounding disappointed at Jesse's lack of bravery.
"Men!" I said while shaking my head. "The clothes in my room, who did it belong to?" I asked while sipping my tea.
"My older sister, Natalya. That is actually her room," he said rather too seriously.
"And she doesn't mind me raiding her closet and sleeping on her bed?”
"No, she died 2 years ago," he said, not afraid to tell me straight forward.
"I'm sorry," I said, almost in a whisper.
"It was a long time ago," he said back. After some silence, I started asking his more.
"Do you know who the shooter was?" I asked nervously.
"No, mother is trying to figure that out as we speak."
"Ok, do you know why he would want to massacre a private ball?" I said, leaning forward a little.
"You do know that there are some people who do not approve of your return?" he asked seriously.
"Yes, I do. But what I don't know is why. What did my family do to make a lot of people hate us?"
"They do not hate your family. They are just so full of envy and hate. They want to be the rulers of Eternelle Situation De Trio. Before your family excluded themselves from the society, there were 3 powerful families that conquered the society. Ironically, sharing the power was actually my great great grandfather’s idea. Before that is was ruled by only one family," he said leaving his sentence hanging there.
“So who are the families?" I asked, eager to know.
"Your family, my family and the Everard family."
"Wait a minute, Jesse's family?" I asked, shocked at his answer.
"Yes. For the past 80 years, only 2 families dominated Eternelle Situation De Trio. But for the past couple of years, the society has been a little arduous so they decided to add another family to rule. The elected family was Lexy Pierce's family," he said, leaning forward a little too.
"So what are you saying here?"
"I think that one of the families is out to get you. Your return would ruin everything for them," he said.
“Even your family?” I asked boldly.
“Sienna, my mother loves you and she would never try to kill you just to rule the society. That is ridiculous,” he said with an incredulous look.
“What about you? After your mother, you will be one of the next rulers of Eternelle Situation De Trio. In addition to that, our families have been fighting for the past millennia. You too have a motif to abolish me,” I said critically.
“ Well you have to watch out then,” he said. I did not know whether he meant that seriously or was it just a joke.
"Jesse would never do something like that just to rule Eternelle Situation De Trio. He and Julez love me," I said after some silence between us.
"How sure are you about that? Does Jesse really… love… you?" he said, emphasizing the last 3 words.
"How could you ask such a question?" I asked furiously.
"Well, he did not see or acknowledge you at the ball, he did not tell you that he was still seeing Lexy and I bet he did not even tell you that he dated Lexy before you. Am I right?" he asked in a callous tone. As much as I want to deny the things he said, but all of it was true.
"You know, just because you detest Jesse does not give the right to rub it in my face. He is my boyfriend, for god's sake!" I said while standing up.
"If he was your boyfriend and if he loved you, he would have told you the truth at the ball. If he really loved you, he would be the one to save you last night, not me. You called for him during the shooting and yet he was not there for you. All he cares about is himself Sienna!" he said while raising his voice, his eyes seething with rage as he stood up and walked away.
Moments later I here the front door slam and after that, the sound of screeching tires. The boy is certainly crazy, going off like that when Annaliese firmly said to stay here. I went into my room and lay on the bed. I took out my cell phone to check if I got any messages. Tessa text me and asked if and I was all right. Apparently she and the other girls are fine, nobody got hurt last night.
That was a big relief to me, knowing all my friends are ok. However there was no contact from Jesse and Julez. No calls or any messages, which made me, wonder if what Darius told me about Jesse is true.
I decided to check on my dad online. I turned on the computer and sent him an email telling him that I was ok and was spending time at Annaliese's summerhouse in
About an hour later, I could hear the sound of a roaring engine. Darius must be back from his joy ride. I looked out the window to see him. The car he was driving was not the Mercedes that we rode yesterday; it was a blue Jaguar XKR sports car.
He came out of his car and saw me looking at him. He shot me a look and strode off into the house. I half expected him to come into my room and apologize but he didn't. All I heard was the slamming of the door in the room next to mine.
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