Chapter 2

Bella cunningly detached herself from the queue she had illegally attached herself to. She had just one mission, and that was to find him. She had seen his pictures and knew what he looked like.

She was now tasked with the responsibility of finding him and making him the ridiculous offer that had been on her mind for weeks now.

She was new to the mansion, and finding her way around was difficult since she was new to the place, but since she jumped the first hurdle, she was certain she would be able to surmount subsequent challenges as well.

Each section of the outer space in the mansion was filled with people to the brim. People were laughing and talking, and some were dancing to the music being played. She envied them, especially the dancers.

Had she been in a better situation, she would have loved to dance as well. Bella had always enjoyed dancing, ever since she was a kid. She especially enjoyed dancing with her father before he passed away. She was a fantastic dancer, and she would sway the attention of her audience if given the chance to display her fluid skills. She might not be sure of her other skills, but not to be proud; she knew her painting and dance skills were amazing and mesmerizing. She just hasn't hit the jackpot yet.

Bella realized that she was getting carried away by the activities that were going on when she had more important things to do. She scanned through the people that were having fun right in the outer space of the mansion, and none of them looked like the man she was looking for.

The man looked like a demigod in the pictures in the magazines she had seen. She knew she would easily pinpoint him from the crowd when she finally got to see him.

It was too early to give up. She made her way to the entrance of the main building but was stopped by one of the body guards, who scanned her body to make sure she wasn't in possession of anything harmful or dangerous. The guard was satisfied and pressed a button by the wall to grant her entrance.

An opaque door that leads to the mansion itself gave way. Bella had never seen anything like it before in her entire life. She quickly cautioned herself as she found herself drooling at the function of the machine.

She stepped into the mansion. It was bubbling, and everyone was looking great. Bella felt so small and unseen. She looked around to feed her eyes on the structure and design of the mansion; she was hopelessly lost in its beauty.

"This house is unbelievably insane." She threw caution into the wind when she realized she had said that loudly and was attracting attention from every corner of the room with small laughs and people painting hands at her. She realized her mistake and apologized for her unruly behavior. "I'm sorry about that." She felt so embarrassed, and if she had felt so small and unseen before, she wished the ground could open its mouth and swallow her up.

She sighted a room that was half-closed and quickly walked into it without knocking. She made her way into it to escape the embarrassing situation she had just found herself in. It was a room that was dimly lit with few people in it. She counted through the dim light, and there were three people in the large room. She felt relieved that she was in another room with a smaller number of people compared to the crowd she had been encountering.

"How could you forget you're in the midst of people with class who acted out of character?" She booed herself quietly for doing that. "Fortunately, I'm with my mask on." She smiles sheepishly under her mask. She had barely removed her mask to breathe well and go take a seat when she heard moans in the room. The moans were coming from both males and females.

"What in Pete's name is going on?" She managed to ask. It definitely can't be what she's thinking. She probably wouldn't have walked into a room where an orgy was taking place. How could she not hear them earlier?

"It seems like someone wants to join us." A male voice said it in a sensual voice.

"You can come join us, bitch." Another voice came, but this time it was a feminine voice.

Her heart started beating faster; just when she thought she had escaped the pan, she'd found herself flying directly into the fire. Once again, she was wrong. Her foot stood transfixed on a spot, thinking of what to do.

"You really should close the door if you're going to unwind this way." Another female voice came ringing in her ears.

"It's fun only when others like you walk; then they are compelled to join in the fun." The male voice came again. She could barely see their faces, and it was not like she cared. She wasn't interested in knowing them or getting involved with them, either.

"I'm not interested in having such fun." She summoned courage, finally.

"It's totally safe; you don't get to see each other anyway.Come have a ride with us." The male among them gestured to her with his hand.

There was no way she was going to take part in the lunacy going on here. And though she has heard about the many atrocities that happen at Arthur's party, witnessing them firsthand disgusts her. She calculated her distance from the door; she was barely five steps away and even more steps away from those that were having fun, giving her an advantage.

"Don't hesitate, baby. Come join us in the  fun."The male voice called out again.

Bella took strong strides backward and tightened her hand on the door knob. "Then have fun." She said as she quickly jetted out of the door with full speed before adjusting her face mask. 

"What the fuck!!!" They yelled and cursed after her. She didn't stop or look back. She was afraid they would follow her after all; she had intruded on their privacy, so she continued running until she got to a hallway that was beautifully lit. She stopped to catch her breath.

As much as she wished she could apologize to them, it wasn't entirely her fault. They should have done themselves the honor of closing the door behind them before going on with their hideous business.

She looked back and relaxed when she realized nobody was running after her. She was all alone in the hallway.

"Finally, an ambience of sanity." She took a deep breath. "Maybe all of this was a bad idea to start with." She raised her hands in the air. "She had run three times in just a few hours, and yet her target was nowhere in sight.

As she walked down the hallway, she noticed the presence of exquisite paintings. She was mesmerized and shocked beyond words.

"How could one person own all of these exquisite paintings?" Bella couldn't believe her eyes. As a painter herself, she could tell the paintings were worth millions of dollars, probably priceless. The hallway could put the national museum to shame without any effort.

She stood admiring the paintings and lost herself in them.

"I can tell you appreciate painting." A deep and smooth voice spoke behind her.

"Isn't it sad?" She asked as she ran her hands through the painting without touching it. It was the picture of a little girl crying with thorns on her head and blood on her clothes. "She is just a child, and yet she bears a great burden, and she bleeds. She is probably afraid no one will come to her rescue." She said this without taking her eyes off the painting.

"Do you think she survived?"

"She probably did. She might bear so much pain from the piercing of the thorns and bruises, but isn't she still standing on her two feet? Bella asked rhetorically. " That is a trait of a fighter; underneath her blood and tears, one can see a little girl holding on with hope boldly written in her eyes.

"Hmmmmm" was all her companion could muster.

The painting reminded her of herself; she felt so connected to the little girl in the painting and, unfortunately, couldn't control her emotion and allowed a drop of tears to escape her eyelids. "Oh, I'm sorry for embarrassing myself like this." She looked away to prevent whoever she was talking to from seeing her tear drop.

The man dipped his hand into his pocket and bought a handkerchief. "Here, help yourself, Miss," he said, stretching his hands. "I'm not looking; take your time," he said, turning his face away to make her comfortable around him.

"Oh, thank you." She said it with a chuckle while gently cleaning her eyes without messing up her makeup. "Here." She said she was finally taking her eyes off the painting, but she was spellbound by the man in front of her. He was a better painter, and what more? He was flesh and blood. She waddled a bit, and he quickly caught her, putting his huge, firm hands around her waist.

It was him, Arthur Lorenzo, and he was even more handsome in person. She wouldn't have believed someone as beautiful as him existed. His eyebrows were dark, his lashes were thick, and his lips were amber-colored and devilishly luscious.

"Are you okay, miss?" He asked as he gently released his grip on her.

"I'm fine; I'm fine." She shuttered. How on earth did their paths cross in this empty hallway? She had been searching for him in the crowd, and here she was, in a quiet part of the mansion.

"Mind taking off your mask?"

"You're my guest, and if you're here in my house visiting for the first time, it's courtesy that you introduce yourself. Otherwise, you're an intruder." Arthur said this without taking his eyes off her.

"It's not my first time here at the mansion." Bella lied through her teeth. "I'm with the waitress entourage; I came to serve some guests and missed my way."

"I know all my guests and staff by name or face, and I can tell that this is your first time, Miss."

"My name is Bella Stone." She said she was avoiding his gaze.

Arthur looked at the woman standing in front of him. Her clothes were cheap, but it hugged her features in the right places.

"I have a feeling you're not telling me the whole truth. Remove your mask at once, or you leave me no choice but to use force." The politeness in his voice was long gone. He moved closer to her, pinning her against the painting of the bleeding girl. The cologne he was wearing swept through her nose.

Bella shivered. The Arthur Lorenzo mansion seemed to have danger lurking around every corner, no matter where she ran. She knew she had to comply with Arthur, as there was no escape for her. He was standing right in front of her. She removed her mask to reveal her face.

Arthur's prediction wasn't just right; it was accurate. He stared at her as he quivered at her beauty.