Chapter 3

A cold shiver ran down his spine as he took a glance at her again. Though the woman in front of him was not the most beautiful woman he had met, there was no doubt that she was absolutely stunning, but she was obviously not in his class.

He withdrew himself from her before clearing his throat.

"Come with me." He wasn't asking; he was ordering. He turned around and headed to only God knows.

She stood there without moving an inch. She knew from his demeanor that he had seen through her lies.

"I'm sure you heard me loud and clear." Arthur said, jolting her out of her thoughts.

Bella walked behind him slowly, with many thoughts in her head. Arthur paused and turned around again, facing her.

"Just so you know, don't think of running about or escaping like you've been doing earlier; I've seen your face, and of course it has been captured by the CCTV fixed at one edge of the house." He said this, pointing to the almost invisible camera. "You can try running, and tomorrow you will be on the news for a crime worth locking you away for years."

Bella was shocked that he had seen her display her running skills. "Excuse me," she said in her voice immediately. "Are you threatening me right now?" She blinked her eyes to be sure she wasn't dreaming, and she heard him correctly.

"Yes, I'm threatening you; intruding on my party was not enough; you have the audacity to lie to me."

Bella saw something flash through his handsome face. It was anger, no doubt about it. She had gotten to his wrong side the moment they had met. Now her heart was nearly coming out of her chest.

"I-I." She found herself stammering.

"I know you've got some explaining to do",." he said, intimidating her with his gaze. Yes, intimidating was the only word for it, and it terrifies her, though she wasn't sure why.

"Where are you taking me to?" She asked, still not moving.

"You'll find out soon." He replied to her as he turned to continue his trip.

"And if I insist on not coming with you?"

"You wouldn't dare, sweetheart." Arthur replied without stopping.

She follows behind him gently, like a sheep being led to slaughter.

He got to a room whose door was laced with gold and used his thumb to open the door.

Bella, in her usual manner, would've been amused, but she wasn't even paying attention to what he was doing and didn't realize he had opened the door and was asking her to come in until he touched her nose.

"A penny for your thoughts, Miss Bella." Arthur's action reminded Bella of her elder brother James, who had always enjoyed teasing her by playing with her well-pointed nose since they were kids.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I was lost for a moment." She stood by the door, refusing to get in.

"I'm not going to harm you; I'm just going to ask you a few questions, and once you answer me truthfully, I'll call the security to let you see you home. Of course, this is to ensure your security." But it only sounded to Bella as though Arthur was using the word security to subtly warn her of not telling him any further lies.

She stepped in, and from the first step she could take, she could tell that the room was decorated to be like paradise. The room was beautifully decorated; the walls were painted white, while the interior decoration was luxuriously decorated with gray. The room spoke of wealth and class. His huge pictures hung on the wall.

Arthur had taken her to his private room, a room he had never bought his chain of lovers into. He gestured for her to take her seat, and Bella did as she was instructed.

"Thank you." She said this as she sat down at the edge of the couch. She had better not get too comfortable around him until she leaves his mansion.

Her tummy grumbled. She had taken only breakfast all day, and judging by the way her day went, she was sure she had used up her conserved energy. She placed her hands on her tummy in a bid to calm the storm surging in there.

"You haven't had dinner, right?" This time, there were traces of genuine concern in his voice. He might have been bent on finding out why she was at his party and why she had lied to him, but there was no chance he was going to let her starve.

She didn't answer him, and that was all he needed. Her silence meant more yes than no, so he went to his bedside and used the landline stationed by his bed to call the kitchen to bring some refreshment to his room.

"Who are you?" He asked while taking his seat.

"I told you, my name is Bella Stone."

"Okay, Bella, why are you here?"

"I-I"

"Don't lie to me; I want to hear nothing but the truth." He adjusted his sitting position. "You've been acting suspicious ever since you stepped foot into my mansion. There is no doubt, you're up to something." Arthur said raising his eyebrow. "I'll appreciate you start talking when I'm still polite with you."

Bella looked at his face and met a stern, mean look on his face that did not in any way alter his flawless beauty.

"I'm sorry." That was all Bella could say.

"What are you sorry for?"

"I'm sorry for everything. I don't know what I was thinking."

"It would be in your interest if you let me understand you better." Arthur said he was trying hard not to lose his cool. No matter how rugged he was, two sets of people were off limits for him: children and women.

He would never lay his hands on them or use brute force with them. But this lady right in front of him was beginning to get to him, and he didn't like it one bit. He'd been expecting some special guests, and he won't let anyone or anything jeopardize his plan.

Arthur thoughts were interrupted by the sound of the knock on the door. 

"Yes, come in." His rich, thick voice came into play. "A waiter that could possibly pass for a model, smartly dressed in a suite, graces the room with a tray of food and a smile on his face.

"Your refreshments are here." He said he was walking towards them. He placed the food on the table and dished out some for Bella.

Bella's mouth began to salivate; she can't remember the last time she had such a sumptuous meal.

Arthur watched her reaction very closely. "She must be very hungry." He looked at her one more time before turning to the waiter. "Don't keep my guest waiting."

"Oh, of course not." The waiter chuckled as he served the refreshment in a professional manner.

Bella gave him a smile before thanking him for his gesture.

Arthur was enthralled by the way she related to the waiter. Something about her reminded him of something he had long forgotten, but he wasn't certain what it was.

"Any other things, Miss?"

"I'm more than grateful for this; thanks a lot."

"You're most welcome, ma'am," the waiter said, turning to Arthur. "Anything for you, boss?"

"Not for now; you can take your leave."

"Bon appetit." The waiter said this as he took his leave.

Bella kept staring at the food in front of her despite being so hungry. She felt like a failure. She had completely deviated from her goal, and as it is, all that her efforts were worth was a table of food. She was grateful for it, but it wasn't what she wanted. She decided not to touch the food. She had many thoughts running through her mind.

"Hello, Miss Bella, I'm here." Arthur was expecting to start digging immediately, seeing how much she was salivating at the sight of the food. "Your mind seems to have wandered again. Are you always this lost?" Arthur asked to be sure he wasn't talking to a mentally and emotionally balanced person and that he wasn't wasting his time.

"I'm sorry." Bella's voice came again.

"Do you always say sorry to evade a question, or do you just say it whenever you don't know what to say?" Arthur was getting irritated with her consistent apologies. He wanted them to have a real conversation, and she was covering them up with apologies.

"You're right. I came here with a mission in mind." Arthur's auditory sense organ stood out at the mention of mission, though he maintained a calm charade. "It's just that now that I'm here, I'm developing cold feet."

"Why? You don't seem to me like someone who is easily scared."

"I'm not scared."

"Prove it"

"How?"

"Let's start by you eating the food dished out for you. I bet you'll enjoy your meal. I have the best cooks you could find around." Their eyes locked briefly as she quickly looked away.

"Do you need me to taste it to show it's harmless and safe for you to eat?" Arthur offered.

"Not that"

"Then what? You don't trust me?"

"I don't—I mean, I do—but—" she paused, looking for the right way to put it without sounding offensive. "I just have a lot of things on my mind, and obviously I'm having a hard time processing them."

"There is plenty of time to talk about them; the night is young, and so are we." Arthur said that while relaxing on the couch and giving off vibes, he was all hers for the night. He crossed his legs.

The way he was relaxed made her restless. He was like a king in the dungeon she had found herself, and she was like prey that could be devoured at any given time without notice. Certainly, this was not the time to eat.

"Bella I need you to relax around me. You just told me a moment ago that you weren't scared of me."

"Of course I'm not."

"Then you can prove that by starting to eat, it's rude to turn your host down, remember?"

"Of course I know, and I'm not trying to be rude." Her voice cracked. She wished there was a way she could let Arthur know that she would rather be anywhere than be with him. She was so uncomfortable, and who knows, her food could be drugged as well.

Arthur stood up from the seat and walked towards her. She sank into the couch; he bent over and took a slice out of the pancake that was set on her plates.

"I told you, it's totally harmless. This means you don't trust me." He stared deeply into her eyes. Arthur said it with mixed feelings of pain and disappointment in his voice.

Bella's heart broke, and she didn't understand why. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean it that way. Like I said, I have a lot of things going through my head, and of course, turning down my host's warm gesture is rude. I'll take them." She quickly picked up a pancake from the food tray and took a bite. "Happy now?" She asked with the curves of her mouth littered with smiles.

"Now let's talk about why you're here, Miss Stone."

Bella's gaze fell to the ground.

"I'll appreciate an oral answer, not you looking down. If you continue this way, I'm afraid I'll be forced to do it the other way around, and I won't have to do it myself, as you probably know; I'm keeping other guests waiting."

"I came here for you," Bella finally said.

"Is that another lie?" Arthur asked, looking straight into her eyes.