The devil's mate

Chapter 3 Changes

Everything that happened in that underground parking lot began to replay in her head, making her cheeks flush with a mixture of heat and shame.

*What did I just do?* Alvina gripped the steering wheel until her knuckles turned white. She couldn't believe she did something outrageous like that. Where had she found the reckless courage to offer herself as a contract girlfriend to a dangerous, icy stranger?

Yet, deep down, despite all the embarrassment, she didn't feel any regrets. Mr. Moon’s cruel rejection hadn't broken her spirit; it had ignited a desperate fire. There was no other way to get the money by the end of the week. He claimed he didn't do or fall in love. She didn't know why she believed him. Maybe because she had seen that empty, chilling void in his dark grey eye. It shouldn't have been her business, but right now, his coldness was exactly what she needed. A man who couldn't love wouldn't break her heart. He would just pay the bills.

Pulling up at Ruby's house, Alvina hurried inside to Ruby’s room.

The moment the door opened, Ruby went back straight to bed while dragging her feet. “ Argh my head hurts" she said has she collapsed on her bed.

"Ruby look at you! . Did you just get home?” She asked her half awake friend with an arched eyebrow.

“ Yep. So what's the agenda? You know , coming to see me on a weekday. Are you good?” she said sitting up.

Alvina had texted Ruby earlier saying she wanted to meet her that it was pretty urgent.

Ruby, had been Alvina's friend since college. She was the complete opposite of Alvina, she was tall, light skined, slim, brunette, Rich. She was definitely envied by many. They became friends Ruby stood up for her when they were bullying her. Since then they started calling him ruby's handbag she didn't care because she knew Ruby was a good person.

Alvina swallowed past the lump in her throat. She couldn't bring herself to tell Ruby the devastating truth, that she hadn't been at work at all, but rather standing by her mother's hospital bed, watching her life slip away. She couldn't bear to share that heavy grief yet.

"I'm fine," Alvina blurted out, her voice trembling. Then, before her brain could stop her lips, she whispered, "Ruby... I want to fall in love. I need to be with someone."

Since she believed and hope she was going to be in a relationship soon, she thought it was best to just tell her friend something so it would make sense later on, but she just omitted the part where it wasn't going to be out of love.

Ruby froze, a bottle of water halfway to her mouth. She stared at her best friend in absolute shock. For years, Alvina had fled from men like they carried a plague.

"What? Where is this coming from Alvina?"

"Someone told me today that I wasn't his type," Alvina said, her voice dropping as she remembered the heavy weight of Mr. Moon's gaze. "He looked at me... like I was just an innocent little girl who didn't belong in his world. He mocked my body."

Knowing Alvina was incapable of lying, Ruby’s eyes flared with sudden, protective fury. "He said *what*? Who is this bastard? Give me a name and an address, Alvina, I swear to God I will go over there and break his jaw right now! He is less than a man for speaking to you like that!"

"No, Ruby, don't talk like that," Alvina quickly interjected, a small, involuntary blush creeping up her neck. "If you saw him... you'd understand. He's terrifyingly handsome. Like something not entirely human. He looked like a celebrity god"

Ruby slowly looked Alvina up and down, placing a hand against her forehead. "Did you get a concussion on the way over here? Because this is not the Alvina I know. Since when do you care about impressing a superficial jerk?"

"I don't want to just impress him," Alvina said, her eyes flashing with a desperate, hidden determination. "I need him to take me seriously."

“ Wow! Now I'm really curious, I need to see this man you are praising so much. You know this is the first time you are praising a man's looks you know?"

“ Really?" Her face instantly turned red and she looked down shyly.

“ Hello Alvina , you she have never been with a man , you have never even looked at them, okay? So and look, she's even blushing"

“ Okay okay now you don't have to be so loud" Alvina giggled.

" Okay so what's his name” Ruby brought out her phone and went straight to safari. But Alvina's reaction made her brows to tighten.

"You didn't ask for his name? Classic Alvina. His number?

Alvina nodded. She didn't know how she was going to meet him again but she knew she would meet him.

“ So what are we going to do about your MR–” Just as Ruby was about finishing her sentence, her phone buzzed loudly on the counter. Ruby answered, listening to a loud, booming bass on the other end. "Wait, where? Tonight?"

Ruby glanced at Alvina, her expression shifting to one of hesitation. "Listen, I don't think I can make it to the party. Sorry Emily”

Alvina’s ears perked up. Party?

"I want to go," Alvina said firmly, standing up.

Ruby hung up the phone, her jaw dropping. "Huh? Alvina, absolutely not. The crowd at those ridge parties is dangerous. It's full of —” she didn't know the words to use she scattered her hands every where like it was going to give her the answer, before she finally blurted out "people, and it's one of the crazy parties people organise and you've never even stepped foot inside a regular club!"

"I am twenty-one years old, Ruby," Alvina argued, stepping closer. "Please stop treating me like a sheltered child. If I don't start experiencing life right now, then when? Besides, I'll be perfectly safe. With you by my side."

Reluctantly, swayed by Alvina’s rare stubbornness, Ruby relented. “ Argh , fine, but only if you stay by my side like you said"

An hour later, they arrived at a sprawling, gothic-modern mansion. The air was thick with the scent of expensive cologne, heavy bass, and suffocating wealth. The sheer volume of the music and the sea of predatory eyes made Alvina immediately uncomfortable.

"Stay right here," Ruby yelled over the music, patting her arm. "I'm going to grab us a drink. Don't move."

Five minutes passed like an eternity. The dry, heavy air left Alvina parched and increasingly anxious. Unable to take the suffocating crowd any longer, she slipped away, navigating the labyrinthine hallways of the massive estate in search of the kitchen to find her friend.

“ Urm excuse me I'm looking for my the kitchen, my friend is there she went to grab us a drink”

A man wearing black hoodie and a black gloves turned around to look at her, when their eyes met, her breath hitched. The man was strikingly handsome, his a type of man that would make you steal a second glance and stumble on your feet, maybe it's this week. Because the men she has been meeting were not of this world. She was definitely convinced that he was an angel. The Mr black hoodie upon noticing her speechlessness , she pointed to the door ahead she blinked few times and said " thank you”

She pushed open a heavy set of double doors, expecting a bustling catering staff. Instead, she found a vast, dimly lit room swathed in marb

le and silence.

And there, leaning casually against the far wall, was him.