Arabelle

Chapter 5 - Party Time II

CHAPTER 5

Derrick’s POV

For tonight’s event, I had chosen a deep black Tuxedo and crisp white shirt with a red tie, I slipped on my watch, my hair was neatly arranged, everything looked perfect, I looked the part I was playing, I looked like the perfect heir to an empire and at least mother won’t have any reason to fault me today.

“The car is ready for you sir” Alfred informed me

I nodded “Let’s go then” I said and walked out, the sooner I got this done and over with, the sooner the night will be over and mother will get out of my hair.

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Bella’s POV

“Oh my God Bella, you look like a goddess” Mum said to me when I joined her in the living room that evening, she had her palms clasped over her mouth and her eyes were moist as she looked at me lovingly,

I smiled, she was right, I looked like a goddess, my hair came flowing down to my back in big elegant coils, it shimmered like black pearls under the light, and my dress was perfect, it was a red gown that came flowing down to my heels, it had a splendid design made of tiny crystals on the bodice, it was sleeveless, it was made to resemble the dresses roman women wore in the past, it was beautiful and I had fallen in love with the moment I set my eyes on it, I finished up my look with a pair of black stilettoes and a black purse, my makeup was light but my lipstick was a bright red to match my dress, it was prominent and stood out.

“I am speechless right now, I have no word to describe how beautiful you look right now, I need to take a picture to always remember beautiful you looked today” Mum said as she pulled out her phone and clicked of picture of me,

I smiled brightly “you look fabulous as well mum” I said

Mum was dressed in a dark blue dress, it was an off shoulder dress with long snug sleeves, her hair was set loose, it lay in straight strands on shoulders, she had a pair of silver shoes on and a matching purse, she looked elegant and classy.

“But not as fabulous as you honey, I am so proud to be the who gave birth to you, you look like a complete vision” Mum said happily

I smiled “You are funny mum” I said to her

“I wish your dad could see right now, he would have been so proud of you” Mum said with a small smile on her face,

I returned the smile “I am sure he is mum, wherever he is” I said

Mum nodded her head “You are absolutely right honey” she said and came forward to hug me and I gladly hugged her back,

“Alright, it’s time to go and party, I am sure Zach has been waiting for a while now” Mum said as she pulled away and walked away quickly

“Okay mum” I said and followed behind her, I let her keep her distance, I hadn’t fail to notice the tears that had gathered in her when she pulled away from our hug, she didn’t want to see her cry so I walked slowly behind her giving her time to wipe the tears away, Mum was a strong woman, by the time I got to the car, she had already wiped her tears and a bright smile on her as she looked at me

“Common honey, we don’t want to be late” she said happily

I returned the smile and got into the car

“Let’s go Zach, a party awaits us” she said to our driver

“Yes madam” He answered and started the car

Mum smiled beside me and I smiled right back “Tonight is going to be so much fun” she said happily

“I have a feeling it will” I said with a smile.

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Derrick’s POV

The party venue was brightly lit, it was one of my family’s banquet halls, the front of the hall was filled with arriving party guests, there were at least 50 people in attendance tonight, I exhaled as Alfred opened the door for me and I stepped out, the cameras flashed like crazy, I hated all this drama so very much, I fixed a fake smile on my face for the cameras to see very clearly, after clicking about a dozen shots, I left the paparazzi and headed inside the venue, it was classically decorated with the colours of soft blue and gold, the lights were dim and they gave of an interesting ambiance, this seemed like a party I could actually enjoy if I was not in so terrible a mood,

I was handed a flute of champagne by a passing waiter, I sipped it slowly, it was cold and refreshing, i felt that maybe I could just loosen up and enjoy the party, after all that was what mother expected of me, I took another sip of refreshing liquid, it calmed my nerves to some extent,

“Good evening Derrick” I heard a voice say from behind me,

Turning around, I saw one the members of the board, her name was Mrs Ruth Grant I believe, she was a tall, bony woman with a face that would fit perfectly on an eagle, her eyes reminded me of shards of broken ice, tonight she was dressed in a black business gown, her hair was pulled back and tied in a small knot at the nape of her neck, I hated the woman and the feeling was mutual I can assure you.

“Good evening Ruth, always a pleasure to see you” I said, inserting just the right amount of ice into my voice,

She chuckled, it sounded like the sound of a chocking walrus, “I guess I can say the same as well” she said,

I smiled a little and remained quiet,

“I worried you weren’t feeling alright” she said, her narrow eyes watching me like an eagle would a prey,

“Bloody hag” I thought,

“And why would you think that if I might ask?” I said, the smile still rightly fixed on my face,

She chuckled again and said “Not any particular reason, just that word went around that you were absent from the office for a few days, so I kept wondering if you were okay”

I smiled and said “Thank you for worrying about me but I am afraid, it was a waste of time, I am doing completely okay, I just needed a few days break from all the tedious affairs, nothing to worry about at all”

She looked me up and down rather quickly, her cold eyes flashing and then a smile that even a two year old could tell it was fake appeared on her face “That’s such a relief Derrick, I really was worried, you know I love you like my own son” she said,

I couldn’t help the small laugh that escaped my lips, Mrs Ruth’s son was a drug addict and public scoundrel and on his last scandal, Ruth had led the cops to arrest him herself and had given a public speech at the company on how she was a woman who will sacrifice anything, even her own son to protect the image of King’s Enterprise, so yes, I knew how much she loved me.

“I am sorry, I just remembered a joke i once heard somewhere but I am grateful that you were worried about me” I said,

She smiled and nodded her head casually.

“Enjoy the party Ruth” I said with a smile just as fake as hers,

“My regards to your mother, have a good evening” She said and walked away to mingle with the rest of the party guests.

I drained the rest of my champagne, “Let’s get this done and over with” I said to myself and dropped my empty glass on the tray of a passing waiter, bracing myself, I stepped into crowd with a smile on my face.

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BELLA’S POV

When we arrived at the party venue, I was impressed with the decoration, it was simple yet classy and elegant, some of the party guests I saw outside were elegantly dressed, it looked like an interesting party, I was sure I could allow myself to just let go and enjoy the party, I deserved some kind of enjoyment after all the stress I had been through this past week,

“This looks like fun” Mum said when we stepped out of the car,

“My thoughts exactly” I said with a smile on my face,

“Let’s go have some fun tonight Bella” Mum said and dragged me toward the entrance

I laughed, if anyone knew how to enjoy a party then it was definitely mum, when we got inside, I was speechless, the inside looked breath taking, I loved how dim the lights were and how everyone spoke softly, sipping their drinks slowly, classical parties were more the thing for me, loud music hurt my head, I preferred everything gentle and soft,

The colours of blue and gold filled the hall, the guests were dressed in gowns and tuxedos, waiters in starched uniforms roamed the halls with trays filled with champagne and wine glasses, a band was playing classical music in the background and from the ceiling of the hall hung a magnificent chandelier, it was spectacular.

A small smile tugged on the corners of my lips, this was a party I could really enjoy indeed, I collected a glass of red wine from a passing waiter and sipped slowly, it was sweet and rich, the taste circled my tongue, it had a while since I had drank wine,

“Look Bella, it’s Marla” Mum said from beside me, she was pointing at a friend of hers somewhere in the crowd,

 I looked to where she was pointing and saw someone, it wasn’t Aunt Marla I saw, it was the side view of a young man, it looked like he had a smile of his face, he looked familiar, I wasn’t sure where I had seen him before but I was sure I knew him, as I looked at him, a feeling of unease settled over me, I couldn’t understand what was happening, I felt I was hearing voices from some distant place, I found myself moving toward him, I wasn’t sure what I was doing but I just knew I needed to get to him,

“Hello Bella, it’s been a while since I last saw you” A voice said beside me, I was distracted for a moment and this broke whatever trance I had been in,

I turned to look at the source of the voice, it was Aunt Marla, she was a friend of my mother, I remember her bringing me Christmas presents when I was a lot younger, it had almost 10 years since I last saw her, she was a gorgeous woman with red hair and bright green eyes and a shining smile, I remember her always looking beautiful just like my mum, tonight she was dressed in a white dinner gown, her was hair was styled similar to my mum’s own and she was smiling brightly at me,

“Aunt Marla, It’s so good to see you” I said and hugged her, my eyes looked back to where I had seen the young man before, he was gone, I didn’t see him where he was just a few seconds ago,

Aunt Marla pulled back from the hug and looked at me “I can’t believe how much you have grown and how beautiful you look now, I always knew you were a beauty queen since you were just a little girl” She said with love and affection shining in her huge green eyes,

“You look beautiful as always Aunt Marla” I said with a smile,

“How is college treating you? You make seem like it’s just a walk in the park since you are looking as beautiful as you do now” Aunt Marla said,

“College is going great, I only have a semester left” I answered with a smile,

“Melissa I think we should let the kids meet up on their own sometime, don’t you think?” Aunt Marla said with a coy smile on her face,

“I think that’s a wonderful idea, I ran into Ian recently at a conference and he looked so different from the little boy I knew, I was looking forward to seen how much he had changed after you guys returned from London, he is such a fine young man I must say” Mum said with a smile just as coy as Aunt Marla’s.

The two laughed, they were enjoying themselves while they teased me,

“I can assure you Bella, Ian is such a gentleman, just promise me you will meet up with him sometime, just to catch up, it’s been almost 10 years since you saw each other, I am sure you kids have a lot to catch up on” Aunt Marla said,

It was beginning to look like I could not escape this situation, I remember Ian Langrove as a quiet boy who didn’t say much even back then, he was very smart and only laughed once in a while, he was a very serious kid, I think he was older than both Danny and I, I wasn’t sure his exact age but he was probably older than me with about 5 to 6 years,

Mum and Aunt Marla were still looking at me hopefully, they blinking their huge eyes at me, making it difficult to say “No” to them, with a reluctant feeling, I nodded my head,

They smiled brightly “You can expect him next week Friday, it’s going to be so much fun I can assure you” Aunt Marla said happily,

I could not believe I just allowed these women convince me into going on a date with Ian Langrove,

“Common Marla, everyone will be so thrilled to see you after such a long time, you too Bella, you have been so busy with college, it’s been a while anyone saw you, I am sure they will be so excited to see you” Mum said

I could not risk meeting with anymore of mum’s friends, I might have 5 dates lined up for next week “Actually I just need to use the ladies room for a minute, I will join you guys shortly” I said

“Okay honey, don’t be too long, I will tell everyone you will be joining us soon” Mum said with a smile

I nodded and waved to them as they walked away, they disappeared into the crowd, I stopped a passing waiter and asked him where I could find the ladies room, he showed me the way to go, I thanked him and walked away,

I saw only a few people on my way to the ladies room, I got to the door, it was directly opposite the gents room, I was about to go in when the door to the gents room opened and I saw deep Hazel eyes looking down at me, eyes that I could swear I had seen before, eyes that were also looking at me with shock and disbelief, he was the young man I had seen in the banquet hall, I was trying all I could to remember his face when he said one word,

“Arabelle” He said,

That single word cleared all the foggy memories, memories came crashing into my head, memories that were mine but from a different time, I saw many images, I saw myself chanting a spell with my eyes glowing bright blue, I saw myself having tea with a woman I called ”mum”, I saw myself walking in a beautiful meadow alongside a gentleman, he was asking me to marry me, he was smiling and I was smiling, my head was splitting with an immense pain and still the memories came rushing back, I saw the memory I was already used to, I saw myself die and suddenly it stopped on one very vivid image, my killer, my husband and also the man before me right now,

“Richard” I breathed,

He was looking at me with a mixture of a thousand emotions crashing in his eyes but he remained silent,

“We meet again my love” I said, an evil smile pulling at the corners of my lips.