It was 8:30 pm and the rain poured heavily on the dimly lit street. A black Mercedes Benz drove ominously under the dim lights and stopped in front of exquisite golden gate. The driver pressed hard on the horn and the sound resonated above the angry battering of the rain drops on the tarred street.
The golden gates opened almost immediately the blaring had died down. As it opened, a beautiful display of bright light appeared at the frames and the driver swerved in smoothly, taking his time to enjoy the wonderful display since the young Miss he carried was asleep.
The man expertly parked the car in front of the house and swallowed his fear at the tasks that waited him.
"Young miss, we're here," the driver said, alarmed to wake up the nineteen-old girl, who had a dozen off on their way.
"Huh?" Lilly hummed while rubbing her eyes to see where she was.
"We are here," the man repeated.
Lilly was fully awake now and she turned to look at where they had reached. As her eyes landed on the mansion by the window, her mouth fell wide in amazement.
"wow..." she exclaimed.
Lilly had seen a lot of beautiful houses im reality and on the television, but none of them could be compared with what she was staring at. The house was painted in white with golden intricate around the edges. There was a golden fountain by the side, just right beside the entrance that seem to release liquid gold.
"It's time," the driver added, cutting her from her trance.
Lilly was suddenly brought back to what she had come to do in the beautiful house. The amazement she felt was quickly replaced with fear and she felt her heart squeeze in pain.
Without waiting for her reply, the driver pulled his raincoat on and stepped out of the car. He walked briskly to her side. He opened an umbrella at an arm's length and pulled the door open for Lilly.
"After you miss," he said, as he bowed low in respect.
Lilly felt her legs become heavier than they should usually be. But she had to step out of the car. She didn't come this far to back down. She swallowed the fear in her and stepped out of the vehicle.
The driver closed the door after her and led her to the entrance, making sure the rain didn't touch a portion of her skin.
Lilly confidently made her way to the exquisite mansion, despite the ball of fear in her stomach. There was no time to act like a coward. She had promised her family that she would do this —and she would.
"This is the only way out," she said to herself as she stepped towards the door.
The driver gave her a strange look but decided to hold his tongue.
The further she went, the mansion no longer amazed her as she became filled with the feeling of dread.
The door to the mansion snapped open, and a man in his forties dressed in a black and white suit approached them.
"Miss Lilly, you're welcome," he said as he bent his head.
"Thank you," Lilly replied in her sweet voice. A smile coated her face despite the terror in her heart. She was walking straight into hell and she had no choice but to do a catwalk in the flames.
"Very well, please come with me," the man added politely.
Lilly nodded to the driver and the man understood that his job was complete. He stayed right at the door watching as she walked after the Butler.
The insides of the house was even more beautiful than the outside. The furniture were designed with golden linings and whatever didn't have gold in it was made out of a pure white material. Lilly could swear that the side tables were pure gold. Who ever owned this house was even more wealthy than she had imagined. The place looked like a part of heaven cut off and dropped delicately on earth. Yet, Lilly didn't know who the owner was.
Who the hell was the owner of this heaven? She thought as she followed the lead of the Butler. She was even tempted the ask the Butler but she kept her cool, sooner or later she was going to get all her questions answered.
As they continued walking, Lilly noticed that they were no servants in sight except the Butler with her. With a house as big as this, she expected to see a lot of servants around but she could see no one. The prickle in her heart returned and she discreetly patted a hand to her chest. She had to stay strong.
They went up a set of stairs and walked down the corridor thay welcomed them. Lilly's legs were already killing her but she dared not complain. Finally, they stopped in front of a door and Butler slowly pushed the door open. He turned to Lilly and signaled her to go in.
Lilly raised her brows hesitantly. She peeked her head through the slightly opened door and her heart skipped a beat. It was extremely dark, and no light in sight.
What the hell! She couldn't go in there!
She looked back at the Butler, expecting him to say something to her about what she was supposed to do, but the man didn't say a word. Instead, he stared at her like a fool!
"Miss Lilly, you need to go in," finally he said, pointing in the direction of the room.
"Why is there no light inside?" She asked with her brows still raised.
Even though she was going to risk her life to meet an unknown man, it didn't mean she wouldn't have the right to ask questions. Besides, this was her choice and she needed to know a bit about this man she was meeting!
Her aunty and uncle had failed to tell her a thing about this man. So, she hoped the Butler would at least help her get some details starting with the dark room!
"Why is it so darl inside?" She asked again.
"Please step inside miss," the man said with a little smile, completely ignoring her question.
Lilly felt oddly uneasy. The situation was starting to look very wrong.
What was this man trying to hide? What was it about him that everyone was afraid to tell her?
Before Lilly got to make this decision, she saw the fear in the eyes of her aunty and uncle as they begged her to save the family business.
As she stood in front of the door, she tried to think of something she might have missed in the conversation she had with her uncle, but nothing came to mind that could help her to figure out who the owner of the mansion was.
Lilly didn't know what deal her uncle had made with this unknown man. All she was told was that the company was going to fall if they didn't offer this stranger what he wanted —and she was the offering.
