Lover of Two
Dozens of people entered the main venue, which is one of the Roswell family’s own mansions, right in the near countryside for it was located near the vast crystal lining of the waves and oceans as they slammed back to the sand. It has been indeed prepared, from these setups and visitors as if it’s an actual wedding ceremony, rather than an engagement party. It looked like the guests had surpassed a hundred of them, and who knows if a lot more was still on their way.
“Is this how it feels to be in a bloody wealthy family?” I blurted out loud, and Jenn shot up a confused expression at me as if I’ve talked something dumb, “What? Never in my whole life did I experience such a huge celebration, aside from my fan-meet event, or else a concert. Don’t look at me as though I have killed a human or whatnot.”
Jenn chuckled, thus, it reached Alistair’s ears which made him approach us for a short moment. Jenn’s laugh slowly diminished when he saw his older brother in front of us, with indifference on his face like he’s not satisfied or pleased with something. After what felt like minutes of the two having a staring contest, I decided to break the tension, “Hey, both of you. Don’t you dare make a scene in here, or else, you’ll both be dead in no time. Understood?”
“I’d gladly die, then,” Jenn countered back to my direction with utmost sarcasm, which lies within his tone, and dropped like acid. “Besides, I have seen heaven just earlier at the makeup room. Soon enough, I’ll make sure to meet the guard of the gates of heaven for me to enter such a paradise.”
On the spur of the moment, Alistair’s reaction went muddled into a perplexed look, but not long enough, his brows that were once woven in a knot slowly calmed as soon as his elegant eyes met my own ones. However, it’s then interrupted by Jenn’s unfiltered words, “Don’t stare at my girl like that, man. You have won the chairman’s heart, and I wouldn’t let my girl be one of your wins, also.” After so, Jenn’s palm grasped on my wrist and dragged me slightly towards the guests who were about to approach us.
So, during the event, I was all plastered with smiles while expressing gratitude for them attending the engagement party. At first, my jaw felt like it wouldn’t return back to its original place, but a few minutes later, they loosened up. Not long enough, the chairman, Mr. Mauro Vann Roswell, himself, reached our spot in a slow, dramatic way. All of my co-artists, and even my talent manager, were giggling when they approached Jenn and me. On the other hand, Alistair was trailing behind us.
“Oh, no,” I uttered.
“What? Why? What’s the matter?” Jenn flooded me with questions because of a mere utterance. “Is there a problem?”
I took off my hand on his arm and crossed them instead before my chest, “Media and a number of reporters will arrive sooner or later since my agency affiliates were all here at the party. Trust me, they’re definitely not going to let events like this slide without a story or two for their magazines and tabloids.” I paused, and my finger went to the side of my head, massaging my temples, right before I spoke again. “I hate the media. I only received several cuts when they became aggressive.”
“Well, that won’t happen,” Alistair interjected, which earned a death glare from Jenn.
“Who are you to say that?” Jenn arrogantly questioned his own brother, though, Jenn hasn't received a response. He was about to speak further when the chairman and my agency affiliates had finally reached toward us. Thus, instead of continuing on with his sentence, he closed back his lips and faced his father with a stiff smile, unlike the previous smile he had shown to the other guests.
“Chairman Roswell,” he addressed and bowed his head thereafter.
“How was the party going, Matilda?” the old chairman questioned towards me, instead of greeting back his son, in which it then caused my left eyebrow to raise. He used to be so cheerful when we’re at his office, but what’s the sudden change of attitude? My thought paused when the chairman added, “It seemed like you haven’t used the lipstick of which I have given as a gift. Don’t you like what I gifted you back then?”
“No,” I escalated quickly. “It wasn’t like that at all, Mr. Chairman. I just... don’t know how I should apply it, actually. I’ve only used lip gloss and lip tints for the past years since I have been a celebrity. I didn’t mean to offend you.” My head lowered to the cold floors of marble.
Out of the blue, both Alistair and Jenn uttered in unison, “Matilda looks better with it.”
Thus, their sudden outburst triggered my agency affiliates to squeal for romantic thrills or whatnot. Even my talent manager, Manager Guilbert Horton, who’s gay, squealed so hard while slapping off my arms and wrist. I tried to yank my arm away from my over-supportive yet dangerous manager, but Alistair did it first as he excused himself before he removed my manager’s hand from me. Although, it merely added up to their undying squeals and cheers like mad dogs, or wild animals in the woods during nighttime.
“Gosh, I never thought of you getting attached to these two hot daddies,” Mr. Guilbert Horton whispered to my ears, and it sent horrid shivers down to my spine, “Introduce us to them, Matilda. It wouldn’t take much of a time.”
However, as soon as he finished his statement, the Roswell Group’s chairman himself finally hushed them. On the spot, their shrieks died down, including my talent manager who’s right beside me like a leech who’s ready to sip blood to simply get introduced by the two Roswell brothers, as soon as the old man, Chairman Mauro Roswell, will be out of sight.
Mr. Mauro Roswell parted his lips, “Take a break from welcoming the guests, the event coordinators, and our own receptionist will take care of them. Both of you should enjoy the night, as well. The hired band group for tonight will arrive in a short while. For now, Matilda and Jenn will enjoy the rest of the party before the dinner feast will be served.” The chairman’s intimidating brown orbs moved to my agency affiliates afterward, and he added, “Don’t interrupt the couple, please. We have prepared a lot for the guests to enjoy.”
Without hesitation, Manager Guilbert Horton, as well as my other co-artists, answered in unison but of different responses, “Yes, Chairman Roswell.”
“Sure, Chairman.”
“Not a problem.”
After that, the old chairman immediately paced back to the table they’d been spotted as of earlier. On the other hand, the agency crews and artists followed the old man’s tracks with a frown of utmost disappointment on each of their faces. While Alistair, Jenn, and I stayed at our current position until Alistair excused himself.
“I will leave first, I’ll just be by the shore,” he voiced with an emphasis on the last word—that is—shore. Alistair’s eyes darted on me, as though he’s been trying to send a silent message through the way he stares into my jade green realms. He didn’t wait for Jenn’s response and so, he turned his back to us and sauntered towards the open door, which led to the exit and then straight to the tranquil seas not too far from the venue.
Jenn faced me, causing me to divert my gaze away from Alistair’s back. Seconds after, he sighed and also excused himself. “It’s a call of nature, darling. Don’t worry, I will be right back. Stay here for a minute,” Jenn lowly murmured, to which I merely responded with a continuous nod. “Okay, just don’t leave this spot,” he added as a confirmation. I was about to nod once more, although I hadn't gotten the chance to when he couldn’t take it anymore, and hurriedly ran towards the restroom.
A few seconds of waiting passed, until Alistair’s message from earlier crossed into my mind. “Oh, right,” I mumbled beneath my breath, “The shore.”
In an instant, I dragged both of my feet towards the nearby oceanfront and took off my sandals, and I ran to such majestic scenery before my eyes—the beach, and the moon right on top of it. I giggled as I felt the soothing yet coarse-grained texture of the sands, which felt good under my feet. I was about to reach the low level of the waters when an arm came out of nowhere and grabbed me towards the dark sides of the palm trees.
Never did they know that a reporter had noticed the elite celebrity—Matilda, and spied on them from a distance. On the other hand, both Matilda and Alistair shared a serene moment behind the trees, the two were oblivious that someone had been capturing a nonstop shot of photos at them, despite the darkness.
“Great catch,” the journalist muttered to oneself, “This will be a great hit, for sure. Ha! Matilda is a lover of two. What a great headline for tomorrow’s front page!”
Alistair suddenly uttered, “Don’t you want to move somewhere else, Matilda?”
“Oh? It sounds like a great idea, although I have my career here. But if I were given a chance, I wouldn’t decline such a great offer, of course, particularly on an island. How cool would that be? I haven’t been into one,” I blabbered with the obvious excitement, creeping into my tone.
Suddenly, I felt my eyelids getting heavy, and my vision looked like it was swirling. Alistair’s panicking voice still resounded to my ears; however, his words also deafen down as well. My lashes dropped for they’ve given up the battle of fighting back the drowsiness that I’m feeling. Until then, the last words I heard were coming from an unfamiliar voice, but it echoed long enough to my ears and throbbed nonstop.
“An island, it is.”