"You don't remember me?" The lady's voice was sweet like a poisoned candy as she took Mira's cold and trembling hand in hers.
"I'm Callie. I think we once met on set? I'm so embarrassed that you can't remember me anymore. I acted as your friend back then."
Mira felt a familiarity immediately.
A set? Lorena's set. This woman knew Lorena.
She felt a flash of memory as she thought of gossip magazines and red carpet photos. She had indeed seen this face in some of them.
A socialite or celebrity too?
From the doorway, Aurelian made a small disdainful sound and rolled his eyes.
Mira didn't know what to say nor do. She couldn't decide whether to rip her hand away or just stay perfectly still.
It was like she was a mouse hoping that the snake would simply lose interest.
The strap of the nightgown slipped down her shoulder and exposed the swell of her breasts, so she had the chance to take her hands out of Callis' to tug it back up.
Callis then drifted to the nightstand where there was a glass carafe and poured a glass of water.
"Drink slowly. You fainted last night."
Mira didn't touch the glass. Instead, her eyes darted to the door and then back to Callis' perfect face.
"Where is this? Who are you guys? Why am I here?"
Callis offered a soft smile. "Like I already told you, I'm Callis. And this estate belongs to our people." Then she glanced at Aurelian. "And my uncle."
"Stop explaining anything to this thing, Callis. The only person she needs to know is who bought her mercy." Aurelian's voice cut through the room.
"Mercy from what?" Mira questioned as her voice rose. "Isn't this just kidnapping?"
"Uhm… kidnap is such a loud word, Lorena," Callis corrected gently, as if she was speaking to a child. "You collapsed. And then you were taken from the street, that's it."
The encounter she had gone through the previous day flashed in Mira's mind. The last thing she remembered was the rain while she was at some alley.
"So who brought me here?"
Callis' answer sounded careful. "Lucas."
Aurelian took a step closer. "Ugh! Questions later, just listen to me now!"
He pointed a finger at a discreet call bell on the wall. "That was placed there for you, but if you use it irresponsibly you might regret who answers."
"Also, the windows don't open and the door locks from outside as well. So if you think screaming will help, it won't. Only deers hear anything out here."
Mira's blood almost turned to ice. "So it is kidnapping then."
"It is containment," Aurelian corrected in a tone that left no room for argument.
"Darling, it's just temporary. Until Lucas decides." Callis chipped in, but in a friendlier tone.
"Decides?" Mira's laugh was bitter. "Who the fuck is this Lucas and what does he decide?"
Aurelian smiled. "Whether you walk out of here upright or not."
Callis moved to the heavy mahogany wardrobe and pulled out a folded robe of plush dark velvet. She then laid it at the end of the bed.
"You're shaking so much. You can put this on. We don't bite."
Mira snorted despite the fear she was feeling. "I asked a question. Who is Lucas?"
"The man whose patience you're testing," Aurelian replied in a bored tone.
"Wait, are you talking about the man from the hospital?" Mira asked, suspicious.
She still didn't know that man's name after all.
Callis' perfect composure finally changed—or more like flickered, because it was only for a second. She glanced at Aurelian, who nodded.
"Oh, okay. I guess he was there," she confirmed.
"That crazy ass motherfucker? Tell him to bring me back! I don't know you people!"
"You don't need to. You know his protection saved you so many times since you woke from coma and that's okay." Aurelian countered her. "Show some gratitude!"
A low vibration hummed from his pocket and he pulled out his phone, his expression changing as he read the screen.
He looked at Callis first. "I need to go now."
And then at Mira. "You don't leave this room. You don't shout and you don't touch what isn't yours!"
And just like that, he opened the door and stepped out.
Callis let out a soft exhale. "I know. He can be intense. But he has his reasons."
"Did this Lucas guy tell him to terrify me?" Mira asked in a hushed voice.
A faint smile touched Callis' lips. "Lucas doesn't waste orders on things that would come naturally."
"Ugh! You still haven't explained who Lucas is to me properly! Also, why does he even keep showing up around me? I don't even know him!"
"Oh, you will."
Callis studied Mira's face a little and even tilted her head. Her gaze was curious, not hostile, but Mira still didn't like it.
"What?" she snapped.
"There's something different about you. I just can't…" She stopped abruptly, as if to change trajectory.
"You know what, just eat and shower. There are clothes in the wardrobe. No one is going to touch you without Lucas' word, so don't worry."
"Is that supposed to make me feel better?" Mira shot back in a trembling voice. "Am I supposed to feel safe that one stranger owns all the other strangers?"
Callis gave a tiny yet elegant shrug. "Better that than a mob owning you."
"Wait, what if I just leave right now?" Mira challenged in a last desperate attempt.
"You can't."
"So what am I? A prisoner?"
"You are a…" Callis paused, as if trying to search for the right term. "…a guest that ran out of exits."
"What if I scream?"
"You'll get doctors and maybe Uncle Aurelian. Trust me when I say you won't like either one."
"Then I want to see this Lucas again! I need to see him! He needs to tell me who he thinks he is to lock me up in here!"
The lock on the door suddenly turned with a soft click and then swung open.
The same man that had helped her at the hospital stood in the doorway. His grace swept through the room, at Mira in her ridiculous nightgown, Callis, and then back on Mira, staying there.
"Your husband." He said simply, and the two words reminded Mira of the same exact way he had said it in the car at the hospital.
Callis' smile immediately faltered as her eyes widened.
Fury overrode Mira's fear as she stalked towards him. "You again? What's with you calling yourself my husband? Last I checked, Lorena was never married!"
The third person point of view of herself slipped out due to her anger.
Lucas didn't even blink. He simply strolled further into the room and then faced Callis.
"Tell me, Callis," he started. "Is it a new level of ego to refer to oneself in third person?"
The realization of her slip-up dawned on Mira.
"I… I didn't…" she stammered. "I… I mean… I'm not—" She clamped her mouth shut in embarrassment. She was furious with herself.
"Stop calling yourself my husband! I don't know you!"
Callis, on the other hand, looked totally shocked. Her eyes kept darting between Lucas and Mira in genuine confusion.
"Lucas… what are you talking about? Who's marrying who?"
Lucas looked in her direction. "Nobody is marrying anybody, Callis."
Callis visibly eased at that, the tension leaving her shoulders was proof. She even let out a light laugh.
"Oh. You had me worried there for a moment. What then are you talking about?"
Lucas' eyes found Mira again. "Mira and I are not getting married because we're already married."