C9 A million dollar painting?

'I don't know what you are planning to do, Cassie. But just remember one thing, listen to what your heart says, not your fears.'

Em's words rang in my mind like a broken recorder since yesterday.

She didn't know about the darkness of my soul. But her words sounded like she knew me more than I had ever let anyone know.

"Look, isn't this portrait beautiful?" At Beth's nudge at my side, my thoughts got a break.

A painting of a small girl wrapped around in a colorful flower gown was hung on the wall. The fusion of the colors was enchanting, especially the girl's eyes. They were violet.

I nodded. "Yes, it is."

We were at an art exhibition. Mason's work was gonna be on display. And Beth was over the moon at her boyfriend's success. Because it wasn't any ordinary exhibition. It was an event where famous artists put their work for the world to see. And Mason got a chance to make a place here for him. He was one amazing artist I had to admit.

"Hey, guys!" Mason walked over to us once he noticed us.

Beth was in his arms even before he could reach us. "I'm so happy for you! Each piece is so amazing! I love them!"

Letting out a shy laugh, he pulled away and kissed her cheek. "I'm glad you loved them." He then turned to me. "Thank you for coming, Cassie!"

"And of course I had to come. After all, I had to see what my best friend's boyfriend is worth."

He blinked at my response, confused.

At Beth's glare, I rolled my eyes.

"Don't worry, dude. I was just joking. Your paintings are amazing I have to say."

A relieved sigh left him as he smiled. "Thank you! Come, let me show you some more."

Nodding, we followed him through the crowd of art lovers. Though some of them just came here to show off their big pockets and buy some paintings with outrageous prices.

"This one." Stopping before a painting of a golden mermaid lying on a black beach, he flashed his teeth at us. "This is the main attraction from my collection today."

The way the lower part of the mermaid glittered in the black sand, it looked so real. As if it would move and jump into the blue water at any moment.

While Beth went all emotional, I gawked at it. It was a masterpiece.

"Are you sure you didn't steal it from any museum? Because it's extremely beautiful."

At my question, Mason laughed, scratching his jaw.

"I'm sure, Cassie. It's my painting. You can see my name at the bottom if you want to make sure."

I waved my hand. "No need! Anyways, how much would it be?"

"It's not for sale. I...uh, made it for Beth actually." As his gaze met Beth, she let out a gasp. Tears shone in her eyes.

And she wrapped her arms around him again. "This is beautiful! I love you so much!"

Pulling away, he kissed her forehead. "I love you too."

Suddenly a memory flashed across my mind.

Me in the arms of an icy blue eyed man. A dangerous one. Who seemed to love to grab me whenever he was around.

'My Sandra…'

A skip in my heart made me take a deep breath.

When did I become his? And Sandra? He already had a nickname for me?

I shook my head.

The more I would think about him the more I would go crazy. As if his dreams weren't enough at nights that I was now daydreaming about him.

But I couldn't help but think about the punishment. He said I would get to know about it soon. But when?

I couldn't believe he would punish me for breaking his rules I wasn't even aware of. That was ridiculous!

I wasn't taking any punishment from him. But I just hoped he wouldn't fire me for this.

"Will you guys have anything? Drinks?" Mason asked.

We both shook our heads. Then my gaze went to my right. A good amount of visitors crowded before a place where a couple of paintings were on display. And all of the paintings had people portrayed on them. Mostly women.

"Those are from one of the most famous artists around the world. My inspiration. His speciality is that he paints ordinary people with their special features and not their whole face. You can't recognize one until you know the person personally," Mason explained. "A lot of rich people make their or their loved ones' paintings by him. Of course, he is out of our reach!"

Beth chuckled at his last line. While I was lost in those paintings. Two things that were common in them were eyes and hair. And the colors of them looked so vivid it felt like alive people were staring at us. Other than that, some had tattoos on their hands or necks, some had bracelets. One even had a scar on its cheek.

All of them resembled the persons he drew. Weird, but they were beautiful.

"Ladies and gentlemen! Take a look at Louis Anthony's masterpieces from the last three years. The extraordinary pieces that were all customized and were sold for millions!"

Millions?

As the man announced, a slide show started on a big screen across the hall. One after another beautiful pictures of those expensive paintings were getting gasps and murmurs of awws from the crowd.

Some of those pictures belonged to some celebrities. The dressing style and hair styles said it all.

"See? Told ya! Rich people go to him to make their paintings. Isn't he amazing?" Mason awed. "All of these paintings were worth millions."

"Wow!" I gawked as another picture of a princess' painting came up. I recognized her. She was a princess of UAE. The big blue diamond on her ring finger was world famous.

"I wish I could make my painting by him," said Beth in a dreamy voice. And in response, Mason just chuckled.

Shaking my head at her, my eyes went back to the screen.

Another picture was on display. A picture of a painting that had a girl in a red princess dress in it. Her honey blonde hair ran down her shoulders in waves whilst her ember eyes glowed like the sun. The rest of the features of her face were just drawn in some lines.

With one hand placed on her waist, she stood proud like she was on the top of the world, shining like a star with the flare of her red dress.

I blinked. Oddly, this picture seemed familiar. The date at the bottom of the picture said it was made three years ago.

The dress was drawn so beautifully with every detail, and the eyes and hair…

"She surprisingly looks a lot like you, don't you think, Cassie? Look at the hair and eyes. They're exactly like you," with a frown etched between Beth's brows, she commented.

"Yeah, she does. What a coincidence," Mason said, letting out a laugh. "I wonder who is the person who made this painting by Louis Anthony. Whoever it is for, she must look a lot like you!"

This was almost the same dress I had worn at that show five years ago. Why did I feel like this girl in that painting was… me?

No. That was ridiculous.

It must be someone who had the same hair and eyes as me. And the dress was just a coincidence. After all, who would make my painting for millions of dollars?

***

"Turn slightly to your right."

I did.

"Chin higher."

I raised my chin more.

"Perfect!"

Then flashes after flashes blinded my vision for a moment. While Chad was busy clicking photos of me from different angles.

In the evening, I got a call from Elizabeth about the photoshoot. After other models were done with their shots, came my turn. And she arranged a different spot for me. It was at Rossa, but it wasn't where the other photoshoots were held. It was on the twenty sixth floor. A duplex studio where photoshoots or ad films were shot only on special occasions. And oddly, they held my normal photoshoot at that place.

When I asked Elizabeth about it, she just said it was nothing. Not to think about it much.

"Brilliant! Now go and change into the next dress Cassie! You're doing amazing!" Elizabeth cheered, standing beside Chad.

I smiled. "Thanks!" My gaze then went around. Not many members of the team were around. Just Chad, my makeup artist, Elizabeth and two other girls from the crew. "Hey, Elizabeth. Where are the other people? And Tony isn't here either. I thought he would be here with Chad too?"

"Yeah, I was thinking the same," said Chad with a frown. "I thought I was going to assist him today? Where is he?"

Elizabeth opened her mouth and then closed. Sneaking a glance towards the staircase, she let out a forced smile. And I didn't dare to look up. Since I arrived here, that dark first floor has been sending me an odd feeling. As if… I was being watched. I could feel a presence there even though I couldn't see anyone.

"He resigned this morning. Uh, he got a good offer from Germany. So he grabbed it."

Resigned? All of a sudden? But he looked pretty excited about working with me yesterday.

"But he didn't tell me anything about it." Chad watched her in confusion.

She let out a sigh. Her brown gaze held distress. "He took this decision all of a sudden. Now if you're done with your questions, can we please get back to work?"

"And what about the others? Where are…"

"Let's get you changed in the next dress. Shall we?" She cut me off, with a sharp edge in her tone.

I frowned. What was wrong with her?

I wanted to voice out my question, but decided against it. All I wanted to do was to get done with this shoot and then go home. Away from the creepy first floor.

I couldn't help but feel self conscious.

Nodding, as I was about to follow her, her phone blared in her hand. After seeing the name on the screen, she hesitantly received it. And the thing that caught my attention was how her face paled drastically after hearing the person on the other side of the phone.

Throwing a glance over her shoulder, she gulped and nodded. "I- I apologize. It won't happen again, I can assure you that."

Putting the phone down, she turned to me and flashed me the sweetest smile. "Come with me please. Let me help you with the dress."

"It's alright. I can do it myself."

"I insist. It's a heavy dress, I'm sure you will need my help," she said, her features were cautious.

What made her this alert and sweet from an angry bird?

"Sure." I flashed a tight lipped smile. "Let's go."

Once I was done, I walked out of the changing room to the hall.

The moment Chad's gaze fell on me, surprise flashed across his eyes. The same emotion I felt when I wore this dress. A red princess gown. It was almost the same I wore at Elezabeth's fashion show that night years ago.

"Is it the same dress she wore that night?" Chad asked, stunned.

"Of course not! They're similar but not the same. I loved that dress so much on her that night that I decided to make another with a slightly different design." Her answer was fast and the same one she gave me when I asked her about it back in the changing room.

It wasn't one of the decided dresses we chose yesterday. But she insisted that I try this dress.

"Now let's start the shooting, shall we?"

At Chad's nod, I stood before the camera. And I couldn't help but glance at the first floor again. To be able to see through the darkness, I squinted. And all I could see was a tall shadow of a man standing there near the railings.

My heart skipped.

Who is he?

Hearing Chad's voice for me to pose, I removed my eyes from there. The flashes of the camera started to snap as I smiled at it.

I could feel the burning gaze on me, scorching my skin under its heat. Goosebumps crawled up my arms. All of a sudden, I felt the same as that night years ago on the stage. The audience was in the dark and I had the same feeling then. As if, someone was watching me from the darkness. Not the eyes of the audience, a gaze that made my heart beat faster.

Then I saw Nina, Duncan's assistant, enter the studio with an envelope in her hands before disappearing somewhere around the corner.

Where did she go?

"Cassie, focus!"

Looking back at Chad, I nodded before standing the way he wanted me to.

After just a minute of giving some more poses, my phone rang in my purse that was in Elizabeth's assistant's hands.

Taking my purse from that girl, I took out my phone and looked at the screen.

Unknown number.

Who is it?

"Hello?"

"Tomorrow," said a dark yet husky voice from the other side. "Be ready tomorrow evening, eight sharp. I will pick you up."

The recognition of his voice made my heart flip and stomach flutter. "W-what? But why?"

A long silence.

"Your punishment, cuore mio. I have decided a perfect punishment for you."