Rowan held onto her waist as he stared into her eyes, shocked as he recognized her.
Since Amanda couldn't recognize him, she managed to pull herself from him and glared at him.
"So...rry." Amanda stammered.
Rowan recalled having a nightstand with her four years ago and immediately thought she was sent by the villa to pick him up as he had placed her there the day he traveled.
"You came to pick me up?" He questioned, raising his brows, which surprised Amanda, as she didn't know what he was talking about.
"Came to pick you up? Who are you? I don't even know you." Amanda replied and stared at him weirdly.
"Stop being crazy, it was already too much since after what happened between us. It has been four years and you never called to check up on me. I guess you prefer enjoying the luxurious Villa more, right?" Rowan asked and what he was saying did not make sense to her as she still couldn't understand what he was saying.
"Is he crazy? What is he talking about? What happened four years ago?" Amanda wondered and decided to start leaving.
"Stop looking like a zombie." He snapped with angry eyes.
"Look Mr. whoever you are, I don't know you and I don't know what you are talking about or what happened four years ago. Maybe you are mistaken. Now, if you don't mind, I have things to do, so bye," Amanda said and started walking. He pulled her hand and her heart started racing quickly.
She started feeling something building up inside her, apart from his voice sounding so familiar, and then his touch suddenly also felt familiar too.
"Why are you acting weird? Does it sound funny to you or what? Do you think I have time to waste? If you are here to pick me up, let's go." Rowan half yelled with impatience.
"Okay, I understand, I came to pick you up, now calm down and take a deep breath so we can leave, and let go of my hand." Amanda said she only wanted him to let go of her so she would be able to escape.
"Okay." He replied and let go of her hand and immediately he did that, she ran out of the place at full speed. She didn't stop or turn back till she was far away from the bar.
Rowan wondered why she was acting weird and sighed with frustration.
Anyways, he concluded he would ask her when he got to the Villa. He walked back to Jack and sat down.
"You look tense, what happened?" Jack asked and looked around.
"Remember the lady I had a one-night stand with four years ago?" Rowan said and closed his eyes before opening them.
"Yes, I guess she is living in the family's villa, right?" Jack asked as he remembered her too.
"Yes, but I saw her here and she acted like she never knew me. What will she be doing here at this late time of night?" Rowan asked and rubbed his temples.
"Maybe she was just trying to prank you. Anyway, let's go to the villa. I'm sure you will find her there, and then you can ask her why she decided to act silly. It would be like for me, I wish I could get to see that pretty singer." Jack said happily, still having admiration in his eyes for Amanda.
"You mean ugly Singer?" Rowan scoffed and tried not to laugh.
"C'mon she is really pretty, anyways it's getting dark, let's go," Jack replied and stood up. They walked to their cars and their drivers drove off.
Amanda stopped to catch a breath after running away from the strange Rowan. She gritted her teeth angrily.
"What a psycho, maybe he was drunk and I suddenly looked like someone he knew from four years ago, all those rich brats having no problem. All of them behave as if they had escaped from the psychiatric hospital." She mumbled as she breathed in and out. She stared at the money handed to her by the bar manager and smiled, knowing that her kids wouldn't be sent home at least. She boarded a cab and the driver zoomed off.
<<<< XI VILLA >>>>
Mabel, as usual, was dressed expensively in a gown, wearing a sparkling diamond necklace and earrings.
She was making a video showing off her wealth and luxurious life on her social media handles when a piece of news popped into her screen. She saw Rowan Xi's pictures and was curious to see what happened as he had been away for four years.
She clicked the notification and the full news opened. Her heart skipped as she read it.
*"Breaking news, Mr. Rowan Xi has finally returned to his country after four years of being away. This has caused a crazy reaction from his fans, especially the females like Mr. Rowan always never failed to look handsome and attractive, the famous billionaire walked to his expensive car and now everyone at the Villa cannot wait to see him." The news read.
"Oh my God, oh no, no!" Mabel exclaimed and dropped the phone on the couch. She started shaking vigorously with fear.
"If Mr. Rowan had dropped the watch for Amanda. This meant he knew her face and would kick me out of the mansion if he saw my face. No, I can't allow that to happen. I can't allow myself to be snapped out of this luxurious life after living in it for four freaking years. Oh God." Mabel soliloquized, sweating, she quickly started running to her room, and she met with her maid on the way.
"Watch it!" Mabel yelled as they almost collided with each other and she continued running when she regained her balance and didn't stop until she reached her room, her heart beating like it was gonna explode anytime soon.
Rowan arrived at the Villa and, since it was already late at night, none of the family members were there to welcome him, and yeah, he always hated the noise. Besides, he wanted to ask his woman why she was pretending not to know him.
He went in and his servants came to welcome him.
"Where is the..." He paused, because he didn't know her name.
"Do you mean Ma'am Mabel?" One of the maids asked, which made him conclude her name was Mabel.
"Yes, where is she?" He replied and looked around the living room.
"She is in her room, boss, she is having her bath." The maid said and started leaving as Rowan signaled her to leave.
He didn't say anything else as he left the room.
"So she is now trying to hide from me. What a crazy lady." He thought and opened the door with a devilish grin on his face.
"You, you think you can hide from me, huh? It won't work out, you are crazy, you just acted like you didn't know me an hour ago and now you are already in the bathroom also trying to hide from me. You know what? Enjoy yourself in the bathroom." Rowan said out loud and hit the bathroom door before he exited the room.
Mabel breathed out in relief, at least she had successfully escaped today,
But what will happen tomorrow? was the thought that was left lingering on her mind.
Amanda sat still in front of the mirror, trying to undress and wipe off what was left of the ugly makeup she had on earlier.Then she remembered the popular Rowan Xi and how he tried to hold her down, insisting that she was supposed to be at his house."What madness?" She asked herself and kept wiping off the makeup."Who are you speaking to?" her mother asked with concern.She jerked at the sight of her mother."You scared me Mum. It is nothing. I was just soliloquizing. Something a bit strange happened today."Her mother looked at her, her gaze filled with concern."What might that be?""I met someone very important; Rowan Xi. You know him, right?"Her mother's mouth was agape with shock."Wow… that is some interesting stuff!" She exclaimed. "Please tell me you got along fine?""That is the point, mother. You know I had this ugly makeup on, so he thought I was ugly…"Her mother's face squeezed in a frown."You see? Did I not warn you about that ugly makeup you had on?" She cut in an
>>>Rowan was sitting in his office, addressing his father's employees.One of the employees, the company's head of financial unit, raised her hands."Go ahead Annette, make your contributions snappy." He instructed her and leaned back in his chair."Thank you sir. I'd like to point out that we made some good profit in the last four years; however, the company's net expenditures are toppling over the profit per season. I would suggest that some unnecessary frivolities be cut down on."Rowan bit his lower lip. He knew where her conversation was headed and he was definitely going to address it."What are the components of this net expenditure? Can you give me a run down?""I can mail you the comprehensive list of all that the company has funded for the past four years.""Send me that mail before midday, Annette. I would like to address the situation immediately."Annette nodded and thanked him."You can all get back to work, there is a lot to do," Rowan inst
Mrs Roberts was at the hair salon with her friends, they were trying to get a makeover."You look damn good , girl." Katherine exclaimed excitedly."Been a while, you know. You do not seem to get a lot of time these days because of the babies," Angela added.Mrs Roberts was a bit uncomfortable about having those conversations but she had no choice."Yes. It has been a while. Thank God you know that I am very busy. The kids do not allow me to get some breathing space," Mrs Roberts replied, trying to stay composed and unashamed. "Yeah…right?" They both echoed."Yeah," she replied sternly, trying to move away from the conversation. She did not want to last too long on conversations about her daughter's children."What does Amanda do now?" Angela asked with curiosity etched on her face.Mrs Roberts shifted to her seat. She was becoming uncomfortable."She works with a big company now," she replied with a whisper, hoping they would not ask her the name of the company because the truth was
"Hey mama," Amanda called out to her mother.Mrs Roberts turned around to see her daughter looking sad."Is everything okay?" She asked with panic. "Did anyone hurt you?"Amanda shook her head. She did not want to tell her mother about her travails at the restaurant."I am fine, mother," she replied in a whisper."I am glad those nosy friends of mine had left earlier because it would have been bad if they met you in this state. You did not even try to put a brush on your hair. Look at how disheveled your hair looks."Amanda took a quick glance at her reflection in the mirror and let out a sigh of exhaustion."I am sorry mum. I had a pretty rough day.""It is alright honey. We need to fix you up because I have found just the perfect job for you. They are calling for submissions and interviews and the deadline is in two days. All thanks to your children, I came across the advert just in time."The excitement in her mother's voice was making her enticed and she wanted to know more about
>>>>"It was fun catching those unplanned photos of you. I am going to have your handler put them up on your Instagram. How does one go from week to week without pictures? Do you not know that you are a celebrity?"Rowan was angry but he was trying to remain calm."My life, my choices!" He retorted to Jack.Jack laughed hysterically at his cousin."Well, if you feel offended, I am sorry. However, I am not sorry that I got pictures of you taken; I am only sorry that it was done like an ambush."Rowan threw him a cold stare and shook his head."You're a terrible human, you know. I will have my pound of flesh. Just watch."Jack laughed again."I am a jolly good fellow, if you throw lemons at me, I will make a huge basin of lemonade from them. You need not worry."At this point, Rowan found his anger dissipating and his heart lightened a bit. He smiled slightly at Jack and his smile got Jack almost reeling on the floor with laughter."You know you want to laugh s
"You even look better than you sounded over the phone," Jack complimented her and she blushed evidently."Thank you Sir," she whispered with an intriguing smile.Jack found himself craving time with her. There was something enchanting about her presence and her carriage. She was too poised for a waitress.She placed his order carefully on the table and stood beside him."I will take my leave now, sir. If there's anything else, please use my number.""I will use this number from now henceforth and I will make sure all my friends use it as well. You deserve all the points in the world; with your striking features and your sonorous voice.""Thank you Sir," Rosemary chuckled. "I do appreciate these nice comments. I will keep your promise in mind."Jack smiled at her."Would you like to have lunch with me? Different location, at your convenience?"Rosemary thought for a while and then nodded."This is against our employee policy here. But, we can.""I promise I won't get you into any kind
"Oh…Look at my daughter," Mrs Roberts chuckled.Amanda giggled and looked at herself again in the mirror."You look breathtakingly beautiful, sweetheart. If they do not accept you for your experience and certificates, your beauty and delicate nature would take a toll on them," Mrs Roberts complimented."Oh, there you go again mother, making it about my physical appearance. I get bothered if it all comes down to my looks. I will change into something less show-offy. I don't want to be seen as attractive." Amanda had a frown on her crease."Stop it Amanda!" Mrs Roberts cautioned sternly. "You seem to forget that just because you had babies does not mean you are less beautiful. The reality is, men would still want you. They will crave you and there is nothing you can do about it. The only thing you can do is to empower yourself, especially financially, to avoid them using you recklessly."Even though her mother's tone was harsh, Amanda got the message clearly. She was becoming too scared
The other applicants also showed up and were waiting within the conference room.The panel was set. It consisted of Mr Kenny; the hotel Manager, Miss Kira Mason (his Assistant) and Miss Joan Rivers, (The head of maids and room service unit).Nondon was also present at her meeting to take important notes for Mr Kenny.Amanda was seated across from Mr. Kenny and occasionally, their gazes would lock and Mr. Kenny would smile as though he had known her before that day.She found her heart beating so fast at his facial expressions towards her which were not present in his dealings with other applicants.The first applicant, a young man who looked like he was in his early thirties, walked up to the table where the panel was. Although they were all in the same room, no one could hear the conversation between the panel and the applicants."Mr Jacob Whiteley, you are welcome to The Xi Hotel," Mr. Kenny said with an expressionless face."Thank you sir," Jacob replied.Mr Kenny glanced towards