Bound For Ruin

Chapter 5

I hadn't known how exactly I had gotten here, in this huge mansion in Camps Bay that belonged to the Shin family. It was when Mia had invited me to her home after her breakdown did I accept her invitation even though I promised that I would cut off all connection because I was so blinded by the guilt of believing the lies that our classmates had fed me. She had told me that it was the perfect opportunity for our friendship to strengthen as we would share great memories and secrets about each other's lives.

It was even a bigger mystery that my parents allowed me to visit her home for the whole weekend even though they were strongly against the friendship. When I came home from school to tell my parents about the invitation, they allowed me to go even though they said it uncomfortably and gave each other some secret messages. My mother only agreed with the exception to call her for every few hours and would be the person to pick me up and drop me off.

Her home was beautiful home that had the view of Table Mountain, the twelve apostles, the beach and Robben Island. It was a very modern home that had floor to ceiling windows that exposed the sophisticated interior of the home. "Don't forget to send me messages on what you guys are up to," my mother said as she took out some holy water and placed it into my pink toiletry bag.

"This is unnecessary, ma," I giggled as I placed my toiletry bag into my suitcase. My mother wasn't a very religious woman. She believed that churches were a waste of time because you spent hours in a packed building, listening to a man that scream words at you for hours and never really provided any life to your days. It was amusing that a woman who was a strong believer of logic and science would turn to something like holy water to protect me. "I hope you didn't take aunt's holy water. You know how she gets about her stuff, ma."

My mother laughed as she grabbed her chest tightly as she looked around the yard to the many bodyguards who carried different types of rifles and extremely built bodies. "Just be careful," she said and frowned when she saw Mia running out of her home to towards our car.

I jumped out of the car and quickly accepted her hug that was coming at an extreme speed. "You look so cute," she gushed at the light blue denim shorts and the graphic shirt that I chose to wear. I smiled and thanked her for the compliment. She then bent over to the window and greeted my mother enthusiastically whilst my mother responded with a soft one of her own. "Your mother is not much of a talker, huh?" Mia asked when my mother soon drove away and left us alone.

Two women soon came out of the home, grabbed my luggage and rushed back into the beautiful home. "My mom is so excited about your visit that she had planned this whole shindig for you." She then held my hand and led me into her wonderful home. I was in complete awe when I was walking through her hallways and saw the wonderful designs and the different portraits that were hung in the home.

"This is my room," she said as she opened a large mahogany door and pointed into her room that was bigger than any room that I have ever been in. I was in awe of the different designer furniture as well as the artwork that hung onto her wall that was made by the artist, Maxime Jay. A French artist that my father absolutely adored and would constantly brag about whenever friends came over because he bought one art piece of his. "You can sit on my bed whilst I look for something to watch."

We spent the next few hours watching movies and eating the snacks that her mother made and bought. I held her teddy bear close to my chest as I watched the movie, The Ring. It was one of the most interesting and scary horror movies that had me shaking. I was glad that Mia wasn't going to make us watch romcoms since they were the most boring genre in my opinion. I laughed when Mia screamed when the young girl ran towards a character, killing her.

"I have to go for a while," Mia said in panic after she checked her phone for any messages. "The chefs have probably made some lunch for us so you can go downstairs and have some food. When you're done eating you can watch some other things in the movie room but please for your sake don't go wandering around my home." I nodded and watched as she quickly changed out of her black, silk pyjamas into a black skinny jean and a black shirt. "See you later."

When I heard the bedroom door slam shut, I continued to watch the movie and every now and then I would message my mother about what I was up to. When the credits were rolling, I sat up from my seat and walked down the corridors looking for the kitchen. After asking a bunch of cleaners, I had finally arrived at the gourmet kitchen where a bunch of food and fruits were placed neatly on platters, covered with clingwrap to make sure that the food was preserved.

I spent the next hour eating the different cuisines that were made until my stomach ached from the amount of food that I ate. After that I stood from my seat and started my search for the movie theatre; a room that I hadn't my known where it was. I started searching through each room and marvelled at the first room that I entered. It was an art room filled with different art pieces from statues, pottery, paintings and portraits. It had its own type of the chaos that just grabbed your attention and forced to questions about the different meanings.

I walked around the room, feeling the different textures of the different art pieces. It was only when I reached the towards the end of the room, was I disturbed at what was spread onto the canvas. The one that had created concern was the large portrait that was hung just beside the window that overlooked the backyard garden. It was a portrait that resembled my picture that I took on the day that I moved here and posted on social media. I was hoping that my eyes were deceiving me but when I went to check my phone and placed it beside the painting, I knew that I wasn't hallucinating.

I turned towards the desk that was in the corner of the room and searched for anything else that was alarming. There was nothing but documents for work until I reached for the last draw. It had only contained a yellow envelope with my surname at the back of it. I cursed when I flipped the envelope and saw that it was neatly sealed. I wanted to know desperately what was in the file, to know that if it had anything related to my family. I desperately wanted to open it but I was afraid of what would happen if Mia came to me, asking about the envelope.

Just before I could open it, I heard the loud slam of the room door, and an accompanied clearing of the throat. I quickly threw the envelope into the drawer, shut and turned towards the people who entered. "I was looking for the movie room," I stated, looking down at my brown pumps.

I was shocked when I heard two baritone chuckles and a sigh soon after instead of the usual scolding for invading privacy. "I'll be going now," I said as I rushed past them but just before I could move past them, I was held back by a hand.

My breath caught into my throat when I felt the cold hand pull me towards their body. I was in awe when I lifted my head and looked at the person who had disrupted me from my escape plan. I recognised the coldness of his eyes and the tattoo that peaked from his shirt sleeve as the brother that picked up Mia a few days ago. He was much more handsome then when I had seen him the previous time as he hadn't worn the hat that covered most of his features and his hair was tied into a low bun.

"I would've killed you for being in my office without my permission but since you're more important to me than an average girl. I'll allow you to leave unscathed." I looked into his eyes and saw from the glint in his eye and the throbbing of his vein on his face, I knew that he was extremely angry and his threat was real. "You're more beautiful up close," he said as he took in my features as if it's the most beautiful thing that he had ever seen.

"Minnie," I turned away from the man to Mia who glared at me at the doorway. "The movie is about to start, let's go."