Mantis

32. Paula's most dangerous side

Before eight, I went down to the grand lobby by myself. I had instructed Victor to wait by the stairs in the hall that led directly to the banquet hall, and that's where I found him.

– Stunning – he summed up my appearance in one word. I responded with a restrained smile and extended my hand, signaling him to take it.

Victor quickly offered his left arm, and when I took it, he led me into the crowded hall.

– Is that the same dress we bought? – he asked, examining the shimmering black mermaid-style gown with a thigh-high slit and a deep neckline. – It seemed more modest before.

– I modified it a bit – I murmured in a restrained tone. – Circumstances have changed.

– Really? To what?

– You'll see – I said, smiling slightly to myself.

– I didn't know you could alter clothes.

– There's a lot you still don't know about me – I replied with the same smile and didn't continue the conversation.

The banquet went splendidly for Victor. Rafael ensured that all those important people accepted him as one of their own, practically guiding him by the hand, so Vic simply had no chance to make a mistake. Whenever Perez praised my appearance to the skies, he took Victor under his wing and introduced him to everyone he thought he should know, with me as his charming partner by his side. This clearly suited Victor, as every time he heard it, he would wrap his arm around my waist and pull me close, as if he truly believed I was his girlfriend.

If it had been up to me, I would have long shown Victor by hand what I thought of such caressing of my body, but since making a scene was out of the question, I endured all the patting with dignity and forced smiles, shaking thousands of hands of complete strangers whose touch I had no desire for. The only thing preventing me from running away screaming was the thought that eventually, the banquet would end, and we would return to a quiet room where no one would disturb us.

After about two hours, when we stood before a blonde in a long, floor-length white gown, the same one Manuel greeted yesterday, all my facial muscles ached, and the side Victor constantly grabbed nearly burned. But that was nothing compared to facing this strange woman, whose presence made blood freeze in your veins, and Marcel seemed the epitome of friendliness.

– So, you are the diamond that disrupted my meeting? Interesting... – the blonde said in perfect English to Victor upon greeting, scrutinizing him closely. – Olivia Baar – she introduced herself before Rafael could do so, extending her slim hand. – And you are Paulina – she murmured, though no one had yet introduced us, and she examined me closely, drilling me with her icy gaze. – Pretty as a porcelain doll. Even the same complexion. Now I understand why Manuel adores white marble so much – she said, curling her lips in a grimace that had as much in common with a smile as a goose with ballet.

I looked at the blonde carefully, and for the first time that evening, my thoughts stopped revolving around Victor and his hands. She was looking at me oddly. Penetratingly, as if she wanted to read my thoughts or wipe me off the face of the earth.

She didn't only look at me like that. She drilled Manuel, standing next to his father, with her gaze too, and then she shifted her eyes back to Victor and continued the conversation as if nothing had happened, in a rather friendly tone.

– Shall we go for a smoke? – she addressed Victor.

– How...? – Vic began, likely wanting to ask how Olivia knew he smoked.

– I can recognize one of my own from afar – she interrupted him with a very friendly smile.

– Actually... – Victor began, looking at me uncertainly.