Back Better Than Before

[3] Identity Can't Stay Hiden

2 hours later...

Stupid, stupid, stupid!

That was all that Adrianna could say to herself as she sat on the bed of in her new room waiting for Mr. Collins. The moment she had awaken in the unknown room, she should have run and never look back. But the stupid vase had to fall and awaken Mr. Collins. And his stupid proposition. At that time, it seemed appealing. She needed the help to find her parents and Mr. Collins was giving her that.

Now sitting in that room, Adrianna was beginning to regret her immediate decision. Why had she agreed to his plan! Who knows what Mr. Collins will make her do, thinking she is some desperate woman. On top of that, why had she said that love will only bring pain! Now he will wonder what happened to her! She clearly wasn't thinking when she had accepted his offer. Adrianna knew that she hadn't told Mr. Collins her family name. Simply because she didn't know who her family was. It wasn't the Montclairs because they hadn't ever treated her as a family member. Her biological parents left her when she was a couple of months old so they weren't her family either. She knew that Eleanor would create some scene claiming that Adrianna had been kidnapped and she would act as the poor mother.

Eleanor was predictable. After tolerating her for so many years, Adrianna knew what to expect. This way, she could plan her revenge perfectly without any interruptions from the Montclair family. Although, Adrianna did not plan her revenge completely, she knew that her first step would be to change herself. No more quiet, plain Adrianna. The new Adrianna would be bold, daring, and gorgeous. And then Adrianna would begin her search for her biological parents. She would demand to know why they had left her for adoption.

The door to her room opened and Stephen walked in. "Hey, lunch is ready. Do you want to come eat?" He asked smirking. That was another thing Adrianna noticed. Stephen liked to smirk a lot. And it was really starting to annoy her. Adrianna nodded in response to Stephen's question. She had not eaten for a while and Stephen knew that too. He lead her to the dining table and pulled a chair for her. A gentleman. Adrianna thought as she sat down in the chair. Stephen sat down in the chair that was directly in front of Adrianna's seat. The dining table wasn't too big but it could easily seat another 4 people. Stephen lifted to top off the dish and presented a simple pasta dish. "I can't really cool so this will have to do for now. I hope it's okay?" He asked slightly worried as if he expected Adrianna to get up and say that she wouldn't eat such food.

Adrianna couldn't help but slightly smile at his worried expression. Maybe he wasn't that bad as I thought. Mused Adrianna as she poured the pasta into her plate. "I don't mind the pasta. It looks delicious." She said easing Stephen's nerves. Stephen sent her a grateful smile and started eating his pasta. Adrianna noticed a newspaper next to Stephen and wondered why it was there. For some reason, the newspaper wasn't a good sign. Adrianna could feel it.

"I saw an interesting story in the paper today. In fact, I read it about 15 minutes ago. Do you want to hear it?" Stephen asked conversationally. Adrianna looked at Stephen suspiciously but nodded anyways. "The headline states: 'Billionaire Michael Montclair's adopted daughter disappears.'

"Michael Montclair's adopted daughter, Adrianna Montclair, disappeared without a clue three days ago. The Montclair family had adopted Ms. Adrianna 20 years ago. She has white- blondish hair with blue eyes and was last seen at Montclair residence. Adrianna's mother, Eleanor Montclair, is in hysterics and claims that Adrianna had gotten in a fight with her. 'If anyone sees my little Adrianna, please report to us. Whoever helps us find her will get $75,000.' If anyone sees someone who resembles the woman in the picture above, please call at the number above. "

Stephen shows the picture in the newspaper to her. The picture was taken two years ago at a ball that Eleanor and Michael were forced to bring Adrianna to. Since she wasn't allowed to leave the house that often unless it was to go to school, media had wanted to take as many pictures as they could. This was one of them.

"What do you want by showing me this article?" Adrianna asked, her voice betraying no emotion. Again, I was wrong. He is just like others.

"Nothing, I was just wondering why the Ms. Adrianna Montclair was sleeping in a park and is now at my house?" Stephen asked, the infuriating smirk back on his face.

"The reason I am at your house is because you weren't letting me go and I need your help. And you don't need to know why I was at the park." Adrianna replies, anger seeping in her voice.

"Okay, calm down." Stephen says laughing. "But a lucky guess would be that you are going to look for your biological parents and that's what you need my help with."

How close he was to my actual reason... I need to be more cautious around him.. Adrianna thought as she nodded not trusting her voice. "I can get started on finding more about your parents but it will take a while."

"Oh, I also need to find a job." Adrianna said quietly. She felt embarrassed saying that she did not have any money.

"Why?" Stephen asked. "If you go out then, someone will recognize you and call the Montclairs. I'm guessing you don't want them to know where you are."

Adrianna knew he was right but she needed money. "But-"

"You can use my credit card to buy whatever you need." Stephen said "And no 'buts' because we both know that I am right."

"I... umm... I don't have anything to wear." Adrianna said quietly. Stephen thought for a minute and then excused himself to make a call, leaving Adrianna to stare at his back.

"Problem solved. My sister, Caroline, will come and take you shopping. She's a designer so she can help you with whatever you need." Stephen said when he came back and say down 10 minutes later.

"Does she know?" Adrianna asked. "About our deal? And who I am?"

"Yeah. I had to tell her or she would have killed me when she found out."

"Oh."

**********************************************

Caroline Collins was a bundle of energy. Adrianna had found that out as soon as she burst through the doors of the penthouse startling Adrianna who was sitting on the sofa watching the news.

"Hi! I'm Caroline Collins and it's a pleasure to meet you!" Caroline did not give Adrianna a chance to speak before she handed Adrianna a pair of clothes and a scarf with sunglasses. "Here you go. Change into these while I go get my brother's credit card." Caroline pushed Adrianna into the direction of the rooms and walked away, most likely to go to Stephen.

Adrianna changed into the clothes Caroline had given her. The pair of clothes consisted of a pair of tight jeans and a fancy blue top. Adrianna put on the glasses and used the scarf to cover her unique colored hair. Adrianna looked into the mirror to make sure that nobody would recognize her.

"Adrianna, come on! Let's go!" Caroline yelled at her from outside the room. Adrianna walked outside and walked to Stephen and Caroline who were waiting by the door for her.

"Be careful,okay? And if you need anything, just call me." Stephen said worriedly looking at Caroline and Adrianna. They both nodded and Stephen kissed the top of Caroline's forehead and gave her a hug. The small scene made Adrianna smile. "Okay, have fun."

"We will, don't worry! Bye!" Caroline yelled dragging Adrianna with her as she walked out. "We are going to have so much fun today! We are going to shopping and the salon, and ..."

Today is going to a long day. Adrianna thought as she listened to Caroline talk.  

********************************************************************************************Hey guys! So first of all, I want to say thank you to everyone who voted, commented, added my story to their reading list, or just read it! This story already has over 600 reads! That's more than I expected. Whenever I checked my phone, a new notification would be there from Wattpad and it made me smile. Your comments and messages made my day, honestly. You guys can message or comment and tell me whatever you think. Also, if you have a story you want me to read, just message me and I'll be sure to read it. Again, thanks for voting, commenting, or just plain reading!

Keep reading -R