The Highest Bidder

❊ Cʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ Sᴇᴠᴇɴᴛᴇᴇɴ ❊

The next day, I spent most of the morning relaxing in the tub in the bathroom. The entire hotel room seemed to be made of gold - gold-colored tile, bed sheets, couch, and pretty much everything else. The bathroom was the same. I was sure that once the weekend was over, I would never want to see gold again. Well, that and the color white that seemed to accent literally everything in the room.

I closed my eyes, remembering the night before. We ate and I got to know Enzo's mother and sister as well as her fiancé Orlando. His father still didn't speak to me or his son, nor did he look in our direction. He barely spoke, and when he did, it was short and clipped. After some time, I had to leave to keep from saying something about it. He was either unhappy about the fact that his daughter was going to get married, or he would rather have been on his deathbed than see his son.

There was a knock at the bathroom door.

"I'd say come in but I'd rather you not," I said, pulling the curtain closed anyway.

Enzo sighed loud enough for me to hear it. Ever since seeing his father, he had been on edge and angrier than usual. He got mad when he told me to sleep on the bed and I made a half-assed effort to get him to sleep there instead. I knew there was something between the two of them, but I wasn't sure if it was intrusive to ask about it. I was never one to be good at advice, especially when it came to family.

My family was close. It always had been. So I had no idea what I'd do if my father and I got into an argument that caused us to barely even look at each other.

"Come in, Enzo," I said. "The curtain is closed."

The door opened. The sink turned on and was followed by the sound of him brushing his teeth. Even without seeing him, I knew his shoulders were tense and his trademark scowl was on his face.

I stood and grabbed a white towel. After I securely wrapped it around my body, I flung the curtain open.

His eyes widened and he turned slowly to face me, as if afraid that I would stand stark naked in front of him.

Yeah, right. In his dreams.

"What is wrong with you?" I couldn't keep it in anymore. "What happened between you and your father?"

He spat out his toothpaste and took his time rinsing his mouth out with water, then mouthwash. When he stood straight and faced me again, his face was relaxed. But his jaw ticking hinted at the anger boiling inside of him.

"I don't believe that's any of your business," he answered.

I stepped out of the tub and walked over to him, stopping a foot away from him. "Oh, yeah? I guess nothing is my business when it comes to you, but when it comes to me everything is general knowledge. You don't believe that I have a right to know what kind of man I work for? What kind of man decided it would be a good idea to save me?"

He didn't respond with words, instead, he turned and walked out of the bathroom.

I followed. I grabbed the back of his black t-shirt and stopped him from walking any more. "For once just answer me."

"I already told you." He turned and grabbed my wrist. Even though his grip was firm, it was also gentle. He pulled my hand off of his shirt, but continued to hold it up in the air in between us. "It is none of your concern what I do for a living. As for my father, he's been that way towards me since I was sixteen. I didn't do anything to make him that way. He just became distant, putting all of his energy towards my mother and sister. He's a pretentious asshole. That's it."

"But it hurts you."

He stiffened. Even without that simple gesture, I could tell by his words that it hurt him to have his father treat him that way. The man in front of me, successful and handsome in all his mystery, only wanted his father's approval. And what child didn't want that? Fourteen years of being neglected by his father had worn him down. I wondered how long he tried to gain his father's approval after the sudden change between the two of them. When was it that he finally gave up?

Did he give up?

I pulled my arm from his grip and turned to go back to the bathroom. We were supposed to be leaving in about an hour, and I had a lot to do to get ready.

I shut the door and pulled yet another dress out of a bag. Once again, I was struck speechless because of both the dress and the damn price. I was right. Rich people didn't give a damn about how much they spent on things.

The dress was pale pink that flowed down to the floor. It was a low-cut back just like the red dress, but instead of it being sleeveless, it was a halter. A slit ran up to my mid-thigh and the dress was topped off with a slim golden belt around my waist. It was simple, but like the other, it fit me perfectly.

I fixed my hair into a curled updo and did my makeup. I slid on white heels and stepped out to meet Enzo. He was sitting on the couch in a dark gray tuxedo, his eyes distant as he stared up at the ceiling.

"I'm ready when you are," I said.

He looked at me and blinked. "And once again you look amazing."

I raised my eyebrows as he stood. My eyes roved over every inch of him. He said I looked amazing? If anyone in that hotel room looked amazing, it was him. I've never met a guy who could fill out a suit the way that he did. When I finally looked back up to his face, he was smiling slightly in knowing.

"Well, obviously you're aware of how you look." I stuck my tongue out at him and turned away from him. "Freaking rich people."

His hand wrapped around my right wrist for only a second before he pulled away. I looked down to see a diamond bracelet that matched the earrings that he put on without a word. He dug in his pocket and pulled out the necklace from the night before. As he put it on, his scent surrounded me.

I lowered my head. "Thanks. You didn't have to let me use those."

His hands stilled behind my neck and he cocked his head to the side. "Use them? I bought them for you to keep."

When I remained silent, unable to think of what to say other than stutter a "thank you", he finished clipping the necklace around my neck.

He grabbed my hand and pulled me after him to the elevators. I still wasn't sure what I should say, for once in my life, so I stayed silent. But the good thing was, it wasn't as tense as the last time. It seemed like something else preoccupied his mind other than his father. And for that I was grateful, because I wasn't sure how much longer I would have been able to deal with his mood swings. I just hoped that he would be able to make it through the wedding.