Redress (gxg)

Chapter 17 "Truth"

I slowly walked towards the familiar grand house, glancing at the guards in suits lingering in the surrounding, some eyed me sternly while others were too focused to even spare a glance at me. As I eventually reached the steps, I took a deep breath, and pressed the doorbell twice, waiting patiently for someone to open up.

Standing idly, I eventually thought of the things I would say to her, and gathered myself, preparing for some acting I would be doing in front of her. I knew it would be hard to act according to the plan, but I was ready. I was ready to fool her, get close to her, and wrap her around my finger, but still, I was feeling anxious, knowing that revealing myself to her would be a huge risk, as there could be a possibility she would tell Cliff about my identity after I told her the truth.

As my mind was started to cloud with thoughts, the door had slowly opened, shifting my attention to it as a shy-looking maid appeared in front.

"Is Mrs. Coldwell inside?" I eventually asked.

"Yes, Ms. Kensington?" she queried, and I nodded, "...please come in," she added, before stepping aside to let me in. I made my way in, and waited for the housemaid to close the door behind me, before facing her.

"Where is she?"

"I'm afraid you'll gonna have to wait for Mrs. Coldwell in the living room, Ms. Kensington. She's... caught up with something at the moment."

"If that is so, she could have told me beforehand. I wouldn't have wasted my time coming here," I mumbled, causing her expression to fade into an apologetic one.

"It just came up Ms. Kensington...sir Ethan is going at it again," she mumbled, making me frown.

"What do you mean?" I asked, curious as what she was referring, but when she was about to answer, someone had spoke behind me, beating her to it. Looking past behind me, her expression had turned into shocked, causing her to hang her head low. "Excuse me, Ms. Kensington," she added quietly, before walking away, leaving me with the woman I came to talk to.

Sighing inwardly, I turned to her, and eventually forced a smile, "Amelia," I called, causing her to return the smile. 

"It's always nice to see you Alex dear," she said, walking up to me, and unexpectedly buried me in a hug. I stood still, silently wanting to pry her arms away as it made me uncomfortable. 

She eventually pulled away, and brushed a strand of my hair to the side, eyeing it curiously.

"Why did you dye your hair?"

"I didn't...I'm actually a blonde," I answered, making her stop at what she was doing.

"Really?"

I nodded, "Yes," I mumbled, causing her to smile again.

"You look beautiful Alex...as always," she commented, and I just gave her a smile, unsure of what I would say to her. 

She looked genuinely happy right now, that she could fool other people with it, but not me. I knew deep down she was faking it, and it was laudable how great she was doing it.

"Um, thank you," I said when it only came to mind.

"So, what are we going to talk about?" she asked curiously.

"Um..." I paused, reluctant to continue as we were still standing by the entrance. 

"You know what, why don't you wait for a bit in the living room? I'm gonna go change...Let's go out and talk," she said, and before I could argue, she had already pulled me to the living room, making me clench my jaw at being helpless for the time being. She then made me sit down on the couch, and smiled, "Stay here, I won't take long Alex," she added, before turning her back on me, and walked away, leaving me exasperated.