PAPER VOWS Novel Chapter 18

“What are you doing?” Dante asks after walking into the room. I closed the drawer too harshly, and he heard it slam. He knows very well that I was going through his things. He is just asking so that I tell him myself what I was doing. Where do I begin to ask? This man has a gun. A whole gun. What does he need a gun for? He is rich; I am sure he can hire bodyguards if it’s about his safety.

“Jade Marshal?”

I look up at Dante, who is now standing opposite me. I force out a smile and say, “Cool office.”

“It’s…okay.”

“Are you ready to leave?” I ask. He is now wearing blue jeans and a white tee. It feels weird seeing him outside formal clothes. He looks different. I think I like him more in formal clothes.

“We will leave after you tell me what you are doing here? Looking comfy and all that.”

I answer, “I gave myself a tour of the house, since I was promised one but never got it. I got lost and found myself here. I decided to look around.”

“Find something you like?”

I get off the chair, walk towards him, pointing at that ugly portrait of his, “I like everything besides that portrait. You have one just like it in your bedroom, and I don’t like it.”

“I like it.”

“I think we can go,” I say, ready to leave the room, but he blocks my way.

“Do you want to ask about something before we leave?”

Dante is so straightforward it’s uncomfortable. My asking what I want to ask is me also admitting that I was going through his things. Do I even want to know the answers to what I saw?

I ask, “I saw the envelope with everything there is to know about me. I know you told me that you did a little digging – I just didn’t expect you to go that deep. There are things in there that not even my parents know about.”

“I already told you that I needed to know what I am getting myself into if I am going to marry you.”

“I get that, but that is a lot of information. How did you get all that?” I ask.

“I am a billionaire, sweetheart. I can literally do anything I want.”

I mumble, “You can even own a gun?”

“There we are, the real question you wanted to ask, why do I own a gun?” he says, taking my hand. We moved closer to the table. He sits on the table and says, “My money and status alone put me at risk. As someone who doesn’t want bodyguards, I need a gun for my own protection.”

“If it’s for your own protection, then what is it doing in your drawer? Shouldn’t it be in a box, locked?”

He answers, “The helpers know that they are not allowed to go through my stuff, that’s why I left it there. I have one in here, one in the bedroom. I also always keep one in my car and whatever club I am at.”

“In other words, you own multiple guns?”

“Again, for safety – they are all licensed,” he replies. I don’t know how I feel about the guns thing. Guns make me uncomfortable. “Say what’s on your mind, Jade Marshal.”

“I am still getting to know you. What if you are a man with a temper and we happen to get in an argument and you shoot me?”

He chuckles. Trust Dante to be serious when he is supposed to be laughing, and chuckle in serious moments. “No offense, but between the two of us, you are the one who has a little bit of a temper. I should be worried about you one day shooting me.”

“I don’t like guns, Dante. They are very dangerous, and they make me uncomfortable.”

He responds, “I wish I could say I will get rid of it. I need to keep it there. It’s for safety measures – nothing more.”

I sigh heavily. I have read many stories about rich and famous people and how they cannot go out without people bothering them. Not forgetting those who have been almost attacked by people, and some have been killed. I guess it’s one of those things one doesn’t think when it doesn’t concern them. When inside, that’s when you realise how hectic it all is.

I look at Dante and ask, “Does it mean I also need to have a gun?”

“You have Elis to keep an eye on you. His job is to drive you everywhere you want to go and keep you safe.”

“Sounds like a very dangerous life.”

He gently strokes my face with his fingers, “I know, but I promise nothing will happen to you. Not on my watch.”

“If anything happens to me, you will have Giselle to deal with.”

“And that’s something I never want to do,” he pulls me to him until I am in front of him. “Are we good? Any more questions?”

“No question. For now.”

“Then we can go,” he says, takes my hand, and leads us out. I cannot help but think about that gun. Has his life been in danger before? Has he ever used that gun before? Even worse, has he ever killed someone with that gun?

Dante opens the car for me, and I get in. As I check my messages, Giselle still hasn’t responded to my text message. That doesn’t sound like her. She should have responded by now. I try calling her, but it rings until it goes off.

“Something is wrong with Giselle,” I say to Dante when he also gets into the car.

“Why do you say that?”

“I sent her a message hours ago; she still hasn’t responded,” I say, checking her location. Giselle and I are always sharing our locations. “She is at the police station. I think something is wrong, let me call James.”

Dante starts the car. We drive out, heading GR Police station on the West side of GoldenRock. That’s Giselle’s location. James is not picking up his phone, and Dante is calling someone at the GR Police station to see if anyone knows anything about why Giselle is there.

“What did they say?” I ask Dante as soon as he gets off the phone. What could Giselle be doing at a police station? Why is James not answering his phone? Did something happen between them?

“Your sister is arrested for assault.”

“Did they tell you what happened? That doesn’t sound like Giselle.” That’s something I would do, not Giselle.

“It doesn’t matter what she did. I called someone who is getting her out right now and handling the whole situation.”

“Thanks,” I whisper. I am sure he is questioning getting with a Marshal. I am sure he is thinking violence runs in the family. “At least we had not yet bought the movie tickets, right?”

“Don’t worry about that.”

“You had already paid? I am so sorry, I hope we can still go after all this,” I say to him. He sounds like the type who has things done exclusively. I hope he had not paid for the whole theatre for us. It sounds like something Dante would do.

“Don’t worry about it – we will go some other time.”

The way Dante is so relaxed, one would swear he has been in this situation before. As soon as we park the car in the parking area, we see a man walking out of the police station with Giselle. I reach for the door, but Dante locks it.

“Don’t get out. Anyone can take a picture of you. We don’t want people talking about your sister,” he says, calm as always.

“I wonder what happened?”

Dante doesn’t respond. Isn’t he even a little bit curious as to what happened? The man with Giselle gets closer, opens the backseat door for Giselle, and she gets in. Dante opens the glove box, takes out a cap and glasses. He puts them on and gets out of the car to talk to the man who brought Giselle. They walk away as if going back into the police station.

I am sitting in the front seat, so I look behind me and say to Giselle. “Are you okay?”

“I am fine.”

“What happened? Why didn’t you call me?” I ask her. Her eyes are puffy as if she has been crying.

“We will talk when we get home,” she lies down on the seat. “Thanks for coming to get me out.”

“Where is James?” I ask. She doesn’t respond. Why do I get a feeling that James is the reason she was arrested? “Is the car here too?”

“It’s back at James’s house. They only took me with my bag.”

“Do you want water?” I can imagine being arrested; it must be traumatising.

“I am fine, thank you for coming to get me. They wouldn’t even let me make a phone call. Now I have a criminal record because of a man.”

A part of me wants her to tell me here what happened, but I will wait until we are home. “I’m sorry you went through that. What did they say when they were releasing you?”

“Nothing, that man just came to get me and lead me out. He said Mr Lyon is here to get me.”

The car door opens, Dante walks into the car, hands me Giselle’s bag and a brown envelope. “Criminal record wiped – it won’t be on her record.”

“Thanks, love.”