Owned

Chapter 25: Exposed

  "Did you get everything you need? I hope you're aware that we can't come back just for your forgotten lipstick." Brandon said with a straight tone, making me roll my eyes at him.

"I did. And yes, I'm aware of that." I said simply, taking a step towards the big black jeep that was parked in front of out house. We were about to leave for the weekend for the ball in the hotel, 'Rose Palace'. I've heard a lot great thing about that place, but never got the chance to actually visit. My dad was talking on the phone near the car, while the drivers were putting our suitcases in the trunk. I didn't take much with me, just one small suitcase with small wheels, cause it was perfectly enough for one weekend. I only had a night to decide what I was gonna wear for the special 'ball', but I think I made a pretty good choice. Suddenly, I remembered. "Wait, where's Matt?" I asked, turning around and facing Brandon again.

But Matt didn't let us wonder much and after a few seconds ran out with a small suitcase over his shoulder. "I'm here. I'm here." He said, breathless, giving the driver his suitcase.

"Matt, where were you?" Brandon asked, frowning.

Matt now looked a bit angry. "I overslept, and thank you by the way for waking me up." He said sarcastically, making me slightly laugh. When I woke up this morning, I thought that I would be the one who's late. It was freaking 7 am in the morning.

Brandon imitated my laughing before getting in the car, but that just caused me to stick my tongue at him. He was supposed to be in the car with my dad, while Matt and I were supposed to be in the one behind. Brandon got in, while Matt murmured a few offensive words towards him, making me chuckle. "Okay kids? Are we you all ready?" My dad came from behind, putting his arms around us, as I noticed Matt had widen his eyes in surprise.

"Yea," He said, while I just nodded my head and smiled. I really didn't want to go, but I knew that Tyler was gonna be there, so it was just another way of spending more time with him.

We all got in the jeeps, and one after the other we hit the road, knowing that it was about 3 hours away. I was glad that I wasn't in the same car with Brandon cause he would just never stop talking. About a moth ago, he started working in the family company, so they had a lot more to talk about now, but it was all boring to me. I looked outside the window, seeing the people on the streets, some in a hurry, some laughing, while the other's were just doing their daily jobs. And just like that, after a few minutes, the gray streets and the tall buildings were replaced with the green nature that was blooming from the beautiful forest on both sides of the gravel road. We were going a lot faster now, making the outside look like a green blur, and my sleepless self couldn't resist to close my eyes.

I felt a slight push on my shoulder. "Alex, come on. We're here." I heard Matt's voice before I opened my eyes. Oh my gosh. I can't believe I slept this whole time. The three hours felt like just a few minutes. I blinked a few times, as my vision got better. Matt was on his way out, while the driver's doors were wide opened. I cleared my throat and slightly fixed my hair with my fingers, before walking out. Instantly, I was amazed with the view. A tall old styles Hotel with a big sign 'Rose Palace' was now in front of me, almost making my mouth drop open. It looked really old, but you could see the luxury from a mile away. One side of the old white facade was covered with different shades of red roses while the front had four tall white Roman columns. I turned around, seeing that the garden around the hotel was huge. In the middle of the circular road was placed a huge fountain, making small artistic flows as the water was shining brightly from the winter sun.

"Nice, isn't it?" Dad came out of no where, almost making me jump. I was too wowed by the whole appearance of this Hotel that I didn't even notice that the cars were already gone.

"Yeah," I managed to mouth out, yet I was still hypnotized by the wonderful fountain. I've been in a lot of places when I was younger, since my dad's job contained constant traveling, but I've never seen anything like this. It was so simple and old, yet it looked like it was the most expensive place on Earth. Turning around, I saw Matt walking towards the stairs and a bellboy taking his suitcase, while two other workers came and took the rest as well.

"Welcome to The Rose Palace." A woman greeted us as soon as we walked in, and we were now stepping on a pleasant red colored carpet, covering the whole hallway in front while the reception was on the left. But it seemed like they already knew my Father and were expecting us. The woman walked along, making a quiet conversation with my dad, while I was still amazed from what I was looking at.

I noticed that Matt was walking next to me, but he stopped suddenly, frozen on his spot. I stopped too, confused from his expression, but following his gaze I realized he was staring at a girl, about his age with a small puppy in her hands, while she was talking to the receptionist. The short natural blonde hair was curled at the endings, reaching her shoulder as she was wearing a beautiful pink floral dress above her knees. I looked back at Matt, but he was already drooling over her. I laughed and snapped my fingers at him, making him slightly snap out of it. "Dude, don't just stand here. Go talk to her." I said.

He looked at me and grinned. "Yeah, I will." He said, almost like he was gaining his confidence. "This place is awesome." Matt almost shouted before staring to walk towards the girl.

I smiled, shaking my head, and turning around, I was surprised when I saw who was walking through the door. Liv with her parents and her younger sister was walking inside, also looking amazed. I can't say that I was surprised when I saw her, cause her grandfather was also a owner of a big company, making her mother the heiress. But she said nothing about coming here this weekend. After a second, she seemed like she spotted me as her mouth opened to mouth out something, but nothing came out. I could hear her squeak with excitement tho. I walked closer, as she rushed towards me. "Liv, I though you said you weren't coming." I said, still smiling.

"Well, we weren't supposed to. But lucky me, the plans changed in the last minute." Liv said, but still looked more concentrated on the luxury than on me. "Can you believe this place? It's huge." She said breathlessly.

We started walking together, making a girly conversation about the garden, but soon enough, we were interrupted. "Miss Morgan," A woman walked closer. "I'm here to lead you to your room." She explained warmly and after me and Liv said out goodbyes, I followed the lady in the elevator while a boy about my age carried my suitcase. It was a really small suitcase so there wasn't a need for a bellboy. I thanked him before I got in the elevator and told him the I can handle it myself. Liv was right. It was huge. The building was bigger than it was higher, so it didn't take long till the elevator bell rang telling us that we arrived at the floor and braking the awkward silence.

Another beautifully decorated hallway with different kinds of pictures hanging on the light goldish walls, while the red carpet was continuing. My room was one of the first ones, so the elevator was near. After letting me inside and giving me the key, the woman left, making me once again drop my mouth in awe. The room was of course huge, with a king size bed in front of me as the golden shades were still dominating. I walked in the middle of the room, looking around and leaving my suitcase next to the door. The sheets were made of silk, almost shining from the brightness that was coming from the huge windows.

Suddenly, my phone rang in my purse, telling me that I just received a text. A text from Tyler.

Just got to the Hotel. You father's in the lobby. Your room number, m'lady? I chuckled looking at the phone, before texting him.

216. You may want to hurry up Mr. Adams, the clock's ticking. I teased, clicking send.

I knew it was gonna take him a while, so I took my suitcase, dragging it towards the wardrobe. I asked for a room with out a walk in closet, cause we were gonna be here for only a few days, and I didn't bring that much with me. But before I could start unpacking, I heard a slight knock on the door and instantly smiled. I knew it was Tyler.

I walked to the door, slowly opening it. And I was right. Tyler was standing in front, but didn't take him long until he squirmed inside the room, quickly closing the door. Before I could say anything, his hands moved to my waist as he leaned in, kissing me at first slowly but then it turned into a short breathless make out session. We pulled away, taking in deep breaths. "I missed you." Tyler said against my lips, making me smile. We saw each other last night and after that, I didn't even have the chance to text him.

"I missed you too." I said and he moved upwards placing a small butterfly kiss on the tip of my nose.

Tyler smiled. "See how we can make this work." He smirked, walking backwards, yet not letting go of my hand.

"Tyler, you know we can get caught any minute." I said, following his lead.

He walked backwards until he hit the bed, and sat down on it. "It's a risk I'm willing to take." He mumbled, pulling me onto his lap. I kissed him teasingly, as my hands caught up in his messy brown hair. "Plus I locked the door." I chuckled at his words, before he swung me, making me slightly fall on my back as my hair spread around.

I had so many reasons to love him, that I can't even imagine what my life would have turned out if it wasn't for him. Starting from the night he saved my life, he risked his own for me. That immediately caused him to leave the mafia, since he killed one of Derek's people, and made him the new target. But I never thought that this cocky college jock that he was a few months ago that slept with half of the female popularity, had became my lifesaver and my first love. If it wasn't for him I would've never experienced the danger that life can bring, but I would also never have experienced how it feels to have the whole zoo in your stomach just by one simple look from your love.

~

I sighed, looking myself in the mirror. I look okay. I was wearing a white skintight backless dress, going high above my knees, but still a decent length. The silver high heel sandals I was wearing were one of my favorites, cause they were strangely comfortable. My hair was tied in a high ponytail, slightly curled on the end and as for my makeup, I was wearing thin eyeliner and a bold colored lipstick. Liv was almost a pro, so I knew it was okay. I put on my white, slightly furry coat and took my purse. It was already 8:53 pm so I didn't want to be late.

However, this wasn't the main ceremony. That was tomorrow night. This was just a elegant night where all the people that have already arrived at the Hotel can meet and greet, talk it through, while I knew that the younger ones, including everyone near my age, would die from boredom. I heard a knock on the door, but before I got excited that it was Tyler, I remembered that Liv was supposed to come by, so we would go downstairs together. After spending a few romantic hours with Tyler, we decided it was best for us to not talk tonight, since most of the eyes will be on us.

Opening the door, I almost gasped in surprise when I saw Liv looking gorgeous. But she had the same expression on her face. "Oh my gosh, Alex! You look beautiful." She said before I could mouth out anything.

"Me?! Look at you." I said, feeling overexcited. Even though I knew this night was gonna be boring as fuck, it was still the first time me and Liv are on an elegant ceremony such as this one together. We mostly went to parties or stayed home, so that was a whole different world. Now, she looked like a doll. Her long blonde hair was up in a bun with a small braid around it, while she was wearing a stunning red strapless dress, loosely falling down above her knees. The same colored overcoat was enough to make her look beautiful.

After going through the girly compliment stage, we walked in the elevator, but we weren't alone this time. Three very attractive guys we in there with us, but I could quite figure out their age. They were a bit older then us, but they were all dressed up in black tuxes, nice hairstyles and not very serious expressions. One of them exchanged a few flirty glances with Liv, while the other one smirked at me, showing off his perfect white teeth. I ignored as much as I could, but Liv seemed to enjoy the view.

The elevator bell rang and the door opened giving me full view of the now crowded lobby. There weren't that much people, but enough for them to make crowded noise, mixed conversations, yet everyone looked the best they can, elegant and sophisticated. I walked out as fast as I could, not wanting to be in a small 'steamy' space with Liv and her James Bond. However, she followed, but the grin on her face was still there. "I see you're having fun already." I said, having the urge to laugh. She was so obvious.

"Now, say what you want, but he was hot." She said, glancing over her shoulder just to see the guy from the elevator stopping in a group of people, greeting them and smiling slightly, yet I noticed him glancing back at her from the corner of his eye.

"Liv, watch-" I tried saying, but it was too late. She already bumped into someone tall, and just when I glance up, I saw it was Jace. Of course.

"Jace?" She said, confused. Tyler actually never mentioned that Jace was coming too, but since he was part of the whole company thing along with Tyler, it didn't surprise me much.

He smiled. "Girls. Wow, you two look unbelievable." He said, slightly spreading his arms for a hug and scanning both of us. He was a very interesting type. His actions could make you laugh at any time. We both smiled and hugged him at the same time.

"You don't look bad yourself." Liv said, looking at Jace's white tux and the black bow tie around his neck.

"Why, thank you." Jace said, and took a think glass of champagne from the silver tray that one of the waiters was carrying. For now, most of the guests were hanging in the lobby, hallways, while some were already in the main hall, where we were supposed to have dinner.

I glanced around, trying to find Tyler, but even though there weren't much people around, I couldn't find him anywhere.

~

It's been a whole hour of me, Liv and Jace making random conversations and gossiping, yet there was no trail of Tyler anywhere. I was starting to get worried. He said that he was gonna be here exactly at 9:00 pm, and now an hour later, I still couldn't find him. I decided that the best way to maybe see him, was to stay on one place, cause otherwise, he might be looking for me too. On the other hand, I knew where the rest were. My dad was at the meeting before dinner, while Brandon was probably still in his room, not knowing what to wear. And Matt. Well, I hope he scored with that girl before.

"Alex, are you even listening to me?" I heard Liv say, as I mumbled a small 'Mh?' snapping out of it. I knew Liv was talking about how some girl was dressed, but I though she was done. I stopped paying attention a long time ago.

"Yeah," I said, and offered a small smile, but she looked grumpy.

Liv sighed. "Ugh, Alex, just go and look for him. You're too stressed out." She said, rolling her eyes. I was stressed out. I was always like this when I didn't know where someone was, and my adrenaline was slowly raising, assuring me that I was starting to panic.

"Thank you." I mumbled, before sitting up from the couch in the lobby and starting to walk down one of the hallways. Suddenly, on my left a large door opened and I took a step back, surprised from about 15 man walking out. This was my dad's meeting. I stepped on the side, waiting for them to walk out, also seeing my father, but he was busy talking to some guy that he turned to his right, while I was on the other side, so he didn't see me. My eyes slightly widen when I saw the last one to walk out. Tyler. He had a meeting? Oh my, of course he did. But with my father?!

"Tyler?" I said, making him turn around to face me. After he saw me, he looked over his shoulder, making sure there's no one round and walked closer.

Before I could ask anything he took my hand and slightly pulled me behind one of the walls. "You had a meeting?" I looked on the side again, making sure there was no one there. "With my father?" I asked after focusing on him.

"Yeah, it was a last minute decision." He went through his hair with his fingers, slightly messing it up. "You know nothing bad happened between me and your father, right? I mean he never directly told me to stay away from you." It seemed like he was saying that we should tell him.

"Yeah, well he did to me." I said quickly, my voice as quiet as possible.

Tyler now looked a bit more serious. "Alex, everything's okay. Relax." He said, rubbing both my arms with his hands, instantly making me calm down. I don't know why, but every time I though about my father finding out, I got nervous. I knew he would never let me see him if he found out. "You look gorgeous by the way." Tyler said, a smirk forming on his lips as he scanned me head to toes. I felt my cheeks heat up, instantly forgetting about my worries. Wow, he's good.

"Thank you." I muttered and couldn't help but smile. Tyler leaned in, slowly kissing my cheek as his lips went lower and lower until he kissed my neck. I took in a deep breath, biting my lower lip as my eyes started to close and my knees felt week. Why did he have to do this now?

"No, we can't. Not now." I said, making him look up at me, but he knew what I was talking about.

He sighed. "You have no idea how much I want you right now." Tyler inhaled close to my hair and then his lips moved to mine, placing a slow kiss.

"Tyler, some will see us." I said, peeking from his shoulder, but thankfully there was no one there. Yet.

"I don't give a fuck anymore." He mumbled and I could see the lust in his eyes. His hands moved down my waist, lower on my behind.

I smiled and leaned in, kissing his cheek playfully. "I love you." I said near his ear and pulled back. "And that's why I don't want to loose you. So I'll go before we get caught." I said, moving on the side, but before I started walking Tyler didn't let go of my hand.

Instead he slightly pulled so I'd face him and kissed my hand, closing his eyes. "I love you too." He said, making my heart go crazy. It's not the first time he's saying it, yet it felt like every time he did, it had the same effect on me.

There was a part of me that craved him more than anything right now, but we already said our goodbyes and we couldn't risk it tonight. I walked down the hallway, getting lost in the crowd and acting as normal as possible. I felt a huge relief on my heart when I found Tyler. But now, it would take me as much to find Liv. Walking down the hallway, I heard voices coming from one of the halls. It wasn't the biggest one, but it was still huge. The doors were half opened, but the voices were way too familiar for me to continue walking. My dad. My dad was talking to someone and it seemed like he wasn't having a very pleasant conversation. I stopped, taking a few steps back and as careful as possible, I slightly peeked from the door.

No way. He was talking to... Lora? Why? I moved to the side, trying to listen. "You don't have to believe me Mr. Morgan, but I never lie. Soon enough you'll see the truth with our own eyes." My heard was starting to beat faster from hearing these words. No, it can't be. She wouldn't know, would she?

"I know my daughter and she obeys my rules. There was nothing between her and Tyler, but I still wanted her away so she wouldn't ruin her life." His voice was louder, but then slightly got quiet. Oh shit. He knows.

"Your choice. But if I were You, I wouldn't always trust a 19 year old." Lora said with an arrogant tone, making my hands tremble in anger. How dare she? I mean yeah she was a few years older, but she was the one acting like a 9 year old, telling on my dad.

I heard him sigh deeply before starting to talk again. "I appreciate you telling me this, and I will check that information. I honestly hope you're wrong, Miss White." I gulped. This is it. Once again she managed to ruin my life all over again.

"So do I." I heard her voice and I did my best, fighting the urge to go in there and give her a piece of my mind. She was serious. There just wasn't an end, was there? Out of all, this one bitch managed to make my life miserable and she wasn't going to stop until me and Tyler were separated.