Page 65 of The Other Side of Together

I wait for her to leave so I can text Lin, but she motions again, so I turn my back and slip my phone out of my bra, zip it into my jacket pocket, and stiffen when she helps me out of my shirt. She unzips a garment bag hanging from the door and pulls out a black gown, motioning me closer. She helps me into it before leading me to a platform in front of the mirrors.

My eyes roam the black satin hugging my hips, gathering in the back before flowing to the floor. The V-neck dips to the middle of my sternum and the open back drops to just above my backside.

“You like it?” the ancient seamstress asks as she pulls the dress tighter, pinning it.

All I want is for the woman to leave the room so I can text Lin and continue our conversation about escape plans, but she’s staring at me, waiting, and I swallow and shake my head. No. It’s my funeral gown.

She stops and her eyes widen. “No?”

This dress shows more of me than I ever want Nick to see. It won’t stop him from getting too close. I need a suit of armor. So no, I don’t like it. The one thing I like—love—and that fit me perfectly is off limits thanks to “Mr. Nick.”

“Mr. Nick came in and made sure all is taken care of. I do as he says.”

She’s frantic and there’s a familiar fear in her eyes so I place my hand on her delicate shoulder and force a smile, responding to her in Mandarin. “Mr. Nick will be very happy.” But Mei Li will never be.

“Good, good. I will have it delivered to his hotel room by 9 AM tomorrow.” The old lady grins and nods, pinning the dress so tightly my breasts practically burst out, and when she shuffles out of the room, I stare into the mirror. This costume tells me everything I need to know about what this life will be.

The seamstress hurries back in and finishes pinning the dress, and I peel it off like I wish I could peel off this moment and all the moments waiting to pounce on me. She waits while I throw on my clothes, then walks me to the front. I need to find a bathroom and hopefully the lady won’t follow me inside.

“All done?” a girl asks as she comes out of an office. She flips through a notebook, then looks up at me. “Mr. Chao’s fiancé, yes?”

My eyes widen and I shake my head. “No—not his fiancé.”

“Mei Li Zhang, yes?” She smiles through tight lips and when I nod, she says, “Come with me,” then motions for me to follow her into the office. “Mr. Chao requested you choose something in here.” She opens a door behind a curtain and when I step through it, the room shimmers. Jade pendants, cuffs, and earrings wink at me from shelves and hooks. Diamonds catch the light and throw it across the floor as I follow the girl to a glass case filled with jewels.

The girl smiles and raises her eyebrows. “Choose whatever you’d like, and we’ll put it on Mr. Chao’s account, per his instruction.”

Account? In a warehouse full of dresses and jewelry? Howmany fiancés does he have? But my pulse quickens when a thought shimmers off the diamonds and settles deep inside my mind. A future-changing thought that echoes Lin’s words from earlier.

Diamonds could be the “how” part of my escape plan.

Show me more,” I say to the girl, walking into the room.

Chaz pulls a keycard from his pocket and swipes it over the door which beeps then clicks. He pushes it open to let me in, but my legs lock, so he grabs my elbow and pulls me inside.

I step into the foyer, scan the sunken living area. The lights of L.A. blink beyond the floor to ceiling windows, a sectional sofa facing them like a throne for royalty to look over their kingdom of small, insignificant lives below. Chaz motions over his shoulder and I follow him toward an open door across the living area.

“This is your room,” he says. “Be ready to leave for Chef Torres’s restaurant in thirty. Nick will meet us there.”

I close the door and lock it, then toss my bag on the bed and pull the velvet box from the gift bag nestled among my clothes. I swallow and peer inside at the diamond choker with matching bracelet and earrings that have to be worth more than a car. Definitely more than a plane ticket to wherever I decide to go. According to the sales lady, they were the most expensive items in the room. I don’t think this is what Nick had in mind when he said to pick whatever I wanted, but this is my ticket out of here. My courage to survive this moment until the moment I need arises. This will pay for my new life.

I pull my phone from my jacket and send a picture of the jewelry to Lin: I have an idea. I set the box in the nightstand drawer and double check the bedroom door is locked, but Chaz’s voice drifts from the other side of it and I lean closer.

“What’s the ETA?”

“10:30,” Xander answers and I hold my breath and lean closer to the door.

“Anything else I should know?”

“Nick wants them here thirty minutes after they land.”

“That’s not enough time,” Chaz growls. “The ride from the airport takes that long.”

“Wish I could give you more time, but—”

“No…you’ve done more than enough, Xan…”

I frown at Chaz’s soft tone. Xan?

---