Chapter 2 Escape

• Stripper? A STRIPPER?
• I know I can't tell him my true identity, but should I let him think of me as a stripper and take me as his personal stripper?
• As the only daughter of the honorable Hawthorn family, I was educated and raised to be an elegant and classy lady. I don't smoke or drink, and I went to the club today for the first time in my 24 years of life because the debt collectors dragged me there. So... Disguise myself as a stripper? That's definitely the dumbest choice!
• "Are you daydreaming? Was I talking to myself earlier?"
• I blinked, snapping out of my reverie as Dean waved his hand in front of my face. He was the d*mn guy who found my hiding place under the table and was now my guide through the luxurious mansion where the leader of Aeturnus lived.
• "Here we are. This will be your workplace," he said as he opened a black door in a part of the first floor of the three-story mansion.
• I looked inside, and it was like a private disco room. Behind it was a bar with a collection of different alcoholic drinks, a table surrounded by red couches, and a dance floor with disco lights. Dean stood next to the pole on the dance floor and waved at me.
• "Can you give me a little pool dance show? I want to see if you're good enough to entertain my boss," he said, making me nervous.
• "Your boss asked me to be his personal stripper, so I won't show it to anyone but him," I refused, which made him open his mouth in amazement.
• "You can be assertive. Keep it up! My boss likes a tough girl," he praised me before leading me around again.
• I made a good excuse for Dean, but what excuse would I give the big boss if he asked me to dance later? Will he shoot me if he sees that my dancing is so bad? Is there any way I can escape from this place?
• ***
• "Here's the gym room, the swimming pool, and this hallway... Ssshh, why is this house so big and has so many doors?" I scribbled on the paper I had drawn with the map of this mansion because I wasn't sure if I had made the correct map. This huge and luxurious mansion has so many doors and hallways, and it's impossible for me to remember them all just by walking around.
• "All right, let's give it a try! I can pretend to go to the disco room in case someone catches me," I thought before leaving the room with my map.
• I thought that being a captive would put me in a dark and scary basement. But apparently, since I said I was a stripper, and the boss probably expected me to be his mistress, he put me in a luxurious room on the second floor. But d*mn this luxurious room and mansion, I have to leave quickly before the boss asks me to dance or do something more inappropriate with him.
• Although this mansion is quiet, escaping makes me walk stealthily and cautiously. Even though I hadn't noticed the presence of other people in this mansion before when Dean walked me around, I still had to be careful.
• "Are you lost? You've already been here twice."
• I jumped in surprise when a voice rang out while I was checking a door. I glanced around, and when I looked up, I saw a man standing in the hallway on the second floor.
• The man looked quite young, but his aura was different from Dean and the rest of Aeturnus, who had the rough vibe of a mobster. He looked like a gentleman with his rimless glasses, black suit, and neatly combed black hair.
• "I-I... I want to find the–"
• "The exit?" The man interrupted me, making me even more nervous as I realized my movements were so suspicious that he could easily read them.
• "There are so many doors and hallways in this mansion that it must be confusing for newcomers. Just follow this hallway, turn left, and enter the first door you come to. That's a shortcut to the garage, and a small door will lead you straight out of the gate." Unasked, the man explained in detail while his hands made imaginary paths in the air.
• What the hell is this? Is he playing a trick on me? He can't possibly be telling me the right way, can he?
• "Why are you telling me how to get out?" I asked, not wanting to show if that was really my intention.
• He shrugged and looked indifferent as he said, "Because you look like a little rabbit lost in a wolf's den. But if you don't mind staying here, so be it."
• I gave him a sharp look, trying to figure out his motive for helping me escape. But instead, he smiled and pointed again with his index finger.
• I felt that there was something suspicious about him, but why didn't I try to follow his lead instead of just wandering around here? As far as Dean had shown me, there wasn't a single dangerous room here. So, I guess I shouldn't worry too much and just give it a try.
• I walked in the direction he pointed, turning back to him before running, when I saw him still standing in the same place, watching me while smiling in a friendly way that seemed strange. I walked down that hallway and then turned left. I stopped in front of a door. Gasping, I reached out my hand and opened it, preparing to run again, when what I saw inside stunned me.
• "What are you doing? Bursting into my room without knocking?"
• D*mn it! Sh*t! Sh*t! I knew I shouldn't trust anyone here! Instead of taking me to the garage to escape, as he said, the man's directions led me to Aeturnus' boss's room.
• That's right, Aeturnus's boss! I had burst into his room!
• "I-I..." My voice trembled as I felt his intimidating aura, even though he was just sitting back on his bed wearing a black silk sleeping robe and holding a tablet in his hand.
• "I don't need to tell you to make yourself at home, you're already doing well," he said as he placed his tablet on the nightstand next to his bed, making me even more nervous now that he was giving me all his attention.
• "No, it's not that. I..." I tried to explain my situation so he wouldn't think I was some insolent captive who should be punished with a shot in the head.
• "You didn't come because you wanted me to read you a bedtime story, did you?" he asked. He was obviously teasing me, but his calm tone made it sound like something serious, and I grew more and more nervous as the air around me became tense.
• "She's coming to give you a striptease!" A voice interrupted us, drawing my attention away from the boss. I turned my head and squinted at the guy with the glasses who was looking at me with a mischievous smile, which made me change my opinion that he looked like a gentleman because now he looked like all the mobsters from Aeturnus!
• "Good idea." I looked back at the big boss as he spoke. From his bed, he crossed his arms over his chest and said, "Come here. A striptease before bed might bring me sweet dreams."