The Billionaire's Promise
Chapter 40: Water Nymph

Chapter 40: Water Nymph

"Be honest Marlon. Are Erik and Julia engaged?" Aryana suddenly asked out of the blue, her eyes fixed on the road ahead.

Marlon stepped hard on the break causing Aryana to jolt forward. If not for the seat belt that restrained her, her face could have smashed into the dashboard.

"And who told you that?" Marlon briefly glanced sideways.

"Come on, don’t tell me you haven’t heard about it. Many people were gossiping about that during the party today." Aryana tried to be nonchalant about it.

"Well as you say, they are merely gossip. We are here." He said as he parked the car beside the road.

"Marlon, can you recommend a good martial arts teacher for me here? I’d like to continue learning self-defense." She said while unbuckling her seatbelt.

"Sure. If you are free this Sunday, I can personally introduce you to him. We can practice together." He grinned at her.

...

It was almost midnight when Erik left the Lopez mansion and he was in a bad mood. Marlon has been waiting for him for a long time in the car.

"How was the investigation?" Erik asked.

"It is Janet Yan from Marketing Department. She won’t say yet who is the mastermind. She insisted that she accidentally dropped it." Marlon glanced sideways. Erik looked really tired.

"Terminate her employment effective immediately. People like her have no place in the company." Erik said coldly.

"Aryana said she did not know Janet and the only person she knew she offended is Julia."

Erik massaged his temples. "Looks like it is indeed Julia." He sighed. "I think I made a mistake when I asked Aryana to join the company. It will bring her a lot of trouble." He closed his eyes while he continued to massage his temples.

Erik took a quick shower and quickly dried his hair. He sat on the king-size bed, took out his phone, and played the video of Aryana performing earlier. She was looking straight at the camera and Erik felt that she was singing the song for him.

Earlier, he was looking at her all throughout the song, and their gazes locked when she was singing the lyrics, ’You, it’s you the dream I have been waiting for.’

He turned off the bedside lamp and closed his eyes. He just wanted to protect her, nothing else.

Suddenly he heard the strumming of the guitar and a soft melodious voice filling the void in his heart. He saw a beautiful angelic face smiling and singing sweetly to him.

"You, you are the dream I have been waiting for. Now that you are with me, promise me that you won’t let anything stand in our way. Promise me that you will fight for our love, cause someone like you..comes only once in my life. Promise..."

"Ha ha ha ha ..." maniacal laughter filled the air. A man wearing a black mask suddenly appeared and dragged Aryana away.

"Erik, save me. You promised!" the angelic voice was suddenly replaced by horrendous cries and begging.

Erik reached out to grab Aryana but he cannot move no matter how hard he tried. He wanted to reassure Aryana that everything will be alright and that he was there to protect her but no voice came out of his mouth.

"Erik you promised me. You promised ...." Aryana’s begging echoed in the room before she was swallowed by the darkness.

Erik opened his eyes. His body was drenched in a cold sweat. It was a nightmare! His cell phone was lying on his chest playing Aryana’s video in a loop.

’What the heck! Why would I have that nightmare? I’m probably too tired and had a lot of alcohol.’ He stood up and drank a glass of water before going back to sleep.

...

Aryana woke up early the following morning to meet Amy at Bay Gardens. It was a high-end mid-rise condominium located near the Bay Area. All the units have a view of the beautiful bay.

There were other models who will be shooting on the same day. The advertisement will target families and newly married couples. Amy told her that she was signed up for the newly married couple advert.

The company behind Bay Residences arranged the makeup artists and the clothes that will be worn by the models.

"Aryana, you will be showcasing the swimming pool so please get into this." Amy handed her a white two-piece swimsuit and a white flowing dress. As Aryana will be submerged in the water, the makeup artist decided not to apply makeup on her even if there were waterproof brands.

"You look good without makeup. Let’s keep it as is." The artist said while brushing her hair.

"Aryana, your male partner is already waiting outside. Let’s go so the director can brief you." Amy dragged Aryana to the pool area and she was surprised to see who her partner was.

"It’s you." Aryana was hesitating but then she needed to act professionally.

Antonio smiled at her. "Oh, it’s you too. You looked beautiful." He teased her and she simply nodded politely. Was it just a coincidence?

She looked at the swimming pool. Its bluish water was inviting especially when rose petals were randomly floating on the surface.

The shooting started. Aryana got into the pool fully dressed. She flipped gracefully and glided as if she was doing an underwater dance before swimming to the edge of the pool where Antonio was sitting down with his trousers rolled up to his knees and his two feet dipped in the water. Antonio was supposed to help her up and let her sit beside him and then they will look lovingly into each other’s eyes while the camera will capture their side profiles. However, when he was helping Aryana up, he fell into the water and hugged her tight.

"You! You did it on purpose!" Aryana pushed him and she hurried toward the shallower part of the pool to keep her distance from him.

"I’m sorry, it was an accident. You are quite heavy so I fell." Antonio shouted from behind her and then he chuckled.

Aryana twisted her head and looked back at him. She was standing on the shallowest part of the pool and only her legs up to the knees were submerged. The wet white dress was clinging to her body showing her every curve but not in a seductive way. She did not look like a temptress but she was a picture of innocence, like a water nymph who roused from her bath with her hair still dripping and cascading carelessly on her shoulders.

The director snapped out of his trance. "Aryana hold that pose. Where’s the cameraman? Go over there and take a still photo of her from that angle. Get a closeup and after that, cover the view of the entire pool." He barked orders and the camera team got busy.

The director smiled, the kind of smile that reached his ears. ’Just perfect! I’ll be popular after this.’

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