Chapter 7

I got home with tears in my eyes again. Nothing had prepared me for what he said to me. I opened my front door as Richard and Shelly pulled up. I waited for them to come walking up the path. They were laughing till they looked up at me. I smiled as Shelly frowned.

"What did he do now?"

"Asked me to marry him." I said. They both gasped. I shrugged. "Or at least he would have. It went something like. 'even if I asked you to marry me' so he didn't officially ask me. I can't even remember the conversation besides that and him almost demanding me to be his secretary."

"Girl, you have gotten yourself so deep in this." Shelly said as she guided me into the house. I sighed as we ate dinner. We talked, watched a few DVDs then they left as I cleaned up. My cell phone rang and I figured it would be Shelly letting me know she had made it home safe. Feeling completely exhausted I answered the phone.

"Hello." I said putting the dishwasher on.

"Candice, dear." I heard their mother. Of great here we go. She's about to give me a lecture over the damn phone.

"Yes ma'am."

"I have a favor to ask you."

"Yes?"

"Don't return to that mansion to work. Ever." I blinked a few times trying to gather my thoughts as I was tired anyways.

"Or what?"

"I will make sure that you will not be able to keep that house, live in this country, get a job or even be able to marry. I will ruin your life with a blink of an eye. I suggest you go on with your life as if you've never known us. Don't contact Jason or Shelly. Is that understood?"

"But I…"

"Is that understood?" Her voice was still as calm as it was when we first started talking. I held back the tears as I looked down at the floor.

"Yes ma'am. I am sorry."

"Good. I am glad you understand. Good bye, dear." With that the conversation was gone. I slid down my counter and started crying. If I had any contact with Jason or Shelly, I would be sure to not be able to live at all. Wouldn't be able to establish my bakery, or even get a decent job to keep up anything. And she was the type of women to do it too. I hugged my knees to my chest. Just like that I had lost my best friend, the man I loved, and my family. Crying I made the decision to leave the house. It was late at night so the hotel would have to do for the night.

With the for sale sign now in front of my parents house, the bakery I wanted bought I was now sitting in the upper part of the building, staring at the ceiling, crying. It was Saturday and I have to decide what I was going to do. I wasn't quit sure. I wanted to see Jason one last time, tell Shelly good bye and get on with my lonely life in piece. I sighed. I was a good hour away from the palace so if I was going to go anywhere I was going to have to get dressed. I stood, showered, and got dressed. I wore a black corset over a dark red velvet dress. I grabbed a new mask so that she wouldn't know it was me and left the building locking and setting the alarm. As I parked I breathed in then out. Watching people go in and out of the building. I got out of my car and walked up the steps my insides shaking as I got in the dance hall. I spotted Shelly, alone, in a corner. She looked almost disgusted and uninterested. I made my way across the floor making sure I was no where in their mothers sight. With the new dress and new mask I didn't think she would notice me at all. I stood on the other side of the curtain.

"PST… Shelly." I felt the curtain move.

"Oh my God!" She exclaimed. I put my hand to my lips.

"Balcony." I said as she nodded making her way to the balcony. After a few minutes I went there myself. She threw her arms around me, sobbing.

"Mother said you left town. Didn't want anything else to do with us. That you were tired of being the black sheep of the family and wanted something different. That you left with some other rich guy."

"Are you serious?" I asked looking at her watery green eyes. "That bitch called me and threatened me."

"What?" She asked wiping her eyes.

"She threatened me! She was going to make sure I wasn't going to be able to have a life if I didn't cut off all contact with you."

"I can't believe that she steeped so low as to have you do that."

"She did or else I would never have left."

"I figured something had freaked you out. I thought it was Jason."

"No. I was going to reveal myself tonight then leave. I wasn't going to cut you out."

"Reveal what?" I heard Jason's voice. I gasped as Shelly turned. He came around the corner. "I saw you disappear back here Shelly with Madam."

"How do you know with the mask change?" Shelly asked.

"Because, I would know the sway of those hips in a long dress anywhere." Shelly looked over at me. He wouldn't have known what I looked like in a dress like this. I was never at these parties only because I wasn't wanting to get attention. He had removed his mask looking right at me. I sighed, taking the mask off as he moved towards me. Richard and Mike came around the corner as I stood there in the light. My eyes down at the ground as he stopped in the middle of the balcony. "Candice?" He said. I nodded biting my lower lip. He seemed to stand there, shocked, and not believing it was me. "No.. this is a joke right?" He turned to Shelly who didn't look at him. Then Mike, then Richard. He dropped his mask, turned and straight punched Richard in the face. He fell back against the fake plant next to the door.

"Gesus man!" Richard exclaimed. Shelly went and grasped Jason's arm pulling him away from another punch. Then those angry eyes were on me. I felt the tears before I felt my heart hit the floor. "What the fuck was that for?"

"You… slept with him!" He said rather then asked. Mike gave Richard a cloth to clean his face from the blood from his nose. Jason turned again to continue the assault when Shelly grabbed him. I felt the tears roll down my face.

"Jason!" Shelly yelled at him. I was glad the music inside the hall was too loud for anyone to hear what was going on outside. Jason stopped mid stance. The mask he was wearing was now under his feet. I was glad Ben wasn't there. He might have gotten the next punch. He jerked away from Shelly as Jason turned to me. He walked to me as Shelly, Richard, and Mike watched. I didn't look up at him, I didn't want to see that anger in his eyes as I let the tears fall.

"You disappear, then show up at this party as this mystery women that I had fallen in love with. Where is she?" He asked, harshly.

"Your looking at her." I said my voice low with pain. I had no idea he really didn't know it was me. I looked up at him, my hands folded in front of me as I have done when he had confessed his love to Madam. He seemed to relax his stance.

"I can't believe you jumped in on this joke. Where-is-she?"

"If you can't believe what I am telling you, then maybe you didn't love her to begin with. Witch means, you don't love me either. I knew better Jason. You know deep in your heart that I am this Madam. Do you really think I would sleep with Richard? Do you really think that I wouldn't have done this if I didn't think it would have gotten your attention? It was all my idea. Mine!" I exclaimed as now I noticed someone else come around the corner as I looked at him. "I've loved you forever, Jason." He blinked a few times, straightened his stance as everyone else looked up at him. I felt the tears falling. "But if you can't tell a difference, if you can't tell that I am this mystery women, then I was living a dream."

"Candice…" Shelly said. I put my hand up to quiet her as I looked straight at Jason. His look changed as if he was seeing me for the first time.

"Shelly wanted me to come to take her mind off of Olyvia. We didn't expect you to take me away from Richard when we were dancing. After all you are suppose to be engaged to Olyvia. I wasn't expecting you to confess to loving this stranger that I had made up. Yes, we did it to make you see that you shouldn't marry her. Jason, please, don't marry her." I fought the urge to put my hands over my eyes as the tear drops fell on my hands, unto my new mask that I knew this was the first and last night I would ever wear it. "Even… even if you don't love me. I can deal with that if you can find someone you do. Someone that will not screw around with Henry. Everyone knows she has. Have you seen her dancing with him? Have you seen…"

"Shut up bitch." I felt the laced glove hand to the face before I saw the women attack me. I fell back hitting the cement as I saw Richard and Mike come forward to get her under control. "I thought Sylvia took care of you! I thought you were never going to be seen here ever again!" I sat there, on the balcony floor with my wrist to my nose as now I had a bloody nose. Shelly came over and handed me a handkerchief. I held it to me, my nose now swelling. Jason waved the guys off of her as she stopped fighting them. She looked at Jason. "Darling you can't believe what she's saying. We will be married then we won't have to worry about people interfering with our life."

"What do you mean mother took care of her?" Jason asked.

"That is none of your concern, son." Sylvia came around the corner, closing the doors as she stood by them. Richard on one side and Mike on the other. Shelly stood as I did the same keeping the cloth to my nose till the bleeding stopped. Didn't take long. I kept the cloth in my hands as Jason and his mother seemed to stare at each other. Her head held high. "Richard, Mike, escort Ms Fairchild to her car. Dear, I will give you two days to get as far away from here as you can."

"Don't worry, Ma'am." Jason turned, watching me slightly bow to his mother. "It's been taken care of. Thank you." I turned as Richard and Mike came to stand next to me.

"No… She stays right there." We turned as Jason was pointing to me. Olyvia with her arms over her chest, fake tears running down her face. Shelly was crying, and stood by Jason.

"Good bye, Jason." I said smiling at him as he watched me leave with Richard and Mike. At my car I turned to Richard and cried in his shirt. Loud and all my pent up feelings spilled over his shirt.

"This is really a bad situation."

"What did she tell you, Candice?" I pulled away from him and wiped my eyes.

"She was going to take away my life if I stayed in contact with either one of them. I wasn't going to be able to get a job, friends, family, nothing! I couldn't let that happen but I wanted to let Jason know my feelings before he married her and to talk to Shelly. Can you give her this please." I asked giving them my number. "Make sure Jason doesn't get it." They nodded. "Call me sometime, OK."

"Of course, love." Richard hugged me again. I got in my car and drove off. The miserable hour to my new life.