CHAPTER 27: POOL ATTACK

"My love..." Two words with no actual meaning.

Alisha saw a figure walking towards her from the corners of her eyes. Her heart skipped a beat at that face.

It was Nathan.

Alisha was beyond shocked to find Nathan there. She hadn’t known he was coming. Not even a clue since Katherine didn’t mention anything.

She watched as he marched towards Katherine, planting a kiss on her lips.

Their interaction was so intimate that some reporters who were given the permission to head inside took pictures of it. That was the same man she called her husband a year ago, and now he was with someone else.

"Alisha De Rossi," Nathan suddenly called, pulling her out of her stupor. "My wife has told me so much about you." He added, his hand moving to Katherine’s waist as she leaned into him affectionately, earning more photos from the reporters as cameras shuttered.

Alisha managed to bring herself to smile. "I hope she said nothing but nice things about me," she responded.

Nathan grinned, looking down at Katherine who shared a look with him.

"Of course it’s nice things," Katherine responded, however, Alisha could see how much effort she put in just to smile.

"Mr. De Rossi, it was wonderful meeting you here again," Nathan said to Dante who’d been awfully quiet during the entire interaction. A scowl was on his face, but he didn’t bother changing it as he looked down on Nathan’s stretched out hands.

"What do you want?" He asked, an edge to his tone.

Nathan’s smile immediately faltered. If he didn’t want to be on good terms with De Rossi, then he wouldn’t be here trying to suck up to Dante.

His cheeks flushed red in embarrassment but he tugged his suit in, lowering his hands to his side. This was the second time Dante had left him hanging, and there was this fleeting desire to leave him hanging at least once in his life.

"I’m just surprised to see you here." He said, darting a look down at Alisha, and for a second, he felt his heart skip a beat.

He’d been monitoring her the entire time since she and Katherine walked in and only one word could be used to describe her.

Dazzling.

There was something about her that felt familiar, like he’d seen her before but unfortunately, he couldn’t tell from where.

"Well then, please carry along," said Dante, holding Alisha’s hand and pulling her away.

Nathan stared into their departing backs, a small smile on his lips.

"Will you stop touching me? It’s disgusting," she mumbled loud enough for only Dante to hear her.

He frowned at her request. "Why? You want us to stop being affectionate for even one second and risk the reporters getting all creative with their headlines again?" He also mumbled loud enough for her to hear him.

Alisha’s lips thinned.

"You can’t go to your parents now else Katherine will become suspicious, so whether or not you like it, you’re stuck with me," he added.

Alisha wasn’t exactly sure on how that made her feel, but she didn’t say anything anymore.

She stared at all the faces, some she could recognize and others she couldn’t. She watched as Katherine walked through the red carpet which headed to the stairs as more reporters took pictures of her.

Alisha couldn’t be with her at that moment because apparently, she was still a rookie, so Katherine received all the spotlights.

Alisha felt someone looking at her.

It was none other than Jennifer. She couldn’t help but roll her eyes at the latter.

’Is there no one I know at this party?’ She wondered.

"Stay right here, I’ll be right back. Don’t move," Dante said to her, placing a kiss on her forehead and left.

She had to give it to him. He knew how to display fake affection for love that looked believable.

However, Alisha wasn’t in the mood to just stand in one place and watch the influential walk into the gala with smiles so upsight on bloated cheeks they looked like they got an expired botox done.

She wandered off.

Since the event hadn’t even started yet, it still gave her a few minutes to catch a breath.

Attending a gala may look fancy but Alisha was already starting to feel nauseous in the midst.

The event was held in a hotel, so Alisha went to the pool area which was as quiet as the cemetery because it was a little further away from the main hall.

Her blue sparkled in the night, giving it an ocean-like color similar to that.

Alisha took a deep breath, feeling her body relax as the chilly cold wind flew by, making her wrap her arms around her body.

"It’s not even winter yet and the wind is this cold?" She couldn’t help but mumble to herself.

She stood at the edge of the pool, staring at her reflection in the winter. She touched her face.

Although she’d changed her identity because of her new face, she still wasn’t used to it at all and she didn’t think a time would ever come when she would get used to her current face. Her previous face was her real identity.

Alisha sighed, her eyes closing. There was nothing she could do after all. What was done was done.

The next second, the air stilled as she grabbed the hand that was right behind her, twisting it as the person muffled their cries.

"Who sent you?" She demanded.

The man didn’t say anything.

He tried to kick her but she dodged it swiftly, landing a painful kick in return into his groin, forcing him to bow down.

Alisha’s eyes narrowed at him. However, the next thing she knew was getting pulled by her hair until she was pushed into the pool.

The water splashed. Her eyes were blurry as she tried to make the face of the second strange man.

He was holding something towards her. A gun.

Her heart sank.