Chapter Six
My legs could not carry me, but I forced them to move. I pulled on the shoes quickly, feeling the tightness of the luxurious leather around "Adrian's" feet. I shoved the phone into my pocket as if it were a time bomb and opened the door slowly.
As soon as I stepped out, dazzling lights struck my eyes, nearly making me lose my balance.
I looked up in awe; massive chandeliers hung from a soaring ceiling like clusters of molten stars, sparkling with a golden brilliance that captured the eyes.
I walked with cautious steps, my fingers touching the small balcony railing; it was cold, its texture suggesting heavy metal, with intricate golden engravings twisted around its bars.
I leaned slightly to look down and held my breath. The hall stretching beneath my feet was vast to a terrifying degree; it looked like a football field drowned in marble and luxury.
"This is not a house.."
I whispered, a shiver running down my back,
"this is an endless palace."
I began descending the stairs, my body stiffening with every movement.
My eyes scanned the dark corridors behind the pillars, and my heart pounded in my chest like a drum warning me against falling into a trap.
I was praying inwardly that I would not encounter a familiar face; for I am merely a failed actress in a play whose script I do not know.
I cast a quick glance at the golden wall clock; it was approaching eleven at night. Silence enveloped the place, but the lights were blazing in every corner with a provocative pride.
"Of course.."
I thought bitterly as I descended the stairs covered by a thick red carpet,
"the wealthy do not exhaust themselves by turning off the lights.. electricity bills are the last thing that might worry the Thorne family."
The carpet absorbed the sound of my footsteps, as if I were a ghost sneaking inside the White House.
Every piece of furniture I passed, every hanging painting, screamed of obscene wealth and confirmed my smallness in this world.
I felt the weight of the white shirt on my shoulders as if it were a heavy shield; the grandeur of the place was pressing on my breath, as if the walls themselves were watching me and knew that I am not the "Adrian" who belongs here.
I pushed the massive marble door with all the muscular strength "Adrian" possessed, to be greeted by the cool night breezes and the scent of carefully manicured grass.
The garden stretched before me like a groomed forest, and guards were scattered in its corners in their suspicious black suits, standing with a rigidity suggesting they were preparing to repel a cosmic attack rather than just protecting a home.
As soon as my feet touched the stone path, one of the guards detached himself from his post and approached me with military strides.
"Mr. Adrian.. welcome. Shall I bring out your car?"
I froze in my place, feeling a slight tremor in my jaw.
"What?"
The word came out as a gasp of bewilderment.
The guard bowed slightly, his frozen features unchanged.
"I understand.. would you like to change it? Which car do you prefer to drive tonight?"
I felt a lump in my throat; this man changes his luxurious cars as I used to change my torn socks, while my highest ambition was to get an empty seat on a dilapidated bus.
I gathered my scattered self and said in a tone I tried to make confident:
"My car that I went out in today will be suitable.. bring it."
I thanked God inwardly for my uncle's old persistence; were it not for him, I wouldn't have known how to put my hand on a steering wheel.
I waited for five minutes, during which my heartbeats pounded in my ears, until the silence of the night was split by the roar of a terrifying engine.
A glowing orange monster emerged from the garage, a car like none I had seen except in movie posters; low, sharp-angled, and shining under the palace lights like a piece from Mars.
"Here you go, sir,"
the guard said as he placed the key in my hand.
I felt its metallic weight and coldness, and I sat in that leather seat that embraced my body as if it were made specifically for Adrian.
The interior was covered in a bright orange color, smelling of wealth and genuine leather.
"How beautiful this car is.."
I whispered, my fingers stroking the steering wheel covered in carbon fiber.
At that moment, the image of my body flashed through my mind.. the body of "Elena" which might now be lying cold in a morgue, and a strange feeling of guilt mixed with bewilderment washed over me.
They say money does not bring happiness, but I have now realized that money opens doors for you to a kind of happiness that the poor do not even dare to dream of.
I inserted the key while eyeing the dashboard with terror; it was like the cockpit of a spaceship, touchscreens and buttons glowing in red.
I pressed the gas pedal cautiously, and the monster beneath me responded with a roar that made my chest vibrate.
I took off, and it took a long time just to reach the massive main gate; I imagined then that the Thorne family does not own a house, but owns half of this cursed city.
I did not even know the coordinates of my presence in this vast world, so I tapped on the GPS screen with trembling fingers and set the destination toward my old "home."
The car responded with a savage roar and carried me away at an extreme speed that turned the lights outside into blurry lines.
When I finally stopped, I felt as if I were a meteorite that had fallen in the middle of my modest street; Adrian's glowing car in this wretched neighborhood looked like a prince who had suddenly set foot in a field of thorns.
I got out of the car, my body rushing toward the building threatened by collapse where I used to live.
I ran up the dilapidated stairs, the sound of my luxurious shoes hitting the eroded cement steps sharply.
I stood before the door of my apartment and began knocking on the cracked wood with all my might, my shouting filling the narrow corridor:
"Open the door! Open up!"
The door of the opposite apartment opened suddenly, and my neighbor "Mira" came out.
She stood with her disheveled black hair and her curvy body, staring at me with a bewilderment that paralyzed her movement.
It was not in her imagination that a man of Adrian's overwhelming handsomeness and clothes that reeked of wealth would knock on poor Elena's door at this late hour.
She began vainly trying to fix her hair with her fingers while whispering in a confused voice:
"Hello.. sir.. are you looking for Elena?"
"Yes!" I shouted eagerly,
"Do you know where she is?"
She asked with a curiosity that her confusion did not hide:
"Are you.. her boyfriend ?"
I felt my patience burning in my chest, and I said sharply:
"Lady, please, where is she?"
Her tone changed suddenly to wipe the features of admiration from her face and leave sadness in its place.
"Don't you know what happened? A horrific bus accident occurred today.. Elena was in it, and she is now in the hospital.. her condition is very serious."
At that moment, I felt a sharp contraction in my heart as if an iron hand were squeezing it.
'"Which hospital?"
I asked in a choked voice.
"The hospital in the city center,"
she replied sorrowfully.
I did not wait another second; I went down the stairs with insane leaps, threw myself into the car seat, and drove toward the city center like someone chasing a mirage.
I entered the hospital lobby, the smell of disinfectants piercing my breath to increase the intensity of the terror inside me.
I headed toward the reception desk, feeling anxiety pulsing in my veins like ticking bombs.
"Elena Castillo.. where is she? Is she okay?"
I asked the clerk with an eagerness that almost tore my throat.
The clerk began adjusting her hair strands and softening her voice with a sickening flirtatiousness, trying to catch the handsome Adrian's attention standing before her.
I felt anger explode in my head, and I slapped the desk with my palm with a force that made the papers fly:
"I am talking to you! Where is she?"
She jumped from her place, her fingers striking the keyboard in terror.
"The girl who was in the accident this morning.. yes, she was in critical condition and underwent emergency surgery to stop the bleeding.. she is now in Room 507, third floor."
I did not hear the rest of her sentence; I sprinted toward the elevator, pressing the buttons forcefully as if I were rushing it.
As soon as the door slid open, I ran through the long corridor with thoughts racing in my head.
I reached the cursed door, and my hand weakened for a moment before I pushed it with force.
I opened the door.. and froze in my place.
There, on the cold white bed, I saw her.. I saw "Elena."