As the party continued, Tony mingled with some of the people he was familiar with. He also made sure that Lily was by his side at all times.
“Who is this beautiful lady, Tony?” Various people asked and he gave them the same response which still came as a shock to all of them.
As the conversation with some of Tony’s business partners got more intense, Lily decided to leave them for a bit.
“I’ll be in the restroom for a bit.” She whispered to Tony who gave a brief nod. His eyes followed her until she disappeared, making sure no one followed her into the restroom.
As she walked, she couldn’t help but admire the hallway that led to the restroom. It had been decorated beautifully with flowers as though it was a part of the party hall.
Mehdi might be a terrible person but he had good taste.
She entered the restroom and to her relief, it was empty. She washed her hands for some relief and leaned on the wall, hoping to give Tony and his friends some time to finish up their conversation.
A few minutes later, she decided that she had spent enough time in the restroom and got ready to return to the party.
On her way back, she was fiddling with her phone when she collided with someone. A soft gasp left her lips as strong hands held her. She immediately froze as her body recognized those hands.
There was no way she was mistaken. She had been getting touched and beaten by those hands for years.
With a shaky breath, Lily looked up slowly, praying silently that she was wrong and it was just someone who had similar hands to him but, as she raised her head fully, her breath seized as she saw that it was indeed him.
“Louis…” She whispered, her heart racing.
She had prayed for this not to happen but, it seemed her prayers fell on deaf ears.
“What…what are you doing here?” She asked, looking around only to see that they were the only ones in the hallway.
When she looked back at him, she took note of his outfit. He was dressed in a sleek navy-blue suit and his hair was styled.
He didn’t look like he snuck in there or he was there was a waiter which meant that was there for the party too.
“Well, well, well. I didn’t think I’d see you here.” He said with a smirk on his lips.
“Liar. I know you followed me here. I know you, Louis.” Lily snapped, forcing herself to be brave.
“Of course, you do.” Louis laughed.
“What are you even doing here? Let me guess, your boss gave you an invite? God! I can’t believe you guys are showing yourselves to the world. Do the people here know what gang you all belong to?” Lily asked, riling him up.
“Shut the fuck up!” He snapped, stopping himself from putting his hands on her.
“Do not tempt me tonight, Lily. I promised the boss I’d be good so do not fucking tempt me.” He warned with gritted teeth and Lily shrugged.
“Why are you even here? This is not a place for you? You don’t know anyone here so what are you doing here?” She asked out of sheer curiosity.
Louis leaned back, clicking his tongue. “I knew you’d be here.” He said and Lily felt her blood boil.
“Looking at you now, I can say that I made the right decision.” His eyes roamed her dress making Lily’s skin crawl.
“You look stunning tonight.”
Lily stiffened, taking a step back. “Stop. Don’t do that.” She warned, knowing that his next move was to touch her.
Louis watched her take a step back and immediately burst into laughter. “Don’t be scared, babe. I won’t touch you…yet.”
“Louis!”
“I saw you with the doctor. I’m guessing he brought you in as his plus one. I heard some people say he introduced you as his girlfriend.” He tilted his head, his expression darkening.
“Do they know that you already have a boyfriend?” He asked with a smile that sent shivers across Lily’s body.
“I do not have a boyfriend! We broke up the second I left that house.” She snapped at him with gritted teeth, her eyes filled with hate.
“No, Lily. You don’t get to decide that!”
“You…you don’t belong here, Lily. You’re just lying to yourself. You are not fit for someone like the doctor and you know it so stop deceiving yourself!” He mocked, his voice filled with venom.
Lily’s eyes watered but she held her tears in. She had long promised herself that she wasn’t going to let him win and him seeing her tears was letting him win.
“I don’t have the time for this. I’m done here.” She said and turned to leave but she heard Louis’s voice before she left.
“Have fun while you can, Lily. It won’t last for long.”
Lily hurried to the main hall, her feet moving quickly. She leaned on a wall, away from the crowd, her heart pounding as she wondered what Louis’s last words meant.
She shook her head, deciding to not give it much thought. When she raised her head, Tony was standing before her with a worried expression on his face.
“Hey.” He whispered and wrapped his arm around her waist. “Are you okay? Did something happen in there?” He asked.
“I saw him.” She answered immediately. Tony’s brows furrowed and his lips curled in anger. He didn’t have to ask further to know who she was referring to.
“Where? Did he follow you into the restroom?” He asked and she nodded slowly.
“That son of a bitch!” Tony growled and turned in the direction of the restroom but Lily quickly reached out to him and stopped him.
“He must be gone already. Don’t worry too much, Tony. I’m alright. I promise.” She said, touching his hand in a bid to calm him down.
“He’s a coward…meeting you in secret to threaten you because he knows he doesn’t stand a chance against me.” Tony shook his head.
“You have nothing to worry about, Lily. I have doubled the security at the house and the hospital. He can’t come close to you even if he wants to.” Tony assured and Lily nodded.
“I know that.” She said with a smile.
Somehow, Tony was always able to calm her nerves. He could say absolutely nothing and she would feel safe.
Maybe it wasn’t his words. Maybe it was just the fact that he was Tony.
“Come, Lily. Let’s enjoy the party. Mehdi sure knows how to throw a party. We shouldn’t let all of this go to waste.” Tony said, pulling out his hand for Lily.
“Of course.” She laughed and took his hands.
As the party went on, Lily did her best to have fun but, her mind kept going back to what Louis said earlier and she wondered if something big was about to happen.
She could feel it. Something was about to happen. Louis wasn’t the type to bluff, especially when it concerned her.
What trick did he have up his sleeve this time?