Secretly Mine

"I told my husband that I was out with my girlfriends tonight. How about we enjoy today's event together?"

My initial thought was to kindly decline her invitation. I wasn't sure what I was doing, and I wasn't here for the show. But on the other hand, sticking by her could help me blend in and help me with any situations I wasn't prepared for.

"Very well, Miss. It would be my honor," I replied with a short bow.

She giggled and tightened her grip around my arm, "Tonight, you may call me Swan. What about you? Mr. Mysterious?"

"Haha! I kind of like Mr. Mysterious!" I laughed, while internally I was panicking to come up with a fitting name.

John? No, too basic. Umm, Dracula? No, way to vampire...

"You may call me Zero," I replied with a bit of uncertainty.

She beamed at my reply, "Oh, how fitting! I just hope it doesn't mean you have zero money! Haha!"

After our brief introduction, she pulled me inside. Inside, I marveled at how immaculate all of the decorations were. It truly felt like I was transported back in time, to a historic period where nobles would get together and enjoy a night of debauchery.

What greeted us first was a very thorough search by the security guards.

It's him!

I quickly recognized one of the men as the one who interrogated me the night at the port. He looked just as bloodthirsty as I remembered as he scanned through the crowd, looking for any potential disturbances.

At least this confirms the nature of today's event.

I took a deep breath and followed Swan's lead, queuing up in line behind the other guests. Nobody in front of us seemed bothered or nervous during the search, making it seem like they were all used to the protocol.

The line was rather long, but there were multiple queues that sped things along.

"Let's queue up here," said Swan, pulling me to the line on the left side.

I frowned, seeing that the line she pulled us to was the one where the bloodthirsty guard stood. I really didn't want to be noticed by him.

It took a few minutes of waiting, but it was finally our turn to get searched.

"Next! Come on through!" the security guard shouted, waving at us to walk forward.

Swan stepped forward first, and I followed behind.

"Please place all of your belongings on the belt and step through the detector," the guard instructed.

Swan placed her small clutch purse on the conveyor belt and stepped through the high-tech security gate.

A female guard stepped forward and inspected her outfit closely before giving her the green light to walk forward. When it was finally my turn, I felt the hostile gaze from the bloodthirsty guard.

His eyes were scanning me closely. I could sense the hostility from where I was standing. I reached into my pocket and pulled out my invitation along with my keys and wallet, placing them on the conveyor belt beside me.

Instead of the usual security guard, the bloodthirsty guard walked over and stood in front of me.

"Please come through, sir," he said in an almost sarcastic tone.

I did as I was told and stepped through the detector, holding my breath. There were three different cameras hidden on different parts of my outfit, and any of them could spell death if detected.

His eyes never left me, even as I stepped through. In fact, he got even closer to me, looking at all of the trinkets and accessories dangling all over my outfit.

"There's something about you... You seem very familiar," he said, doing his best to look into my eyes.

It was the first time that I felt grateful for the uncomfortable mask that was sitting on my face. If I revealed any more of my face than what it already did, I was certain that he would recognize me from the port.

I flashed him a small smile, "Well, I do come here often. Perhaps that's why I seem so familiar."

I kept my tone nice and light, almost joking, and allowed him to inspect me closer.

"Perhaps," he said, unconvinced.

"Sir, he's all clear," another security guard said as he walked up to him with a light nod.

The bloodthirsty guard gnashed his teeth but stepped to the side, allowing me to pass. "I hope you enjoy your evening."

I nodded and walked forward to retrieve my items, noticing that Swan had already grabbed them for me.

"Here you are, Zero. Looks like even the guards have taken a liking to you," said Swan with a giggle.

"Thank you," I smiled, accepting my things from her.

"Of course! Now come on! We're almost in. I'm dying to get myself one of their special drinks!" she said, pulling my arm forward.

We only made it a few steps forward before ending up in another line. This time, there was only a single queue, which made it significantly longer than the security ones before it.

Up ahead, there was a group of security guards, most likely armed, along with an attendant who was carefully checking everyone's invitation under a special light.

What?!

From where I was standing, I could see that the mark on the invitations glowed when placed under the light, just like Abigail had explained. But the thing that concerned me was the color!

Abigail had clearly said that the gold mark would turn black, but from what I saw, it was glowing green!

I immediately began to feel nervous. My mind spun, trying to figure out ways to get past this obstacle.

Should I say it's defective? How would I be able to prove something like that?

To make matters worse, I could still feel the piercing gaze of the less-than-friendly guard behind me. I wasn't sure what he didn't like about me, but I wasn't enjoying the extra attention.

I was still trying to think of ways to salvage the situation when it was finally our turn. In front of me, Swan casually handed over her invitation, waiting for the attendant to scan her invitation.