Chapter 10

"You brought her here?" Belle screeched, slapping Juan's hand from Arya face. The sound echoed round the room. He used his other hand to stop her from making contact with Arya's face.

Arya's eyes widened in shock and she stood up from the bed and inched away from a fuming Belle whose chest heaved as she observed Arya with undiluted hatred; her dark eyes that flashed with hurt were boring holes through Arya.

"Be careful," Juan said coldly, standing up to face her squarely.

Belle looked offended by his gesture. "Why?" She said, her voice breaking. "Why would you bring her here?"

"Why are you here," Juan asked. His countenance betrayed a look of annoyance. "I didn't invite you over."

"I'm your girlfriend Juan, I don't have to be invited over."

"I never asked you to be my girlfriend Belle," Juan said in a very calm voice. "You simply assumed you were because we were intimate and went on dates."

Belle's face was flushed with embarrassment. "She's just one of your whores isn't she?" She asked. "You just want to fuck her and that's all?"

"Whether or not I want to fuck her isn't your business." Juan said, steering her away from the room. "Stop meddling too much. You're getting clingy and I don't like it."

"What?" Belle was hurt. Her and Juan had been intimate for a long time now and even if he never asked her to be his girlfriend, he seemed fine with her introducing him as her boyfriend. "You never had a problem with that before." Her voice broke as she said it.

"We both know I don't want a commitment. We are just friends Belle," His jaws were clenched and his words were laced with disdain. "Friends with benefits. Stop throwing a tantrum whenever you see a woman next to me."

"What do you see in her?" Belle asked, her voice dripping with venom. She could not believe Juan would go for someone as lowly as Arya. "She is just a waitress in your bar. She shouldn't even have any business with you!"

"Belle you should go home," Juan smiled tightly and then kissed her forehead, knowing she just loved attention from him. In order to avoid her tantrums, he did what he did. "I'll see you later."

"She's just a fling right?" Desperation was evident in Belle's voice.

"Belle go home," Juan sighed.

"You didn't answer my question."

"I'll see you later tonight."

"Fine," she huffed and stormed away.

Arya was appalled by Juan's behavior towards Belle but she didn't make any comment. None of it was going to matter since she had plans to leave as soon as possible.

"Sorry about that," Juan shrugged non-chalantly and joined her on the bed.

"Do you have books here?" She asked, hastily switching the topic.

"There's a library," Juan shrugged.

"I'd like to see it."

Juan led Arya out of the room and down a long hallway. As they turned a corner, Arya's eyes widened in amazement as he opened the large double doors. Before her lay a huge room filled with books from floor to ceiling. The shelves seemed to stretch up to the sky.

"Wow!" Arya breathed.

Arya's eyes scanned the shelves, taking in the thousands of books. She felt like she had entered a different world. The air was heavy with the scent of paper which made her sigh in delight. There was a soft glow of a chandelier hanging in the centre and a very cosy reading corner.

"I want to live here forever," Arya said, her voice barely above a whisper.

Juan chuckled.

In truth, Arya did not want to, the only thing that could convince her to stay was the library. She had only said that to make Juan feel more at ease and so that she would not be locked in a room all day. Once he was comfortable with letting her roam around, she would be able to explore the mansion and it's grounds and find the best possible way to escape.

"You don't want to leave anymore?" Juan teased, loving the way her eyes lit up at the sight of books.

"It's not like a have anywhere to go to," Arya sighed. "My stepfather sold me so..."

Juan nodded, pleased with her decision to stay. Maybe Diego was right after all, she was a simpleton. He looked at his watch. "I have a party to attend tonight."

"That sounds nice," Arya grinned. She wanted Juan not to be anywhere near the mansion so he would not hound her. "You should start preparing. It's evening already. Will you be taking that beautiful woman that showed up here earlier?"

"I want you to go with me." Juan found her unusually chatty behaviour suspicious but he shrugged it off with the thought that she was just happy with the library.

"Oh... Um," she swallowed hard. "I don't think I should go. I wouldn't represent you well. I know nothing about the lifestyle of the rich."

"You won't have a problem," Juan said. "It's just an evening party. We dance and eat."

"Why don't you take her?" She asked. "You said it's not safe for me to leave here."

"You'll be safe with me."

"I wouldn't want to put you in danger," she smiled tightly. "I'd rather stay indoors and read."

"Well I'm not asking anymore, you are following me."

"I don't want to—"

"What you want has nothing to do with me," Juan hissed. "You're mine and you will do as I say."

His phone needed with a text just then and he groaned. It was Belle.

Are you picking me up tonight?

Now Juan was conflicted, he had forgotten he told Belle he was going to see her in the night and now he had just tried to assert his dominance on Arya so there was no way he was going to change his mind. He cared about his ego too much.

"Guess I'll be dealing with another tantrum tonight," he muttered to himself.