The Monster's Shadow

The Aurora hall was all set. It was the most massive hall in the entire country with a seating of 15,000 people. It belonged to the Dion family of course! 

Being the centre of attraction for international tourists and dangerous infiltrators, it was highly secured with latest intelligent technologies and well guarded by burly men, most of whom were black belt martial artists.

The welcome party had already begun, it was bustling and lively with all the crème de la crème of society as well as the nouveaux riches. Soon enough, a fleet of identical obsidian black Mercedes maybach S 680 4MATIC parked in the MD garage. Inside the neatly parked cars were esteemed dignitaries from the Dion family, both nuclear and extended. Lucien Dion, seated in one of the cars, stared at his Rolex watch and then out of the window. He scanned the surroundings with his beautiful green eyes when one of the guards opened the door.

Lucien hesitated for a while, then alighted from the car. He stared hard at the young guard who had opened the door for him, the young man seemed to be in his early thirties. His eyes were lost in space just like the other guards as he took a still posture. Lucien gave him a cold glare, the guard shivering under his gaze, he could feel Lucien's intimidating gaze searching his soul. He nearly stumbled when Lucien took a few steps forward, with his hands tucked in his pockets. 

"You're fired!" He said, his voice cold and commanding. Without any action or command, other guards rushed to the scene and grabbed the now confused guard by his arms like he was some criminal.

"Wait!" Lucien ordered, his voice sharp and somewhat cold. The men froze. He turned, having his back to the guards. "Let this be clear. While you're under my command, you move only when I give the order. I never told that m****n to open the door."

"Yes sir!" The guards replied in unison backing off with precision, fear and reverence evident on their faces as Lucien stormed away like a king returning victorious from war. Eight guards trailed after him.

The party was going as smoothly as expected. Clinking of glasses and soft giggles from noble young ladies whose parents hoped could chosen as potential brides of the newly arriving CEO. The board members of Dion Biotics were present, each made their way towards the glass-like podium, giving speeches as was necessary.

"I now call on the new CEO of Dion Biotics, Sir Lucien Dion to give his welcome address." 

 "Thank you!" Lucien Dion started as he took over the stage.

An oblivious Jeanne Dubois had been outside surrounded by paparazzi eager to take pictures of her in her new dress and a matching jade piece of jewellery she had gotten from a friend in China. She entered just when Lucien was ending his welcome speech.

"Once again, I welcome you all to this gathering. I trust tonight to be nothing short of remarkable for each and every one of us. As I mentioned earlier, Dion Biotics will not merely become a household name, it will become a STANDARD. Souvenez-vous de ce jour!" Lucien finished, and walked majestically away from the podium. Seats away, Lara beamed at him with pride but someone just couldn't take it.

"What the heck!" Jeanne mumbled under her breath.

***

JEANNE (POV)

"What the heck!" I mumbled under my breath.

Who did this man think he was claiming that with him, Dion Biotics would become a household name? I frowned as I stared at his expressionless face. Something about him bothered me, and yet...

I flinched as his gaze suddenly caught mine. His green eyes held a familiar spark. Truth be told, never in my life had I seen a man so handsome. I'm not the type to be swayed by good-looking men, but this young man was freaking hot.

At that moment, his dark blue hair seemed to lift gently in a breeze only I could feel. And just like that, it felt like he smiled at me… and I found myself smiling back. But the truth was, he wasn't even on the stage anymore. I kept smiling anyway. He was truly a beautiful sight to behold.

His imagined smile kept flashing in my mind, like I had seen it before — long ago maybe. But that couldn't be, could it?

I was still in dreamland when a waiter ran into me and spilled juice on my dress. The cold splash snapped me back to reality.

"Oh... ma'am, I'm so sorry — Mademoiselle!" the waiter stammered, clearly nervous. He reached out to help, but I was already fuming on the inside. I didn't let it show, though — not here. Not now.

"Don't bother yourself, sir. I'll handle it myself," I said sweetly, stopping him from helping me wipe the stain. I thanked my luck that the stain wasn't so bad. The only thing that bothered me was that the dress I was wearing was my latest design which I specifically kept for this party, full of people who knew me well and spoke highly of the Dubois.

I was rubbing at the spot with my head lowered when I bumped into someone.

"Hey there, I'm so sorry. I wasn't looking," I said shyly, raising my head — and then I froze. His eyes again. That same man. That same gaze.

He stared intently at me.

"Oh! Clumsy lady is having some issues again?" he asked, like he'd known me forever.

"Excuse you?" I shot back, unsure if he was mistaking me for someone else.

"Jeanne… hmm. Nice name though," he added casually, even though I hadn't told him.

"Need a little help?" he asked, stretching out his hand. "You should get rid of that dress. I mean — you should change into another one. One that'll look better on you."

I placed my hand in his, dazed. His face remained stoic, but somehow, I felt like he was grinning on the inside. There was a serious, calculated look in his eyes but it didn't put me off. 

He held my hand lightly as he escorted me to the dressing room door. We stopped there. He stared at me and smirked slightly before leaning closer. My heart skipped. I could feel his breath on my neck, then near my ear.

"One strike. Share the good news with Gloria," he whispered slowly, as if it were some kind of romantic line.

I stood frozen. What did he mean by that? But before I could gather my thoughts, a lady waiting at the door cleared her throat. I pulled back gently from his hold and followed the woman inside.

Even with the door closed I could still feel his gaze burning through it. 

It then crossed my mind that I did not know who this man was, yet he knew not

just my name but my mum's as well.