"It's not possible to experience constant euphoria,

but if you're grateful,

you can find happiness in everything."

-Pharrell Williams

...

Have you ever been addicted to a nonexistent feeling? Meaning the feeling of freedom.

That's what I'm addicted to.
That's what we all are addicted to.

Who doesn't want to be free? It causes us a euphoric feeling.

Though, whenever we get to feel it, it vanishes right away.

For me, my euphoria is always attached with freedom. If there's no freedom, there's no euphoria.

They have always been temporary.

I don't think there's anyone living freely in this universe. We all got to be attached with something.

Or someone.

...

"Under no circumstances am I going to let you buy me this expensive dress!" l whispered to him with a glare, while I held that unbelievably beautiful satin dress but also extremely expensive.

We arrived at the mall. Mikhail bought his own tux and wore it to be ready to go with it once we both get finished. He then went to the barber and got his hair done.

As for me, I got my hair and make up done as well. The only thing left was the dress that left me so hesitated to buy.

"Come on, it's just a dress." he impatiently clenched his sharp jaw.

"Don't you think that's the problem?!" I complained in disbelief as the both of us were standing in the middle of the store, grabbing most of people's attention.

"No, I actually don't see where's the problem in that?" he sighed, as if it was nothing.

I face-palmed as I quickly got closer to him and whispered, "It's really expensive, Mikhail!"

"I know. But you won't be paying anything." he whispered back. "I will."

"I won't let a man like you buy me expensive shit you know!"

He sighed, rolling his eyes and  snatched the dress from me, "She's going to try it on, will you please give her the right size?" he requested to the employee as he gave me a scary glare to shut me up.

And he succeeded in that, I might say.

...

I got out of the changing room to show him the dress. I looked at him with irritation, turning around twice to let him have a more clearer vision of my state.

He eyed me shockingly as he cleared his throat and tried to act all cool.

"See, expensive shit makes you less ugly." he shoved both hands in his pockets.

"Unnecessary compliments from you makes you less arrogant." I smirked teasingly as I raised an eyebrow.

He titled his head away and looked down the floor as he bit the bottom of his lips in defeat. His eyes then were locked with mine.

His look was full of wrath and agony. It always made me tense in fear, the way his mood suddenly swung to a very cold and emotionless person.

Remind me not to roast this man ever again.

I cramped as I turned around to take a look at the mirror. Glancing down my silver sparkling high heels that were a perfect fit for my grayish heather eyes, up to my sun tanned bare shoulders.

Half my chest was only covered with the black satin dress, while the other half was framed with an elegant silver necklace that took the shape of the crescent moon.

It looked very beautiful.

I looked very beautiful.

It's been a while since I felt that confident about my appearance.

Though he seemed like the type of guy who had a short temper dealing with women, Mikhail sure had a good taste modeling them.

But would I straight admit that?

Of course not.

"Can we go now?" he sighed, getting bored of me who's been staring at my reflection for a while now.

He got to let me have some timd appreciate my look tonight, it's not like I ever get the chance to feel like a rich woman.

Got to cherish the moment.

"Didn't you say I'm the one in control tonight?" I glanced at him over my shoulders. "You're the one who follows my lead now."

"Don't flatter yourself much, you might get used to it." he rolled his eyes as he looked at his phone screen. "We have to go now, my driver is outside."

"You have your own driver?" my eyes innocently widened.

"Sometimes."

I just know this guy is filthy rich.

...

As we got out of the mall, the driver parked the Audi R8 car near us and got out as he opened the door for me, bowing his head.

He looked very elegant with a very excessive suit that fitted his masculine body.

If this is how his driver looks like, what kind of people am I going to be meeting in that luxurious mansion?

I gave him a soft smile with glowing eyes as I got in and fixed my dress, while Mikhail sat beside me.

Russian, business man and filthy rich.

Does he work for the mafia?

Nope, Evelyn. This isn't Wattpad.

This isn't a fake mafia dating trope and he definitely isn't that filthy rich.

It's probably his boss's car.

He's just a random stranger who you're in a fake date with, to get the opportunity to live your life and finally go to a deluxe party, in a very luxurious palace because you got lack of privilege and felicity in your life and have no interesting or amusing parents.

And just so frickin depressed and locked up that you're letting a literal stranger who you literally knew nothing about sneak you out for the first time just to show you how it felt like to have an actual life.

However, let me say that he's kind of safe to be with. I somehow felt that I could trust him, even though he had mood swings that made my heart race in angst and concern. But he seemed like the kind of guy who you could have fun with.

I just couldn't read him. Something about him said that he was a good guy with morals and decency.

And the other said that he was a bad guy, cold hearted with zero emotions, who has probably killed twice in his life, at least.

"Why are you glancing at me like that?" he knitted his brows, fixing his gaze on the road and not on me, which made me think that he was quite concentrated with me more than he wanted to show it.

"Nothing." I cowered as I shrugged and looked away for some time.

I then stuttered and looked again at him, "Wait, no, maybe there's a lot of things that I want to ask you but too insecure to do so because you might think that I'm a nosy person. Which I'm not. And then you won't be willing to answer me honestly, which is going to make you more untrusted than you already are. And then I won't feel satisfied being with you right now, because honestly–who the hell are you?!" I nervously complained and I found his hand suddenly covering my mouth, gently causing it to shut while his eyes widened in surprise.

His hand was large and soft, not cold but also not very warm. It smelled like sweet vanilla as he smoothly ran it down, causing his fingers to softly brush my rosy cheeks and lips. I felt fragile by his touch.

Why would I feel fragile by his touch?!

Regardless of how strong and aggressive he seemed to be, his touch was full of tenderness and lucidity.

Unlike someone I know.

"Fucking hell, is it normal for you to be that noisy?!" he questioned with irritation as I kept blinking at him with an empty mind.

Now he thinks I'm a noisy person.

That's even worse.

"No! I just talk too much when I get excited."

That's right, maybe I am noisy. But only when I feel overwhelmed by things around me. Things that get me too excited with life which leads me to overthinking too much.

And once you ask me to express my thoughts, I won't be shutting up until you knock me off or drug me with something. 

He softly smirked while fixing his suit jacket, "You're just like me." he murmured, shutting off his eyes as he ran his fingers through his hair and rested on the car's headrest.

"Noisy?"

"No."

"Okay."

"Overwhelmed. That drives you to talking way too much." he continued with a sigh, gazing out the window.
"While nobody wants to listen."

"You are right about that part." I frustratedly sighed and rested my head on the other headrest as I played with my raven curls. "Nobody wants to listen to me. Not my mother, not my father, not my friends, not my boyfriend. Not even the therapist."

"You have a therapist?" he questioned, looking at me.

"No." I giggled as I received a soft chuckle from him that made me want to talk to him even more now. "I don't have a therapist. But if I did, I assume he'd quit his job the moment I start opening my mouth."

He let out a laugh, and I didn't know he could actually do that. "That's why therapy isn't the right solution." he said.

"What's is the right solution in your opinion?"

"A friend." he uttered, still gazing out the window as I wandered his dark long eyelashes. "A friend who'd still remember every detail of what you've said, even if it was quite boring or useless."

I tried to think about someone who would be like that in my life, but I hopelessly found no one. No one would hear me scream and decides to stay.

"We only need someone who truly cares. From their heart, you know?" he softly mentioned, this time gazing at me.

"Yes." I nodded, gazing back at him as his hair ruffled from the wind, "I waited for that someone my whole life."

"Have you found them?" He tilted his head, studying my hopeless eyes that were just as hopeless as his.

"Not yet." I said, and for some reason I couldn't breathe.

Hearing his thoughts, I started to understand him a little bit.

Maybe we both had other things in common that we didn't know about?

Slowly feeling consumed, I opened the window and put out my head as I closed my eyes shut.

Taking a fresh air breath, the hard wind ruffled my long hair and the tall trees were tattered and blown.

While on the other side laid the ocean. Concealed by the beautiful full moon as it's light polished clear the dusk with gracile ease, lightening the expanding alley.

"Wanna know my real story, Evelyn?" He broke the silence, gazing out the window. "Do me a favor and care for what I got to tell you." he gazed my figure as he spoke with a soft tone, a tone that seeked for help, a tone that seeked for care and affection.

Something he didn't seem to possess..

And neither did I.

"Tell me what you got. I promise I will."

...

"Don't fail me in front of my people, alright?" Mikhail whispered in my ear as I rolled my eyes from how much stress he gave me the moment we entered the palace.

Walking arm in arm, I tried not to stumble on the ground, due to how clumsy I was. Especially on occasions like that, It gets me nervous as hell.

Not knowing what to say or where to look or how to react.

I make sure to avoid doing clumsy stuff so I stand doing absolutely nothing.

I avoid people's judging so I try not to get into long conversations.

I avoid making eye contact so I keep my head down or up, staring at the ceiling like an idiot.

"I won't do shit, stop having to repeat everything you say." A muscle in my jaw twitched as I walked next to him, still carefully trying not to tumble.

Mikhail rolled his eyes, feeling irritated by how slow I walked, so he gently grabbed me by the arm and quickly rushed to the center of the mansion.

I giggled a little bit and pushed his shoulder, receiving another chuckle from him that caused me to oddly smile.

Wandering the large and magnificent palace, my eyes widened in amazement.

It was a fairytale dream of elegant curved stairs, a collection of classical musicians were placed at the far end of the hall, and so was the large dark wooden piano that fiercely grabbed my attention.

A sweet melody pleasantly fluttered through the busy atmosphere, it was buzzing from the wide ballroom.

Fancy women and gentlemen were gathering all the way through the room with new charming suits and lovely dresses, drinking their filled glasses of champagne that were served by the well-formed servents who did a great effort with the smooth diligence.

Every single one of the guests seemed to pair with their loved ones as the room streamed with conversation refreshments.

Is that how Mikhail be living his life?

No wonder why he's such an arrogant bastard.

I mean, I don't even blame him. I'd have been the same if I was in such position.

Eyes still widened, I caught one of the servents whispering to Mikhail's ear as he coldly nodded at him.

The servent then left us, climbing the long curved stairs. "My boss wants to meet you." Mikhail muttered, causing my stomach to shutter by nervousness.

"Why would he want to meet me?" I muttered back, still holding to his arm like a lost kid.

"Because you're my girlfriend," he whispered with a head tilt. "remember?"

I remember him telling me in texts how much his boss meant to him.

Since his parents were dead, he was the only father figure to him. He's always looked after him and managed to make him the successful man he is now.

I also remember how annoying he was when he kept showing off about his successful career when we first texted.

I knew he surely had a superiority complex.

Despite the fact that I strongly have it too, I've never showed it off or pretended to be successful than someone else when I definitely wasn't.

Let's say that I fake being humble so that no one can ever find me suspicious.

But deep, deep down. I just knew it.

I knew I was better than anyone I got to meet.

Well, most of them.

And when I say that, I actually mean it. I don't try to be arrogant or shit, though everyone keeps calling me that.

But when I tell you that I'm much more mature than any other person I know, maybe even my parents, that's because I actually am.

"I don't think that is a good idea." I muttered to him as I slightly shook my head, finding him rolling his eyes at me. "Do you really wanna lie to him just so he can be relieved with the fact that you have a girlfriend?"

"That's the whole point."

I couldn't believe that man for wanting to lie to his own boss about something useless like that.

What's the point of telling him he has a girlfriend?

Is it going to relieve him in some way?

"Why would you wanna lie to him in the first place?" I asked.

"It's really non of your business." he glared, causing me to tense.

"It is my business when you choose me to be your frickin fake date!" I quietly argued as he impatiently sighed, running his fingers through his hair.

"I got myself trapped because of my stupid best friend, okay?!" he said, quite regretful.

Shocking for me to know someone would want to befriend that dork.

"What?" I jested, looking at him as my brows knitted. "Spit useful shit please."

"When my boss invited us to the party, he said we should bring dates with us or we'd look miserable. Then my best friend who's also my business partner told him that I was already dating someone who looked forward to meeting him." he clarified, looking at me as I raised my eyebrows, blinking. "Now I want you to be that girlfriend. Just for tonight." he blustered, receiving a laugh from me as I hardly managed to stop myself.

He stared at me with confusion, like he expected me to feel embarrassed for him but I did otherwise.

"Why would your best friend do such stupid thing?" I covered my mouth as I let out a giggle.

"Because he's always wanted me to date someone. And kept setting me up for dates I didn't want to go to." he sighed coldly. "He also likes to put me in trouble."

"Okay, why didn't you find someone to actually date instead of asking me?" I asked, the smile of laughter still shown on my face. "A taken woman?"

"Why would any of that matter to you right now?" he frowned as he fought the urge not to raise his voice. 

"Why wouldn't it?!"

"See, I know no women in my life but you right now. And by this shitty experience, I'm not planning to know any." he argued as his jaw clenched, and I was so offended by his words. "So can you just play along with things tonight so we can get it over with!"

"Fine!" I muttered as I half shrugged my shoulder. He offered me his arm and ignored looking at me.

I held his arm as we 'calmly' went on with the night.

He surely knows how to start a meaningless fight.

And I am deeply certain he enjoys it.

Though I admit, I felt sympathetic for him. The whole thing of his best friend wanting to find him a date when he didn't even want to be in a relationship was definitely irritating.

So I just stayed quiet and didn't cause him more trouble.

We headed to his boss as we found him standing with two, good looking, gentleman. Mikhail waved his hand, grabbed his attention.

His boss was about forty six years old, tall, handsome and well mannered.

He wore a dark blue suit that was a very good match with his black hair and his shining blue eyes.

He carried a charming smile as his straight tooth were crystal clear, making him even more handsome.

He glanced at us, and raised a salute with his glass of champagne as he excused his business guests and reached to us.

"Ah! You must be Mikhail's date!" he smiled at me as I smiled back with a nod.

"Rafael, this is my girl," Mikhail stated with an emotionless tone, as he eyed me warmly, "Evelyn."

"It is so nice to finally meet you." Rafael softly said as he reached to my hand and placed a gentle kiss on it. I got impressed by how gentle he was andblushed a bit. "I'm Rafael Tanner, Mikhail's boss and dearest friend."

"What a charming name!" I smiled, eyes glowing as I felt him giggle a bit by my compliment.

"Once we get to know each other more, you can call me Rafe as much as you like." he muttered, and I got amused by the idea.

I really liked calling people I feel comfortable with by their nicknames even though no one let me do so.

So when he easily mentioned calling him by his nickname, it got me excited to mention mine as well.

"You can call me Eve."

"Very well then!" he smiled as the servant came and whispered something in his ear, then walked away.

"Will you excuse me, I'll be back in a minute." he said as he patted Mikhail's shoulder receiving a nod from him. Rafael fixed his suit and then he took my hand to shake. "Again, it was very nice to meet you Evelyn. Please enjoy your night."

"It was very nice meeting you, Rafael." I raised my chin as he grinned and walked away.

"Well, that went just fine." Mikhail calmly said as I let out a deep breath.

"Honestly, he's too gentle to lie to." I muttered and frustratedly looked at him, hoping the night would pass peacefully. "I feel ashamed."

"We had to." he carelessly shrugged.

My throat felt too dry so I went and grabbed a glass of water. "Regardless of lying to your big boss, I sure liked being here." I said, taking a sip of the water.

"Yeah, who wouldn't want to go to a luxurious party with a charming guy like me." he teasingly said, though his face was still cold.

I rolled my eyes, gritted my teeth and managed to punch his jaw without anyone noticing, he groaned a bit and he furiously glared at me.

He really did get on my nerves.

"I allowed you to be in control of everything tonight but that didn't mean you could punch me like that." He clenched his jaw, not even looking me in the eyes that was already full of rage.

"Alright, forgive me." I played with my fingers, trying to reconsider next time. "Maybe that went too far."

"It did." he rolled his eyes and sighed at me. I was thankful that he did pass the situation as I confusedly found him smirking, "But let's be honest Evelyn, don't you like how my life is?"

"It's really nice, you make me think that you work for the mafia." I teased, looking at the people who were dancing in the ballroom.

"Now that you've noticed, I suggest you don't tell anyone." he leaned closer as he whispered to my ear. "Else I will kidnap you."

"Nice joke." I carelessly took a sip of my drink as I didn't bother looking at him.

His smirk was then replaced with a serious look as his voice went cold, "No, seriously. Don't tell anyone."

"About what?"

"That I work for the mafia."

---

[Euphoria] (n) : a feeling or state of intense excitement, self confidence and happiness.

....

Lmao how are you liking Mikhail so far?

Do y'all think he's a good or a bad person?

What else do you expect to happen in that party?

Don't forget to vote and comment! <3