CHAPTER SEVEN
>A FREE WOMAN
...The Mental Prison
The gates of the prison opened with a finality that made Muse's heart skip.
She stood in the doorway, clutching the small bag of her belongings.
A sleek black Mercedes pulled up and she watched as Pierre stepped out.
He was wearing a teal green suit that she was sure was tailored just for him.
He came up to her, carrying himself like a man who owned the world.
"Mr Donovan," she greeted.
He acknowledged her with a nod.
"You are here," she murmured as her eyes scanned him from head to feet.
His cologne filled the air around her and slowly wafted into her nostrils.
"It is time," Pierre said simply.
Muse nodded once as she knew without being told that the time had come.
He side stepped her and went to talk with the guards while she waited.
When he was done with them, he came back to her with a broad grin.
"Are you ready to leave this place behind Muase Vitale?" He asked her.
She nodded.
She still did not quite believe that all of this was real because of the speed.
"Hey, are you certes sure that all of the paperwork has been sorted?"
Her brows rose high.
Pierre bit back a smirk.
"Every document has been signed and filed my lady," he teased her with a smile.
Muse breathed softly.
"So it's over?" She demanded.
He nodded.
A smile curved her lips.
"You are now a free woman, Mrs. Donovan," he added with a smug grin.
He signalled to his men and they brought over a garment bag from the car.
He handed it over to her alongside what she recognized as a small makeup case.
Confusion stole her features.
"Umm, what am I supposed to do with this?" She asked him, unsure.
He gave her a side eye.
"I thought you might want to change before we make our first public appearance?"
His eyes scanned her as he spoke.
Muse looked down at her prison uniform and instantly felt self conscious.
She looked back at him.
"Where am I supposed to change?" She demanded, eyeing the gates.
She didn't want to go back inside that prison after successfully getting out.
Pierre noticed her change in expression and instantly gestured towards the car.
"You can change thefe. The backseat has privacy screens. Take your time."
Muse stared at him.
Could she really?
Pierre noticed her hesitation.
He stepped forward, took her hand and led her to the sleek black Mercedes.
He held the door open and helped her to climb into the car like a gentleman.
"Take your time," he said before he stepped back and then shut the door.
Muse sat there, staring for a while before she unzipped the garment bag.
She gasped softly, holding her chest at the contents of the bag.
There was a stunning navy blue dress that she was sure could buy a decent car.
It probably cost more than most people could ever make in a year.
The fabric was soft against her fingers.
When she held it up, she could tell that it would definitely fit her perfectly.
Her brows quirked.
How had he known her size?
Twenty minutes later, Muse emerged from the backseat thoroughly transformed.
The elaborate dress hugged her curves in all of the right places.
She had done the makeup to cover the dark circles sitting under her eyes.
Her hair which was freshly styled fell in soft waves around her shoulders.
Pierre's expression shifted the moment he set his eyes on her.
He swallowed softly and couldn't help but stare pointedly at her.
She was gorgeous.
The woman that stood afore him bore no resemblance to the broken girl that he had first seen in this prison.
She was different.
The difference wasn't in her hair or in her dress or in the shoes on her feet.
The difference was the look in her eyes, the one that truly marked the change.
The change was in her aura, cold and determination, replacing despair.
Muse clearly saw his careful composure as it slipped for just a moment.
It was enough for her to catch something that looked like admiration in his eyes.
"You look..." he started.
His eyes shifted up to her.
Pierre noticed that Muse was watching him intently and he instantly adjusted.
"Prepared?" Muse finished for him. "I am ready to begin with you."
Pierre took a step forward, his gaze dropping to her cleavage.
He quickly glanced away awkwardly.
He couldn't let her notice.
But she already did.
He cleared his throat.
"You look ready to take on the world, Mrs Donovan," he announced.
Muse scoffed lightly.
"Well, I do feel like I am someone else," she admitted, smoothing down the dress.
She felt Pierre's gaze, hot and intense on her the moment she looked away.
"Maybe you are. Maybe this is who you were always supposed to be Muse."
She looked up at him.
Their eyes locked in that moment.
They both said nothing, just staring at each other in the thick palpable silence.
His voice was gentle.
But the expression in his eyes was softer.
Muse felt scrutinized under Pierre's gaze which grew intense by the minute.
He was staring at her as if he had never ever seen her before then.
"What?" She whispered lightly as her heartbeat slightly increased.
Pierre said nothing.
His gaze which had been lingering lazily on her moving lips shifting to her eyes.
"Is there something on my face?" She pried, growing warm under his gaze.
"Yes," he said to her and she raised a questioning brow at him.
She made to speak.
But, he beat her to it.
"Beauty," he added.
She swallowed hard.
"How did you know my size?" she asked in a bid to change the current topic.
Pierre broke into a smirk.
"I have my ways," he said.
"Ah, I see," she said with a knowing look.
"Shall we go pay your respects to Muse Vitale now, Mrs Donovan?"
Muse had yet to get used to the name.
But that was who she was now, at least on the papers she had signed.
"Yes, we shall," she answered.
Pierre lent Muse a hand.
She took it.
Then she slid in the air conditioned car.
All these without even a glance at the prison that had made her life miserable.