487 I've Been Too Many Places

Dian, with her ever midnight black hair and sophisticated stance waited for Xhemin at the entrance of a restaurant. It was the first time they will meet again after six years and although their last meeting brought unwanted memories, they both still considered each other as friends. Truth was Dian was having some second thoughts about inviting Xhemin out as she thought that because of everything that happened between their families, her friend might not want to associate with her anymore but surprisingly Xhemin responded with her message and agreed to catching up with her.

Xhemin on the other hand do not have any bitter feelings for Dian and she still does consider her as a good friend. Apart from everyone else, she was the one who had been with her at her darkest moments of her life and for that she was thankful. The only reason why she had not contacted Dian when she came back to the capital was because she thought Dian had resentments on her for running away and pretending to be dead when she was watching over her at the loch. 

"Oh my dear it's really you," Dian ran to welcome her when Xhemin stepped out of the car. The girl was a bit emotional and her eyes obviously turned wet upon seeing her.

"How are you, second Miss?" Xhemin greeted her. Even until then, Dian's warmth toward her remained the same as if they were not separated that long.

"I'm not used to you calling me that," Dian remarked, "Do you want me to call you CEO Leigh then?"

"Of course not," Xhemin disagreed immediately. 

"Then stop will all those formalities," Dian chided her and invited her, "Let go inside, I have a reservation here,"

Both the women entered the restaurant and immediately they were welcomed and attended by the restaurant's manager. They had set a private room for VIP guest's dinner and so in just a couple of minutes, both Dian and Xhemin were already sitting privately on a table meant for two. The restaurant was a classic one, something that best describes Dian's personality.

"So tell Xhemin, where had you been all these years?" Dian asked after some small talks they had over the first course. They had talked about many things already and the conversation just brought them to such a question.

Dian's question certainly caught Xhemin off guard. "I….I…" 

Xhemin looked at Dian with a meaningful expression and sighed. Although how easy the question came out of Dian's mouth, the answer was rather complicated and a bit too hard to tell.

Where had she been?

She had been to too many places. Places she never meant to go but needed to.

She went off trail and climbed on the big tree again to Huzey's room. The Montarini Manor at that time was empty as it was being auctioned by the government and the schedule had not been set so at that moment, nobody was living there aside from the caretaker who only comes once or twice a week to do some dusting and grooming.

That was the first place she had been to. The place where every night she had to wake up being haunted by the good memories of the prince who once lived the place peacefully. 

On her second day of stay, she reconnected with Father Angus and it was the old man who brought her food and the basics she needed including a phone to contact Ziggy. That's how he survived for the first weeks of her disappearance. 

While in there, Ziggy made plans of getting her out of Hampshire but when they day when the day came, things got out of hand. Suddenly, someone made a roving check on the Montarini Manor that forced Xhemin to flee once again before Ziggy could pick her. She waited for him in the forest near the ranch but while on his way, Ziggy saw people on the border highway making a checkpoint asking about a girl in a picture. The girl turned out to be Xhemin and only then did they realize that their plan of getting her out of Hampshire was rather more complicated than they anticipated.

Deciding not to push through with the plan, Ziggy called Xhemin and told her to hide in the Montreal Villa for a while under Ellie's nose while they strategized another plan to fetch her. 

So as per Ziggy's instruction, Xhemin's next place was the Montreal Villa and she hid there without no one knowing. She had sneak in the Montreal Villa a couple of times with Ziggy before and that was why Ziggy was confident that she could sneak in and stay there without complications although her move will be limited since Ellie was living in the same house.

For weeks Xhemin hid there without Elli knowing and since the Montreal's butlers don't usually account for the food in the Montreal Villa, Xhemin had easily fed herself from the pantry without raising any suspicions from Ellie. 

After their first failed attempt, many more were executed with the same ending. However, out of all those attempts, there was nothing more frustrating than their last one. Two months and half staying in the Montreal Villa, Ziggy came up with another plan for them to escape, this time, he was able to set a transportation for them via the Hampshire port to another country. It was an illegal trip that Ziggy spent their last money on and their last hope. 

However, a day before their trip, Ziggy's hideout in the City smiled and burned down in ashes-someone had found their location and whoever that someone was, he meant no one to survive that fire. At the same time, while Ellie was away, some suspicious men sneaked into the Montreal Villa and Xhemin had to run away again.

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