118 The Art of Disguise

"Nooooo! " Jia couldn't believe her eyes as she stared into the photo she just captured a while ago of that oil painting in the master's bedroom.

She really could not think of any possible reason why she was related to her rescuer. It would have been acceptable and easier to believe if she was the mastermind behind her abduction. However, her mind was not closed to the possibility that any human could change. God has His own way of changing a person's heart no matter how hopeless a person may seem to be.

Did she had three brothers? And she did something great to them in the past? Jia laughed at this thought. It really seemed unlikely.

Just then, the doorbell sounded. She walked over to the gate and peeped at the hole. It was Anthon. So, she hurried to open it and let him in. After closing it back, Anthon was already standing by the side of his car. She felt the sudden loud pounding of her heartbeats. Perhaps because, she felt that his stares were piercing deeply, so deeply that it even reached into her amygdala. She felt amused despite her nervousness at the thought of "amygdala", a term she had retained until now during her Anatomy and Physiology class.

Shaped like an almond, the amygdala is responsible for multiple emotional responses, like love, fear, anger and sexual desire.

"Miss Anna.." Anthon greeted her with a pursed smile. She almost laughed out loud at the mention of 'Anna'.

"Anthon. Thanks for coming. "She tried harder in modulating her voice so as not to arouse suspicion from him. She then walked towards her luggages and began pulling one of it towards his car. But, suddenly, a big hand stopped her as he placed it over hers. Her heartbeats banged louder. She was suddenly afraid that he may remember the shape of her hands. She glanced at him and he also did at the same time that their eyes suddenly got locked for a while. Damn it, her emotion was perhaps showing now.

She turned away to break the tension and lifted her hand out , allowing him to do it himself. After placing the first suitcase to the compartment, he walked towards the second one while his eyes were still staring deeply at her. He didn't even care being caught! As if he was doing it intentionally...

As he was about to close the compartment, she walked towards the gate to open it. But she was suddenly pulled to a stop. She looked up at him with a bewildered look.

"Let me do it. " He said, his eyes were not leaving hers even for a moment. As if he was really doing it intentionally to scare her.

"Okay. " She almost whispered since the pounding of her heart were now making it difficult for her to breath.

She remained standing like a statue beside the car until she was brought back into her senses when Anthon called her out. He was already opening the door for her to get in.

"Sorry." She gave him a quick glance before she stepped inside.

Anthon stopped once more to close and lock the gate. When he settled back behind the steering wheel, her torturous moments began. To escape, she closed her eyes and pretended to sleep.

"Miss Anna, you seemed to be wrapped so well despite the scorching heat, do you feel cold? "

Damn him! Was she being caught already? She glared at him without a word.

"And your makeup seemed so thick, is it waterproofed? "

"Shut up! "

"I'm just being concerned about you. The heat of the sun might melt it down and will create blotchy patches on your face. "

"MInd your driving, not my face! " She said angrily.

The stylist Arvin hired may had spent only few hours on her disguise tutorial but she had taught her the basic steps. She followed her suggestion of new hair cut and even had it dyed into a light, chestnut shade. All her life, she always preferred a long, rebonded straight hair with its natural, deep brown color. But for the sake of disguising, she warmly opened her heart into it.

She changed her eyebrow design as well, pulling it out into a slightly higher arch and making it thicker and darker. Then she used a dark, grey contact lens to alter her natural hazel - brown shade.

The most difficult one was the facial contouring, but fortunately, she had perfected her creation of a much thinner, upturned nose and broader forehead. And the big mole, the size of a coin which was painted into her right cheek, made her disguise complete.

He chuckled. "Miss Anna, can you treat me to a lunch for picking you up?"

She felt relieved by his change of the topic. Perhaps, he just didn't like women who wore heavy makeup looks. But her head still ached. He was clearly making fun of her. Perhaps because, he got irritated by her demands or he might already had recognized her. A convincing disguise would also require the doer to change into a new character but she had no acting skill.

"Yes, of course. I'll pay you for everything." She calmly said, concealing the rising tide of annoyance and nervousness inside.

She closed her eyes again. "Anthon, please don't talk to me. "

"You're married? " He asked, ignoring her request.

She just nodded.

"Then your husband likes your boy cut?" He asked further, obviously annoying her.

"Am I ugly with my hairstyle? " She returned his question.

"You're maybe the most beautiful woman without that makeup."

She sighed, silently wishing that may her suspicion that he already recognized her was false.

Then, she noticed that Anthon entered a subdivision and after few turns, he stopped in front of a house. He went down ahead and walked to the other door to open it for her. Then, he led the way towards the house and opened it.

"Hope you like this. " Anthon said while staring at her again.

She looked around at it was fully furnished. The interior design was contemporary and the mixture of shades suited her preferences. She realized that Anthon had elegant tastes. Even the furnitures and appliances were of high quality and of expensive brands.

"I like it. Thank you. " She smiled at him, getting used to his deep stares.

He gave her a thin smile before turning towards the door to pick up her suitcases.

When he was done with it, Jia sat up straight from her the couch.

"Anthon, I'm not sure if my bank has set limits on the amount of fund transfer. I hope you won't mind if I'll give it to you in installments."

Anthon ignored her question but his next statement sent her brain into a mess.

"Miss Anna, can we talk?"