Ace drove his Maybach while his eyes searched the surrounding blocks for the rice stall. In less than 5 minutes he spotted it and carefully parked his car on the curb.
The weather was hot. Ace removed his suit jacket and rolled his sleeves up. He loosened his midnight blue tie and put on his aviator glasses before he opened his car door. He locked his car and walked towards the stall oblivious to his surrounding where men and women glanced at his looks and ogled at him.
Astrid waited for 20 minutes before her turn came. She ordered extra fried rice for her grandfather. When she was about to rummage through her bag for her wallet, she spotted the same Mercedes-Maybach pulling at the curb. Her heart thumped. It was the same car from the accident earlier today, she thought. She quickly turned her body around when she saw a figure of a man walking towards the stall. She was panicking. She should not have freaked out. After all, she helped the Hawaiian man.
`How much sir?' she asked hastily while placing a face mask to cover her face. She did not want the vampire or Hawaiian shirt to recognize her. Little did she know that Hadwin was not in the car but on a hospital bed.
`$15.40', the chef answered. `Next order. Hurry up'.
Ace reached the stall and put on his charming smile. He looked at the queue and turned his face to look at the chef and asked him. `May I have the pleasure of tasting your exquisite fried rice with dumplings?'. Ace smiled brilliantly almost blinding the chef with his accent and his charm.
`Why kind sir, I am flattered' the chef was happy that a rich vampire chooses his shop.
`I see you have packed a set for me. May I?' Ace took note of $50 and placed it in the chef's hand and snapped the parcel of food. He smirked and turned to walk before waiting for a reply.
Astrid was astounded. She stood there for 20 minutes under the hot sun only for her meal to be snatched under her very nose. She could feel her ears turning red. This is fucking unfair.
She quickly walked towards the vampire who seemed oblivious to her running behind him.
`Excuse me, mister.' She shouted.
Ace ignored her. He knew well to ignore.
`Hey. You took what's mine' Astrid spoke louder.
When Ace did not stop, she got mad real quick.
`Hey asshole, you took what's mine' this time Astrid held his arm and spun him to face her.
`That food parcel is mine.' She spoke while eyeing the parcel.
`Excuse me? Were you speaking to me?' Ace spoke with his refined accent. He could not see her face clearly as she covered herself with a face mask. But her eyes, strange pale brown eyes, he thought.
`Yes, asshole. You cut the queue and took my meal. Give it back.' She opened her palm letting go of his arm. Expecting him to give it to her.
`No', Ace grimaced when she called him asshole twice. His brows furrowed as his mouth turned grim. He turned his body and started taking long strides towards his car.
Astrid's face turned red. She could see a red flag in front of her. Number 1, her food is being stolen. And number 2, her growling stomach is driving her insane. Just when Ace was about to open the car door, Astrid snatched her food parcel and ran towards the opposite direction.
`What the hell!' Ace Wagner was exasperated by now. He took out his aviators and contemplated whether to run behind her or let her go. When he thought about his mother with his idiotic brother and the amount of lecture he will have to endure, he gave chase.
Astrid knew he was a vampire, so she purposely chooses a crowded footpath to try to lose him. Ace did not want to give up so easily. When she snatched the food parcel from him, he had a faint smell of lavender and peppermint registered on his senses. He could hunt her like prey. She wasn't too short either but stood around 5ft 7 inches.
Astrid ran like her life depended on it. She knew she offended a VIP but she did not care. Hell hath no fury like a hungry stomach! She could sense him chasing her. She was breathing hard and beads of sweat formed on her forehead and her upper lips. She used her free hand to pull her face mask away and threw it. She glanced behind her saw him just a few feet away. Gosh, he is fast.
At the same time, the Wagner clan checked out of Mt Elizabeth Hospital and walked towards the lobby.
`I can smell the fresh air of women waiting for me' Hadwin looked around the lobby and flirted at the receptionist who blushed.
`Uggh, please check your dick face' Abigail bullied him outright.
`You, you have a half-cooked egg as your brain' Hadwin retorted.
`Silence!'. Mr Wagner boomed. Both his children scurried out of the lobby and went to the footpath waiting for their driver to arrive.
`This is your fault' Abigail whispered to him angrily.
`You are annoying as hell' Hadwin stuck his tongue out and looked around the road and curb waiting for his brother and his meal.
`Hey, Hadwin is that Ace? Running behind a girl?' Abigail was surprised. Never did she imagine her brother chasing a girl. It was always the other way around.
`What is he doing?' Hadwin was surprised. If he had any alcohol leftover in his system, it must have evaporated just by looking at the scene unfolding in front of his eyes.
Both the Wagner siblings looked at each other, rubbed their eyes, and narrowed their eyes towards their brother, Ace. It was true!
Astrid thought her heart would jump out of her chest when she neared a hospital footpath and saw Mr Hawaiian shirt with a gorgeous lady standing beside him staring at her! Gosh, the trio she saw earlier! How bad can it go, she groaned mentally.
`Catch hold of her Hadwin! She stole your meal!' Ace shouted while pointing at Astrid.
Astrid felt a shiver climbing up her spine when Hadwin grinned and ran to grab her hand.
`Gotcha'.
Astrid was speechless. She was trapped between both the brothers. She tried to pry her arms away, but the vampire was strong. She needs to calm down. She bends her knees and put her face down to try to catch her breath. She breathed in gulps full of air to calm her senses. She did not let go of her parcel but held it tighter.
`Mmmmm 2 dogs fighting over a meal, should be interesting' Abigail grinned like a bobcat and stood back leaning against the wall to watch the scene in front of her.
`Hey, watch your words', Ace snarled. He was made to ran 1 kilometre chasing her down and it annoyed him to no end. He looked at her reddened face and found her to be quite attractive. Lips slightly parted to allow her to exhale and inhale, crimson cheeks, ears, and her slender neck were turning red as well. She looked beautiful. Who is she?
He continued staring at her while he catches his breath. Abigail looked at both her brothers; beam her smile to no one and shook her head. This is going to be fun, she thought. Both her brothers were eying her up like a piece of steak.
`I. Did. Not. Steal.' Astrid gritted her teeth.
`Wow feisty, are we?' Hadwin exclaimed and pulled her arm to force her to look up.
Astrid came face to face with the trio siblings. She dreaded this moment. She looked at Hadwin and saw the bandage on his head. So he got his treatment, what a relief, she thought.
`You…you' Hadwin looked at her with sharp eyes and pointed his finger to her.
He felt like he had seen her somewhere. But he could not recall. Those eyes. Pale brown with flecks of amber. He pulled her nearer to breathe in her scent and she squirmed. Oh no, I am doomed. If he recognizes my scent he will remember that I punched him.
`Let me go' Astrid stood her ground and trashed around his grip.
`No. I need to taste something' Hadwin winked at her.
Astrid's eye grew large with terror. Her lips felt dry and she licked her lips nervously. Ace and Hadwin gulped at her action. A simple action but it derived a lot of reaction. Abigail looked at her brothers and rolled her eyes.
Hadwin saw the fear in her eyes and he softened his grip on her arm.
`Relax I won't bite'. Having said that he quickly put his face near her neck and inhaled.
Astrid's survival mode kicked in. She did not trust him. With his loosened grip, her eyes darted around, and he saw a bus stopping at a bus stop a few meters away. She needed to act quickly. She switched her meal to her other hand; fisted her hands tight and punched him on his face.
`Owwwwwww. Fuck, that is twice today' Hadwin moaned in pain and touched his face. It has started to swell.
`Twice being an asshole, twice the punch' Astrid yelled before jumping on the roof of the nearest car.
Ace was stunned. How did she know he was punched earlier? Was she the girl who helped them earlier?
Abigail laughed hysterically.
Astrid lunged at a car that was parked near the curb and hopped from one car to another until she reached the bus. She did not care about the angry drivers shouting at her. Only once she was safe inside the bus she moved to the furthest side and away from the window facing the Wagner siblings.
Hadwin was moaning in pain and it broke Ace's stupor. He rushed to his brother just before he fell from the exhaustion.
`Lavender..she..' Hadwin muttered while pointing towards the bus before darkness enveloped him.