Emilia stared at the scene in front her without a hint of guilt in her heart. Instead, she felt a surge of satisfaction when she saw the blood of the people who used her. "Please, Lia. W-why're you doing this?" the man spoke as blood trickled out of his mouth. She scoffed at the sight of seeing the proud man begging her, kneeling shamelessly in front of her.
"You have no rights to live. Not after everything you had done." She gripped the blade in her hand. "What about you? Do you think you deserve to live? You?" he laughed out loud, blood splattering everywhere, making a huge mess. "You're one of us, Emilia! What makes you think you're so different from all of us?"
"I'm not. But you need to die in my hands." With that last sentence, she swung the blade in her hand across his neck. She looked away as blood sprayed all over the place, staining her clothes in the process. She scoffed at the thought of that wretched blood dirtying her clothes and skin. A soft shuffling noise was heard at the other end of the hallway. "Just walk away. You don't want to see this scene with your own eyes."
"Are you okay?" a woman spoke as she walked towards her cautiously.
"You need to leave. You shouldn't be here."
"Let me take a look at you." an unknown woman spoke softly as she kneeled down in front of her. The 12-year-old girl kept quiet and stared at her before taking a step away from her. "It's okay. No need to be afraid of me." The woman held out her hand as Emilia stared at the held out hands in front of her. Her eyes trailed up to the woman's face and she felt something she'd never felt before. She felt warm inside as if her ice cold heart was slowly melting away from the way she was smiling at her warmly. She was drenched with blood but the woman didn't stare at her as if she was a monster.
Tears left her eyes as she remembered the way her mother used to stare at her as if she was a mistake in her life. Right at that moment, Emilia realized that all she ever wanted was a mother to hold her when she's sad and smile with her when she's happy. As if she was bewitched, Emilia took her hand and was pulled into her embrace. "It's okay. You're okay."
She walked into her house hand in hand with the beautiful woman, admiring every single thing in the house. A warm and comfy house she never had because of her family and her identity. It was not a mansion but it was enough to her. "I'm Clarissa. From today onwards, this will be your home." Emilia stared at woman in confusion. The woman tried to caress her hair but Emilia flinched in response. She pulled her hand back and smiled at the girl in front of her.
"You don't have to go back to your old life. You can stay here and start over." Emilia stared at the ground as she kept her mouth shut.
"You don't have to talk if you don't want to. Just nod if you want to stay here. That's good enough."
Emilia nodded slowly after contemplating the offer. There's only two choices for her, the woman's place or that hell hole she used to call home. "Starting from now, you are Avangaline Harold."
Clarissa Maximillian, her savior, the one who saved her from losing any more of the remaining humanity in her soul. The one who dragged her away from the cruel side of the world and gave her a new life. Ava was indebted to her with her life, so she volunteered to protect her for the rest of her life but she refused.
"You don't have to give up on your life for me. Just visit my son once in awhile." Those are the words Clarissa said to her the last time they met which was five years ago. Ava lost any connection she had with her after that. It was as if she vanished from the face of Earth. No matter what happens, she had to find her son and watch over him. To her, her own happiness or desire wouldn't matter if she failed to protect Clarissa's family like she requested. Ava was yanked back to the present day when Aaron spoke up.
"You're in danger, Ava. You can't just go. Plus, Alex will be furious if he knew you left." he spoke, a disapproving frown lingering on his face. "I can protect myself, Aaron. Plus, Alex knows I'm leaving and he said he don't need me." Ava spoke as he heaved a quiet sigh at her response. "He's lying, Ava. He needs you. More than anything."
"Stop it. He doesn't even care about me. That's how Alex is supposed to be. I'm not someone who will be of help to him."
"This is the first time I see Alex looking at someone like how he stared at you."
"I'm nothing special to him and I know that. You don't have to say these things to comfort me."
"You're wrong, Ava. I'm pretty sure you're a big part of his life the moment he decided to take you to the family dinner. He never makes a decision this crucial without thinking ahead. He chose you. Not one of his past flings. There's a reason why he chose you instead of all of the women he was with before. Believe me. You're special, at least to him."
"It doesn't matter what he thinks, Aaron. The fact is that he said he don't need me and I can't stay either. I have my own life to live. I don't belong to this world where blood spills and deaths are normal. I need to go now, so take care of him. Bye." Ava flashed a small smile towards him before walking away from the mansion and hailed a taxi. I'd be lying if I said that I was okay by leaving Alex just like that. I saw how hurt he was when I told him I'm leaving.
"I'm sorry." Ava muttered to herself before heaving a heavy sigh. "As soon as I found Clarissa's family, I'll come back to you. I promise." She whispered softly to herself as the mansion slowly disappeared from her view. How I wish I could say that to him last night. Even though our meeting was brief, he turns out to mean a lot to me. I had never felt anything like that for anyone.