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"And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit." —Ephesians 5:18
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THE NIGHT that time was still young. Though the moon was hiding behind the ash gray clouds, it did not affect the atmosphere because there were thousands of stars above, beautifully scattered, lighting up the sky. The wind's blow was cooling and freezing while the chandeliers inside the large function hall of the palace were trying to rival the stars outside.
Everyone was having fun; drinking, eating, chatting and dancing while on the corner of the place where the light could not almost reach was a woman sitting on a gold-painted chair with a crestfallen look on her pitiful face. Alone, she wore a stained wine outdated beige dress with a corset that was so tightly tied and was making her have a hard time breathing since the moment she wore it.
She had no choice but to wear it because even when she always looked down on herself, received insults from others, and had no self confidence, she was still a lady who wanted to look pretty and presentable in front of the man that she liked.
She was really ecstatic and filled with anticipation of the night that she managed to starve herself from the morning until the evening before she went to the celebration just so that she could fit into the dress that she forced herself to wear. But all that excitement disappeared like a bubble after she set her foot at the entrance of the function hall.
The moment that she got out of her carriage, she was welcomed by Mistica's friend, named Lorene, who was holding a glass of wine. And yes, so it happened. She accidentally spilled it on her—the friend's friend said. But the lady knew better and she knew it was never an accident.
Aside from that incident, she was also mocked and insulted because of her size—as usual—while her makeup was criticized to be suited for a clown and not for a duke's daughter. Well, the doer of the makeup herself was a clown, which was the lady herself, so she guessed it was alright. In the end, who was she kidding? Why did she even think about attending the party?
She felt bad about those things, but she never tried to speak up about them because in the first place, being fat made her feel like she didn't have the right to speak.
For those reasons, her mood was killed. Aside from having such a thick face to attend a gathering where only those with beautiful faces attended, what the hell came into her mind to even push the idea? How did she not feel even the slightest embarrassment when she was thinking of attending the party? Hah! She was really such a big embarrassment to the Montgomery Duchy, after all.
She knew that her concerns were trivial. She had long gotten used to being treated like that, so the incident she experienced prior just stung a little. Just that, what made her even more sullen was the fact that it has been a while since she came into the party but she never saw a glimpse of Hubert's face, the guy she liked for a long time now.
"May I burden this beautiful princess to ask why she looks so sad?" an unfamiliar masculine voice said, which took her attention.
She felt as if her face immediately flushed a taint of red upon hearing the compliment from the guy. It was the first time after such a very long time that she heard a compliment from another person again which was not from their duchy so she felt overwhelmed with joy as if her heart was jumping up and down. However, she felt her cheeks turn even redder upon being welcomed by the handsome face of the one who just spoke.
He looked so perfect! He looked definitely more handsome than the one she was waiting for! How could a face that she was facing exist? Wasn't that unfair? He looked as if he was perfectly sculpted and deeply favored by God.
"I-Is mister talking to me?" she asked bashfully while playing with her fingers nervously.
The man raised the corners of his lips as his eyes flickered meaningfully before he replied.
"Yes. Who else do you think? Is there anyone else in this place aside from you? Or you wouldn't think that I was talking to the air, would you?" he playfully said.
The lady felt embarrassed again after hearing the guy's reply but somehow, she still managed to exchange a few words with him, which was like a miracle for someone like her who could never hold a long conversation with someone other than her father.
"Is mister blind? Can't you see how ugly and fat I am? Or are you jesting with me?"
"How about you, do you think that I'm pranking you?"
"Y-Yes," she answered quickly.
"Do you, really?" he asked again as he leaned closer to her face, which gave her full access to his face.
He was such a handsome man, she thought, and somehow it felt to her that it was unfair for him to witness such an unsightly sight. However, when she was about to turn her head away, the man suddenly set his hands on her jaws—refusing to let her do what she wanted to do previously.
"W-What are you doing, mister? L-Let go off my face this instant…"
"Do you really think that I'm just pranking you?"
"Yes!" she firmly replied.
"Does this handsome face look like that?"
She contemplated upon hearing what he said. Then, she didn't know what got into her, but she just found herself getting drunk upon the look that the stranger was giving her.
Embarrassed, she said, "No…"
Sensing the sudden change of the atmosphere, the guy offered her to eat and drink, which she did not bother to refuse anymore because of her surging embarrassment from what previously happened and also because of her broken-heartedness.
Who would have thought that it was her final gathering? She should have let herself eat a lot that peaceful night—eat to her heart's content. If only she knew… She should have let herself follow the urge inside her to kiss the stranger who made her feel the genuine happiness that she long forgotten. If only she knew that she would never be able to do it again, she should have let herself be intoxicated by the stranger's eyes even longer.
Hah. Who would have thought that her body would be suddenly found unconscious inside her own room the next day—unable to wake up no matter what the doctors of her family did?
FROM a sixty floor building of a known "secured" hotel, in there, a woman stayed at the fiftieth floor inside a luxurious presidential suite. Everywhere she looked, things sparkled; either because they were made of gold or gems or simply because the glass wall of the room was showing her the bright lights which came from the surrounding buildings.
The whole place was arranged for a romantic setting; small candles that lit up the whole room while positioned in a heart shape at the large white table near the glass wall, petals from red roses scattered on the gold-tiled floor and on the king-sized bed, and an incense with such a sweet aroma that sent a calming effect to whosoever inhale it.
'It was almost perfect for a romantic night. Almost. However, a setting like this is also perfect for an unexpected plot twist—maybe a crime scene?' She thought.
From the sofa near the glass wall, she rose up from her comfortable seat. Then, a yawn escaped from her lips. The night was already old, and almost everyone was sleeping peacefully by that time, like the old man that was accompanying her earlier. Yet, there she was, still at work.
Her gaze burned up as she looked at her work that night, sleeping soundlessly as if a pig was oblivious to its slaughter.
Men, especially the perverted ones, were really funny. Just seeing anyone with melon-like breasts, they would forget all their morals in life.
She wondered, did the wife of the guy with her know all of his deeds? She suddenly felt pity for the family of the scum. Did they know what kind of man the "great official" was? She used to see the guy on the television, being praised by the media as if he were a saint who came down from heaven. Who would have thought that a very "respectable" person like him was a total scumbag who was crazy about all creatures with genitalia where he could lay his hand into?
Well, anyway, he got what he deserved.
'That's what you get for being like a hungry dog who could never be content.' She thought as her eyes landed on the wineglass that he carelessly used.
"What's the point of hiring security personnel if you won't even use them? Don't you know that being stupid can lead to death, senator?" the woman said, as if he could hear her.
But then, anger rose inside when her mind suddenly flashed to her a scene on how his filthy hands touched her skin. A glare escaped from her eyes as she marched towards the unconscious body on the bed. Then, she spat on him with a crumpled expression while her hands were balled into fists.
A few moments later, she calmed herself down as she took her golden hair pin that was clipped onto her bra. Seeing the small circle ruby placed on it, she was reminded of two things: her grandmother who gave her name Brianna, and the flowers which she saw planted at the back of the orphanage where she originally came from; Lantana—her other persona.
She caressed the pin with care as the stone on it reflected the bright light coming from the full moon. Because of the reddish reflection of the ruby that flashed, she avoided her gaze for a bit before she glanced at it again.
Her grandmother used to style her hair every time she went to school. In whatever style she did, she would never forget to put the pin on her hair with a proud yet warm smile on her lips while saying that her granddaughter was so pretty. When she died, she never wore it again because of the fear that she might ruin the only memento of her grandmother that she had in her possession.
If only they were a little bit well off, maybe she could have lasted longer. Maybe she would still be with her.
She sighed heavily because of where her mind suddenly ran while she was still at her work. Then, she shook her head with a bittersweet smile on her lips. She shouldn't think of something so sad. She just finished another job victoriously, didn't she?
After the short recollection of her past, she clipped the pin back on her bra before she searched for her left gold earring with green emerald. Then, she pressed the stone embedded on it as she spoke.
"Lantana speaking. Code D," she said as a mischievous smile rose on her bloody red lips.
"Vermin speaking. Code X. Good job," her partner said before a bullet coming from a building miles away from where she was standing pierced the glass wall of the room which created a loud noise yet at the same time, directly sent the old man to Hades.
Covered by the darkness of the night, she slowly walked with poise and elegance towards the part of the room where the glass was broken. Soon after, a rope was sent to her, which she used to go to the other side easily.