Wearing a sleek, peaceful, off-shoulder white dress, Zella observed her body.
She got surprised to see it was slim, the dress fit her enough, and her curve showed naturally.
Standing at the full-length mirror, the stylists on either of her sides got delighted. Zella's face was still the same: bewildered eyes, and pursed lips.
She still doesn't know what's going on.
"You look really gorgeous, Mrs. Laina Luciano." That name… it didn't fit her well.
If Laina was her true name, she would feel it, but nothing flickered inside her heart.
It didn't tick her mind with memories. There was nothing close to it.
Zella smiled a little to the two of them, checking her hair, and it's still on a clip.
"Can you fix my hair?" They both did as she commanded. Everything seemed foreign to her.
The room, the men outside, the one who claimed her to be his wife, and this, the stylists, it all felt new. In her heart, she felt nothing had done this to her.
Zella took a seat down at the edge of the bed, and the stylists get readied with their tools.
…
Observing the hearth with the newly extinguished fire, the people must have stayed here through the night, but she didn't notice.
Her heels clacked slowly as she walked around, scrutinizing the color of the walls, the couches, and the dining table.
It's all in brown, some are faded, and some are cream.
Zella fiddled with her hands, tracing the fine sculpture of the wooden counter, and the clean dishes at the rack.
It is a mansion, but no one was around. Not even maids rummaging the refrigerator for something to cook, or even cleaning the whole living room.
Zella approached a big pot of a plant on the corner. She touched the soil, and it's damp.
"Someone must have watered it before I went down." As far as she knew, the mansion had three floors.
It was all available, but the rooms were empty, as Zella checked earlier.
She didn't find anything suspicious. The drawers propped up in every guest rooms, there was nothing behind it.
Zella even slammed herself to check if it has other doors, leading to somewhere.
Before she took a seat down on the couch, Zella turned to the picture frames, and she saw her face. Her feet froze, and she got too stunned.
She kept on staring at the spitting image of her smiling down the aisle, holding a bouquet.
Turning to other picture, both of them---the man who retrieved the knife on her hand---were there. She picked it up, creasing her forehead, and racked her brains.
It wasn't enough to wake up those memories.
"It's nothing. Why can't I remember all of this?" Zella whispered annoyingly.
…
[A month ago. 2 days after the arrest.]
"What is your convict, Jaina?"
"60 years of punishment."
"By actually writing a story about revolution and the government thought you're sparking an uprising?" Zella couldn't believe it.
She got a whole life ahead of her, but here she was, inside a cell, covering the 60 years repenting for her unknown mistake.
Jaina closed her book, gave it to her, and Zella read it.
"Mr. Speak?" At first, she didn't get the title at all.
But as she read the synopsis, Zella realized… it was against the government.
Jaina sighed, rubbing her hands in her lap, and squint her eyes. Looking outside of their cell, she clicked her tongue.
"It was… against the government, Zella."
"I couldn't believe it. You plotted a fictional story that resembled the administration of Yunis, and they arrested you with this? It was a useless case, Jaina. You shouldn't be here." Zella spoke with sense, and it made Jaina ease out her heart.
She sighed, shaking her head, and fiddled with her dirty fingernails.
"I never thought Yunis would pay attention to my book who sold millions after a month. A lot of people can relate about it, and I know for sure those people wanted some change. So when I gave birth to Mr. Speak, all of them must have spoken the truth about our government. They're unjust, you know?" Zella was one of the victims.
She didn't kill her family but she's placed here. What can she do? She'd rather repent than to be killed.
Zella was still plotting her biggest revenge.
"My family died rebelling against them at the center of Idris, right in front of the government's palace. I was the only one left in our bloodline, but look where I am, Zella, I'm stuck in this cell, repenting for the crime they took as my mistake."
Yunis knew how to silence people.
She's trying all her best to build her dignity even if the people crashed the foundation of trust.
Zella soothed the cover of Jaina's book, smiled a little, praising, "The title is good. It's sugarcoating. For sure, Yunis read the content first before agreeing to arrest you."
Jaina chuckled. "That must be it."
…
[Present time.]
"I should check on Zella." Leo stood up from his table, turned off the screen, and wore his coat.
Randall, who was walking down the hallway as he went out, raised his eyebrows. Leo halted in his tracks, sighing.
"You're done with your work already? I thought you're going to finish the load while LAINA is adjusting." Randall had a knack to emphasize the visitor's new name.
Leo buttoned his coat, turned to the door, checking if it's locked.
"I need to check if Laina is downstairs. She must be surprised to see the photos I handled while she's asleep. I couldn't let her get out of the house without my permission."
"So what are you going to do with your company and our spy work? Do you just…"
"Let it pile up in my home office. I need to be here, so that we wouldn't get caught," he confessed. Randall noticed how much Leo has changed in the past few days.
He played the dominant husband over his fake wife, and the fake marriage they both had.
Someone came home, and it was the long-haired, Vincent Bass, who grasped a mimic bomb in his hand.
"Why are you holding that so easily?" Vincent halted at his boss' voice.
Leo slipped in both hands inside his pockets, tilting his head to one side.
Vincent showed the bomb to the two of them, and they flinched. It made Randall's heart skip a beat.
"I'm experimenting with the bullet bombs."
"Bullet bombs?"
"You know, this is the explosives we can have if the rebels were tough. It's lightweight, easy-to-carry, and it can only be triggered if it's in the barrel of a rifle. Everyone wouldn't notice this kind of weapon," Vincent explained shortly.
Leo and Randall raised their eyebrows. It is a good idea, but they still have work to do.
"Enough of that spy work for now, Vincent. Go back to your homework load. I know for sure you still have papers to manage." Leo gave him a pat and a reassuring smile.
Randall turned around, gone back to his office, and Vincent stared at his bullet bomb.
"Isn't this a good idea?" Vincent whispered.
…
Leo reached the first floor of the mansion. He looked around, seeing a woman in a white dress, her hair on a low ponytail. Leo spoke up, "Looking at our pictures?"
He tried hard to maintain the composure and sweet tone. It was the trust he needed to win. Or else, they would all be in danger.
The Cassanos relied on him upon hiding this woman inside their mansion. Leo could only do just that.
Zella turned to him, meeting his eyes. Electricity must have run down the stare. It sent down a chill down his spine.
"They look lovely, right?" He didn't get a response from Zella.
She kept her eyes to him as he approached the counter of picture frames.
The people he hired had done a good job. It felt so real, even if it didn't happen.
Zella averted her eyes once again. Leo picked up one of them, and smirked.
"You cried at our wedding, Laina."
"I am?" It was the second time he heard her voice. Leo's eyes looked back at her.
"Yeah, you did. Actually, you are more a crybaby than I am. I thought both of us wouldn't cry, as we talk about it a lot. But promises are meant to be broken." Leo sighed.
Zella kept on staring at the picture. Questions bombarded her mind: if it's really real or not.
"It felt so new to me. Is these pictures… even real?"
"Yeah, it's real. How can you doubt the love we have for each other?" That's a lie.
As he met her hopeless eyes, he apologized inside. This is all for our own good.
Zella pursed her lips, and say what she had in mind.
"Kiss me if you need to prove our love. I can't seem… to remember everything."
It was the only way to wake her memories up.
Leo's faint smile in his lips earlier turned into a pale one.