A day had already passed till the anniversary party almost everybody was getting ready for. Anne and Annabelle got new dresses already, the high-ups of Asia were also invited and the fashionista lady, Isabella, got a new car to show people her worth and the class she belonged to. Little did anyone know what would unveil that day, and would change the fates of some people.
In the sunny afternoon, Anne intended to visit her father at the hospital. Though she was told by the doctor outside the ward that her father's condition was getting better so he might wake up soon, she doubted such a word.
"Anne, your daddy is responding to treatment so he may be alive back any time from now."
"I doubt that,"Anne said in a perplexed mood. "He has been lying in hospital bed for over fifteen years, without no sign of being alive nor any response, yet you believe he could make it? I know you are just saying it to make me brazen up."
Minutes later, she was at the sick bed of her comatose father and she held his hand tightly, sobbing beneath. She never thought she could utter what she had told the doctor, not against her own father. Her eyes were cornered with tears and she was sobbing, seeing no response yet from him no matter how deep she touched him.
"Dad,"said her in a perplexed voice, "I said some bad words about you before the doctor. I am sorry. I am sorry, dad. I discovered how hard I have stood to not be inferior ever since your collapse, and how we; David and I, made sure we were not maltreated because we are orphans. But not anymore, dad. We need you now because we can no longer go on like this. Please, wake up soon." She cried and whimpered, later leaving the seat next to the bed of her father and she left.
Anne's mood couldn't easily be shifted by herself due to too much perplexity. She was still unhappy till she got to the hallway.
By the way, Winston, the renowned shadow assassin hid at a corner and watched her from afar, gently monitoring her. He thought what she could have at the hospital and he thought about family.
"Family?!"he said to himself. Then he smiled, knowing the answer to his curiosity lies in that single word," Family after all consist people one interacts with, so there is no doubt----"
He paused, after remembering she was hurt by her leg that night."Did she go to treat her leg?"
Curious and uncertain, Winston decided to check by himself. Anne, walking lightly without no care for the world almost fell in the floor, but a masculine hand grabbed her back immediately.
She apologized to him, "Please I am sorry for being unmindful of the road. Thank you for helping me too."
Winston looked straight at her legs but strangely, there was nothing there.
"Thanks," she thanked him once again and then left, yet Winston was astonished how come the wound disappeared overnight.
It was either she too had some hidden ability, or perhaps, the red-robed guy cured and cleared the wound. He was concerned about one more thing — the person this woman came to visit in the hospital. Thus, he entered the hospital hallway.
Upon walking inside, Winston, while shielding his face over and over with a face mask unmindfully crossed paths with David and Lily, who were busy flirting around each other after Lily got a treatment from Annabelle's brother.
A moment of silence broke out from both parties. David looked thoroughly at the guy in black standing before him, however, he thought it was strange he grew some gross feelings about the guy. Nonetheless, he apologized to him,
"Sorry for crossing your path."
"No qualms. You own the path to begin with; I was the one who crossed you. I apologize,"Winston bowed and David looked grossly at him. He as well noticed his thorough stare on him so he glanced with a "what-is-the-matter" countenance at him.
"Hah. It's nothing," David said. "I was kind of confused why you would cover your face like that at a hospital, not even with a white mask like medical practitioners. People might be suspicious of you like that, you know."
"I wish you have forgiven me for the earlier incidence. Goodbye,"he said, ignoring what he said about his appearance. He walked out on them and David kept on looking at him till he took the elevator.
"The more I looked at him, the more this gross feeling ignite in me like I have a business to do with him in the nearest future; a business as if I am going to suffer in his hands," he said, shaking his head and looking at the direction the guy took.
"What is that? It happens like that when you think about someone is suspicious,"Lily cleared his mind, grinning as a matter of fact.
David turned at her, smiled back and they went out of the hospital arm-in-arm.Meanwhile, when Winston stepped out of the elevator at the third floor, a security guy approached and asked him to show his ID card.
"Hey, show me your ID card."
Winston whined, "Do you ask that from anyone you see here?"
"It's because you are not identified. Show me your card, man."
Winston didn't think of this as a great obstacle, so he said he would take out his card and he dug his hand in his pocket. Normally, what the security man expected was what he demanded for; however, he was shown a bare hand and in the next microsecond, he passed out.
"That's less compared to an iceberg."
The security in the hospital was so tight so Winston was caught on camera immediately and was bombarded by bunch of security men. The two exits where he stood was blocked and was stuck in the middle. He had no choice but to fight!
Eugene was taking notes of the stuffs being taken in at the venue for the upcoming anniversary, ensuring nothing was missing. Then one of the mansion's security men approached him to tell him Alexander wanted to talk with him. He went outside and walked up to Alex, since he wanted to see him.
"I was told you wanted to see me," Eugene said.
"I have already seen you,"Alex said.
"What?"
"Here you are; I have seen you so you may leave now."
"Cut the joke,"Eugene smiled.
Alexander laughed and said,
"I just felt like taking a work, since I have done it in a while. I am becoming lazy because I ride in car all day."
There on the walk they were, taking a stroll in the vast mansion and making up for the long moment of the separation between them. None of the two knew what to start the conversation with and their was silence as they walked on.
Eugene was the first to break the silence, "Aish, it's very silent between us."
"As if you knew what to say too," Alex jested him and they laughed. "Then, shall we talk about this ironical world or the world where we belong to?"
"To me, our world is much more interesting to me. Then, we were very close together, we laughed together, ate together and frequently cultivate together irrespective of your superiority over me — you still taught me many things. We were free to declare our nature to people, but not anymore. I think this has answered your question," Eugene said and Alex smiled.
"No matter where we are, we still are what we are," Alex said.
"You're a half a demon half a witch and I am a noble vampire, is that not what you meant?"
"Yeah. But I have learnt to summarize very well."
"See?" Eugene imagined how come they were already at the gate. Then they must have talked for a couple of minutes.
"How come we were so fast?"
"Since we are here already, let's take a look outside," Alex said and headed outside.
"That darn halfie," Eugene nodded his head and followed him out.
The fresh air outside the mansion was one in a lifetime kind. It was heart chilling and natural and was pleasing to Alex's and Eugene's hearts. When they had moved abit, Alex asked him,
"Hey, who're you bringing as your fake girlfriend to the anniversary party?"
"You know it's a fake already?"
"You can deceive anyone but not me, you punk."
He sighed, "It's an infamous girl. You would meet her on that day."
"Mmm, " he agreed.
"And you?"
"What?"
"Who's the that person you would bring? People in Asia are dying to know if Isabella is really your girlfriend and are waiting for that day because you must present someone as your date," he said. "You can't bring a contracted girlfriend like me because it would be impossible to tell people afterwards that your relationship is actually a fib. Think well about it."
Alex shrugged, "It would meet everyone like a space rock very soon. But it would be less surprising to you of all people because you know I can never fall in love."
"I would meet that personal assistant of yours too that day, right?"
"Of course."
All of a sudden, Alex saw Anne walking up the street outside the estate they were. He was not surprised she lived close to his mansion since he was used to taking her home. Perhaps, Anne was the only one in the dark about that.
"That's her,"Alex smiled, pointing towards the woman ahead of them.
"That woman?"
"Yes, she's my personal assistant!"
Just as Eugene was about imagining how coincidental the whole issue was, he saw another woman joining Anne, Alex's meticulous P.A . He might be mistaken about the back view of the other woman, but he knew it was the one he encountered two times at the peanut shop and the one he contracted, as soon as she looked back —Annabelle.
"What a double coincidence of want!"he imagined.
"What is...?"
"That's her. My contracted girlfriend!"
He smiled.