Evangeline closed her eyes and remembered the dreaded day she was left to succumb to nothingness and embrace the harsh lonely truth of her life.
'Please don't beat me up. Not my face. Please don't touch me. I beg you,' Evangeline had begged that day, but in return for her begging, she received nothing more than a kick to her chest and pride before she was beaten black and blue and thrown into that river.
With trembling hands, Evangeline took a deep breath.
'Clasp me up in your arms,
Oh dear sky, wash away my pain,
It's about to fall off,
My destiny was in your hands
They have disappeared without a trace, my scars are in my heart,
I am breaking down, you can't see my bleeding heart, at least hear my silent cries.
It was my destiny. Was it so cruel?
Inside my memory, the darkness rule and burn me every night.
I am breaking down, please hold me, and clasp me up in your arms.
Don't hurl me down.
I committed sins, sins of beliefs, but now I have come to you,
So hold me in your arms.
Show me what sunshine is.
What a starry night without darkness feels like,
I don't need you to heal me, just show me what love is,
I am breaking down, just clasp my hand, and never leave me.
Do I not deserve it?'
Evangeline kept her eyes closed the entire song as she felt every single word.
Unknown to her, everyone was listening intently to her, especially a man clad in a black suit, who was amazed at the strength and depth of her voice.
He looked towards the stage, but because of the crowd, it was impossible to see her face.
This kind of song wasn't meant to be sung in a club, but then again, this wasn't one of those clubs where teenagers go for some night's fun.
This place was a hub for many business meetings too.
After taking a deep breath and controlling her emotions, Evangeline opened her eyes, blinking the tears away furiously before looking at everyone.
She switched off the mic and placed it on the stand. No one reacted to her singing. Maybe she was losing her touch now. She sighed and was about to turn when she heard someone clapping loudly.
When you feel like drowning, you don't need those thousand hands that won't reach you, just one hand that can hold your hand and pull you up is enough.
Evangeline turned to the man who was clapping for her and her pupils dilated.
"Amazing as always," Sam jumped on the stage as everyone followed suit and the place that was silent a second ago was filled with a loud round of applause.
She just wanted to sing her emotions, but unknown to her, a businessman who owns the singing company already got his secretary to find more details about her while one of the social media influencers posted her singing on social media.
"That was amazing! You almost touched my soul!" A girl from the crowd shouted.
"Hey! You weren't supposed to make me so emotional! I was here to enjoy!" Another boy shouted, and everyone chuckled at the teenagers who were still hollering.
However, Evangeline's gaze was focused on the man that was standing in front of her.
"You are back," He raked his gaze on her face, and Evangeline's eyes brimmed with tears seeing him so happy.
"I am back," she said, and he pulled her in for a hug.
"I have no words to explain what I am feeling," Sam chuckled awkwardly, and Evangeline patted his back.
"You don't need to. Your hug is enough to tell me that. How is your family?" Evangeline pulled away, and Sam nodded, wiping his eyes.
"Thanks to the money you sent timely, Mom's treatment was done in time, and my sister is entering college this year,"
"I thought you would've forgotten about me," Evangeline chuckled to ease the mood, and he looked at her as if asking 'Are you kidding me?'
"How could I forget the hand that pulled me out from the dirt and gave me a new life? How could I forget my savior? I won't forget you even in my next life," Sam said, tearing up more, and Evangeline chuckled.
"Hey, you are elder than me. You are supposed to wipe my tears, not cry in front of me," Evangeline pulled him downstage, and the workers who saw this interaction, smiled in their hearts.
No matter what anyone says about her, she was still the same. A sucker for tears.
"Evangeline, you saved my ass like an angel today," The manager rushed to her, and Evangeline looked him up and down.
"Transfer $1000 to my account," Evangeline said.
"Money? What for?" The manager looked at her, confused.
"What do you think? For saving your ass of course. Do you think my voice is for charity? I am sure you were going to pay that singer even more because today is the 10th anniversary of the club. I am sure $1000 is nothing for you," Evangeline smiled.
"You are going to take money from me now?" He looked at her shocked, and Evangeline nodded.
"I am back, but I am not rich. I need to save and earn all the money I can until I become famous and start getting roles in my dream positions. So don't forget to transfer the money, okay? This service wasn't for free," Evangeline winked at the manager and walked towards the dance floor.
"She has become quite cunning than before. How can she ask me to pay up? Has she forgotten that this club was the one that made her famous?" The manager scowled, transferring the money to the same account that he had four years ago nonetheless.
"Stop acting like you are unhappy with her arrival. You and I both know that we all prayed for her to come back to the country and lead a happy life," Sam patted the manager's shoulder before going backstage to handle the storage.
Evangeline walked to the dance floor, the smile on her face dropping as she closed her eyes to enjoy the feeling of drowning in despair and her surroundings once again.
"That was a really beautiful song. I wonder if you can dance so well too," she heard a deep voice and opened her eyes.
She looked at the boy dancing in front of her at a respectful distance and smiled. It was clear that he didn't mean any harm and was complimenting her genuinely.
"Thank you," she smiled, taking in his appearance.
The boy in front of her was wearing loose rugged jeans, and a white t-shirt paired with a brown jacket. His fashion sense looked very much like her own, and she chuckled inwardly.
"That's a nice dressing style," she said, and the boy looked down at his clothes before looking at hers and chuckling.
"I never had thought I would dress the same as a girl in a place like a club. I came straight from somewhere," he said, and Evangeline smiled.
"I came straight from the airport too," She shrugged, and he smiled.
"Dance?" He asked, and she nodded.
This boy was quite comfortable to talk to. He didn't give her any creepy vibes. His gaze was respectful and friendly, and after living on her own for so many years, she knew that he didn't mean any harm.
"Can I know the name of the person I am dancing with? At least I won't have to brag that I danced with a beautiful girl that I don't even know the name of," he said.
"Eva," she smiled.
"Justin," he looked into her cat-like eyes and pulled her.
Meanwhile, at the business table, Benjamin looked anywhere but toward his younger brother so that he won't have to explain more.
He looked at their youngest brother dancing with a girl and narrowed his eyes.
"Look at that scoundrel. How he is smiling while dancing!" Benjamin said, and Alexander's gaze turned to his brother.
He narrowed his eyes when he looked at the back of the girl, whose back looked slightly familiar.
These clothes, these long brown hair, and - they turned around, and Alexander got a clear picture of who the girl was.
The airport girl? What the hell was she doing here? Following him?
No. She can't be following him. That girl doesn't even know who he was, but then, she definitely looked like a psycho.
Was she trying to be-witch his brother now? He has never seen his brother smiling so carefree.
Alexander's gaze darkened when he saw her smiling with his brother.