That night, when I went off to my household, I looked at my callous hands, barely knowing what I had in mind, before walking to the balcony.
Twirling the wine I had in my hands, I looked at the beholding sight and closed my eyes after feeling the slightly shivering wind making me close the gap between my arms and body.
Still, darkness never came instead, rays of golden sun went to pass on to me, and the familiar warmth I couldn't feel to anyone erupted just by the single sight of his smile.
I was supposed to feel such hatred, but I don't even know why from the beginning I felt nothing at Lucas at all.
I didn't mean that I forgot how to love, because of what he did, but it felt like I never had this intense hatred to have. I just felt like I was missing something. A very crucial information to make me doubt every time if what I'm doing is right or wrong.
Nevertheless, as I was looking at the paper, I immediately went to lock it up in my drawer.
Because the words written on them weren't just an ordinary word. It's a code, a puzzle that I asked Lucas to let me take care of since I also needed to know what truly happened to Jasmine, that's the best excuse I could give him.
I slumped on my bed and looked at my phone. I scanned my contacts until I saw her name, Lusia.
I still have that clear memory of that day, when I known her, and that night when she disappeared, I was there, I saw everything she was hiding, and the ones that left her to her wounded.
I could vividly recall everything.
It takes a few rings to hear from the other side.
"Lusia," I whispered, looking at the door from my room.
"I need your help," without responding, she cut the line and the following message went to my phone.
Like her as usual.
"If you would want to have a reservation from the Dining cafe, please enter 1 if not, please enter 0."
I entered one.
"Please wait as I will process the reservation," after loading for a few more minutes, a ring came.
"Please state your reason, press 1 if it's urgent, and press 0 if it's not..."
I press 1 but this time, I stated some reasons.
"I wanted to go to the possible nearest location for a dining room of two," I wrote and after a few more moments, a message popped up again, this time, it was the name of the other person.
"Please state your name and the other one you're going it..." There is no choice now, so I was just going to give my name, to Lucas.
After that happened, I smirked.
"Thank you, for your reservation. Please don't hesitate to call us again for the new reservation..."
Lusia, that young woman had everything all figured out and by now, I guess she was already smirking while typing on her computer.
***
"Madam Scarlett, you should take a look at the news," Anne said and I looked into it early in the morning.
Just as I was about to get my bath, my eyes widened when I saw who was in the news.
"It has been stated that the young CEO of the Weikhan conglomerate had been comforting his childhood friend and the granddaughter of another tycoon, named Sophia Deim. Some source told us that they came out of a motel together and the pictures are as follows take a look at..."
I didn't let it finish and went to take a long bath, with the coldness of the water, continued to drop a new sensation that I was suppressing.
I felt a sudden heartache and I don't even know why.
"Why?" I whispered hitting the walls but I knew that by doing so, I could only hurt myself.
As much as I wanted to go back to the past, and hugged Lucas and forgive him for the mistake he had, just to let him say those words, but now it was becoming pointless.
It felt as if everything that had been going around in the past had been calculated by someone and was it part of their plan for me to fall in love with Raven?
I shook my head. I nearly shouted. To not have the issue go further, I stopped and took a deep breath.
"Anne, will you please get me my robe?" I asked and I immediately got the response.
But in the end, I never got the things that I wanted, even though I had met my real family, it's not like I felt warm. Instead, I felt like I was in this foreign show where I would just be a tool for someone else's enjoyment.
Having the necessary things to do, I immediately went to the place where I would mostly come.
***
Just stepping into the company had already made me feel the nerve-wracking words I would hear later on. The aroma never changes, the warmth still lingers, but the atmosphere seemed a bit different from today.
Like before I would be greeted by the company employees but after doing so, I could feel their gazes, it's not as if I was dirt in their eyes, but it felt like they were taking pity on me.
They must have already heard it first hand than I did when Anne told me to look at the news.
Just as Sigald found me, he immediately showed me the way toward Raven's office, and as usual, he would leave us alone.
I found Raven's back facing me as he kept on looking at the huge mirror in the back of his chair.
He had some coffee in his hand. As I was about to ask him he already began saying the words.
"I presume you already know about the news that's why you came here, right?"
His voice was dark and deep as if he was prepared for whatever words I would throw against him but too bad, I was never going to resort to anything harmful.
I laughed and I could see his eyebrows raising.
"What's funny, Scarlett?" He asked. This time, his voice was full of confusion.
"Nothing, so how was your secret date with your childhood friend? Was it worth the time?" I asked heading to sit on the sofa from his office and I could see him narrowing his eyes.
"Tell me all the teas, will you? Didn't we agree that before having this plan, you would treat me as your best friend?"
I heard him sigh. He stood right beside me and did the one thing I wasn't aware of making my eyes widen than usual.
"Nothing had ever happened between us so there's no reason for you to——"
"I chuckled once more before he continued to lean over his face to mine.
I tried to grab his neck to make him lean even further but he halted as he had his hands wrapped on the back of my sofa.
"There's nothing wrong if something happened, Raven. Wouldn't it be a bit advantageous for you since you're already near to accomplishing your goals? Didn't you even say that you loved her nonstop in the past? Why didn't you even do it then?"
"Why you ask?" he seemed in a bit of a dark mood since I came to his office and I don't even know what's the reason but when I said those words, his aura felt a little bit darker than before.
He leaned in closer to make me feel his nose touching mine, so instead of looking straight at his eyes, I'd already been looking down at his lips.
"I guess some people just don't even realize something they were made to realize," he whispered through my ears. That moment, I gasped when he licked my ears enough to make me feel the warmth that had gotten away earlier.
I tried pushing him away but he only chuckled from my ears.
"Besides, wouldn't it be enough to make the public know that you're my fiance? Tomorrow, I will need you to attend a public gathering at the Grand Hotel of Meraki..."
"Meraki? Isn't that..."
"Yes, that's the Deim company's gathering to support Sophia from her movie. Other than that, shouldn't you be the one who's telling me about your date with your precious Lucas?"
I don't know why I thought of this suddenly, but I felt as if there was a hint of jealousy in his voice that I managed to shrug it off while chuckling.
"Well, we might have hit it off," I joked but when I looked at him, he pulled away but there were these eyes that told me he was not enjoying the moment.
"I thought I told you before, Scarlett?" He said and now he was trying to loosen his tie.
"I don't share what's currently mine to anyone, not just to anyone..."
Then in that sudden scenario, he kissed me roughly like he was marking my mouth saying that this is mine and only mine.
My heart would stay frozen until now it had gotten to be melted away with his soft lips.
I push him away and he immediately responds with a wide grin while wiping the edges of his mouth with his tongue.
"What the hell are you doing, Raven——"
"For publicity purposes, Scarlett. That's why I immediately take action before you can..."
In the meantime, I looked around and saw the cameraman far away from the room but was on the other side of the building.
"Don't tell me..."
"I'm telling you now, Scarlett. You better move your plans sooner because I will claim what rightfully mine from the beginning..."
I knew the answer to his question but I couldn't help asking as I tried wiping my lips away from the back of my hand.
I couldn't even deny not glaring at this handsome young man.
"Who was it that was rightfully yours to take?"
"The life of Sophia Deim, her life was only mine to take and no one else..."
I don't know why but I felt like my heart suddenly turned to stone.
"Right now, even if you managed to claim Lucas, this your body, soul and your everything still belongs to me, Scarlett..."
What does he truly want from me? He doesn't even love me and yet he says these words enough to confuse the hell out of me.
***
"Lucas, are you there?"