The electricity crackled and illuminated the dark office of Mr. Zyair Kincaid; the CEO of Kincaid International. Wearing a black mask to hide his identity from the world, he stood facing the window with his hands in his pocket.
Skyla Blackthorn; his secretary stood behind him.
"Why are you helping me? Why do you care?" she slowly asked, watching the backside of his outline. His head slightly tilted without his body moving, so he could inspect her with one eye.
Silence, he was a very patient man.
"Come closer, Skyla," he broke it with his enigmatic voice.
She was confused, he didn't like women in his proximity. He didn't hate them, he just avoided their touch and wanted them to remain at least a distance of five feet from him. This was a company rule and every employee knew it.
She remained frozen when he spoke in that sultry voice of his again. A voice she always thought she had known from her past.
"Please!"
Her brain finally commanded her legs to shuffle forward and her heels clicked on the marble floor.
Once she was in his reach, he lightly grabbed her arm and pinned her against the tinted window. His sudden action stole her very breath and left her grappling.
The storm flashed outside and its flashes against the ever-darkening sky were reflected in his eyes; which always reminded her of a serene ocean. Vast and deep, hiding so many secrets.
His large hand cupped her delicate face and his thumb gently rubbed the thick layer of makeup she wore.
"No!" she tried to stop him, clearly panicking.
But he seized her other hand and held it in a grip which wouldn't hurt her and continued in his relentless task of removing the foundation. Revealing the purplish bruises on her face.
She squirmed in his hold like a hooked fish, tears singed the back of her eyes until one trickled down and hit his thumb. This pinched his heart in the worst possible ways. He slowly brushed it aside. Skyla had almost forgotten a man's touch could be so gentle.
She was an emotional mess and his next words had her crumbling in his hold.
"You think I don't know that he abuses you, hurts you and hits you. And you hide it behind make-up. You can fool others, Skyla Adams, you can't fool me. For I have seen it before."
He used her old name. How did he know her surname?
"H–How? Just how?" she stammered, her lips quivering and the minty green of her eyes melded into the oceanic blue of his. His face was a breath away from hers. The mask hid the anguish that was etched on it.
"You don't remember me, Skyla. But I remember you, clear as the day. You have been my salvation more than once in this wretched life of mine. And now I have returned to claim you. All of you," he let go of her hands and cupping her face, joined his forehead with hers and heavily seethed out.
"Divorce your husband or I will destroy him. He is done hurting you."
Mr. Zyair was one of the most influential men of Angel City and not only was he Skyla's boss, he was also her husband's boss.
Skyla shook like the last autumn leaf on a barren tree, amidst a turbulent storm. Her mind reeled back 9 years to one particular night when she met a mysterious stranger. He wore a mask too and she gasped.
Could it be that her past was not in the past anymore and was here to finally liberate her?
The events of nine years ago, the most painful year of Skyla's life, began to unfold and unfurl for her.
***
(Nine years ago, In a club called "The Mirage")
Skyla sifted through the sweltering bodies that writhed and danced to the rhythm of the music while her fiancé's callous words relentlessly echoed in her brain.
"Love her? She is merely a pawn in this game of chess. She will never be the queen."
With her cheek stinging and ear still ringing from the slap Doran Blackthorn had given her. Tears scalded the back of her eyes but she refused to shed them. Men like him didn't deserve her tears.
With her heart in shambles, she made her way to the bar of The Mirage, an exclusive all-women's club. She heavily slumped on the stool beside her best friend; Huria and instantly lamented.
"He has been cheating on me with his secretary, that bastard is not who I thought he was," Huria was quick to hug and console her friend. His betrayal stung worse than a scorpion's stinger.
"That prepped-up Barbie doll with plastic for her lips and skin?" Huria was horrified as her nose scrunched up thinking of his fake-looking secretary.
"Yeah, the one with the pink fetish," Skyla shook her head. She couldn't believe how blind she had been but then she hardly knew the man.
"I am so sorry, Skyla. I got here as quickly as I could after your call. Did he hit you?" Huria's hand held her swollen left cheek, concern dripping from her face and Skyla solemnly nodded. She then beckoned the bartender.
"What a degen. I wish I could cut off his hands that dared touch you like that. How wrong was I to think he was a good man? Will you tell your father?" Huria's hand slowly rubbed her best friend's back. She could see her friend was barely holding on.
"How can I when he is on his deathbed? He thinks Doran is an angel, exactly the reason he selected him. This will break him Huria, he is already battling terminal cancer. I can't burden him any further." Skyla heavily sighed as she picked up the vodka shot and gulped it down in one go. Trying to drink away the betrayal and worries that grappled her.
"Keep these coming," she shouted to the bartender over the heavy noise in the background. He swiftly nodded and filled up the shot glass again.
"You need to get rid of him. You can't marry such a man," Huria voiced her concerns.
"I don't think I have an option, he has taken over my father's company. If I leave him, I will lose the company, Huria," she felt trapped like a caged bird whose wings had been clipped. Creases on Huria's forehead deepened as Skyla continued.
"If only I could escape to the world of anime and spend some time with my favourite anime character. I want to be a free woman if it's only to be for one night," she wistfully sighed and gulped down another shot, the warm citrusy taste made her feel lighter.
Both girls were huge anime and manga fans and an idea clicked with Huria. Seeing her friend so devastated, Huria wanted to lift her mood if that was for only one night.
"I have an idea, I will be right back. Stay here," Huria instructed her friend who was getting tipsy by the second.
"I have nowhere to be, I will be drinking and wallowing in the misery that's my life," she raised the shot glass to her friend before emptying it in her mouth.
The music upped a notch behind her and she began to sway her head with it.
The Mirage was a notorious 18+ all-women's club. But only men worked there. From bartenders to jocks, from strippers to call boys, and from escorts to bouncers, only hunks with herculean builds and taut skins worked there. The place was a male paradise for women of all types, colours and sizes.
Skyla and Huria used to gather here for their Saturday night outings. They loved to dance and cosplay anime characters and this place held numerous such events.
Skyla stopped visiting this place when she got engaged to Doran a few months back. She had to guard his reputation because according to him girls of her calibre didn't frequent such places.
"Not tonight, Doran. You don't want me as your queen. Fine. I will be as reckless tonight as I can be," she muttered to herself.
Taking out some cash, she paid for her drinks and staggered to the platform where male strippers were entertaining a throng of overly excited women. With every piece of cloth they removed, a deafening cheer erupted from them.
Money was hurled at them, hungry eyes roamed their well-toned bodies as the spotlight focused on them and their glistening skin. Women watched them like hungry hyenas.
It was all a game of perfect skin and ripped abs.
Women came here to fulfil the fantasies they always buried deep. But at times they forgot the men in front of them were humans too and not robots. The brutality they faced in real life was let loose here resulting in an endless vicious cycle.
Skyla didn't like how some women threw derogatory remarks at them. She turned to leave to go find her friend when she slammed into a solid surface and staggered back.
No.
It was a man's chest. A sturdy pair of hands caught and steadied her.
Her startled eyes roamed over him and words left her like leaves do a tree in the autumn season.
He wasn't some ordinary man, it was her favourite anime character, brought to life; Kakashi Hatake.
"I am sorry, I didn't mean to startle you," he spoke in that deep husky voice that could only belong to him and she felt weak in the knees.
She openly gawked at him for a while and without thinking she extended her hand before poking the bridge of his nose. That being the only place on his face not covered with a black mask apart from his eyes.
"Are you real?" she blinked at him like a lost bunny and he answered in all solemnity.
"Yes! Would you like to come and talk to me in a quiet place?"
With her mouth ajar and her heart doing somersaults of joy inside her chest, she stupidly nodded at this mysterious man and he led her away. Lightly holding her by her waist.