On her way back home, Zydal passed by Scully's studio. He'd sent her a text saying it's very important that she sees him that very day. She was exhausted. She needed enough rest for whatever the universe had in store for her the next day. But out of respect, she did honor his call and went there.
The studio usually closed at 8 pm. But it was almost 8:30 and the doors were open. Was she worried? No. Curious maybe. When she entered, she went directly to Scully's office. She found him there. But she also found a gift bag on his desk with the logo she knew better than her family's history.
"Prada?", she asked out loud, "Which celeb gave you that?", she joked.
"It's not mine. It's yours.", Scully replied, his tone meaning nothing but business.
Zydal was confused. Scully brought a Prada gift for her? There's no way on Earth. Still she pulled the bag towards her and checked inside. Her breath almost choked her. Inside was a pair of red mules. She knew them well because she was currently saving up money to buy them. During her free time, she had used the office computer to visit the website just to see if the shoes were still available. And Scully, with his detective skills, found out.
"I can't believe this!", she exclaimed, "It's not even my birthday. Why did you buy me this gift?",
"It's not a gift.", Scully flatly responded, "It's a bribe.",
Zydal was puzzled, "A bribe? Wait a minute, are you about to ask me for a stupid favor?",
"Not stupid. It's huge. The price of it is equal to the price of those shoes.",
"And what's that?",
"Helzeny's number.",
That day was too draining for her that she didn't have time for goofy ass jokes. And what Scully just told her sounded like one.
"Excuse me?", she asked again, not that she didn't hear him the first time.
"I need Helzeny's number.",
"Ugh! That again?", Zydal's arms crossed on her chest, "Why?",
"Because I want to get close to her.", Scully replied,
"Why do you want to get close to my friend?",
"Because I … I … I think _", he heaved a sigh. I guess it wasn't something easy to say, "I think I like her.",
"Are you kidding me? You? Liking somebody? Over my dead body.",
"I'm serious. Please. I just want to talk to her.", Scully begged her, for the first time in both their lives, "I'm not going to be a douche. I swear, if she says she's not interested, I'll stop pursuing her.",
Zydal looked at the shoes again. The clock ticked as she made up her mind, "If she's not interested and you stop pursuing her, am I still going to keep the shoes?",
"Absolutely.",
"Very well. You'll get her number in 24 hours.", she informed him, "But just so you know, I don't trust you.",
"I get it. But just know that I'm very real about my feelings towards her.",
Wow. Zydal had to savor the moment. She'd never seen her brother that desperate before. But most importantly, she had her top of the bucket list item ticked; the Prada mules. Could that be the best day of her life?
…
Nothing had ever racked her thinking like the words spoken by Queen Minzy. Following the happenings of River's prophecy, Lessin was starting to believe that maybe it was true. If the person Queen Minzy communicated with was certainly Isack, then she had to inform Zabron too. He deserved to know. Isack also wanted them to go back to how they were and she was determined to do it.
Lessin had passed by Zabron's bakery and saw that he wasn't there. Without a doubt, he'd be at home finishing the rest of the orders, or so she thought. With a very stiff heart, and trembling mind, she headed for Zabron's home. She practiced what to say first when he saw him and no sentence sounded good enough. Still, she trusted that words will find her when she finally stands before him.
A few steps to the house and the gate suddenly opened. Lessin halted and waited to see who'd come out. The first person to step out of the gate was Zabron, of course. But he was dressed to go somewhere nice. Before Lessin took another step, someone else came out, a girl, also dressed to impress. She didn't know who she was, but she surely sensed that her and Zabron's relationship wasn't casual.
Zabron took the girl's hand, but before they walked away, he noticed Lessin standing a few inches from their gate, looking all staggered.
"Lessin?", he said her name like a question.
"Hi.", she was too uncomfortable to be there.
"What are you doing here?",
"I came to … see your mom.", she lied.
"My mom is at work. You know that.",
"Oh. Okay. Bye then.",
She turned around and started walking away, wishing the ground would swallow her instead. Reality was so far from fantasy. An imaginary magnet kept pulling her back. She didn't want to go without curing her curiosity. And so, she paused and looked back at them.
"Are you going to introduce us?", she asked him.
"Oh, yeah.", Zabron snapped, "This is Bella. Bella, this is Lessin.",
"Hi Lessin.", said Bella, a kind person.
Lessin nodded, "Hi, Bella. So, are you two dating?",
Bella looked at Zabron, expecting him to answer that question. But he seemed to be hesitating, so she took it upon herself to answer, "We are.",
"Nice.", the smile on Lessin's face couldn't fool Zabron. He knew she was innerly crumbling, "Enjoy your day.",
She didn't wait for a response. She just quickly walked away. She regretted going there in the first place. For some reason she felt like she was being indirectly punished for a mistake she wasn't familiar with.
***