Evie was shrouded with a dense gray fog that heavily weighed on her. This weight only affected her soul. Occasional wisps of smoke created a constant visible motion in the fog. While Evie remained in a state of trance as she stood motionlessly, there was a distant voice that seemed to hint something to her.
But for the life of her, she couldn't comprehend any of it. To her, they were soft sweet mellow indistinguishable murmurs.
After an unknown period, there was a notable shift in her surroundings. The fog cleared way partially and formed a small vortex in her line of sight, right in front of her.
There was no sudden flash but the colors black white and gray bled into each other, making a blurry image. When it was clear, she saw a calendar with a circled date and an analog alarm clock with a specific time. They stood beside each other on a desk so it was hard to miss.
The August 1st, 00:00 AM.
Evie felt her soul shudder when her gaze landed on the vintage-like image. It felt like she peered into something incomprehensible, forbidden knowledge.
Having had this thought, she found it strange, what was such a big deal with that particular day and time. She didn't have time to turn away as her vision went black suddenly.
Evie's heart beat like a drum in her chest until it became unbearable. Her expression showed signs of struggle as if she was suffocating, the blood in her body had rushed to her head making her face a little red.
Gasp!
Evie rose up from her bed breathless and covered in cold sweat. Within that split second, a sharp glint flashed within her amethyst eyes. Evie looked around breathlessly and found it was already morning. Dawn at least.
5:00 AM.
A little too early, but it wouldn't make any sense to go back to sleep then. She was running against time.
"The date…"
This was the first time!
The first time her vision showed her a day, a time and she instinctively knew what day that was. She wasn't sure what would happen on that day but it would be the beginning of the end. Evie's thoughts raced.
It was currently mid-May. Given that the absurd visions had begun two weeks ago, she had done pretty well accepting her fate. The fate of sleepless nights or restless sleep if any at all. Of course, that inevitable future as well.
It was finally settling in, her supposed advantage had a time limit. Evie let out a soft helpless self-depreciating laugh. She didn't even know exactly what she was preparing for. These vision fragments didn't give her any context to work with.
Risking it all to prepare for this world that seemed to be the end seemed nothing short of dumb.
Especially when she gave up her hard-earned accomplishment when she put up the L.A. company for sale.
If her bet was wrong, not only would she have a lifetime supply of food, she would have to live a secluded life.
'That wouldn't be so bad…', she mused.
After a few stretches, she got off her bed and went to shower. To her convenience, her place was beside her working office. That meant she never had to leave the company grounds.
'Come to think of it, I haven't considered where I will stay for the coming two months. Anyways, the villa will have to do.'
Evie nodded to herself.
For today's plan, she didn't have any company-related work to do. The meeting with Asher was the next day.
She would sign the ownership agreement today and probably see the villa on the same day.
She had to continue her shopping too which couldn't be done online.
Call some other companies and order some things she couldn't buy online.
Looking at her plan, Evie felt tired. She had too much to do but felt she hadn't even started.
…
At midday.
The sun shone in the sky illuminating the streets.
Knock! Knock!
"Come in!"
Evie raised her eyes as her focus was interrupted.
"Miss, I am here to report that Mr. Marwan Tamah is here accompanied by his leader. He claims to have an appointment with you and wishes to see you as soon as possible."
The middle-aged secretary announced.
"Yes. He has a private meeting with me. Let him see me."
"He is already waiting, Miss."
"That is fine. Bring him in."
Evie closed her phone screen and the notebook on her desk as she got ready for the meeting.
Soon, two men in office suits came in and made themselves at home at the guest seats opposite Evie's desk.
Marwan took out some documents and set them on the table as the other man introduced himself.
"Hello, nice to meet you. Miss, Adrienne. I am Davis Holme, the manager of Homely Cove Real Estate. I hear that you are interested in two of our properties. I promise we will give our best, so let me give you a more in-depth introduction of the two of the villas."
Mr Davis put on a friendly business smile that seemed almost genuine. At the very least his clear voice wasn't annoying to listen to. Evie silently formed a first impression of the man.
"Go ahead."
When everything was ready, Davis and Marwan worked together to appeal the properties to Evie who remained expressionless throughout the conversation.
Despite the pressure, they maintained their composure and gave accurate numbers not minding if Evie could grasp the rough estimate; width, length, height, acres, and such.
After the hour-long briefing of geological advantages and villa descriptions, Evie pondered silently.
Her gaze trained on the pictures of the villa. It was a black modern luxury mansion with an asymmetrical cubic concept. Three top floors and two underground basement floors, a total of five floors. The pavement was made of dark porcelain tiles with exotic plants growing along the designated walkways and the gardens. From the main entrance gate to the mansion was a short drive lined with rare trees.
It was built in such a way that it blended seamlessly with the rainforest. In a sense, the mountain was a distance away from the villa. The well-planned forest with the frontal view facing the sun gave the place a rare scenic view.
Moreover, the interior could be further customized but Evie thought it was already adequate for her needs.
She couldn't help but feel like it was excessively cheap given that it met her needs perfectly. Although it was missing fencing, the area it was in covered that shortcoming.
Evie had already made up her mind to buy it but she couldn't come off too eager. This was the art of bargaining. Not that she needed to since they would put no dent in her savings.
She simply hated being the fool. If she could get a discount then she would.
"Does your decision remain unchanged? We offer benefits to our precious buyers. Customizing the villas is also possible with our services. The furniture and building agencies are close business partners and they give discounts considering you are buying through us." Davis sensed that Miss Adrienne had come to a decision thus he attempted to put out an last-minute selling point.
"Is that so?" Evie glanced at Davis who suddenly felt nervous. For the life of him, he couldn't figure out why.
"Yes. Miss Adrienne."
"Then I will sign the contract. I want the ownership changed as soon as possible. Then bring me a list of all the benefits, and I will choose which I would like. It is a priority that the changes and adjustments are made as quickly as possible. Oh, I will pay for that too. Don't worry."
Evie smiled as she finished her deal.
The half-hour was spent reading through the ownership agreement and signing over.
Davis and Marwah left the office with a skip to their step after serving such an accommodating customer. Marwah was especially jolly as he revered Evie as a goddess of wealth.
Evie was left once again in the silent office. She has spent most of her days in this office so she felt familiar.
She took her pocket notebook and crossed out the first necessity; Residence and safehouse.
She took out her phone, went to the universal shopping site, and set up the address. With private delivery services, the delivered items would be unpackaged and installed just as she wished. There was no inconvenience with online shopping.
The price was hefty but she didn't hesitate to pay.
'Now necessities are out of the way.'
That was just the start of her extravagant spending. Evie wouldn't want to live like a caveman even if the world was going to be damned. She was the brand cover model of the company because she had confidence in her appearance.
No matter how the world changed, she would only face that future in a glamorous way.
Beauty and fashion were the way to go, no negotiation.
Evie nodded in affirmation of this thought.
Thinking that, she added another necessity list to her notebook, customized shopping.
Dresses, jewelry, shoes, perfumes, makeup, and all women's stuff.
Evie wasn't in a hurry to go shopping just yet, she glanced over the property contract and took note of the address.
It was about time to visit the place.
'These things are better done sooner.'
The keys to the entrance were in her hands so she stood up and walked to the exit and took the elevator to the lowest floor. The basement parking area.
A stunning black covetable waited at the VIP parking space.
Evie drove out and went to visit her soon-to-be new home.