CHAPTER 3

You might be wondering what happened after Miss Avon visited.

Actually, I don't know either. All I know is that I did not get it. I mean, the idea? I totally understand it. If I ever agreed to accept her offer to join Miss Night and be one of the girls, I would have to sell myself to a billionaire. And yes, I completely understand that.

But what I can't understand is why I would agree to sell myself. I'm not crazy, and I am certainly not desperate no matter what my situation is. Life is tough, but I never want to sell my body or my life for a large amount of money.

"Seriously? That's what she said? Word for word?" Sean was shocked at how long my story was. He could hardly believe it. "Who in their right mind would do that? Maybe it's a scam."

I let out a deep breath. "No, I promise. If you saw what Miss Avon showed me, you would know that it is legit."

It's true. From the red card to the pictures Miss Avon presented, I knew it was legit. I worked for a few months in the fraud department of an office where we examined fake documents. So I know, and I'm confident that Miss Night is real.

From sitting down, I lay on the floor, playing with the red card from Miss Night that was in my hand. "Do you remember Lemery? The friend I told you about who came here with me from the province?"

Sean looked at me curiously. "Is that the one who suddenly got rich and never came back for you?" he asked. When I told Sean about Lemery before, he was angrier than I was. He said it wasn't right that Lemery left me and didn't help me, especially since we came to Manila together.

But I said I didn't hold a grudge. As long as Lemery's life is better, I am happy for her.

"I saw her in one of the pictures at Miss Night. She was part of the batch from the year we came to Manila, the same year she got rich." As I said this, Sean's eyebrow furrowed as if he was beginning to understand my point.

"Does that mean she got rich because of joining Miss Night?" he asked and I nodded. He aggressively leaned back on the sofa and pointed at me. "Babe, don't believe it right away unless it comes directly from Lemery. Oh, sorry, you will never know, right? She left you in the mud." and he laughed straight on my face.

I rolled my eyes. Sean always speaks the truth. If I weren't so used to not being sensitive, I might have pinched him and shut him up a long time ago. But honestly, even though Sean is like this, he's the only friend who is true to me and whom I can rely on.

"You're so harsh with your words." I jokingly held my chest as if I were really hurt.

"Come on. You should be used to it by now. And you have no choice but to get used to it because I'm your only friend. You're unemployed, and you're still feisty, so be thankful I put up with you."

Because of what Sean said, I threw the red card I was holding at him, and he caught it. "Yeah, your attitude sucks."

We were silent for a few minutes as if an angel passed by. Sean read and scanned the red card again. "It does seem sketchy. Besides the strange approach they used on you, there's no contact information written here. Not even an address. How can we double check if it's really safe?"

"But do you think it's not worth trying?" I asked.

Sean shook his head aggressively. "Nope. If safety is the concern, my vote is no." I thought he was done talking. "But what if we try to find your friend? Lemery? Confirm it from her."

It was like a light bulb just lit up in my head. Sean was right. Who else would be better to confirm if Miss Night is real than Lemery herself? The only problem is, I don't know where to find her.

The last time we saw each other was when we were still applying to different companies. After we were rejected by five companies, I never saw her again. I just found out that she had joined and married a rich man. Possibly because of Miss Night.

I went back to sitting on the sofa. I faced Sean. "If we ever find her, what should I say to her?"

Sean shrugged. "I don't know. But maybe you should just ask her directly. Ask her right away if it's true or not."

The day passed, and Sean only left when it was dark outside. He didn't even realize it was already night. It was his day off, so he stayed longer before going out.

I stared blankly for a few minutes before my eyes landed on my laptop. I didn't even realize I had opened it.

I need to find Lemery. Aside from asking her, I also want to know what happened to her.

I searched her name on F******k. We're still friends, but her account is no longer active. Her last post was from the year we came to Manila. The same year she got married and disappeared as if into thin air.

Our picture was her last post. I still remember it clearly. It was our first time eating at a fast food place back then. Even though it was expensive, we thought we deserved it, especially after all the hardship we went through in coming to Manila.

I let out a deep sigh and suddenly felt sad. "Oh, Lemery. How are you? Don't you miss me?" I asked the picture of the two of us.

I looked at her F******k account, but there wasn't much to see. Just a few pictures, most of them from when we were still in the province.

To keep myself busy, I checked the likes on her picture.

There was a new name there. Most of the people who liked it were our friends and acquaintances from the province. I immediately clicked on the profile.

Skyler Han - Owner at Han Cars

But that wasn't the only thing that surprised me. A familiar face suddenly appeared in his cover photo.

Lemery and Skyler in a wedding shot.

"Lemery."