CHAPTER ONE: KNOWING THEMSELVES

"Damn!"

Purple stared at the clock for the umpteenth time while tapping her trembling feet. The white bleached walls of the hospital and its antiseptic smell made her more sensitive and conscious of the blood pumping through her veins.

Fear embraced her like an old friend, a draining, exhausting fear. A fear that could not be tamed. It enveloped her insides so much that she trembled, wishing the world were not so full of evil.

While there were good people in the world, others were lurking in the darkness, their sole purpose to cause destruction, to ruin happiness. These 'others' existed to make her life miserable, at least so she thought.

She sat still, wanting to cry, yet hating herself for being so vulnerable with her emotions, so weak. The solution was not tears, and she knew that.

The sight of a doctor distracted her thoughts and she rushed over to take his hands in hers

"Doctor— My mom… is she okay?" She asked, her voice rising up and down in quavers.

The man looked at her small, distressed face and flashed a perfect smile.

"The injuries were fatal, but we were able to keep the bleeding under control. With enough rest and medications, she will be much healthier."

"Can I see her?"

"Sure," he said with a gleam and walked away.

Purple sighed. She was grateful that her mother was alive, at least. All the fear was for her mother, fear that something terrible might happen to her, or worse death. She couldn't risk losing the only family she had.

As she walked to the bed, she could not help feeling pity for her mother who lay so pathetic and weak. A drip was connected to her hands, her eyes were opened but they looked distant.

"Hey…," she said in a low whisper but loud enough to distract her mother.

Alice Brendon turned to look into her daughter's eyes. Her hard face slowly melted into a smile.

"Hey, you came,"

"Yeah,"

"I'm sure you had work to do, you shouldn't have…"

"Hush…. Momma, that's not the question and you know that. What happened? You were the only one who had the accident, nobody else got hurt. Your car is terribly damaged, you're only lucky to be alive. This is suspicious, who would make you a target?"

Alice shrugged her shoulders

"I don't know, an arch-enemy or perhaps a nemesis, who knows?"

Purple observed her mother's dark brows and grimaced. "You are acting so uncaring, like nothing happened. You could have died, Mom. It could have been disastrous"

"Hey baby… I'm okay. I've got this under control. When will I be discharged?"

"The doctor says you should rest, and that's exactly what you'll do, okay?"

There was no response and Purple took it for approval. She thought about her family and sighed. She had not really had the happiest of childhood experiences. Her father had died when she was just five leaving behind piles of debt, and the beginning of a troubled childhood.

And to wrap it all up, they were always moving, from one town to the other, with no place to call a home, yet she was determined to fulfill her dreams of being a successful woman, even though these dreams seemed like an illusion, impossible to achieve, futile.

.

.

.

Three days after Alice Brendon got discharged, she got into a fight with Collen Drake, the leader of a gambling den. Alice claimed that Collen was responsible for the accident because she owed him money.

The fight ended with Collen sprawled on the floor, almost dead.

They had to relocate again. 

Their arrival in New York brought about a sense of belonging. The weather was beautiful and purple felt like she could belong there for once in a long time.

It was only a matter of weeks before she secured a job as an accountant on the other side of town in an organization owned by a rich wealthy man.

The man, John Duke, was attracted to her at first sight. Her mother took advantage of this opportunity and gave John the liberty of marrying Purple in exchange for securing a job in his organization.

She hated John with passion, but her mother's pressure, and the need for a happy life were slowly eating her up.

'Why would fate be so cruel, was there no happiness in the world?' she wondered over and over again with no answer.

…

Somewhere in Liverpool, a man and a woman were making out in a cozy airy hotel room. Their moves fueled by emotions unknown, rapid, and jerky, when suddenly, as if struck by thunder, the man suddenly pulled out and sat up quickly on the bed. 

Surprised, the woman sat up with a look of worry on her face.

"Lucas, is anything the matter?" Her hands reached out for his cheeks.

Lucas sat as if not hearing, his head bowed. Then, bringing himself to look into her eyes, he removed her hands from his face, heaving a sigh with a determined face.

"Clara, I want us to break up," he said.

Clara's face twisted in shock. "Wh.. What do you mean?"

"I mean what I just said. I no longer have feelings for you"

"But we started dating just a month ago"

"Exactly why I fúcking want to break up!" He flared. "All the women I've dated in the past never lasted a month,"

Clara stuttered "Were you using me all along? Lucas, you know how I feel about you,"

Lucas sent her a furious look like he was disgusted by her.

"You know the answer to that question better than anyone else, don't you, Clara? You feel nothing for me, and your fakeness disgusts me. Gold digging, that's all you girls exist for"

With a look of finality, he concluded

"Save your love for the trenches Clara, I'm done."

Clara stood frozen, unable to speak. What the hell was he thinking? 

"Lucas—," she began

"Get out!" He yelled, cutting her short.

The sudden command and the audacity in his voice made her shiver in fear. She passed a final look at his darkened face and left the room, banging the door in departure.

As she left, Lucas let out a sinister smile. His revenge on the women's race had just begun. Women were the most undeserving creatures he had ever met. 

They didn't deserve better, or if not, why had all the women he had dated pretended to love him when they did not? None had ever truly appreciated him, so why should he reciprocate something he didn't receive?

As long as he had money, he could get any woman he wanted with a snap of his fingers, why give his heart out when all he could get in return were pain and ruin? 

…

The crowd bristled with a liveliness that left Purple with a feeling of tremor. She was so alone and without a partner in this business conference that all she wanted to do was go right back home.

She glanced around and wished she had not come, but just like a beggar, she had no choice. It was not her company, she was just an ordinary employee. She had to know her place.

She sighed and made to go back to the hotel when someone caught her eye and she froze in her spot.

"Wait…what?"

He had a sinfully seductive smile, a jawline that fitted perfectly, his brilliant blue eyes had the bright color of the sky.

He was fucking handsome and deserve to be crowned the god of beauty. How one man was handsome enough to send a thousand butterflies crawling in her was a question she could not answer.

Just at that moment, he smiled, a smile that knocked off her breath sending her into some kind of a trance. It was so enchanting, alluring, so defined.

She recognized him now, even when she knew she shouldn't.

"Fuck!" She gasped.