"Ish, no wonder he immediately contacted me, asking me to find tickets!" When Lea called to complain about Daniel's recent visit to her house, Amanda replied."Really?? He's so quick. He probably thought of you right away, huh!" Lea commented."Haha, yeah, he's quick when it comes to that kind of thing," Amanda laughed, ignoring Lea's panic."Anyway, please. Don't give him the ticket, no matter the reason, okay?" Lea pleaded. She didn't want her anticipated night to end up annoying just because of Daniel, who would stick to her constantly."Sure, besides, I can't help even if I want to. I only got two tickets.""Maybe you'll sacrifice and come alone without Alvin, just for Daniel.""Ish... then I'll be the one fighting with Alvin, haha, impossible, Lea.""Okay, it's a deal. I'll hold you to your word. Be careful if Daniel manages to come later!" Lea threatened with a grumble."Wait, I mean, I promise not to help him. But if he gets the tickets from someone else, what can I do?" Amanda
"Got home a bit late, Lea?" Mrs. Anna greeted her daughter, who had just arrived, strolling into the living room where she was sitting, holding a women's magazine. "Oh, yes, Mom. Adelle's house just stopped her for a moment earlier. Had something to do," Lea replied, trying to act casual and carrying her bundle of clothes as if they were files from the office that she sometimes brought home to review when her work got busy. "Oh... well, next time you come home late, let me know, okay? So I don't worry in waiting," Mrs. Anna advised her eyes back to examining the magazine in her lap. "Yes, Mom. Sorry... I just stopped by briefly to pick up a file she had left. I needed a copy, so I dropped by. Thought it wouldn't take long, but you know how it is, chatting until you lose track of time." "Huuu... you!" Lea then excused herself to her room, relieved that her mother didn't suspect what she was carrying and she didn't have to meet Grace because her younger sister hadn't returned from h
"Not even one?" Daniel repeated with a booming voice.He was contacting several friends from his circle who might have extra tickets for the masquerade party on Saturday. He regretted not knowing about Lea's plan last night. If he had known earlier, he would have secured a ticket for himself. But, being so close to the event, it wasn't easy to find one. The remaining possibility was to hope that someone couldn't make it and would inform about auctioning their ticket.However, sometimes, many of them pretended to be busy and didn't have time to inform about their absence. This made Daniel's chances of getting a ticket even smaller."Damn! It's so hard to meet up with Lea," Daniel grumbled. He then blamed the situation where Lea met her crush before being introduced to him by Amanda.Amanda, his cousin, had been friends with Lea for a long time, and Daniel should have known Lea first. However, reality often deviates far from expectations. Now, as a consequence, he had to compete with th
"Hikz, so you really can't get the tickets, Fred? Huwaaaaa ... I wanted to join, you know,""Oh, I've looked everywhere, Honey. There are none left. The tickets are really limited, and you can't just buy them anywhere. If it's not from their circle, it's impossible to get," Freddie replied with a tone full of regret. He felt uneasy delivering the bad news to his girlfriend, but if he didn't do it soon, Grace would be even more disappointed and keep hoping."But Sist Lea got one," argued Grace. She was truly jealous of Lea's luck, effortlessly getting a free ticket from her colleague."Yeah, that's a different case, Jo. Your sister just got lucky; her friend couldn't make it, so she got the ticket," Freddie explained with regret. He knew Grace had relied on him, with his many connections, to get anything she wanted, especially just entry tickets to a costume party. Oh, dear! Grace was genuinely disappointed this time."You just go home! I'm so frustrated! I might as well go to sleep!"
"Do you want to join me at my regular MUA, Lea? I'll wait for you at home if you do." Amanda's voice on the other end of the phone offered assistance.Lea thought for a moment. Amanda's regular makeup artist must be really good. She felt like getting dolled up there. But if she did, she'd have to go to the party's hall with Amanda, and she preferred to go alone."Lea? Why so quiet?" Amanda called out to Lea, who had been silent for a while, not answering her question."Oh, um, no need, thanks. But I already asked Grace for help, hehe; just let Grace do something for me. I'm not in the mood to leave early anyway," Lea finally replied, trying to sound casual so that Amanda wouldn't suspect her hidden agenda."Grace is pretty good, too; she knows how to do your makeup. Okay, then. We'll meet directly at the venue, right?""Okay... don't bother looking for me. You two enjoy yourselves with Alvin. I might end up being a disturber if I stick around with you too much. Especially Alvin; he se
Finally, Lea left her house at precisely 7:00 PM. Grace and Mrs. Anna saw her off with lots of advice and suggestions to behave gracefully, not be rude, and avoid unnecessary conflicts with others.Lea arrived, shaking her head at Anna's panic, her mom, and her sister. "Seriously, it's like I'm a troublemaker or something. You're making such a big deal out of it," Lea protested.Mrs. Anna responded that her daughter indeed tended to create trouble. "Sometimes, you're too quick to get emotional, Lea. You should be more patient when dealing with new people.""That's right! Remember what happened with Shane? Even though we warned you, you still caused trouble in the end!" Grace chimed in, responding to Lea's protest."That's different. It was Shane who caused trouble first. I just responded appropriately," Lea insisted."Well, that's still considered creating trouble. An elegant woman can control her emotions. She stays calm even if others bother her. The most important thing is self-ima
A few moments earlier...The girl in the purple and black dress with a feathered mask seemed alone in her chair. Sipping from a tall, clear glass of iced lemon drink taken from the buffet table, she placed a straw on it, probably to make it easier to drink. Like herself, the girl chose to wear a mask that made it challenging to drink directly from the glass.Shane had been observing Miss Purple since their eyes met a few moments ago. As he idly watched the room, he felt he couldn't recognize anyone as a friend.Until a Caribian-costumed man approached the girl, Shane continued to observe. The woman's gestures indicated that she wanted to keep a distance from the Caribian man, almost making Shane feel uneasy, tempting him to approach and separate them.Fortunately, the man eventually gave up, retreated politely, and rose from the chair before Miss Purple.Then, Shane noticed another masked man with a golden bell mask watching Miss Purple, seemingly about to approach her. Shane interven
"Damn! Where is she, Amanda?" Once again, Daniel grumbled.Amanda, scanning the entire room and examining every corner where Lea usually chose to sit at such parties, shook her head in confusion.In her hand, her phone continued to emit the ringing tone while calling Lea's contact. However, after numerous attempts, a response was still waiting. Amanda became anxious because Lea had assured her earlier that she would come here alone, as she mentioned while still at home.Alvin glared disapprovingly at Daniel. Oh no... Lea was missing, but now a guy was trying to replace her and disturb his time with Amanda."Let me call her home first," Amanda suggested, trying to devise a solution.She then fiddled with her phone to dial Lea's home number.Several rings were heard before a familiar voice, Grace, answered the call from the other side."Yes, it's Grace. Can I help you?""Oh, Grace. It's Amanda...," she said."Oh, Sist Amanda. What's up?" The girl sounded surprised."Did Lea leave a long