Everyone gathered around after seeing Zacharias come out of the playing field. He took off his helmet and protective goggles before joining his team who was waiting for him with Alex. “Uncle! Uncle, we won!!” Eon exclaimed while jumping with his hands held up. Zacharias understood that the kid wanted to be carried, so he lifted him up. He affectionately ruffled his hair before pinching Eon's cheeks. “Aren't you going to congratulate me, Eon?” “Well, you did a good job, uncle! Congrats! You were so rad earlier!” Eon complemented with a bright smile on his face. “Congratulations, Luna for winning the shooting game! And based on your scores, you guys won an all-expense paid three-day vacation here at La Estella's Hotel and Adventure Park!” The guests all clapped their hands for Luna. They were all glad that they survived the show safely. Apollo, who almost won the game, was feeling a little down. If not for that missed shot, they would have won the game. Among the members,
"Thank you for letting me join you in the games,” she said before bowing her head to the members of Apollo. Phyllis came across the group while she and Zacharias were on the way to eat dinner with the other members of Luna. They were now set to leave the hotel to go back to their other scheduled commitments. Ashton shook his head. “No no no, we should be thanking you, Phyllis! If not for you, the show would have been delayed.” “That's right! And you also pulverized most of the girls earlier which was so cool!” Jameson added with a thumbs up. “Just call us when you need us, okay? But since we did not win, we can negotiate our rates!” Hendrick reminded her of their offer earlier. Phyllis chuckled. “Alright, I'll make sure to tell you guys! But don't charge us too much and give us a discount!” “What?! You'd rob us of our profit, Phyllis!” Yuno commented while crossing his hands. “Okay, enough, guys.” Ashton cut them off before turning to Phyllis again to give her his busines
“So what is it, Aster?” asked Phyllis, who was still wearing her dance costume. Aster looked around while nibbling his lips. He then spotted a group of boys walking towards them while carrying a bat. “Wow, idol!” one of the boys exclaimed as he examined Phyllis' figure. “I watched your performance earlier and it was so damn hot!” Aster instinctively pulled Phyllis to his back and faced the boys. “What do you want from her?” “Oh! You're the trainee from that big agency, right?” Aster did not answer. He just glared at them with his hand tightly holding Phyllis' wrists. The leader chuckled and shook his head. He glanced at Phyllis, who was coldly looking at him and played with his bat by tapping the barrel of his baseball bat. “Well, we're here to confess to our dear wonder dancer, Phyllis Lu!” “You, bastard!” he yelled as he attempted to step forward. Phyllis pulled him back and whispered, “It's fine. It's not unusual for me to have admirers, so just let it go.” “Don't j
“Phyllis is fine now. She just needs more rest.” Phyllis' brother, Phylian heaves a sigh of relief. His hands, which were shaking in anxiety, gradually calmed upon hearing the doctor's words. Now that he confirmed that his twin is alright, he can now be at ease. What he only needs to worry about is how he is going to deal with his sister's dance partner. “What caused her to faint like this?” Leila asked. “She fainted due to exhaustion and stress. There might be a trigger to this, do you guys perhaps know?” Rui and Leila both glanced at Phylian, awaiting his answer. Phylian bit his lips as he nodded his head slowly. “She's afraid of blood.” “Hemophobia, I see. Then you should never let your sister encounter this again to avoid getting triggered,” reminded the doctor. “We will do our best, doc. Thank you.” The doctor nodded before heading out of Phyllis' room. The three were left with Phyllis, who was still unconscious. They were all just sitting on the sofa, aimlessly
Now back to his clean and usual self, Aster nervously faced the three in their living room. His legs couldn't stop shaking as he anxiously waited for them to speak. Even though he wanted to say sorry, he doesn't have the courage to say so. Every time he wishes to speak, his tongue stops as soon as he meets Phylian's sharp eyes. Phylian has the same almond eyes as Phyllis'. However, his eyes were darker and colder. His thick eyebrows even made him look more intimidating as they darkened his eyes more. One word popped up in his mind at the moment; scary. Phylian and Phyllis were twins. But they were very different in so many ways. Aster was not in Phyllis' class. She was in an advanced academic class while he was in an art-centric class. It was impossible that he would encounter a girl from the competitive class and become friends with her out of nowhere. Phyllis was a bright girl who was friends with everyone. She was the type of girl who would stand out because she was su
“What is…” she mumbled as she scanned her surroundings. She's realized that she is now inside a hospital ward, getting an infusion. She tried to get up from the bed but her body was so weak that she gave up. Then, memories about what happened before she blacked out surfaced. She remembered how Aster left her to talk to the boys who wanted to invite her out. And she also remembered how Aster's face was mostly covered in blood. Just recalling Aster's condition earlier gave Phyllis a goosebump. Her breathing suddenly became heavy and her hands instinctively tightened at the thought of the crimson red blood dripping down Aster's face. She tried to keep that image away from her mind by tightly shutting her eyes. Aside from the horrific sight of blood, she couldn't help but think of Aster's situation and blame herself for what happened to him. No matter how much she tried to keep the scene from her head, it just kept on coming back like a loop. Her arms felt like jelly and
Zacharias hid behind the wall near Phyllis and Aster, frozen as he listen to their conversation. “So… Do you like me?” he heard Phyllis ask. It was a question that made his heart jump—still hanging in the air in suspense. “Yes, I do. I like you ever since we were in high school.” “All I wanted is to own all of you…” Every word Aster spoke of was like a nail hammered into Zacharias' heart. If he has an extra one percent of courage, he'd go and push Aster away from Phyllis. But… But he wanted to know how Phyllis feels about this old friend of hers. He wanted to hear her response… “Aster…” THUMP THUMP “...can you back off a little? You're making me feel uncomfortable, so don't whisper in my ear.” “It's weird,” she continued. With a sassy tone, she readily expressed her dislike for Aster. She did not hold back and told him what was making her uncomfortable. Even though Phyllis kept a friendly distance between her and Aster, he couldn't seem to get a hint. And now,
“It looks like this was from a strong grip. Did that auntie hold you tightly?” Rui asked as she examined the purplish bruise on her son's arm. The kid weakly nodded. Rui pursed her lips and patted the ice pack wrapped in a towel on Eon's arm. She forced a smile on her son and said, “It's fine, it will heal.” Rui and Chase arrived at the hotel welcomed by Phyllis and Zacharias' guilty faces. They were ashamed to let the couple see the way Eon ended up after they were entrusted to take care of the child. Babysitting Eon means that they need to make sure that the kid never experiences something like this. Of course, a bruise would heal. But the kid was visibly upset. Eon sat on Chase's lap, leaning on his chest while he stroked his son's hair. “If my son got this by playing with another kid, I would definitely understand. But since he said it was from an auntie, it's a different story.” Zacharias understood what Chase meant. He needs to find the person responsible for what happene
Zacharias remembered the moment when his childhood playmate, Phyllis, developed a fear of blood because of an incident when they were young. After that incident, he limited his visits to her as she was attending therapy. He felt guilty for what happened to her. If they did not play in their house on that day, then perhaps, none of it would have happened. Now that 15 years have passed since that incident, the memories still remain vivid. But thankfully, it's only him that remembered, not Phyllis. Seated comfortably in a coffee shop in East City, he sipped his coffee as he waited for Hill, his online friend that he impulsively invited for a coffee. 'He said he'll wear the Grand Monster hoodie that we bought online…' He looked around and saw no one who wore the same hoodie that he was wearing. Cling-ring! The sound of the door chime ringing prompted Zacharias to look at the entrance. There he saw a person wearing the Grand Monster hoodie. But… That person is not someone who
On a sunny day in the Lohr family's mansion, two little kids were playing in the garden. Zacharias was happily playing with the three years old Phyllis, who was the daughter of the family next door. “Aiash, hide and sheek! Hide and sheek!” The little Phyllis yelled as she ran around the garden with Zacharias chasing behind her. “I'm coming to get you!” he teased as he grabbed her arms. Phyllis playfully giggled as she shook her arms away from Zacharias. “Hahaha! No more tag! Hide and sheek now!” she requested from her playmate. “Okay, okay. Let's rest first.” He then led her to lean against the tree. “Aiash, let's play more games when Lian gets home!” CRASH! The loud sound startled the little girl which prompted her to hold onto Zacharias' shirt. “Aiash, Aiash,” she nervously gripped his shirt. “WINSTON I HATE YOU!” CRASH! CRASH! “Stop it Victoria! Zach will hear you!” Screams from the inside of the house can be heard from the garden. Zacharias, who was so us
“You…” her voice quivered as her hands started to loosen her grip on the handle.She lightly opened the door, enough for him to enter. But because of her fear of confrontation, she still hid behind the door. Her eyes were shut, still nervous about meeting him again after how many days. She knows it’s him. She knows him by his voice. She knows him by his scent. She knows him by heart. THUMPTHUMPTHUMPHis clean scent smelled like home is getting stronger. ‘He’s near…’‘He’s here…’Her heart thumped violently as the excitement, happiness, guilt, fear, sadness, and anxiety fill her in. She felt everything all at once. But it did not feel suffocating for her. Rather, she felt so comfortable, like she was in her safest place.“I’m here now,” he whispered as he pulled her into his arms. ‘I… I’m home…’She gripped his shirt tightly as she guiltily shed tears. “I’m sorry…”“I’m sorry for leaving, Aias… I’m sorry…” she said in between her cries. Zacharias hugged her tightly and said
“Phyllis, where are you?! Your husband went here and told us what happened! Why did you suddenly leave?!” The moment that Phyllis settled in her hotel room, the loud voice of her mom reached her ears. “Mom, calm down…” “Calm down?! You did not tell us that you're going out of the country and you expect me to calm down?! You did not even answer all of my calls earlier! We were so worried!” “Zacharias told me you wanted to get away from the press and we understand that… But you have to at least inform us so we can make necessary arrangements for you!” Phyllis held her phone tightly as she braced herself for her mother's scolding. “Mom…” “You're not a teenager anymore, you're an adult! You don't have to tell us everything that you do but you have to at least not make us worry!” Phyllis sat at the edge of the bed and quietly listened to her mom speak. She did not have the heart to respond to her, especially if she knows that she was in the wrong. “Phyllis, I know you're stres
"Sir, we've already cleared them off.” Zacharias peeked through the window to see if there were still some people from the press. They were quite easy to spot. They're usually wearing face masks and caps with huge cameras in tow. Seeing that there was none, he turned to Phyllis, who was busy packing his stuff. “Good. Please get the car ready, we're going down now,” he said on the phone. He then tucked his phone inside his pocket and approached Phyllis. “Is there anything else we need to pack, babe?” Phyllis just shook her head and said, “Nope, I got it, babe.” Just as she was about to head out while carrying the tote bag, she was hugged by Zacharias from her back. His strong arms embraced her dainty shoulders and whispered, “I miss you…” Phyllis, who was still not over with the commotion from earlier, dismissed him with a tap on his arms. “Don't be ridiculous, we're literally together. How can you miss me?” He inched his body closer to hers, letting her feel the warmth of
With all the controversy about the Klein family, they were completely mobbed by reporters, trying to get a statement from them. In just a matter of two days, the kind-hearted mayor disappeared from the public. Soon after the various documents that were reported, another video went viral. It was a video of Mayor Klein mocking the poor victims of a fire that destroyed a small neighborhood in the city. The area was small and a little cramped and so firetrucks had a hard time killing the fire until it ate the majority of the houses. In the video, the mayor was smiling to the public and promised to help them as much as he can as he helped with the distribution of basic necessities like food and clothing. But the next clip showed him mocking the victims because they were dirtying his beautiful city. His statement instantly gained critics. His image as the kind and caring mayor of Lieren City was crushed in a matter of seconds. No one likes a politician who looks down on his people. “
A large amount of Rohypnol content was found in his lab results. And contrary to what Phyllis suspected, the drug was not laced in the microchip but on the needle itself. Zacharias woke up after three long hours and is currently resting. He's just waiting for the drug to leave his body. The microchip was also taken out of his arm per his request and Phyllis' insistence. “Babe, please stop crying… The chip is already taken out…” Zacharias consoled Phyllis, who was sitting beside his bed. She has been taking care of him earnestly and has not taken a good sleep since the incident. He gently patted her back to comfort her. “I'm sorry… I'm so so sorry… We were researching microchips, babe…” “Hick—and the person who made that was a colleague of mine… If only I did not introduce this technology to him,” she said in between her sobs. She felt incredibly guilty about what happened to Zacharias. “Babe, it's not your fault. It's all on Tiffany who orchestrated all this, okay? It'
The ambulance rushed to the hospital with the unconscious Zacharias, Phyllis, and Leila cramped inside. Now that Phyllis got Zacharias to safety, everything that went down earlier started to finally sink in. When she attacked the bulky man with her heels, it did not cross her mind that some of the blood would squirt on her face. Her hands started to tremble at the sight of blood on her cheeks. She then tapped Leila and murmured in her shaking voice, “Blood…” Noticing the few streaks of blood on Phyllis' face, she hurriedly wiped them off with her blouse. “Shh, it's gone now…” She held Phyllis' hands and gently massaged them. “Okay, breathe with me…” “Inhale…” “Exhale…” “Inhale…” “Exhale…” Leila guided Phyllis with her breathing exercise. Rui taught everyone in their circle how to properly assist Phyllis in case she was triggered. Physical manifestations such as trembling, trouble breathing, and fainting were seen when Phyllis was last triggered. They continued with the bre
A loud thud resounded inside the men's comfort room as Zacharias fell to the floor. His consciousness slowly faded as he tried to reach out for his phone in his pocket. Soon after, a small red light blinked from his right arm. A girl inside a luxurious hotel room tapped the screen on her tablet, revealing a location in Dixon City. “Hurry and bring him up,” she said on the phone. “Got it, miss.” Satisfied with the turn of events, she took a good sip of her pink moscato. “I'll have to thank Auntie Vic for revealing the group's location for tonight.” She giggled as she browsed Phyllis' Ninstagram account. The simple photos posted made Tiffany sneer. She hated Phyllis' perfect life. She despised how Phyllis was cherished by her rich family. She envied how she was surrounded by a successful group of friends. She detested how she excelled academically and in her work. Above all, she hated how she got her crush just because she was his childhood friend. After getting humiliated