CHAPTER 1: Stormy Night

Rumble! Rumble!

That night, the rain didn't stop pouring. The lightning struck the ground and the roaring thunder made that night even more horrifying.

 It was already six in the afternoon and countless vehicles were busy moving to their destination. Some people were walking with their umbrellas. Some were standing in the shed, waiting for the heavy rain to stop. 

The red light had been displayed and the vehicles stopped amidst the heavy rain. People from the other side of the street finally had a chance to move across the lane.

From a nearby convenience store, the sound of the evening radio was heard telling that the storm had been located near their location. At that moment, people immediately go on their way to avoid too much flooding and heavy rainfall.

Among those cars, there was one with a couple inside who were arguing about something. Their voices were loud and it was accompanied by the noise of the raindrops hitting their car.

"Okay, fine! Let's make our divorce paper!" The woman exclaimed indignantly. She was sitting next to the driver, who was her husband. Her face was filled with anger as she glared at him like he was the worst among all the people in the world.

She was in her 30's. She was wearing an elegant red dress with a pair of silver earrings. She looked like a fashion model because her aura matched her long white neck that exposed her collar bones. 

On the other hand, her husband couldn't help but clench his hand into a fist as he smacked the car's steering wheel. The horn of the car then echoed.

"If you want it, then let's do it! It's better than living my life with you. I don't want to see myself in this situation anymore, Daniela. I don't want to hear the same mistake again, the same words, and the same argument that you want me to correct but can't! I don't want to have this kind of relationship anymore! SO TOXIC!" The man replied. His indignant and raised voice was in no way inferior when compared to the other party.

He was Philip, a businessman in his mid 30's.

"Do you even hear what you say, huh? As far as I know, you made my life miserable. You couldn't give me what I wanted! You couldn't give me what you promised before! Then now, you're telling me that we have a toxic relationship? What the hell are you talking about now, Philip?!" The woman replied. Tears started to fall from the corners of her watery eyes.

Philip retracted his gaze from the place ahead of him as he turned to look at his wife. His face was filled with anger, but after realizing his fault, a trace of pity and guilt exuded from his eyes, causing a tiny drop of tear to fall.

"I-'m so sorry Daniela. It was my fault. I can't give you a child because of my mistake before. I don't know how to make you happy because we both know that I'm not a perfect husband for you." His voice was low and contained a trace of humbleness. Philip tilted his head down as he let his wife speak.

"No, let's end this relationship, Philip. I can't feel our vow. We are unhappy." Daniela replied in despair. She swept her tears with the back of her hand and she stared outside through the glass window of the car.

Daniela was the only daughter of one of the wealthiest families in the town of Belchertown. While her husband, Philip, was just an ordinary businessman pursuing his fashion.

Silence.

The two of them suddenly went silent. No one spoke from then on.

The cars ahead of them began to move again. And without saying anything, Philip also began driving the car toward their house.

The deafening silence embraced them at that moment. Daniela bit her lips as she forced herself not to cry. She knew how hard their situation was. The two of them were about three years of marriage, but Philip could not give her a child because he was unfortunate enough to have been married with prostate cancer. Fortunately, he recovered from that disease. And Daniela blamed him for being a womanizer in his past life two years ago.

At first, Daniela accepted that fact, but after a few years of marriage, she felt emptiness. She wanted to be a mother but her husband, Philip, could not make her one. She always blamed her husband for that and it was always the reason why they were always fighting.

Philip did not want to hurt his wife but he was trying to become a good partner to Daniela, no matter how hard their situation was. Yes, he wanted to have a child too, but he could not do it. He loved his wife and he didn't want to give up their relationship. That's why he stayed humble and admitted his mistake. Even though he did not mean to have that case by himself.

After a while, they reached their home. When the car stopped in front of their yard, Daniela was still silent and she put her bag beside her. She did not wait for her husband to open the door for her. The rain was still heavy as she took the door. She ran away and left her husband inside the car.

However, Philip remained sitting inside the car watching his wife run away. He buried his face in his palm and he thought that he couldn't save their relationship.

When Daniela entered their home, he parked their car in the backyard. He was still empty-minded as to what he going to do.

Rumble!

Another strike of lightning came by and by. Philip opened the door of the car and readied himself to run toward their home. However, when he was standing near his car, he saw someone standing at their gate. He shrunk his forehead, which made some deep lines on it.

"Who's that?" Philip asked loudly as he kept his eyes on that certain someone standing by their gate. He wanted to know who that person was, but since the flickering lightning was the only light enlightening the surroundings, he could not see a clear image of that person.

Philip slowly walked toward their gate to ask the person who kept staring at their home. But before he went there, he brought a deadly weapon to protect himself if that mysterious person| was dangerous.

He continued walking until he reached the main gate. He hid the weapon first before asking again.

"Who are you? And what are you doing here? It's already eight o'clock?" He shouted again as he saw a person wearing long black sleeves with a hood that covered his whole body outside the gate.

"..." However, the person was speechless. He could not make a clear identity of that person because of the darkness and the kind of clothes that he was wearing. He wouldn't know if it was a man or a woman. That mysterious one kept on staring at him.

Philip was bathed by the heavy rain but he wanted to know who the person was outside. He didn't feel any danger at that moment and he thought that it was just a beggar that wanted something to eat because of the storm. He opened the gate to find out what the beggar wanted.

However, when he was outside, how miraculous he could not find the beggar. He looked everywhere to see where the mysterious one was. But he failed. 

He rubbed his eyes to know if he was just dreaming.

"Where is it!?" He asked, wondering if he knew that he was not dreaming and everything was true. He felt the cold raindrops pouring on his body. He looked again in every direction but he could not find any trace of the beggar that night.