Chapter 6

Lucian's POV

For a moment, Vanessa and I stood frozen, our gazes locked on each other.

She wasn't standing fully upright yet, and I could feel her heartbeat going wild against her ribcage as I held her.

We had never found ourselves in such proximity before, and if I wasn't just as shocked as she was, I would have wondered why she chose to remain in that uncomfortable posture rather than helping herself stand fully upright.

Her breath was still fanning my face, and our lips remained so close when it clicked in my head again that we were the center of attention.

Just when I was about to help Vanessa stand fully upright, her voice stopped me.

“Lucian,” she swallowed.

Before I could respond, three powerful words escaped her mouth:

“I love you!”

Those words rolled out of her mouth with such momentum that I failed to catch them until she repeated herself even more clearly.

“I love you, Lucian! I always have.”

Yet again, her words held me spellbound, and as if that wasn't enough, she closed the little gap between our lips, making sure our lips touched briefly before she withdrew hers.

Her eyes bore into mine as though she was trying to find out if I at least felt something for her too and to know if I would return and even deepen the kiss.

At that moment, I felt the floor tilt beneath me, and my mind raced like a galloping horse.

But how could I kiss Vanessa when I did not feel a thing for her?

How could she commit the last shred of feminine modesty left in her to the wind and throw herself at me in public?

She had put me in a tight spot.

I did not want to kiss her or lie to her by telling her that I loved her too. At the same time, I didn't want to hurt her, given I had just seen the vulnerable side of her.

As I was contemplating what to do in my dilemma, a voice from the crowd suddenly pierced through my thoughts.

“Hey,” a man called out to me.

“What are you waiting for? Kiss her already,” he said, as if I were a student of his whom he could just lecture and order around.

I didn't understand if the scowl I directed at him to mind his business wasn't so visible beneath my small mask or if he saw it and just chose to ignore it.

“Kiss her!” he said again with a simultaneous clap, playfully repeating himself again and again. I thought he'd get tired and quit, but then I saw others join him one after the other until they were all clapping and chanting:

“Kiss her!”

“Kiss her!”

“Kiss her!”

These people would do anything to have fun tonight.

Even Vanessa's parents, who hosted the ball party, were not left out—especially her father. Mr. Grayson was beaming happily as he joined the others in the childish chant.

I was pretty sure if my parents were here tonight, they would have joined in too.

I was able to confirm for the second time that everyone in the ballroom had gone nuts, and even the perceived sane ones like Mr. Grayson were no exception.

Little wonder, then, that Vanessa's dad wasn't saying anything. He clearly seemed to be intrigued by the soap opera.

I thought I was the only one being pressured to marry Vanessa, but tonight, I didn't only realize that her parents were pressuring her the same way; I discovered that apart from her parents' pressure, she had been personally interested in me.

Now I understood why she threw herself at me so freely and easily, not minding that her feminine modesty was at stake.

Vanessa had finally stood upright but was still looking at me intently, trying to know what I would do.

I looked up at the cheering crowd again, hoping they would stop their shenaniganry, but when my eyes flicked to the front exit, I was surprised to see that the masked woman was still around. I thought she had gone.

Most likely, she must have only paused to watch the drama unfolding between Vanessa and me.

The moment she saw that I was looking at her, she turned back, and with a few more strides, she got to the exit and disappeared from my line of sight.

Then I noticed that a fully masked man had also been following her, and he had just gotten out the door too.

If it weren't for Vanessa's drama tonight, I should have been the one following her like that.

Although I hadn't seen the face beneath the mask of that strange woman, I just knew there was something captivating about her that I couldn't shake off.

Even as a stranger, the simple dance I had with her enchanted me. And here was Vanessa, whom I had known for years, trying to force herself on me when I felt nothing deep for her.

Watching the strange woman slip away like that made my heart clench. I couldn't have a good chat with her as intended and probably see the face beneath that mask too.

My eyes were fixated on that door, as if waiting for her to come back into the ballroom.

Since I saw that woman step out the door, all the hearty cheers of the crowd didn't penetrate my ears anymore, let alone register in my head.

I had even forgotten that Vanessa was still right before me, desperately waiting for my response, until her voice snapped me back to reality.

“So it's because of her, isn't it?” she said ruefully, hurt flashing across her face.

Then I realized she had followed my gaze and had seen the masked woman step out the door too.

“What are you talking about, Vanessa?” I feigned cluelessness.

“Oh, please! Spare me the pretense,” she replied sharply.

I let you know how I feel toward you, but you'd rather ogle some strange woman whose face you don't even have the slightest idea of beneath that mask.

The crowd, albeit still watching us, had stopped their cheering. They couldn't hear our conversation, but obviously, our body language alone spoke volumes.

“C'mon, Vanessa, it's not what you think,” I tried to placate her, but I guess she was done listening to me.

“Thank you,” she said, wiping a tear off her face with the back of her palm. “Thank you for making me realize that I mean nothing to you.”

Vanessa's actions tonight mystified the hell out of me.

“Vanessa,” I called again, but she cowered before my hand could even get to touch her.

“Don't!” she snapped, wagging her forefinger at my face. “Don't you dare touch me.”

With this, she hastened her steps to the exit to save herself from being mortified more than she already was.

Bewildered, I just remained riveted to the spot as I watched her leave, and all eyes were on me now.

Tactfully, Mr. Grayson began his speech, succeeding at shifting the crowd's attention back to him.

It was only at the beginning of his speech that I paid attention. Before I knew it, my mind drifted again to Vanessa, and my thoughts raced like a galloping horse.

However stupid the idea seemed in my head, I made a mental note to find out at the end of the ball party if there was a special liquor now capable of making people get emotional and fall in love out of the blue that I hadn't known about.

Maybe these liquor factories had amplified their creativity and such liquors were available now, and that was the type Vanessa took.

If not, how could she just tell me she's in love like that?

At the thought of this, as if trying to challenge me, my mind reminded me how I was also attracted to that masked woman from earlier and was ogling her.

But I was quick to justify my actions inwardly. I was only attracted to her, and that wasn't love, I told myself. Although I won't deny that I felt an inexplicable connection with her, especially when we danced, that didn't mean I loved her. If I don't love even the ones I know easily, how could I love someone whose face I didn't even see?

The resounding clap from the crowd as Mr. Grayson finished his speech jolted me back to reality.

The music continued, and everyone resumed having fun, drinking, and dancing.

Just then, a presence emerged again, and I couldn't believe my eyes.

The same masked woman, whom I thought had long gone, just walked back into the ballroom.

She headed to the restroom, and I waited patiently for her to come back so I could talk to her.

After the wait felt like it would take eons, I decided to go meet her and find out what she was up to.

I had barely taken a few steps toward the restroom when a gunshot rang out, and the ballroom plunged into disarray as people started running helter-skelter for their lives.

In my safety race, I suddenly saw the masked woman emerge again. She was running toward my direction with all her might, and later, two other men—most likely cops—emerged behind her with guns in their hands, giving her a chase.

Despite the chaos, confusion made me halt as she ran past me, and after a few moments, the cops ran past me as well, shooting sporadically.

I was confused as to what was going on until I caught snippets of the conversation between the cops as they ran past me.

“She just committed a homicide. She mustn't escape,” one said to the other.

“We will get her,” the other replied before increasing his speed. He ran like his life depended on it, and in no time, he overhauled his colleague.

I couldn't believe what I just heard.

I had barely recovered from the shocking events that unfolded tonight, yet even the one person I felt a pang of connection with happened to be a murderer.