"You sure you can do it alone now?" Vincent asked as he moved his body to face Celestine. She placed her hand on top of Vincent's hand that is holding the steering wheel and squeeze it gently.
"Don't worry, I can go there alone. I'll just text you once I'm done with everything," she said before glancing outside of the car where at least five paparazzi are standing, holding their professional cameras, ready to capture a picture of her anytime.
Vincent's car is heavily tinted but even so, the paparazzi are still outside probably trying their luck to take pictures of her.
"No, I'll walk you inside," Vincent insisted before he attempt to open the car door but before he do that Celestine was quick to hold his arm.
"I'm used to paparazzi. They take pictures and go. I'll be fine."
He faced her again before he let out a resigned sigh. "Alright, I'll watch you from here until you get inside of the building. If something bad happen, don't expect me to just s
Vincent glanced at his cellphone that is lying on his office desk. It's been hours since Celestine texted him and he hasn't received a message from her since then.He laid back on his swivel chair and tapped his fingers to his knees. After the meeting, he decided to just drive on his way to the company to pass the time. And now, he's here, trying to sign some papers while waiting for Celestine to text him.He already made peace with the fact that he let Celestine go out without any of his men following her even though there's an undeniable nervousness in him with his decision.A knock on the door made Vincent sit properly in his car. The door swings open."Sir, Mr. Lander Buenavista is here," his secretary said."Let him in," Vincent said while fixing the papers on his desk and putting everything to the side.Lander isn't bugging him for days and he thought that Lander might get tired of trying to push himself on Celestine. But because his f
"My name is Venedict Mogilevich since you seem to not know who I am," the old man in his expensive suit and tie introduced himself to her.Celestine swallowed hard upon hearing the old man's name. His surname, she knows exactly that surname. He is Vincent's father and he's in front of her. She knows how ruthless the old man is that even his son, detests him."S-Sorry but I have to go. I have an important meeting to return to," she said before walking past the old man. She doesn't want to be rude but this time it's different. He is Vincent's father and she's afraid that he might do something bad to her.The way he called her full name sent an unexplainable feeling to her that made her heart beat fast in nervousness. He's intimidating, no wonder he is Vincent's father."So my son told you to avoid me huh," Venedict said making her stop walking.She swallowed again before facing the man. "You're wrong. Your son has nothing to do with my decisions, Mr.
Lander immediately escorted Celestine inside of his car as he noticed the paparazzi around the place secretly taking pictures of Celestine and him. He's certain that in just an hour or worst, just after a few minutes, Celestine and he will be the most talked models after the paparazzi turn over their pictures to celebrity photo agencies. "Paparazzi just wouldn't stop," he murmured as he get inside of his car and wear his seatbelt. "It's what they do for a living so we don't have a choice but to deal with them no matter how much irritating they are," Celestine said as her eyes wandered over the paparazzi who were still clicking their cameras even though they're now inside of a tinted car. He sighed and glanced at her. "Anyways, you're fine now?" "Yeah, a bit," she simply replied. As much as possible, she doesn't want to tell Lander anything knowing that the man is oblivious of his friend's illegal doings. It's funny that she can handle things n
Sophia extend her hand for a handshake but the woman in front of her didn't move nor speak, her pretty almond eyes are just fixed on her face as if she was examining if she was real or not. Sophia cleared her throat and put her hand down, feeling a bit embarrassed that the woman didn't accept it."Uhm, Miss are you okay?" she asked the woman.The woman is beautiful and could definitely pass as a Hollywood star. She has flawless skin, long eyelashes which Sophia is not sure if just an eye extension or it was just naturally like that, and she also noticed the woman's height even though she is sitting because she saw her long legs.Even though she doesn't want, Sophia suddenly feels envious of the woman in front of her. She once dreamed of being as pretty as this woman she's staring at but no matter how much effort she put into fixing herself, it's still wasn't enough."So you're Sophia..." the woman murmured."I-I am. Do you know me?" she asked. The
Sophia immediately stood from her seat to greet Lander. He approached them but his eyes is on Celestine. She was just staring back at him. He averted his gaze to Celestine and face Sophia. "O-Oh, Sophia. What are you doing here?" "Miss Odette just asked me to get something to Mr. Buenavista," she answered respectfully. "You can come inside now, I guess. Dad is free, his next meeting will be in twenty minutes," he explained before putting his hands on his pocket. "Okay, Sir. Thank you." Sophia was about to start walking when Lander spoke again. "Please go to the office a bit early tomorrow. I want to discuss something important to you." She nodded before she proceeded to the secretary's cubicle. Celestine's eyes are on Sophia while she's walking. Celestine is certain that Lander doesn't know that she knows Sophia's face and she thinks it will be best if she just keeps her mouth shut about Sophia. However, she still doesn't want
"Where's my father?" Vincent calmly asked the security guard. He's in front of their mansion's gate. And for almost six years, this is his first time to stand in front of it again."Sir, you're not allowed to enter—" Vincent pushed the security guard and tried his luck to enter but five men suddenly showed up from nowhere and hold both of his arms to stop him. He doesn't give a damn if he's not allowed inside or not. He wants to talk to his father and no one can stop him from doing that, not even Benedict."Get your filthy hands off of me or else I'll be forced to fight every one of you," he said as he stop struggling from their grip.The security guard swallowed and slowly remove his hands on Vincent then, later on, the five men also did the same. Vincent is their boss' son and all of them know that if they continue stopping him, Vincent wouldn't hesitate to tell them but they're also just doing their job."Sir Vincent, we're just doing our job," t
"I'd like to have miso ramen, gyoza, and the tempura and sashimi bundle," Lander said to the waiter as he was looking at the menu book with furrowed eyebrows. He was serious about making Celestine taste the food that he's certain that she will like.He glanced to Celestine. "Celestine, you want to add something to what I ordered?""Uh, I want to try this tempura udon. It looks delicious," Celestine said before passing the menu book to the waiter."Trust me, all of the menu here is worth its price," he said before passing his menu book to the waiter as well.Celestine shrugged her shoulder with a smile on her lips. "We will see.""You ordered miso ramen, gyoza, tempura and sashimi bundle, and tempura udon. Is that all, sir? Maybe you'd also like to try our newest overload sushi bundle?"Lander shook his head. "I'll say no for now, but I will surely try it next time.""Alright, your order will be ready shortly," the waiter said with an
"Hey, I have something for you." Lander shows the brown paper bag to the kid. "What is this, Sir Lander?" the little boy asked with innocence in his eyes. Lander smile. "Open it." The little boy opened the brown paper bag hesitantly. His arms were thin and his clothes are dirty. Celestine can't help but feel sad as she stares longer at the kid that Lander is talking to. Based on his height, Celestine could say that he's just a seven-year-old boy. "I-Is this ramen?" the little boy asked with eyes twinkling in excitement. Lander nodded then he messed the little boy's hair. She could see the genuineness in Lander's eyes, effortlessly despite the distance between Lander and the little boy from her. "Share it with your siblings, okay?" Lander said. However, instead of answering, the little boy spread his tiny arms and hugged Lander's neck. Celestine smiled when she saw how startled Lander is by the little boy's sudden move.
"V-Vincent..." All she remembered was throwing the gun somewhere and she ran towards Vincent. His eyes are wide open as well as his mouth. He's not moving. She tried to wake him by touching his chest yet after minutes of sobbing and trying to save him, nothing happened. His chest is not moving, it was as if he is asleep but his eyes is open. He's not breathing anymore. "N-No, Vincent. Wake up, c-cmon... Wake up p-please," she whispered to his ear even though she knew to herself that no matter what she do, it's already too late. She hugged his body and she sobbed in his chest, hoping that it was just a bad dream even though she still can feel the intensityof the gun when she fired it. "Celestine, let's go. C'mon, you need to leave now. Any minute from now Vincent's men will come to check on what was happening here. We need to go now." Celestine looked at the woman who suddenly speak. It was Sophia. "S-Sophia..." Sophia's eyes is roaming around the mansion checking if Vincent
"Clean the cell, leave no trace of his blood there, burn the gun, his clothes, and his apartment," Vincent authoritively said as he was washing his hands on the sink. His men immediately nodded his head after hearing what his boss had said. They were having a good time talking while eating until they heard a gunshot coming inside of the cell. Everything happened so fast that the the only thing they know was thinking that their boss had planted a bullet in Kingston's head but it wasn't what they are expecting because when they go to see the cell, it was Kingston who is holding their boss' gun. "What the fuck are you still doing here? Didn't you hear what I asked you to do?!" Vincent shouted when he noticed that the associate is still standing next to him like an idiot. Vincent's shout was enough for the associate to get back to his senses and get out of the bathroom and do what his boss asked him to do. Vincent closed his eyes firmly and threw his head back while he is clenching
"Let me go!" She had been screaming yet no one seem to hear her, they are ignoring her. She is inside of a van with five men inside, all of them are wearing masks and they are all silent. There is nothing that could be hear inside except for her screams that don't seem to bother the five men. She closed her eyes firmly and stopped trying to untie her wrists on her back for a moment. She has to remind herself that she had been in this position before, her getting kidnapped by the enemies is something that is not new for her and instead of feeling scared she should think of a way to escape from them, though it might be impossible to do that because what is the strength of a woman compared to five strong men surrounded her. "Good thing you finally get tired of screaming," the man driving the car said while he is chewing a gum. She opened her eyes. "If you think that Vincent will come to save me, you better think again. You got the wrong person. I am not Sophia, you should've taken h
"Fuck," Kingston murmured when he tried to make a movement. His body is sore from all the punches that he had received. He doesn't know how long Vincent had been keeping him inside of the cell because he couldn't see any light from the outside. All he wanted was Vincent's men discovered a new hobby and it is to beat him up every fucking minute. He spit blood on the cold tile floor then he tried his best to move his body for him to comfortably lie on the floor. As he was trying his best to move, he is holding his breath firmly. He can endure the pain but his body needs a rest. He never felt so restless his entire life until Vincent kept him inside of the cell that makes him feel like he is visually impaired. "Fuck this," he continued cursing as he was trying his best to quicken his movement so the pain he might going to feel will be all at once yet his body is not cooperating. He can feel the tiredness of his body. Every inch of his being wants to rest yet in his mind, he keep tel
Celestine stopped walking as soon as she figured out that Saoirse is no longer following her. She turned around to see what her manager was doing and she found her a bit far from where she is with a devilish smile. At first, she is hesitant to call her attention but then she remembered why somehow she wanted to have this conversation with her manager. "Hey! Everything's fine?" she asked loudly, making sure that despite the distance between them she will still be able to hear her. Saoirse who was startled by her voice immediately composed herself, remove the devilish smile on her face, and act as if she had done nothing wrong then she jogged towards Celestine's direction. "Sorry, I just had to reply to that important text message," she explained as soon as she reached Celestine's side. "Anyways, I know a place here where we can talk privately." What Saoirse just said made Celestine's eyebrow raise. She's not in her manager's side for months now unlike before that they are usually t
"Good morning, Miss," the maid greeted as soon as she opened her eyes. Last night, she wasn't able to sleep. She doesn't know if it is about the temperature or is it about the idea that Vincent and her isn't fine. But between the two, she choose to believe that it is because of the room temperature. "W-What time is it already?" she asked as she was helping herself to sit on the bed. The windows in her room is open yet the sunlight is not hurting her skin, giving her an idea that she woke up early today. She looked at the maid confusedly. Maids are not allowed to enter the room, not just her room but in any room without asking for permission that she is confused for why the maid is inside of her room the moment she open her eyes. Even though she wants to point out about the maid tresspassing inside of her room she just decided to shrug the idea off. She wanted to start her morning in a good mood since she slept with a heavy heart last night so instead of scolding the maid she just p
"H-Here's your coffee." She slightly tilted the tray that she was holding. Vincent lick his lower lip and run his fingertips to his scalp. He doesn't have an idea of how he supposed to deal with her after knowing almost everything that she had done. He couldn't believe everything that is on the papers. He couldn't believe everything that Kingston said. Everything is an act of betrayal. Everything isn't true. Celestine planned it, she tried to be in control of his life and he never did question her, it also somehow his fault yet it wouldn't justify the fact that she is the mastermind. She did what she did and he wouldn't let her fall for her stupid game anymore. She might had already plan how everything is going to end for him but he will change it. He will change the ending and it is him who will have the loudest laugh in the finish line that she had prepared for him. "I didn't ask you to bring that to me." He turned his back on her then he pulled his sleeves up. She, on the othe
Celestine hit her shoulder when she felt a mosquito pinching bite. Its blood was on her palm. It's dead. She grimaced, disgusted by the blood that is on her palm. She looked away from her it and wipe it on the hem of her t-shirt. The blood in her palm is something that doesn't freak her out anymore like she used to. Seeing blood anywhere becomes a normal scenario for her ever since she met Vincent. She glance in her palm and even though the blood wasn't there anymore, she can still see it; her hands that is covered by blood. She closed her eyes firmly to keep herself calm but instead of avoiding the idea that her mind had made up for her, she smell the blood. She can smell it. Blood that almost smells like hers, the scent that she's been trying to get out of her system. That smell, it was so familiar. A shovel suddenly entered her mind. The dried red stain in the shovel is what brings her back to the past that she's been trying to get off of her mind but couldn't. "Miss, are
"Did you already sent the letter?" The man slightly nodded his head. "Yes, Sir." "Are you sure that she will receive the letter?" "Certainly, Sir," he answered with great confidence. "Good. Go back to your work now." He rest his back on the backrest of his couch. The letter successfully sent to Celestine, he just hope that the letter reach her before Vincent get to read them. Just when he thought he can finally have his fifteen minutes break, his phone suddenly rang. He pushed himself to reach for the phone on the other side of his table. He picked it up and put the phone against his ear. "Who is this?" he asked. "How are you, Bonifacio?" said the man on the other line with a devilish smirk lingered on his lips. That voice, he knows that voice very well, he know it so well that he immediately recognized the person calling. "Venedict," he said. Venedict chuckled. "Guess you still remember me." He clenched his jaw tightly. They haven't heard anything from Venedict sinc