2

“Are you sure you can go home alone? You know it’s not very safe in the city these days. The news about people missing had been so frequent that sometimes I am also scared about going home,” Hannah stated. There was an obvious fear on the expression showing on her face as if remembering something but didn’t dwell on it any further.

Celine grimaced as another hiccup escaped her lips while Lucille was trying her best to help her stand up. They were waiting for the cab that they booked from a service app.

Lucille smiled at Hannah. “The night is still young and there are still so many people outside. I think I will be fine. Worry for this stubborn girl instead. I am pretty sure she will be whining first thing tomorrow the moment she wakes up,”

Both Lucille and Hannah chuckled as they both look at Celine who was obviously too drunk to the point of not being able to realize that she had already been the topic of the two. 

“Fine, but make sure to send us a message once you are home, okay? And congrats on getting a job! I am glad you finally found one after two months of struggling. Your aunt won’t be as nagging for quite some time now,”

Lucille shakes her head because of it.

It is the reason why they ended up drinking. She finally got a job at the Veldiar Group of Companies. It was a very big company so her friends are very much happy for her. And she was also glad to finally have a job because her aunt had been coming at her since she lost her job a few months ago.

It’s not that she wants to be unemployed. But it’s not easy to stay on the job if her boss had been sending her pornographic stuff and offering her indecent proposals. She’s not that kind of woman and she’s not even into relationships at this point.

She told her aunt about it and she could still remember what her aunt told her.

“And what’s wrong with that?! You could have suck it up and just stayed in your job! It’s not like your boss will really do something to you! Don’t think too highly of yourself. Be glad someone was even giving you attention when we all know that no one will bother to stay with you! No mother will let their son marry a woman like you!”

“You are such a disappointment, Lucille! Why can’t you do something good for all of us?!”

“You are just like your mother! You are nothing but a burden in my life!”

"Is that what you are going to do for the rest of your life?! Tell you what, make use of your beauty for once and find a man who would give us money! Make your self useful for once!

Lucille could still remember how much it stings and the fact that those words even came from someone that was blood related to her.

That night, she wasn’t able to sleep.

The cab arrived and Hannah waved her goodbye before the vehicle left.

A small smile escaped her lips.

With her small bag, she started walking on the sidewalk of the park where she and her friends hang out. She was tipsy but she was not as drunk as her friends because she didn’t actually drink too much. Aside from that, she has good alcohol tolerance.

With the cold breeze, she stopped walking for a second, she closed her eyes, and tried to enjoy the serenity she was feeling at the moment.

She feels calmer now, something she can’t enjoy whenever she’s home with her aunt and her family.

Her parents died when she was young so she grew up with her aunt’s family. If it wasn’t due for the money that her parents left for her, she was sure her aunt will kick her out of the house.

She’s not naïve. She knew that the money that her parents left for her was more than enough for her to live until she grows old. But she can’t enjoy that because her aunt and her family had been using her money since she was young.

“You are living in our house! We are feeding you! Without us, you would be living in the streets, and you were probably dead long ago! Be thankful we took you in!”

Not once did she ever feel like she belong to that family. There was a point when she even thought that living with her aunt was even more painful than losing her family. Sometimes she couldn’t help but wish that she had died with them instead of her being left alone with that kind of family.

It was so unbearable.

She opened her eyes and took a deep breath. There are still a few people hanging around the park. It’s nothing unusual because this is a public place in the city.

The truth is, she still doesn’t want to go home right now because her aunt might still be awake. She had been saving for quite a while now so she can find her own place. Lucille thought it was already time to leave her aunt’s family and be independent.

Lucille was busy thinking about the things she still wants to do after when she felt that sudden chills run through her body. She knows it wasn’t just the cold breeze. Her hands hugged her arms and that’s when she focused on her surroundings.

She was already far from the drinking stalls where she came from earlier and there is almost no one on this side of the park.

She gulps.

She was about to take another step when she heard movements from behind her. There was this unexplainable fear that washes over her sanity. She didn’t stop walking but slowly, she tried to turn around to seem like she was enjoying her surroundings.

And just a few steps away from her, she saw a man wearing all black, a cap on his head and a mask hiding his face. The man also stopped walking and pretended to look somewhere.

Lucille can’t help but remember her friend’s words about how dangerous it is to walk alone these days. Slowly, she started walking at a faster pace but not fast enough for the man behind her to think that she was trying to run away.

Opening her bag, she pulled out her phone and pretended to call someone while she was still walking away. She can clearly see the fountain in the park a few meters away.

Her heart was beating rapidly inside her chest.

She puts her phone beside her ears and started talking as if someone was on the other line.

“You’re already there? I’m almost close, baby. If you look to your right, you should be able to see me walking towards you from afar,”

She was still a few meters away from the fountain but she was able to see a silhouette of a man standing in front of it.

With every step, she felt like her heart was about to burst. Each time she tries to fasten her pace, she can also hear the same intensity of steps behind her.

She was already panting, trying to catch her breath, praying to the diving providence that she makes it safe tonight.

And just when she was finally able to reach the fountain, she turn around and saw that the man behind her was actually leaning closer to her.

So, without thinking further, she desperately walked towards the tall man. Her mind was already a mess, and she was definitely out of focus at this point but the fact that the man in front of her was gorgeous without a doubt, didn’t get past her.

He was looking at her with eyes full of questions.

But as Lucille’s heart started beating violently inside her chest, she did the absolute thing she never thought she’d do in her entire life. 

"I'm sorry for what I'm about to do," she whispers to the man before she leans forward until their lips were already touching.

And at that very moment, she almost forgot the reason why she was here. The moment their lips touched, something inside her felt different.

It wasn’t her first kiss, and she wasn’t that naïve. And she was also sure this wasn’t because she was kissing a stranger.

In fact, the moment their lips touched, the feeling wasn’t new. It was so familiar, too familiar that it made her think if she ever kissed the man before. But she was sure that she never met him before.

Who the hell was this man? And why do I feel this way?