Chapter 1: The Funeral

"Every man's life ends the same way. It is only the details of how he lived and how he died that distinguish one man from another."

-Ernest Hemingway-

***

“She is still so young, how pitiful.” Victoria heard those words being whispered by the people inside the funeral house.

She might have her vision forward as she walked down the aisle toward the casket to place the last bouquet before they closed it.

Still, she was not stupid. She knew exactly what these people were thinking.

“She must be so happy right now since they have no children. All his money are going to her.” Some whispered.

“I heard he died from respiratory failure. Do you think she has something to do with it? I don’t know. If I married a man like that I would pray he die soon so I could get control of his asset.” Another one said.

“She is still in her thirties isn’t she? The age gap between them is insane. She must have married him for his money.” More whispers were heard.

Victoria could only hold her breath together and pretended not to hear those people. She gently placed the bouquet on his chest while staring at her husband’s face for a few seconds.

She must have appeared heartless to them. She did not even cry as she walked away to return to her seat.

They had no idea. She had cried so much when she found him dead on the bed for the first time two days ago. She had no tears left to cry at the moment.

The priest started the ceremony before they finally buried him. The only person sitting beside her was her best friend, Liana.

The only person who understood her and knew how much she actually loved Wilfred, her husband, before he died.

“Don’t listen to them, Victoria. Those people are just jealous of you. They have no idea what’s going on behind the curtain. Let’s just focus on yourself, okay?” She gently advised.

“Thank you, Liana. I’m fine. I’m used to it.” She forced herself to smile a little even though she did not feel like it. Those mockeries, it wasn’t something new to her. After all, a lot of the things they said were true.

Between her and her former husband, Wilfred Darlington, there was quite the age gap. Twelve years to be exact.

Right before they got married, she was just a young pianist while he was already a successful businessman.

Their relationship was seen as strange by many. He had never been married before and they always thought he would never. Then she suddenly appeared. This unknown woman from an ordinary background. Nobody took it seriously.

They all thought she was just a young gold digger, although she was twenty-eight when she married him and he was forty.

Ever since her marriage, she had stayed out of the limelight and enjoyed a comfortable life under her husband’s wealth.

Everything went well until two days ago. That morning, she woke up and found him dead. They checked him before the funeral and stated he had died from respiratory failure.

He had a long history of smoking, so it made sense. Yet people were still suspicious of her, thinking she had done something to him to seize his asset.

However, she was not paying attention to any of that. The pain inside her heart was far greater than the gossips.

“You know, Liana. Wilfred was the only man who had ever treated me like a princess. You know how both of us grew up. You know the horrible nightmares we had to go through to even have a little bit of comfort in our life." She paused.

"When Wilfred came to my life, I started to know what true happiness feels like. But now he’s gone, Liana. He’s gone forever.”

A drop of tear fell from her eyes and Liana quickly pulled her in for a hug.

“I know, Victoria. I was with you since the beginning. I know.” She cried along with her.

Victoria had no idea, that during this time, she was being watched by a pair of piercing blue eyes who was watching her every move.

Once the funeral was truly over, Victoria thanked everyone who came and planned on heading home herself. However, she was suddenly approached by a gentleman.

“My condolences, Mrs. Darlington.” The man spoke. His voice was deep and a bit husky. Victoria had never met him prior to this. Judging from the way he was dressed alone, she could tell he was a man of importance.

Wilfred had some important friends and business partners. Some, he had introduced to her in the past, but she had never seen this one before.

He was tall, with straight, combed back dark brown hair. His skin was tan but not too tan. He was tall, around 6’0” at least and had broad shoulders.

However, what stood out the most to her was his piercing blue eyes. They were electric and magnetic. His lashes were also quite long. Victoria almost got distracted by them.

“Thank you.” She thanked him, thinking he would just go away after this, but he didn’t. Instead, he introduced himself.

“My name is Octavian, Octavian Carlson. I used to be a good friend of your late husband, Wilfred when he was still alive. I feel his loss as much as you do. Before he passed away, he asked me to take care of you in case something happens to him. That’s why, if you do not mind, I would like to give you my card and number.” He pulled out a piece of card from his pocket and handed it over to her. Victoria simply looked at him as if he was crazy and refused.

“No, thank you. I don’t like receiving help from strangers.” She simply knew that nothing in the world came for free. Besides, no one could testify his statement. Wilfred might have never said anything to him and he was probably using it as an excuse.

Not to mention, he was handsome. If there was anything she had learnt about handsome men, it’s the fact that they are usually problematic.

“Please, at least accept the card.” He insisted. His voice sounded a little bit darker than before. Looked like he was a man who was not used to hearing no.

She stared at him for a few seconds and thought it was better to accept the card and got it all over with. She took it and thanked him before excusing herself.

As she walked away, Octavian stared at her from behind with a poker face. It was difficult to know what exactly he was thinking. Yet his gaze never left her until she was gone.

Once Victoria was out of sight, two men approached him.

“Boss, we have some business to attend.” The bald man spoke. Ian nodded and walked toward his car, on the way to attend his business.

“Victoria Darlington. You seem more interesting than I thought. Who exactly is the wife of Wilfred before she became a Darlington, I wonder?” He asked, feeling amused by his first close encounter with her.

“Seems like we will meet more often in the future.” He whispered.

“What is wrong with that man, who does he think he is?” Victoria murmured as soon as she reached the car. Victoria took a look at the business card. It seemed legit. She thought he was just another businessman who tried to take advantage of the situation.

A lot of people did, especially when they knew what happened. She thought there was no way she would believe what he said. Still, out of politeness, she decided to keep it anyway just in case.

“I pray to God I never have to meet that pushy man ever again!”