"Have you been waiting for a while now? I'm sorry if I took too long," I greeted Haze as I saw him sitting at the entrance of the cafe. He shook his head. "I just arrived. Although, I can't stay long either. You know." He shrugged. I wrinkled my nose and nodded. There wasn't much I could do about it. We hadn't been able to hang out for a long time because he was so busy. Throughout our entire time at the cafe, he was busy with his phone. I just let him be and occupied myself with other things. He invited me for a coffee break, but it seemed like he didn't really take a break because he was still working even when he wasn't at the office. "I'm really sorry, Aurora. Let's hang out another time. I'm really busy, sorry," he apologized. I shook my head. "It's okay, I understand that you're really busy. Just call me when you're free, I'm not doing anything anyway," I replied. "I told you not to come here. I have my car, but you still followed me," I joke. "I feel bad for not talking t
Trembling with fear, I slowly made my way out of the condo. My knees felt weak, and I was taken aback when I came face to face with a life-sized plastic statue of Azrael, the angel of death, right as I opened the door. I instinctively pushed Lucas's hand away, perhaps He heard my scream. "When will you stop this?" I asked him, tears streaming down my face. "How did you even manage to bring this inside?" I questioned again when he didn't respond. "Lucas!" I called out to him, but he left without saying a word. I was left sitting on the floor, crying. In a hurry, I gathered my belongings that had fallen on the floor and put them back in my bag. I practically ran to the exit in an attempt to catch up with Lucas. However, due to my slow pace, I couldn't see his car anymore. In the end, I decided to go to his condo unit. As I had expected, Lucas wasn't there as his door was closed. I was about to leave when something strange caught my attention. I can't explain it, but I felt a shive
I laughed after giving him a cold look, causing him to pause in his approach. "Lying is your real hobby," I remarked. "You know the person behind all of this, don't you?" I asked. In an instant, the emotions vanished from his eyes, and he looked away from me. "I thought you claimed to have no knowledge of the accusations against you," I continued. "I wasn't informed that I'm being buried next month. So they also know when I'm going to die?" I said, chuckling about the tombstone. "I look good inside the coffin," I joked. "Why aren't you saying anything?" I asked. "What do you want me to say?" he retorted. "You said you had no knowledge of the allegations against you, but here you are with pictures of me inside a coffin and even a tombstone," I said. "Do you really enjoy fooling people, Lucas? Does it make you happy to see how ignorant I am? Is it difficult to admit that you know everything? Now, tell me, where did you come from after seeing Azrael inside my unit? Did you visit the
I sipped my coffee silently as I watched the news on TV. I thought it was best to stay here at Mommy's house for a while. It had been several days since my life had been thrown into turmoil. I glanced at my cellphone as it vibrated once again. It was Lucas. He had been trying to contact me for days, and I had no strength to talk to him. I was angry because he couldn't bring himself to tell me why I was receiving death threats. I was frustrated with him because it seemed so difficult for him to clarify what I was going through. "Why aren't you answering Lucas' calls, Aurora? It might be important," Daddy said as he found me in the living room. I forced a smile and didn't respond further. They knew nothing about it because I chose not to tell them. I was afraid that they might get dragged into the sudden chaos that had entered my life. "Are you two fighting?" he asked. "No—" "Then answer his call," he said with a knowing smile, glancing at my cellphone as it rang again. Reluctant
"Daddy, I'll be taking Aurora with me to the condo. The villa I bought is still in the process, so please bear with me for the meantime if she stays at my condo," Lucas requested. Daddy gave him a reassuring pat on the back. "I know you won't let any harm come to my daughter," he said. He gave a slight nod to Lucas while Mommy just smiled at us until we were outside. I didn't want to go with Lucas, but I didn't have much of a choice. I didn't want Daddy and Mommy to be dragged into this mess. It wasn't unlikely that they could target them here, and I didn't want that. Besides, Lucas really didn't force me to come with him. In fact, he preferred me to stay here, as he might not be at the condo often. I pursed my lips when I saw his motorbike. Despite knowing he was in danger, he still opted to ride a motorbike. I kissed Mommy and Daddy goodbye and joined Lucas, but my eyebrows furrowed when I noticed that we were taking different routes. "Where are you going?" he asked when he re
"Lucas, you know... I've changed my mind. I won't go with yoy anymore," I insisted while looking at myself in front of the mirror. "Aurora." His voice seems to be threatening, but still... I shook my head. "What about Iris? Go and fetch her to come with you. Come on, I'll just stay here in your condo." "You're already dressed and ready. Let's go," he urged. I hesitated. The truth was, I was also having second thoughts about joining him. Knowing that Lucas was a well-known figure, I couldn't help but think that people would recognize me as Iris nor they will think that I am Lucas mistress because I was unfamiliar with them. Iris is the only person they were used to seeing with him. I even expected that people would mistake Iris for his wife instead of me. I didn't want to add more chaos to my life. There were already so many things happening to me, and I couldn't afford to add another problem. Moreover, I lacked confidence in myself. I had always believed that I wasn't good enough
I struggled to catch my breath after waking up, my body drenched from the cold water they had poured on me. Laughter from the people around me greeted my ears as I opened my eyes, filled with a growing sense of fear. "Who are you?" I asked, my voice shaking despite my attempt at bravado. A man was approaching me with a malicious grin spread across his lips as he peered down at me. "Do you not remember me?" he asked, tilting his head while studying me. "I won't bother asking if I know you," I replied defiantly. I turned my head sharply when a loud slap landed on my cheek. My jaw clenched, and I glared at him. "What have I done to you? Have I wronged you in any way for you to do this?" I questioned. "It seems you do remember me," he remarked with amusement. "Did you enjoy the gifts we left you? It was quite entertaining to watch you and your husband arguing in the parking lot by the way. It's not the right time to kill you both yet, and so... but you've left us with no choice. Yo
"Is this what you want, Aurora?" Lucas asked calmly. Just a few minutes after I woke up in the hospital, he was already giving me a sermon. My head was already hurting, and he was adding to it. "I've been telling you for a long time not to meddle in my life, but because of your stubbornness, this is what you get!" "Can you please be quiet?" I said irritably. "Lucas, I haven't even had enough rest, and now you're lecturing me—" "Because you're giving me another problem!" he shouted. "I told you that you'd just add to my problems, but you didn't listen to me—" "I never said to include me in your damn problems. I didn't ask for your help. You offered to help on your own, and I just accepted it. You didn't say that it would bother you to help. If you had let me know, I wouldn't have come along with you," I interrupted his tirade. It just hurts that he's blaming me for everything that's happening when, in fact, nobody wanted any of the things that happened to me after those damn peop