Ashley's point of view.>Ashley's Apartment“Wow, I just created a masterpiece!” I heard Ben's excited voice from inside our apartment, immediately I reached the door.Monique scoffed mockingly, “Your masterpiece is nothing but pure poison” she badmouthed.My lips subconsciously curved into a smile because I already know what's going on inside, Ben must have created a new recipe and Monique doesn't think it's safe to eat it.“Poison?” There's a brief pause, and I could imagine he's trying to find the right words to use. “I wouldn't create a new recipe if I wanna poison you, that will be an utmost insult to my talent” he snarled.“You… You… Bastard!” Monique exclaimed.Knowing it's about to go down between them, I took that as my cue to step in, or I will definitely have a lot of cleaning to do after their battle. I quickly grabbed the knob, pushed the door open and stepped in.“Hey, guys, I'm home” I announced my presence, halting their movements. Monique was already lunging at Ben
Ashley's point of view.>The Next Morning“... I'll be there right away, sir”My eyes snapped open when I heard Monique talking to someone on the phone, but they quickly flapped shut when they couldn't handle the bright light in my room. With furrowed brows, I slowly opened my eyes again, until they adjusted to the brightness. “... just five minutes, sir” she said.Five minutes to do what? I couldn't help but wonder.“Yes, sir” she spoke up again.Not wanting to guess what's going on, and also didn't want to be in a suspense, I hopped out of my bed and dashed out of my room barefooted as I headed straight for Monique's room where her voice was coming from. She was just done with her phone call, and was packing up what seemed to be a shawl in her luggage when I entered her room. I don't know if she knew I was there, or maybe she knew, and she's purposely ignoring me because she didn't even look in my direction… After all, our fight last night was pretty intense. Anyway, I cleared m
Today was a special day. It was my boyfriend's, Nike's, birthday, and I couldn't wait to surprise him with a celebration at my apartment. Together with my best friend, Monique, we had spent hours meticulously planning every detail, from the decorations to the cake. It was going to be perfect.I let out a sigh of relief as I put the final touches on the decorations, my excitement grew. I couldn't wait to see the look on his face when he walked through the door.“Someone's feeling excited” Monique said in a singsong tone, and I giggled.“Yeah. I'm excited and kinda nervous at the same time, you know this is my first-ever surprise party for him”She threw an encouraging arm around my shoulders and pulled me into a side hug.“He's definitely gonna love the surprise” she said.“Are you sure?” my eyes darted around as if I'm looking for something or anything that's missing. “Do you think I did good with the decorations and everything?”“Of course" she reached for my apron's pocket and pulle
“Beside this knife, did you find anything suspicious when you got here?” the police, inspector Kingsley, asked me as he studied the bloodstained knife.I feel numb. Although I heard his question, but my brain couldn't process it and I simply shook my head. My eyes were focused on Nike's lifeless eyes.“You mean, you didn't see any suspicious person lurking around when you arrived?” he asked again.I shook my head again, and he sighed.“Don't worry, Miss Peterson, we'd take care of everything concerning your boyfriend's murder case” he told me. “And we'll contact you for further questioning, but first, we need you to go home and get some rest” he looked behind him and called a police officer over. “Officer West will walk you home for protection because we don't know if your boyfriend's murderer is going to come after you”He's a wise man, he knew I'm not in the right state of mind to give him any useful information…not that I have any, though.My lips quivered tremendously as I silentl
Third person's point of view.Daniel Anderson stood in a dark corner, hidden from the chaos unfolding in Nike's house. The dimly lit room was filled with the sound of police officers scurrying about, their footsteps echoing off the walls. Their flashlights cut through the darkness, illuminating the space in sporadic bursts. Daniel's eyes darted around, observing their every move, as they meticulously searched for clues relating to Nike's mysterious death.A small crowd was starting to form as people couldn't help being curious about what's going on in Nike's apartment.In the midst of the commotion, a petite lady suddenly collided with him, causing him to release an offended growl. She stumbled back, her eyes wide with surprise, and fear.He glared at her as he contemplated whether to get rid of her or not, but his heart softens when he locked eyes with her big, round blue, teary eyes.His eyes traced the direction she came from, then he realized she must be Nike's girlfriend. He cl
“Hello?” Ashley called as she looked around frantically, squinting her eyes and trying her hardest if she could see anything.“Hello? Anybody here?” she called again when she didn't get any response.It's pitch black everywhere, the darkness enveloping her like a suffocating blanket. The air was frigid, causing her to shiver uncontrollably. With her arms hugging herself tightly, she tried to generate some warmth, but the cold seemed to seep into her bones. Fear gripped her heart, paralyzing her body, rendering her unable to move.Feeling a sense of desperation, Ashley mustered the courage to call out for the name that gives her comfort. “Nike!” she cried, her voice echoing into the abyss. But there was no response, only the sound of her voice reverberating back to her. “Where the hell am I? Nike?” she called again, her voice trembling with uncertainty.The silence that followed only served to intensify her growing anxiety. It was as if the stillness itself was taunting her, amplif
>Daniel Anderson's mansion“Come in” as if he already knew who's behind the door. The door pushed open and Nathan walked in, with bead of sweats darted on all over his face.“Boss” he greeted with a small bow, and Daniel only acknowledged him with a nod, then he dived into the reason he came. “Boss, Nike's friend still wouldn't sa
Ashley's point of view.>The Next Morning – Ashley's Apartment“Someone is in good spirits today” Monique said when she stepped into the kitchen.I threw a quick glance at her, and smiled weakly. “Yeah” I replied.“Yeah?” she asked, sounding surprised at my quick recovery.I paused the music, turned to face her, and sighed while leaning against the counter.“Nike was my fiancé, he was the love of my life, and he treated me right in his short lifetime, but he's gone, and I believe he wouldn't want to see me losing myself and crying my eyes out because of him” I paused and studied her expression.Her brows furrowed as she looked carefully at my face, searching for any form of sadness. “Huh… aren't you just trying to be