Chapter 4: The Package

★★★

Lily's apartment...

"WHAT THE..." Lily boomed, burning with fury. "This person knows who I am yet posted my purse with its content on MY website...TO SELL?!"

She stared blankly at the screen for a while, thinking of who it could be. She thought of Antonio but doubted he'd have any time to play games like this. It had been posted about an hour ago. 'Maybe someone else found it and wanted to play with me. Maybe it's a fan?' she desperately hoped.

Suddenly, a message was posted in the comment section of that post. 'I will buy it.' Lily panicked. "What if the person sells it?" She immediately picked up her phone and placed a call to the seller's contact provided under the post.

"Who are you?" Lily asked the moment the call was answered.

"For someone who gave a lecture about Mr Manners, you seem to be slacking," Antonio responded nonchalantly.

"Oh God! What wrong have I done to deserve this? Of all the people who could have ended up with my purse, why did it have to be him?" she said out loud, thinking it was only but a thought in her head.

"You have such a sharp mouth for someone who really wants her purse back. Oh well, since it looks like you have no need for it, I don't see why I should bother listening to your boring lectures or insults. I'll just get rid of it."

"I-I'll report you to the authorities," she stuttered.

"Ha! I see you really don't know who I am. Oh well, be my guest. What happens after? Court??" He didn't bother hiding his amusement when hearing her sound cornered.

"I'll take to social media and announce..."

"Announce what?? That I stole your purse? Oh c'mon, you're so naive. Who on Earth would believe that a multi billionaire would steal a purse worth a few cents. You can do better than that," he teased.

"What do you want?" she asked with a low calm tone for the first time.

"Woah! Didn't think you could speak so sweetly," he chuckled.

"Don't push it," she said through gritted teeth, "Get to the freaking point already."

"The stray kitten is back." He sighed. "Now, for what I want is an apolog..."

"An apology?! Dream on."

"Then you can forget about your purse. It's either that or your purse. Can you give up your bloody ego for that? Hm?"

"Sorry. You have your 'apology'," she rattled, stating the quoted word with a funny tone, "Now, my purse."

"Where's the rush? I barely heard a word of what you said."

"Well I guess you really are an old man after all." Immediately, he hung up.

Lily was about to breakdown. She had received that purse as the last birthday gift her older brother got her before his passing. It also contained the only picture she had of herself and her late father. It was a picture of her sitting on his lap while he sat on a green grass field. She was just about two years old and they seemed super excited in that photo. She couldn't afford to let that narcissistic sociopath destroy it. She had to control herself, at least until she got her purse back.

After calling and being declined several times, Antonio finally picked up. "Why are you such a pest? What do you want?" he asked sounding like he was being bothered.

"My purse you jer..." she was about to blurt out furiously but remembered to control herself. She couldn't afford to get him so angry that he'd destroy her things.

"Sorry, were you saying something?" he asked, knowing very well that she was about to insult him.

"I said I want my purse," she said failing to hide the anger in her voice.

"That's not a very nice way to make a reques..."

"Could you cut to the chase and tell me what you really want?" she asked, getting fed up of his game. She took a deep breath and calmed herself. "I'm sorry. Sorry I got carried away and reacted so poorly towards you earlier and..."

"What're you doing? I didn't ask you to apologize. What are you? Deaf or aged?"

"What?!" she asked through gritted teeth. Her anger couldn't be hidden anymore.

"I said I wanted an apology and asked a simple question, 'Can you give up your bloody ego for that?' I never asked you to apologize now."

"Huh?!" she exclaimed in a calm but intimidating tone. "Well I already did..."

"Well you'll have to do it again, when I say so. Remember what I told you at the airpor..."

"Yeah yeah yeah..." she interrupted tiredly, ".... I'll regret today, blah, blah, blah. If it makes you feel any better, trust me, I already do. You're the cause of all the stress I feel right now when all I intended to do was relax and watch the season go by. Now..."

"You really don't know how to control yourself Liliana Cabrera," he said sounding somewhat amused yet irritated.

"I just really can't stand narcissistic rich brats. Don't take it personal and give yourself some worth in my life," she said bluntly.

"Well, I really don't care were you put me in your clearly miserable life but at least I know that as we speak, I am important because of what I possess. I know of your sentimental attachment to this purse and it's content. I know it was the last gift from your brother, may his soul rest in perfect peace, and the picture in it is the only one you have of yourself with your late father, may his soul rest in peace as well. Correct me if I'm wrong."

"I see you've been digging. What do you really plan to do with my purse?" Lily asked calmly.

"I'll hand it over to you so don't worry. Although, we'll have to meet fir..."

"Meet?! You actually want to meet up? What for? So you can have me kidnapped and 'punished' for teaching you some manners?" she asked furiously.

"You seem to really have a habit of interrupting people when they're talking. There are so many ways I could punish you for your insolence without budding an eye. I wouldn't bother to stain my hands with your blood. You're not that important so don't give yourself so much worth in my life..."

"I don't..."

"Stop interrupting me. I've already wasted too much time on a midget like you. If you want your purse, text me after the call indicating the place you'd be comfortable with us meeting. Time, 8:30am, non-negotiable. Unlike you, I actually work so if you don't show up on time, you can forget about your purse. Don't be late."

"I never am. However, why don't you have it deliv..." She couldn't complete her statement since he hung up. "Bloody Jerk!!" She cursed. 'Well, at least I stand a chance of getting back my purse,' she thought with a sigh of relief. 'Take it down,' she texted into the comment section of Antonio's post. 'Please' she added, knowing he'd probably refuse if she didn't. In less than a minute, the post was down.

She picked a café restaurant called Royal Blossom, not too far from her apartment, as the location for their meeting.

'Huh! I bet she doesn't even know I own it. Is she really that ignorant of who I am?' he thought.

Shortly after, Lily heard a knock on her door. To her surprise, it was a delivery man with a little gift box. A grand smile appeared on her face as she received it, causing the man to chuckle at her excitement.  She shut the door without taking her eyes of the package. "My purse? Could it be my purse? Was he kidding when he said we should meet? He had to. Gosh! He's not such a bad person after all," she said to herself, smiling and giggling excitedly at her unopened package. 

Upon opening it, "What?!" she whispered and let herself go, dropping like a log, into the sofa, dejectedly.