- ACE - “What do you mean by ‘Lorelei met Catherine’?” I ask, rewording her words carefully in case I heard wrong. I hope I did. I don’t want that snake anywhere near my wife. “I’m still fazed by the news of it and don’t know what happened during their encounter but she told me that day in my car.” This made a nerve tick. She’s known all this time yet did not say a word to me. What the heck, Isabel?! It’s my wife we’re speaking about! I take a deep breath, trying to calm my nerves and refrain from voicing my thoughts out loud. What I hate even more about my thoughts is the overprotectiveness it seems to have. I am not concerned that Catherine met ‘my wife’, I am concerned that she was involved with someone who lives in my house. Someone who hates me. I would rather not have her communicate with anyone I know personally. “You should’ve told me.” I say under my breath, letting go of the papers in my hand. “I know, and I’m sorry. I wanted to say something sooner but I got carried
- ACE - A knock makes my eyes open. I didn’t know when I got so carried away with my thoughts that I zoned out of reality. I have so much to think about and I am done being modest about it. I’m done trying the easy, nice way. Why I tried it, I have no idea but it does not suit me. I want information about certain things and I am going to have my hands on them. Whether it’s safe or not. I’ll remind everyone why I’m referred to as the devil. “Who’s there?” I ask, keeping my tone calm. A sombre, somewhat melancholic kind of calm. “Marco, boss.” The person at the other end of the door responds. Hearing him speak makes me sigh. “What business do you have with me that made you disrupt my private time at such hour?” I ask, still sunk into the seat in a comfortable, resting position. My body is not slouched nor positioned in a slacked manner, I’m sat rather upright with my legs crossed as a gentleman sits but it sure is comfortable to me. “You have a visitor. Someone who you’re we
- LORELEI - It’s odd. I have been here for hours yet nothing has happened. I’m worried. I could not get any sleep because I was busy worrying about something that hasn’t happened yet. Something I dread is about to unfold but hasn’t. How is this even possible? I am supposed to be fantasising about the best night of my entire life yet I’m here stuck in my room and afraid to step out because my husband is on the loose. Ace has never been silent about anything regarding to me before yet now he is. It’s only natural that I worry. . . right? I clear my throat, turning to the side of the bed. I’m sure my eyes are weighed with eye bags. I’ve not gotten a single ounce of sleep since I arrived this morning and it’s already taking a toll on me. I crave sleep. I’m hungry too but I can’t help but feel the crippling thought that someone out there is watching me and waiting for me to step out of here. I gulp. If Ace wanted to, he would’ve come to me first, this is his house. Everything in her
- ACE - I revise the documentary before me and try to find a link from it with the evidence before me. It makes no fucking sense. Nothing is closely related nor makes any sense. Ever since I woke up this morning, I sent some of my men to dig into the happenings of the accident legally to see if anything can be traced to a similar occurrence in the past dating back to two years ago but I have seen none. There has been nobody brought to the station to be charged of any crime and no lead whatsoever since that day. Luck seems to not be by my side this time. I lift my hand up from its resting position on the handle of my chair, still keeping my elbow pressed on it, and pinch the start of my nose. My other hand holds some of the documentary files before me while the case in comparison is scattered all over my desk. I seem to be more involved in this case than anyone else. Even more than the victim in question. I have gone through so many documentaries myself, pausing my own schedule
- LORELEI - The gate was unlocked and the lights in the compound weren’t put out. I’ve never been out of this place at night to know if this is a norm or today was just an exception but I was glad for this. Correction, I’ve never been out this early in the morning. I feel like a teenager who snuck out of home and is sneaking back in, trying to avoid my parent’s scolding. This makes me laugh slightly. If things did not go as they did and if my father did not remarry, I would’ve possibly done something like this based on my friends click back then. I step in. The moment I was inside, my heart begin to rupture in my ribcage like I was suffocating out of air. I know I am not. I know it’s just a mental game my brain is playing on me but I can’t help but feel pressured. I saw Ace back there during dinner yet acted like I did not. I saw him stand up and walk towards us. That was just the time Leonardo asked me that question and I knew he was close enough to hear whatever I had to
- LORELEI - I step out of his car. Leonardo offered to drop me home but I declined his offer. I don’t want him knowing where I live. Not when the whole internet may have images of Ace’s house all over. The last thing I want is him predicting who I’m actually married to. I’m not proud of it but like I’m already aware of, Ace’s influence might make Leonardo go away and I don’t want that. I would love to meet him some other time. So I lied that I was going to meet someone after our date, so this is where I currently am this late in the morning. Or should I say early in the morning? It’s past two am. The car door closes right behind me and I turn around to look at the man who pulled it open the first time to let me out. Such a fine specimen of gentleman he is. Too bad I’m not single. I’m free but also caged in this adult life of mine. At least, it’s the good kind of caged. The best I’ve come to see throughout my years. “Be honest with me,” I say to the man standing before me.
- ACE - I feel pathetic. No, I don’t have to feel, I am pathetic. The minute I walked in here, I knew I wasn’t needed here. I knew I should’ve gone back outside and requested my chauffeur to come to me but I didn’t. The minute I saw her laughing and enjoying the company of another man, every part of me wanted to stay despite every fibre in my body aching to leave. I felt conflicted but I chose to stay. For the first time in my life, I chose the cowardly route and decided to sit where I could watch them. This is the first time I’ve seen her look this way. Carefree, unbothered about anything and anyone around her. Dare I say. . . . This is the first time since our marriage that I’ve seen her look comfortable. That I’ve seen her happy. And I don’t know why but I wanted to watch her. I wanted to witness this scene first hand because deep down, I knew she would never be this way in front of me. And I don’t know what that knowledge did to me. I’m not sure yet, but I certain
- LORELEI - I giggle, taking a glass of champagne right after to soothe me down. This night has been everything I’ve ever dreamed of as a girl. It’s been more than I could’ve ever anticipated. Have you ever imagined a scenario outplay in your head just for the live action to be way better? That is how tonight has been. Leonardo is not just charming, he’s great with words. He’s good at making you want to talk to him while giving you the assurance that you can be you, no matter how weird you think you are. He has never looked down on me once nor has he made me feel like trash all night. For me who has spent nearly half my life feeling like shit, this feeling is new to me. I don’t interact with males often, but today, he makes me feel like not all men are terrible insects breeding the earth with their venomous venom. I let out a sigh. I am not even upset by this thought coming to me right now, normally, I would’ve been but he breathes to defy every ill image I’ve had of the oppos
- ACE - I don’t know if I should tag this occurrence a mistake or something done on purpose but I can’t give her the credit of being smart enough to accidentally leave her location on knowing the phone she uses was given to her by me and I know how to track it. So I’ll refer to this as a mistake which ended up being advantageous to me. I step out of the opened door leading to the back seat of my car and let out an exhale. The night seems warm. Either that or I’m just overdressed for the weather’s temperature. “Wait for me. If I’m not back in thirty minutes, please, leave without me, you too need your rest.” I say to my chaffeur. Just because the ‘master’ chooses to disrupt his sleep doesn’t mean his workers should have theirs altered as well. I may be cruel, but not that inhuman. This behaviour also highly depends on the circumstances. My chaffeur responds the typical formal way before getting back in the car, to the driver’s seat and driving off. I know he’s gone to the pa