His bloodshot eyes were what scared her the most. As ghastly and bloody looking as they were, it did not shut out his other grotesque features. He looked like he had not shaved for years now. His beards scattered all over his face like it was a battlefield.
His nails did not receive any attention either. They were long and sharp and looked more like claws. The unusual dark colour of lips was scary. It made Celine wonder if those were the same lips she once kissed. They were so unnaturally dark.John looked unhealthy. Painfully slim, yet she knew not to judge by appearance. From the recent news that Celine gathered, he was more than you can handle. How did John change so much and within a short time, she wondered?"What a pleasant surprise." The smile he gave her was disturbing, and it revealed yet another disconcerting feature of his. His teeth were a dark shade of yellow, with one of the front teeth broken at the tip and some of his teeth gone.She could feel the goose pimples emerging out from her skin. It was not just about looks. It was the sudden change that unnerved her. Nothing showed that this was the handsome young man she fell for years back. The John she knew was stunning with a flashy set of teeth. His lips were a perfect shade of peach. How it turned so hideously black was just unfathomable. He was well-groomed back in those days. He took hygiene seriously back then but had that been all a façade?"John." His name came out in a whisper like she was trying to make out the syllables.She has been so demoralized by his looks and not to talk of the place she had to meet him. She roved her eyes to observe her surroundings.It was a dark and abandoned tunnel. The only light source is a little candle placed on an improvised desk. It was more like woods jammed together to form a shape like a table. She could see other improvised furniture scattered all over the place. Each of them looked like it would collapse at any minute, and they all had a red ribbon tied on them. She wondered if he was trying to make her home. She imagined that he did not live here because only someone mentally unstable would want to live here.The pile of drugs and cigarettes scattered in a small but sizable hole caught her attention. That explains this look. What has John done to himself? The feeling of disgust that was starting to develop had changed to pity. She looked up at him."Are you done observing? So what next?" John asked, his gaze firm on her. "Oh, I know what next," he continued "she is going to judge me. Judge me as you've always done because that's the only thing you're so good at." He clenched his jaw and stared at her, daring her to prove him right."I..." she was trying to speak up, but he interrupted "Just so you know, I do not care, Celine. I don't. Gone are the days when what you think mattered.""John." After those harsh words, all she could do was call his name. She became lost for words."Why are you here, Celine!" his voice was a pitch higher, and he looked at her like the mere sight of her irritated him."I need you." That was the only thing she could say. Her voice was a whisper with her head bent low.John laughed out loud. A sadistic laugh that was spine-chilling and made her shiver. "What did you just say?" He asked, his tone unusually calm in a way that made her feel uneasy."I said that I... need...," she started to stammer but never got to finish her statement because John interrupted her again."Are you seriously going to repeat that?" He glared at her. "Don't you have any shame left in you?! Or at least, are you not afraid of me now!" he screamed out.Celine gasped, taken aback by his sudden screaming."You have the guts, Celine, to come here and say that?" he continued. "Same old you, same old you. Haven't you been the same old gallant Celine everybody knows?" He paused, then laughed out. "You were brave enough to come here in the first place."Truthfully, she had mustered up all the courage in her to come here and meet John after all she had heard. She was putting her life on the line by coming to see him.John was a wanted criminal. The police had not traced the series of killings happening in the city. But she knew. She knew it was him. The instant the police recorded the first pattern in the murders. The killer had slaughtered a pregnant woman, brought out the premature baby and tied a red ribbon around its neck. That was how she knew it was him.The red ribbon. John always had an inhuman obsession with that colour of ribbon. Series of the same kind of murder has been occurring after that.John walked over to her. He came so close, close enough that she could hear his breathing. She tried not to panic, not wanting to give John any hint that she was scared out of her wits. Folding his right index finger, he placed it under her jaw and slowly raised her head for her to look at him. He stared down at her. He stared down at her for a whole two minutes. It took everything in her not to break eye contact, to relieve herself of the dreadful sight of those bloody eyes. But that would only be a hint that she was scared of him.Gradually a psychotic grin appeared on his face, stretching from ear to ear. Celine shivered. That was one thing she couldn't control."You know, don't you?"There was a mad gleam in his bloodshot eyes. She got pressed instantly and was in desperate need to pee. She knew what he was asking, but she decided to act like she did not."What are you talking about?" she managed to ask without stammering."You know what I'm talking about! Don't play games with me!" he yelled, using his whole hand to grab her jaw and squeezing it tightly. She winced in pain. With gritted teeth, he said, "I will only ask one more time." He released her jaw and took in a breath. "Do you know?""Yes, I do." she whispered, her head returning immediately to face the floor."Oh, my bad. I told you so many things I shouldn't have." He spat. "First of all, this place. I should never have brought you here."The location of the tunnel was the outskirts of the city. It was a hidden area. A place John discovered when he was a little boy. John brought her here whenever he wanted alone time with her. She had always viewed John's choice of
It was late noon by the time Céline got back home. She was so grateful that she had come out of the den that John now called home alive. That psychopath scared the shit out of her, but she refused to show it, refused to give him that satisfaction.She felt good to be home. She was in her living room with the TV on, though she was not giving it any of her attention. The last thing on her mind was whatever was showing on the TV. She was too distracted to know the station it was on. Her thoughts were on her encounter with John and their conversation. She had no idea where to get such a sum of money John demanded. Even if she saved up her salary for a whole year, she still would not be able to realize such an amount. The truth was Céline did not have any idea how to get it. She had just made a deal with John so she would be able to come out in one piece. If Céline had not made that deal, John would not have hesitated to kill her. She could not accep
"Can I see that?" Céline asked, stretching out her hand. Her aunt closed the newspaper and handed it over to her. Céline took it from her aunt and flipped the pages looking for the news on Damien. It was not hard to find. On the top of the page where it was, boldly written. "DAMIEN CULHANE, IN SEARCH OF A WIFE!"She chuckled, amused by such a title. She quickly read through, getting more interested with every word she read. Céline finished scanning the page and handed the magazine to her aunt with newfound excitement."Well, basically, I think his mom that put that in the news," Céline spoke up."Why would she do that?" Her aunt asked, confused by the conclusion she made."She is probably anxious to get her son a wife, seeing that she is not getting any younger. So she is going to whatever extent she can, including using the media.""Hmm, you have a point, but I doubt it." Her aunt said with a frown staring straight at Céli
Damien wondered the kind of energy God gave women as he listened to his mother rant on and on without so much as pausing to take a breath. "This is the sixth woman, Damien, the sixth! ""You are not getting younger, Damien, so you need to get married and settle down. I have been trying so hard to find you a model wife, one that calm take care of you and tame you somehow""Are you even aware that you have to pass your business empire to someone? And if you don't, you are just going to let it die with you, young man!"His mother never ceased to amaze him. Did she not just say he was not getting any younger, and then she called him a young man?"Mom, would you let me breathe? I am just thirty and not that old yet." He replied and sighed. "Some men marry at forty, and I'm not even close to forty".It was obvious mom was not pleased with what he just said. She looked ever ready to lash out her anger. Here we go again, another round of unending rant."F
Celine paced around her room, anxiously waiting for her aunt to return. It's been a while since she left. Céline was beginning to wonder what was taking her so long to return. She had texted her aunt to check her email inbox if there was a reply to her inquiry and application/request to the court and marry Damien Culhane.It sounded crazy enough in her head, and Céline could never bring herself to say it out. She had stopped too low.Had she been rejected? Was she not pretty enough? She tried so hard to look beautiful in that picture. She was tense, thinking about the outcome. She needed an answer now.If her aunt doesn't return soon enough, she might lose it."Oh God, help me. Help your poor daughter." Céline clasped her hands together and shut her eyes tightly. She desperately needed this.The sound of the front door closing brought her out of her thoughts. That must be her aunt. Without second thoughts, she ran down to meet her.
Friday was usually a hectic day for Damien. Damien has been sitting at his desk all day long, paperwork piling higher and higher. His butt started to hurt from sitting down for long, and his hand was stiff from writing and typing.Looking at the paperwork still left, he wondered what he had been doing all this while. The pile, a piece of mocking evidence that he has done nothing much. Well, what did he expect? He was the owner of nearly half the restaurants, boutiques, clubs and hotels in the state, so there would be lots of paperwork. Of course, he could afford a personal assistant, but he was carefully avoiding being a victim to the stuff usually depicted in cliché movies. Call it absurd, but he was not taking any chances.Pulling his chair backwards, he stood up and stretched, relieving the tension in his muscles.He glanced at his watch. It was 9:45 pm. He packed his things and headed out of his office. The deafening silence of
What she was wearing was simple, yet something about her made her stand out. There were a lot of classy dressed women on the dance floor. She was just on a crop top, cargo pants and boots, yet she was the one that drew his attention. He watched her closely. She was dancing with so much energy as if drugged by the music. She moved her hips like their only special purpose was to sway. The vibe radiating from her made him itchy to get on the dance floor and spin her away. He had not even seen her face yet!He patiently waited for her to turn around and face him, careful not to lose sight of her. When she did, he was completely and utterly charmed. He was not one to stare, but that was what he was doing right now, his jaw agape. This beauty was alarming, one you could not just ignore. With his jaw almost dropping to the floor, it was a surprise that Damien was not drooling. He took his time to take her in. She had red hair, and she tied up in a ponytail. The
Oh, Lord have mercy, who on earth did she just see? Was that Damien freaking Culhane! She turns around to face him properly to be sure.“Madame, were you leaving without your drink?” She raised her hand abruptly to shut the bartender up.It was like a reflex move. She would deal with the embarrassment later. “Damien? Damien Culhane?” She asked to be sure her eyes weren’t deceiving her. If her eyes were, then her ears would not.“Yes, you know me?” He had a dreamy look in his eyes and was acting like he was trying to keep his balance and avoid falling off the long bar chair.The Damien she imagined should be more collected considering he was rich and famous. Was he drunk or something?“Of course, I know you! Who in the state does not?!”“I do not, or I did not, you popular bro?” The