Chapter 2

Artemis Thaleia's Perspective

After we had dinner, Saffron drove me straight home like I promised my father.

"Be careful on your way home, Saffron. Let me know when you get back to your apartment." Saffron nodded before she maneuvered her car away from my house.

I couldn't help but hug myself as the cold wind welcomed my body.

"I'm dizzy, damn it,"  I whispered to myself as I opened our gate.  

I cursed once more as the key slipped through my hand and fell to the ground.  I immediately took it, and when I noticed a figure standing not far from where I was. I straightened up and turned around to look in that direction again, but I didn't see anything there except for the tree.

I lost my drunkenness as fear and dread that someone might be following me sunk into my head after I heard footsteps that weren't mine.

I snatched the pistol out of my bag and cracked it before I turned to look at someone who was behind me.

"Woah! What's with the gun?"  I heaved a sigh and put the gun back in my bag as I saw who it was. It's Calvin, a good-for-nothing ex-boyfriend of mine.

"What are you doing here?"  I scoffed and threw my bag on the couch. Calvin smiled and stretched out his hand to hug me. I grabbed his hand and twisted it harshly before pinning him on the door.

"Thaleia, let go!" 

Calvin tried to get away, but I pinned him harder, making him wince and groan in pain.

"I am asking you, Calvs."

"How am I supposed to say anything when you are breaking my bones?"

I let go of him. Calvin, still in pain, he glared at me.

"I came here to sort things between us. I'm sorry. Can we fix this now?"  I laughed hysterically upon hearing that. I had to bite my lip to stop myself from laughing.

"Woman, what the hell is so funny?" He hissed.

"Because you are a joke. Do I look like someone who'll tolerate your shits?" I asked. Calvin grinned and tried to touch me, but he immediately put his hand back in his pocket after I glared at it.

"Don't tell me that you didn't expect this much when we started to date. You know my history. I'm a bad boy, exactly why you fell for me."

"Calvin, you're not a bad boy but a wanna-be. Learn to differentiate those two. I would rather have Sin Cruorem, that psychopath, as my boyfriend than you. Now, go away."  

"I love you, still. Take me back, and I promise I won't do that again. I promise I won't hurt you," Calvin countered.

"Aren't you going to leave? I'm exhausted. I need to take a rest."  I mumbled in a calm tone, holding on to the last string of my patience.

"I'll count to three, and you should be gone by then." 

"One —" I began.

"Come on, Thaleia, I know you're just mad at me," Calvin said. I took my gun from my bag and attached its silencer

"Two."I stood up and walked back to the door.

"Three." Calvin turned pale and was stunned for a few seconds before he ran away when I fired near his feet. 

"What a scaredy-cat,"  I whispered to myself and closed the door.  Still carrying the gun, I went straight to my bedroom. 

The following day came fast.  I found Papa reading his newspaper and having coffee in his usual spot.

"Good morning, Thaleia," Papa greeted. I picked up a loaf of bread and Nutella from the counter and sat down.  

"Good morning, Pa. What time did you get home last night?"

Isaiah Belmont put down his newspaper. 

"At the crack of dawn," he answered. I nodded and took a bite of my bread when Papa placed an empty bullet shell on the table.

"Calvin came. He needs to learn a little lesson, that's why." I dropped the bread on the plate and then turned to look at him.

"I scared him a bit so he would stop bugging me. Don't worry, I didn't really shoot him." Papa sighs.

"I'm going back to NBI. I'll check Sin's vitals and clean his wound; then, I'll go to the hospital to report to my supervisor. I'll be back to NBI afterward." I jived towards the living room for my bag and left the house afterward.

Before I could be in the part of the headquarters where Sin was, I put on my white coat and face mask.

"Good morning, Dr. Belmont."  Agent Segovia and Agent Enrile, who were guarding outside the door, greeted me politely.

"Good morning, too,"  I muttered.  

Agent Segovia stood up but was too shy to speak.  "It's an SOP, Dr. Belmont," Agent Enrile spoke on behalf of Agent Segovia.  A small smile curved on my lips. I raised my arm, and he quickly sized me up. And when Agent Segovia was sure that I wasn't carrying anything, they opened the door and let me inside.

Sin lies on his bed wearing his mask.

"I wonder who put this on your face?" I whispered.

After I prepared the tools I would use for his treatment, I replied to Saffron's text message, then put my phone back in my white coat's pocket and sashayed towards his bed. 

I noticed his hands and feet were both cuffed to the bed.

"He's a criminal. He took so many lives. You shouldn't feel pity for him, Thaleia."

After I was done with his wounds, I sat next to him for a while, and when I was about to get up to leave, I suddenly remembered what Saffron had asked me.

Curiosity struck.

I slowly brought my hand closer to his mask.  With trembling hands, I removed it from his face slowly, for it felt like it would break if I weren't fragile with it.

I was left with no words to speak as I finally saw his face. Sin doesn't have any prominent scars or anything on his face like what everyone assumed was the reason why he always wore his mask.

"To sum it all up, his face is the opposite of what everyone thought it would be.  He's obscenely handsome and innocently looking," I said to myself.

I screamed in shock, and his mask fell from my hand when his eyes suddenly opened.  I instantly retreated when the door opened, and the agents entered.

Sin turned to me and gave me a small smile before Agent Enrile took Sin's mask from the floor and put it back on Sin's face.