Chapter 2

pg. 03 | chapter 2

"We meet again, Amor."

• • •

"Breaking News! A forest fire was found at a locality close to the Berlinda National Highway Road. It was confirmed that the fire started in the middle of the road with fifteen vehicles engulfed into flames."

"The investigators and the police are currently working on the case to find out the cause behind the fire. However, statements from the officials have mentioned that events might have been purposely done to obstruct the project of the President of El Salvador."

"Footage of a man wearing a black suit was found at the nearest lighting post. However, confirmation of the man's identity is yet to be given-"

Even before all information was entirely given to the localities, a black screen emerged through the channel and only the sound of annoying static engulfed the ears of the listeners.

A woman who was profoundly combing her hair in front of a mirror just stared right through her orbs as she removed the tangles in her hair strands.

Once her ears reached the static sound of the television, she turned her gaze slowly towards the device and just tilted her head a little.

She knows the man behind this abhorring incident.

"He probably removed the footage so that no evidence would be found against him," she mumbled to herself before reaching her hand to grab the remote control. She turned it off and continued to admire herself in the mirror.

Black long wavy hair that bounces through her back with long eyelashes, small luscious lips and straight raised nose, Althea was the epitome of beauty in their residence, being the sole woman who has the best features that men have been fawning over and women hating altogether.

Just as she put down the remote control close to her desk, her phone suddenly rang that made her shift her attention.

A man's last name was written on her phone's lock screen.

Upon realizing who the caller was, she rolled her eyes on the side before answering the call.

"Hello, Sweetie, are you ready?" The first thing that greeted her from the other side of the line was a deep voice.

She frowned at the slight question the man asked, and quickly enough, she replied with an enthusiastic tone.

"Yes, I'm ready, Honey," she replied. She has no choice but to act like the sweet, innocent woman who is excited to meet with her lover just so she can continue with this stupid facade.

"That's great! I'll pick you up at the usual time, nine o'clock sharp. I'll have my secretary deliver the dress I bought you as well."

Upon saying those words, Althea couldn't help but knit her forehead. She couldn't help but feel disgusted, yet she only let out a wry chuckle to humor his demands.

"Make sure to dress your best, beautiful. The gala we'll be attending is a pretorian event only suitable for the elite," he added. It only made her sigh.

As though it was the highlight of her acting, she crossed her legs while leaning her back on the backrest of her luxurious chair.

"Honey," she called out to him. Her voice sounded seductive through the line as if she'd purposely charmed him.

"Yes, Baby?" the man asked on the other line.

"Do I really have to come?" she asked.

Truth be told, she doesn't even want to spend time with him. This man is a perverted old man who couldn't keep his hand off of her even in public.

Just thinking about how he'll reluctantly flaunt her all over the guests makes her sick to the stomach.

She heard a chuckle from the other side of the call before he responded.

"Of course you have to. You don't know how much my people wanted to meet you," he replied. "Also, I want you to meet someone important."

Althea furrowed her brows at the mere mention of his intention. It seems like this man is planning to sell her off to someone new, and she can't help but feel a slight fright.

After all, she is familiar with this type of cycle. This has happened before, and it will not be surprising if it happens again.

"Alright, I'll dress my best." Those were the only words she said, unable to prevent skipping the event. She'll probably just discard this man after she's done so she can move on to another client.

After a short while of conversing with the man on the other line, Althea finally ended the call and let out a sharp sigh.

She couldn't help but think twice to herself, knowing that this supposed meeting meant that her client wanted to sell her off to someone he knew, or better yet, a threesome proposal.

"This is stupid," she muttered before standing up abruptly from her seat. Her nightgown brushed past her skin as she made her way towards the washroom to wash her face and do her normal routine.

Truth be told, Althea has been living in full luxury ever since she started doing dirty work. She seduces married men so that she can extort money out of them, and when she's done, she'll move on to another that will help her survive in this cruel world.

Once she finished her daily routine, she navigated through her two-story house and cooked in the kitchen for her breakfast.

She still has to earn more merits to continue this luxurious lifestyle, so she plans to go to the mall to shop for new cosmetics and probably pay a visit to her long-forgotten mother.

A smile flashed through her lips when she finished putting on make-up, and before she knew it, she was dressed in a lavish pale green tank top paired with blue shorts that showcased her flawless skin and a pair of sneakers.

In her hand was a pouch with debit cards of her men and a cellphone newly bought by her new partner.

"Oh my, here comes the prostitute." She heard an old woman utter. She already knows that these people are envious of her beauty and charm so that they can't do anything but gossip about her.

She was composed that she did not need to argue with such ridiculous notions, she just gracefully ignored the woman and didn't bat an eyelash.

If people pay attention to the smallest details, then that's their fault. To Althea, there is no need to mind such commentary when it wouldn't benefit her.

It's a waste of time.

Once she reached the waiting shed on the highway, she noticed police officers at the other side of the road still busy with the crime scene they had been tasked with and a few bystanders who were distracted by idling around.

A few minutes passed by and no public transportation was seen. A nearby officer came in her direction only to be greeted.

"Good day, Ma'am," the man said. He was wearing a police uniform right across his torso and a cap, shielding him away from the scouring heat of the sun's rays.

"Good morning as well," she replied with a timid smile.

"Are you planning to wait for a bus here?" he asked, it only made her nod her head. "If that's so, I think you should try going in the other direction. This is currently off limits due to the thing that happened last night," he explained, pointing towards the direction of the crowded people with police tape all over the highway road.

If that's the case, she'll need to come across the other side of the road just so she can get a lift to the city.

"Is that so?" Althea responded. "What might have happened here?" she asked, acting like she hadn't heard the news just earlier.

"I'm sorry, Ma'am, but this is confidential. I can only tell you that a forest fire has started and it is still dangerous to go in this direction. You'll have to find another way to navigate through the city," the man uttered, the strictness in his tone dominating her.

She only looked at him with an innocent smile flashing through her lips. "If that's the case, then can you please help me get to the city?"

She looked at the man with her eyes twinkling as though she was a pitiful person. She has been doing this for a long time and knows how men can fall for such an act.

"Ma'am, I'm sorry, but I still have duties to attend to-"

Just as the man was about to leave upon her sudden action, she crawled one of her hands along his chest, her long, newly polished nails brushing past his uniform.

"Really?" she asked, as though she was doing it on purpose to lure him into her trap.

The police officer exhales a sharp sigh, the lump in his throat moving. It seems that her persuasion is working, seeing how he couldn't help but gulp at her sudden closeness.

"Fine, I'm sure it wouldn't take too long," the man added before she was escorted towards a car parked near the restricted area.

After a few minutes of traveling towards the city, Althea bid her farewell to the kind policeman and winked at him for a tip.

As she wiped off her lips clean, she made sure to act her best inside the vehicle.

"Delicious," she added before she turned away from the vehicle.

The whole time she was navigating through the establishment, men would often stare at her, lusting after her. Women, on the other hand, find it annoying that a woman like her has such flawless skin and a doll-like face that no one can compare. It makes them feel insecure from the inside unable to hold the expressions on their faces.

After buying a few products she needed to apply to her body, she directed her next agenda to buying groceries before taking a cab towards a two-mile radius destination.

"Sir, please make sure to stop the vehicle not too close to the building," she added when they were already nearing the area.

Upon her arrival at a small building, she can see people through the sliding windows wearing white robes right across their bodies.

She can already imagine the noises coming from the vicinity that makes her ready herself for the next thing to happen.

Taking a deep breath before she started walking towards the entrance, she carried one box of groceries right across her left hand while the other was full of cosmetics for herself.

She greeted the receptionist right across the counter and, afterwards, headed straight to one of the rooms where her mother was a patient.

"Do you know that I was once a famous woman in our city? I have all the luxuries in the world; men pawning over my flawlessness and women envying me through their graves."

Althea couldn't help but put on a stoic expression as she heard her mother speak those words. She slowly twisted the door knob open, only to reveal an old woman strapped in a bed with white clothes.

Due to her violent tendencies, she was always tied up after taking her food and medicine.

Once she opened the door, she put the box of groceries near the entrance and walked towards her destination.

As soon as the old woman took notice of her, her eyes widened in shock, her skin turning pale white. She looked like she had seen death herself while screaming at the top of her lungs.

This has been the normal reaction her mother has been making every time she visits her in the ward.

It seems that her mother sees her as death rather than the daughter she has always abandoned for the sake of another man.

She didn't care anymore and just sat down close to the old woman.

"Mom," she called out to her, staring right into her orbs.

The woman continued to scream, erupting through the four corners of the room, yet Althea had already gotten used to this.

"Have you guessed why I came here?" she asked after a long while, still with the voice of her mother echoing.

A smile then slowly creeps into her lips, as though she was pretending that her mother was listening to her.

"It's because I want to tell you that I have longed to follow your path and I'm living my life in full luxury. Aren't you proud of me?" she asked.

The old woman then started glancing back and forth as though she was losing her mind, while Althea just crossed her legs, one of her arms leaning to grab her chin.

"Mother, I am talking to you," she said, her eyes full of coldness that made the old woman stop for a second.

"D-Demon," the old woman uttered, staring right into her eyes. "Demon," she said again, a smile on Althea's lips.

"Mother, aren't you proud of this bitch? This is what you made me become," she added before she roughly removed her hand from the woman.

Her mother was right when she called her a demon. She didn't really care about this old woman rotting in a mental facility. For all she knew, she was being treated horribly due to her violent tendencies.

All she wants is to see her be tormented in this facility just like how she was tormented by her before.

She then stands up abruptly from her seat before she stares at the pitiful woman strapped to her bed.

It was obvious by her appearance that she hadn't bathed in a week and that she was starting to smell bad.

"Mother, despite all of your boasting, I want to inform you that you are no longer in the spotlight. You're nothing but an old woman rotting in this hell," she said, and then started walking towards the door.

Her exit was just right on time as footsteps began to travel through the outside of the room.

"And you're right, I'm a demon," she added, before she finally twisted the doorknob open.

Coincidentally, nurses were already outside, which she greeted enthusiastically.

It has become her instinct already to switch facial expressions in a blink of an eye.

Afterwards, she exited the room, leaving the groceries for her mother and a smile crossing her lips.

Meanwhile, when she was able to get home from the short trip to the town, it didn't take long for hours to pass and for her to dress herself like a doll.

Her black dress wrapped itself around her body, revealing her voluptuous curves. Her hair waved from the back as she arranged it in haphazard strokes. She then starts applying thin make-up right across her face before partnering her whole attire with a pair of black four-inch heels.

At exactly nine o'clock in the evening, a gray Bugatti stops in front of her house, honking as she slowly reveals herself.

"Hello there, Gorgeous," the man says quickly after noticing how well-dressed she was in the clothes he bought.

It was obvious that he grabbed onto thin threads that could easily be accessed.

Althea looked at him with a smile flashing through her lips. However, at the back of her head, she was obviously disgusted by his gesture.

She enters his car without replying to his words, and within minutes of passing the highway road, she can already feel his hand crawling up to her thighs.

"I've made sure to pick the best dress for you. Do you like it?" the old man asked as he shifted his gaze to her and the road.

Althea lets out a chuckle, humoring his words. "Of course I do. Why wouldn't I love your gifts?" she replied as she tried to grab onto his hand. "You're driving, Babe. We can't do it here," she whispered, pointing towards the road.

The man then let out a sneer as he nodded his head.

"Right, right. We still need to attend the gala, and I have someone I want you to meet," he narrated.

After a twenty-minute drive towards the establishment, the vehicle stops in the parking lot.

The place was filled with people dressed in formal attire, waiting out or conversing among themselves. This has been a normal routine for her already, so it didn't surprise her anymore.

"We're here, dear," the man says after he parks the car right across one of the vacant lots. He then stares at her for a second, giving her the creepiest smile.

"Oh great, I was just starting to get tingles from all the seating," she said, lying. She didn't care one bit about this man and just wished that they could get this over with immediately.

Once they started walking towards the direction of the establishment, Althea noticed more people right across the entrance. The men's eyes were glued to her stature, fantasizing and lusting all over her appearance, while women were quick on their feet to become envious who wanted to drag her down.

"Relax," the old man whispers to her ear when he thinks that she is nervous. A smirk crossed her lips.

Just as the event started with men interacting with her and her partner being swarmed by business proposals, Althea just made sure to act polite and elegant in front of everyone.

She even managed not to get angry at the bullying the other women were doing to her and just plainly chuckled and smiled at their annoyed faces.

However, just as the event was nearing the end, it was now the time her partner grabbed onto her wrist and pulled her.

"Honey, this is the man I have been longing for you to meet," her partner uttered as she slowly turned her gaze towards him.

Once her eyes gazed at the old man, her vision managed to catch a man from behind him.

Immediately, everything became like a slow motion picture as her lover enthusiastically introduced the young man to her while the person uttered words she couldn't understand.

The only thing she could hear was the sound of static engulfing her ear as the man slowly drew a timid smile onto his lips, followed by him extending his arm for a shake.

"We meet again, Amor," he said, and that quickly made her dumbfounded.