Velia hurried as she heard the apartment door opening. She had just finished preparing dinner. Luckily, she was on time to quickly shower and put on a red evening gown.
“Luc!”
Velia’s welcoming and exclaiming caught Lucas off guard. But a moment later, it was the astonishment that fixed Lucas’s gaze.
Velia looked beautiful. She was impeccably dressed that evening.
“You’re home.”
Velia approached and took over Lucas’s work bag, along with removing his jacket. Her actions made Lucas furrow his brow.
Something was off. Lucas felt a difference. Velia often welcomed him home, but there was another impression he got.
“Did I miss something?” Lucas asked confusedly, especially when he saw Velia smiling. “What’s going on, Ve?”
Both headed towards the bedroom. During the short journey, Lucas grew more curious. Velia’s behavior truly intrigued him.
Velia placed the work bag and jacket on the edge of the bed, then stood in front of Lucas. She gently loosened his tie with a sparkling gaze.
“I went to see that house earlier.”
All the curiosity and various question marks instantly vanished from Lucas’s mind. He should not have been surprised by Velia’s behavior. Unfortunately, something had preoccupied his thoughts, almost causing him to overlook it.
“And then?”
The tie landed on the bed. Now Velia focused on unbuttoning Lucas’s shirt. She unfastened them one by one.
“Is that the reason behind this endless smile? You look so radiant.”
Velia’s smile instantly turned into a small chuckle. Her fingers, which were struggling with the buttons, paused for a moment, lingering on Lucas’s chest.
“Uh, um,” Velia cleared her throat melodically. “The house is beautiful.”
Lucas looked at Velia with sparkling eyes. His laughter was so captivating that it left Lucas transfixed.
“Is that so?”
Velia nodded, and her fingers resumed their work. “Exactly as you described. You didn’t exaggerate anything when you talked about it.”
“I did mention it. It’s just that you didn’t believe me.”
Velia’s cheeks blushed. She blushed and flashed a smile.
“All the household staff there are friendly. Oh! I didn’t know you had informed them that I would be coming.”
“Of course, they had to know you were coming. So, what did they do?”
Velia pulled Lucas’s shirt from the waist of his pants. She pushed the shirt off his shoulders.
“They prepared a meal for me,” Velia replied enthusiastically. “When Carter and I arrived, they immediately invited me to the dining room. There was a lot of delicious food they had prepared for me.”
Lucas’s shirt also landed on the bed. Now Velia unbuckled Lucas’s belt.
“So, you’re saying you had a meal with Carter?”
Velia flashed a smile. Lucas’s tone of voice indicated that everything was fine. He was not angry or jealous; on the contrary, he was teasing her.
“Not literally. Actually, Carter ate in the kitchen, but…”
Velia’s smile turned mischievous. Her expression looked funny and endearing in Lucas’s eyes.
“… maybe. Carter and I did eat together.”
Lucas grinned. “You’re so mean to me.”
Velia’s laughter echoed. Lucas’s narrowed eyes added an extra touch that tickled her stomach.
“Not only that. Do you know what? They took me on a tour after the meal, showing me around the whole house.”
“And?”
Laughter and amusement gradually faded. Everything disappeared as Velia stared intently at Lucas. There was a sense of wonder radiating from her.
“It was so beautiful, Luc.”
Memories filled Velia’s mind. She remembered every detail that had impressed her.
“It was exactly like you showed in the photos. Many windows were open. The afternoon sunlight came in and brightened the entire house. Besides,” Velia said with the most vivid memory. “I saw it.”
Lucas entered Velia’s clear eyes. He dived in and swore that there was a blooming flower garden inside.
“What did you see?”
“One place.”
Lucas had mentioned it when he showed Velia the photos of the house. There was one place that Lucas did not show her. He wanted Velia to see it for herself.
“Tell me what you saw.”
Velia blinked. Even after hours had passed, the scenery still felt vivid in front of her eyes.
“There’s a rose garden beside the house. The flowers were in full bloom, and it was incredibly beautiful.”
“I’m sure those roses were indeed beautiful.”
Velia fell silent for a moment. For a while, she did not speak. Apparently, there were no words that could represent her feelings, only a gaze that could convey them.
“Thank you, Luc.”
Various emotions were reflected in Velia’s eyes. Happiness, tenderness, and all the emotions Lucas had never seen before.
“You always try to make me happy.”
Lucas smiled and cupped Velia’s cheeks. “The reason is simple. Seeing you happy brings me joy.”
Velia bit her lower lip. Lucas’s words squeezed her heart and brought unexpected turmoil.
“Just one thing.”
Lucas’s gentle smile turned mischievous. He smoothed out the furrowed brow on Velia’s forehead.
“What’s the matter?”
Lucas looked down. His gaze focused on one spot below. He asked.
“You didn’t mean to thank me by inviting me to make love, did you?”
Velia blinked. “Wh-what?”
“It’s not that, but both of your hands have been on my pants’ waist and haven’t moved since then.”
Velia realized the truth in Lucas’s words. She quickly removed her hands, her face turning red. Just as red as the evening gown she was wearing.
“Oh, sorry.”
Lucas laughed and hugged Velia tightly. His hands stroked her while he kissed the top of her head.
“Did you prepare dinner? Or did you not because you had dinner with Carter earlier?”
A small poke in her stomach made Lucas’s laughter explode even more. Velia pouted in Lucas’s embrace.
“I already prepared dinner.”
“Oh, thank goodness,” Lucas whispered with relief, tickling his voice. “Go to the dining room first. I’ll take a shower and join you soon.”
The embrace unraveled. Velia left, making sure to close the door behind her.
Lucas immediately headed to the bathroom and quickly cleaned himself up. He put on casual pants and a T-shirt.
It did not take long for Lucas to finish. He intended to go to the dining room right away, but the ringing of his phone stopped him in his tracks.
Lucas grabbed the phone and realized it was the call he had been waiting for. He immediately answered the call.
“Hello, Neil. How’s it going?”
“Everything is done. He’s with us now.”
Lucas sighed as he looked at himself in the mirror. He rubbed his chin and felt the stubble there.
I forgot to shave.
A growing beard would soon show signs. Lucas reminded himself to shave tomorrow morning.
“Do as you wish. I want them to be able to reunite tomorrow night.”
“Alright, Sir.”
After the call ended, Lucas left the room. He headed to the dining table and found Velia waiting for him.
Velia served Lucas’s plate. They enjoyed their dinner in a pleasant atmosphere. Light conversation filled the air.
“Is there something you want to say, Luc? I see you look like you want to say something.”
Lucas shook his head. “No, nothing.”
Unfortunately, Velia sensed otherwise from Lucas’s eyes. There was an unusual gleam that made Velia suspect that there was something he wanted to say.
“I’m just really happy that I still get to see you until now?”
“What do you mean?” Velia asked, slightly confused. “I haven’t gone anywhere. Especially when I’m with Carter.”
Lucas coughed briefly with an unsure impression. “You may not have gone anywhere, but who knows if there are people who might want to take you away from me.”
“Take me away from you? You’re confusing me, Luc.”
Lucas laughed. He resumed moving his spoon and fork.
“Maybe it’s a sign that I need an extra portion.”
Velia snorted playfully and gave him what Lucas wanted. She had no idea that she had just escaped from lurking danger.
*
Boy blinked. The bright light dazzled his consciousness back. He opened his eyes.
There were at least two things that Boy immediately noticed upon regaining consciousness. The first was that he was tightly bound to a steel chair. He could not hope to free himself by breaking it like a wooden chair.
The second thing was that Boy felt pain in his face. It must have come from his broken nose due to a punch.
Damn it!
Boy remembered clearly that he was suddenly punched. The perpetrator was the man sitting in front of him. He gave off a cold impression when he looked at Boy.
“Who are you?!”
Boy’s furious shout meant nothing to the man. He remained calm even when Boy tried to free himself.
Boy grew angrier, but something made him freeze. He was late to realize the third thing. That is, he was now in his hideout.
Damn it!
Boy clenched his jaw. His eyes radiated uncontrolled anger.
“Turn off that light, Carter.”
The man’s voice sounded. Flat and seemingly emotionless.
“It’s too bright. Besides, he’s already awake.”
The blinding light immediately went out. It left only normal lighting so Boy could see the two men in front of him more clearly.
One by one. He would not forget.
Boy clearly recognized both. They were Velia’s driver and plumber.
“You damn plumber!”
A chuckle escaped. A hat lifted, revealing a smirk.
“Neil. That’s my name.”
As if Boy still cared about the man’s name. He cursed incoherently and jerked the chair, even though it was useless. The rope held him tightly.
“We can do this the easy way or the hard way,” Neil said, leaning back. “It depends on which way you want to go. But I assure you that you will do as I say regardless of the method you choose.”
Boy spat with a challenging attitude. “Do as you say? Let me go and we’ll see if you can still threaten me like that.”
Neil remained calm, unaffected by Boy’s provocation. His taunts were like the wind passing by.
“You cowards!”
“Don’t talk about yourself, Boy.”
Boy turned away. He saw Velia’s driver responding to his words.
“What we’ve done is nothing compared to what you did,” Carter continued with a smirk. “How could you have tried to kidnap a woman?”
Carter’s question hit Boy. One possibility crossed his mind and made him furious.
“Who are you really? Are you Velia’s lackeys?!”
Neil displayed a sympathetic expression. “Sshh. Don’t waste your energy on useless things, Boy. It’s better if you follow our instructions.”
His face hardened. Boy clenched his jaw. He knew very well that his current position was not advantageous at all.
“What do you want.”
“It’s simple,” Neil replied. “We know that you’re just a pawn. You’ll do anything for money. Unfortunately, your luck ran out when you had to deal with us.”
Neil took out a cell phone from his jacket pocket, and Boy’s eyes widened. It was his phone.
“You should know that we’ve cleaned up your place,” Carter added. He looked around before returning his gaze to Boy. “Turns out you’re a cautious worker. All conversation records and job history are neatly stored.”
“You…”
Boy’s anger reached its peak. His face turned dark with rage.
“Calm down. You don’t need to worry. We didn’t touch what was unnecessary. We only took what we needed.”
Neil’s words did not calm Boy at all, quite the opposite. Warning alarms went off, and he knew it was not a good sign.
“So, I want you to contact Ricardo right now if you want to survive.”
Boy’s red eyes glanced alternately at Neil and Carter. His gaze exuded explosive anger. He could not accept being undermined.
“Don’t make a choice you’ll regret, Boy. You know, don’t you? Humans only have one life.”
Boy gritted his teeth. The stakes were high, his pride was on the line. Unfortunately, Neil’s insistence made him realize that he had no other choice.
“What do you want me to tell him?”
Neil grinned as he dialed Ricardo’s number. “Turns out you’re smarter than I thought. I want you to tell him to come here.”
Boy’s gaze remained fixed on Neil without blinking. The call connected, and they waited together.
“Hello, Boy. I hope you have good news tonight.”
*