Narciso’s movements became swift after she found the gift box she intended for Anthony. According to what the helpers were saying, Narciso was preparing all the evidence she would present against her and her father. This made her even more nervous.
Initially, she thought she wouldn’t be in danger if she first went to Clasiso’s before returning to her father. She was wrong. Very wrong. She didn’t just endanger herself, but also her father!
She angrily grabbed her hair and aggressively raised and lowered her shoulders. No, she shouldn’t just sit around and wait until Narciso called for her. She needed to escape. She had to leave that mansion!
So that night, she planned to escape when everyone working at the mansion was asleep. She wasn’t sure if there were guards outside the mansion like the private armies in her father’s mansion. When she went to the garden, the sun was still shining brightly, and she didn’t get a good look at the perimeter of the mansion because Andrie was hanging out in the garden. Whatever. She would try to escape, and they would only know if someone would stop her outside.
“You seem lost earlier,” Esma commented. She was preparing the food on the table while she was sitting and waiting for her to finish preparing.
She sighed and subtly looked around. “Where’s Andrie and Narciso?”
She saw her slightly smirk when she mentioned Andrie’s father’s name without respect. She grinned. She couldn’t respect the man who caused her trouble. Esma nodded without taking her eyes off the bonsai. She saw Esma glance at her out of the corner of her eye, but later sighed. “Maybe Sir Andrie will approach the table and Sir Narciso hasn’t returned to the mansion yet.”
“Is she always like that?” She looked away and pretended to look at the bonsai in the distance. “Not going home? I mean, is she always late coming home to this mansion?”
“Are you referring to Sir Narciso?” She nodded without removing her gaze from the bonsai. He saw Esma glance at her, but later sighed. “She always comes home late. She often comes home very late, but sometimes she’s home by six o’clock.”
“So it is usual of her.” She returned her gaze to the old woman. “What time do you think she’ll be home tonight?”
“From what I’ve noticed about her these past few days, Sir Narciso is really busy. She might not get home until ten o’clock.”
“Ten o’clock,” she whispered, furrowing her brow. But soon after, she forced a smile at Esma. “Just like Dad,” she said to avoid suspicion in her questions.
And it seemed to work because Esma smiled slightly at her. “Maybe you miss her.”
The smile on her lips gradually faded, and she looked away from the old woman. She stared at the bonsai again. At that moment, the bright light from the kitchen ceiling illuminated the plant. She looked at the small window beside the bonsai. Darkness had completely consumed the outside. It seemed to be six o’clock at night. She saw some fireflies outside the window, apparently passing through that part. The cool breeze that touched her cheek also came in. She closed her eyes and thought about Esma’s question.
Did she miss her father? Maybe yes, maybe no.
Maybe she just really wanted to escape from that mansion, so she thought of her father, or maybe one of the reasons she wanted to escape was to see her father again. How many days, weeks, and months had they been apart? The last she heard from her father was that he was giving a reward to anyone who could locate him. And maybe he was busy covering up the evidence? It didn’t seem like it. Narciso already had the original copy of the autopsy report, but she also thought Narciso didn’t know who hid the autopsy report. Maybe her father was still trying to cover up all the truths. But who delivered the autopsy report to the police?
“Azora?” Esma called out. She opened her eyes and looked at the old woman. Her concerned eyes were staring at her. “Are you okay?” she asked.
She smiled and nodded at her. “I’m fine.” She glanced at the food laid out on the table. “I think that food is ready.”
Esma nodded and turned to the servant standing by the dining hall entrance. “Please call Sir Andrie,” she ordered.
She opened her mouth to stop the servant from calling Andrie, but she closed it quickly. She thought she would leave later anyway, so it wouldn’t be too bad to join Andrie for dinner. After all, it would be their last chance to dine together.
She waited a few minutes before she heard Andrie’s footsteps behind her. Esma nodded at her and left the dining hall with the other servants who helped set the table. She saw Andrie sitting across from her. He sat there with a serious expression, unlike the playful expression he had seen in the past few days. He just watched him get his food and put it on his plate. She felt ashamed. She didn’t know whether to get food or not, even though she wasn’t given a second glance by Andrie.
She was about to cough to let the man know she was getting some food but then she saw him start walking in the background. Eat.
It started when she got her food and ate. Occasionally, she glanced at Andrie, but the latter remained focused on his own dish, unlike the past days when even food was.