Time seemed to stop for a moment. Emily was transfixed, her eyes wide open staring at the man still wearing the mask. She felt her heart beating fast.
Around them, the chaos continued. The invited guests screamed in panic. However, in that moment, the world seemed to belong only to the two of them.
“Sorry… I’m sorry,” Emily whispered, her voice barely audible amidst the commotion.
“Can you stand up now?” the man asked, his voice echoing low.
“Ah yes, fine,” Emily said, immediately adjusting her position to stand back up.
As Emily stood back up, a sigh of relief could be heard from the guests who previously frozen in fear.
“Are you both okay?” asked the host with a caring voice.
“Yes, we’re fine,” Emily replied, her eyes still focused on the masked man beside her.
After ensuring their well-being, the host confidently stepped towards the small podium, his eyes fixed on the couple who had made it onto the podium. “Finally, we have found the winners of this event,” he said with a proud voice.
“What are your names?” the host asked, handing his microphone to the two winners.
“My name is Margaret and this is my boyfriend, George,” said the woman from the winning couple with a voice full of joy and pride. George smiled proudly as he hugged Margaret lovingly.
“Congratulations on winning this game of fate. Perhaps you can kiss to celebrate your success,” said the host with a smile.
“Of course, if allowed,” said George with a gentle smile, taking Margaret’s hand affectionately. Joyful laughter could be heard from some of the invited guests.
“You don’t need my permission. Just go ahead,” replied the host with full support.
George looking lovingly at Margaret, then they kissed with tenderness and love, accompanied by the sound of applause from the guests.
***
Alice smiled widely, her eyes still fixed on the winning couple on the podium. However, her smile faded as she glanced at the man beside her. “Thank you for dancing with me, Daniel,” she said.
Alice took a deep breath, her eyes fixed on the masked man beside her. “I want to be honest with you,” she said, her voice slightly trembling. “Actually, the mask you’re wearing was a gift from me. I asked Richard to give it to you and keep it a secret that it was my gift.”
“I did this so that I could easily recognize you. I’m not as confident in our fate as I said earlier on the podium,” Alice paused for a moment, as if still hesitant to continue. “But my love for you is truly sincere. I hope you can feel it.”
“Today is my birthday. Can you fulfill my wish? I just want you to give me a chance to chase you, Daniel,” Alice said, hoping to get a little attention from the man beside her. However, the man remained silent, his eyes hidden behind the mask, as if he hadn’t heard her.
“Can you at least answer me?” asked Alice.
“Actually, I’m not Daniel,” the man replied, his voice sounding different from the usual Daniel.
Alice was astonished, her eyes widened in disbelief. “What do you mean?”
***
Meanwhile, Emily looked jealous as she saw the couple holding the award paper with the amount of 3, 500 dollars written on it.
“We almost got it earlier,” Emily said in an irritated tone, feeling disappointed by their failure.
“I don’t know if you’re becoming more materialistic, Em,” the man said, his tone sounding flat, as if he didn’t care about Emily’s frustation.
Hearing her name called by the masked man, Emily was startled.
“Do you know who I am?” Emily asked, but the man no longer paid attention to her and left her confused.
“Wait!” Emily shouted, her voice filled with urgency. She took a quick step, her high heels clicking on the gleaming marble floor. “I said, wait!” she shouted again, her hand reaching out to grab her trailing dress, hindering her hurried steps.
The masked man ignored Emily, his footsteps quickening, moving away from the party towards the parking area. Emily’s foot tripped over something, causing her body to lurch forward with force.
As the sound of a loud thud echoed, the masked man turned and saw Emily wincing in pain as she fell. His footsteps approached and checked on Emily’s condition. As the man got closer to her, Emily seized the opportunity to remove the mask that covered part of his face.
Emily gasped, her eyes widening in perfect shock as she saw the masked man’s face. “Daniel,” she whispered, her voice trembling in disbelief.
Daniel’s expression remained calm as Emily successfully discovered his identity. “Be more careful when you walk,” he said.
Daniel was about to stand up, but Emily’s hand stopped him. “Wait,” she urged, her eyes staring intently at Daniel. “Why do you care about me? When I almost had a car accident and this time too. I’m starting to doubt that you never loved me,” Emily said, her voice trembling with suppressed emotions.
“You’re expecting too much, I don’t love you at all,” Daniel replied coldly, his eyes avoiding Emily’s gaze. He immediately stood up and was about to leave Emily there.
“Grace,” Emily shouted, her voice trembling with suppressed emotions, stopping Daniel’s footsteps as he was about to leave. “You knew that she’s your daughter, didn’t you?” Emily asked in a voice filled with disappointment and pain.
Emily stood up, her steps cautiously approaching Daniel, until finally their eyes met. “When you left me, I was already pregnant with Grace. I wanted to tell you, but I felt guilty after hearing about the crimes my biological father committed against your parents. Do you know, all this time I’ve been so miserable too? I carried Grace without you by my side,” Emily whispered, her voice trembling with suppressed tears, her eyes welled up with sadness as she looked at Daniel.
Daniel was silent, his eyes dark and cold. “So what do you want now?” he asked.
“I’ve already divided my wealth for you and Grace. That’s my responsibility to both of you,” Daniel said coldly, wanting to end the conversation.
“So you’ve known all this time that Grace is your daughter?” Emily asked, her eyes searching for an answer from Daniel’s gaze.
“Grace doesn’t need all that wealth, she needs a father figure. A responsible father who loves her,” Emily continued.
“It seems you’re getting more and more out of control, Em,” Daniel said coldly, his eyes fixed on Emily with anger. “You want too much from me while my life is ruined because of your father.”
“You also ruined my life, Daniel Winston!” Emily shouted with anger, tears starting to flood her cheeks. “You managed to avenge the death of your parents by making me love you like this. Am I stupid? Yes, I am very stupid. I want to forget you, but every second I think about what happened, it tortures me,” she whispered, her voice choked with sobs.
“Grace is innocent. But she has to suffer seeing children her age loved by both their parents while she only has me as her mother,” Emily said, wiping away her tears that continued to flow.
“You’re so cruel to me, Daniel. I also regret what my biological father did. What else can I do to atone for his mistakes?” Emily asked.
***
Meanwhile, the masked man beside Alice removed his mask, revealing a familiar face known well to Alice.
“Richard? So you’re Richard?” Alice asked incredulously, her eyes widening in shock as she stared at Richard.
“I’m sorry,” Richard replied.
“I gave you that mask so you could give it to Daniel, but why did you…” Alice was so disappointed and angry that she stepped out of the dance floor.
“Wait, I didn’t intend to wear this mask,” Richard said as he chased after Alice, his voice sounding panicked.
Alice’s footsteps stopped, she turned and looked at Richard with a sharp gaze. “Then why are you wearing that mask?”
“Mr. Daniel didn’t want to wear it,” Richard replied.
“Why didn’t he want to wear it?” Alice asked curiously
“He said the mask’s pattern was too excessive,” Richard replied.
“Daniel said that?” Alice questioned, her eyes fixed on Richard with disbelief. Richard nodded in response.
“But why did you deceive me when I asked you to dance? You didn’t say anything and just accepted my offer,” Alice said, her voice filled with emotion.
“It’s because…” Richard wanted to say that he was also forced because Daniel asked him to pretend to be him after knowing Alice had given him the mask.
“Because what?” Alice asked, but Richard didn’t answer.
“You liar, so where is Daniel now? Did he come to my birthday party?” Alice asked.
“He came, but I don’t know where he is,” Richard replied.
Alice stepped out, followed by Richard who felt guilty behind her. She headed to the parking lot, her heart filled with anger and disappointment. Alice was ready to leave her own birthday party. However, as she was about to leave, her eyes accidentally caught Daniel and Emily engaged in an intense conversation.