She sat down obediently on the bench, her stomach rumbling. “Stop shouting with the mention of food,” she muttered to her noisy, hungry stomach, then turned to look in the direction he had gone. She saw him talking to the man at the food cart, his jaw set in thought. Her heart skipped a beat, and a warm feeling embraced her chest as she stared at him.
He might not be bad after all, she thought, staring and smiling. But upon realizing her admiration, she quickly looked away, clearing her throat. Stop staring. He’s probably being caring because… She couldn’t complete her speculation, as anything she came up with might be a lie, and she feared she might be wrong about him for a second.
“Answer a question and get one free ice cream,” the announcement caught her attention, and she spotted the ice cream cart.
“Ice cream?” she grinned, jumping up. “The last time I had ice cream was twelve years ago. I miss you,” she cooed, her eyes getting teary. She turned to call Christian but stopped herself. “That would be unreasonable,” she murmured, considering he had gone to get them a meal, and now she wanted to ask him to buy ice cream. She didn’t have any money with her, but hearing about the terms for the free ice cream rekindled her hope. She hurried to the cart.
“I’m interested,” she raised her hand to the man, who chuckled at the sight of her all giggled up.
“What’s your name, young lady?” he asked, smiling at her.
“Clarisse Hamilton,” she replied innocently.
In the background, a figure clad in black pants and a black jacket, with their face hidden by a black cap, watched Clarisse secretly. The unknown figure dialed a number with gloved fingers, and with the first ring, the call was answered.
“Identity confirmed,” his deep baritone voice said, before immediately hanging up.
The cart man nodded and said, “Alright, Miss Clarisse, pick a number.”
“A number?” she asked, confused.
“Yes, between one and twenty.”
“Oh,” she grinned, growing more excited. “Question number fifteen.”
“Very well,” he chuckled and opened the question book to find question number fifteen. “Are you ready?”
“Yes,” she cooed.
“The question is: What is the name of the first man-made satellite launched by the Soviet Union in 1957?”
Clarisse began to rack her brain, finding the question familiar. She was used to answering scientific questions, as she often did Alice’s homework, since Alice never did her assignments on her own.
She jumped immediately as the answer came to her.
“Sputnik 1,” she answered confidently.
“Are you certain, ma’am?” he asked, raising an eyebrow.
“Yes,” she replied.
“Very well,” he said, and paused for dramatic effect. Clarisse grew anxious as he delayed his announcement, but she was certain of the answer.
“Correct!” he finally declared. Clarisse jumped in excitement.
“Yes!” she shouted, clenching her fist in victory. He reached out to hand her an ice cream cone. But as she looked at it, her expression changed to confusion.
“There’s no ice cream on it,” she said, puzzled.
“Yes, to get the ice cream, you’ll have to answer one more question.”
“But you didn’t say that earlier!” she said with a frown.
The cart man, who had been giving questions to both kids and adults, had intended to only give easy questions to children, playing tricks on the grown-ups with more challenging ones. He believed there was no way a lady would get a scientific question right.
“I’m sorry, but that’s the rule, ma’am,” he said politely, a victorious smile spreading across his face. The smile only made Clarisse deepen her frown.
“One more question then,” she said confidently.
“Sure,” he replied, certain she wouldn’t get the next question.
“What is the only planet that spins clockwise?” he asked, a smirk playing on his lips.
She knew the answer, but she was confused, torn between two possibilities: Venus or Earth. After contemplating for a while, she decided to go with “Venus.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes.”
“One last chance, ma’am.”
“I am sure,” she said after a brief hesitation, deciding to trust her instinct.
The ice cream man frowned. “Correct,” he said, handing her the cone. She grinned with excitement as she watched him fill it with ice cream.
He handed the ice cream back to her and said in admiration, “I must say, you’re one brilliant woman.”
“Thank you,” she cooed as she licked the ice cream in delight, letting the cold, sweet treat melt in her mouth. She moaned softly at the taste.
She made to return to the bench when someone obstructed her path. Looking up, she saw the man in the face cap.
“I don’t know which one she preferred,” Christian said, looking confused as he stood before the food cart, eyeing the food on display. Everything looked delicious-hamburgers, donuts, burritos, hot dogs, mac and cheese, tacos, and nachos. They all looked so yummy, so he decided to get one of everything.
The man packed the food into a bag and handed it over after Christian paid. Just as he turned to leave, Christian received a notification from one of his shadows:
Upon reading the message, he hurried to where he had left her, but she was gone. Panic surged through him as he looked around, his blood rushing to his arms. His breath became irregular. The situation felt so familiar that it made his head spin. Every sound became a distant echo, and his eyes reddened, bloodshot with anxiety.
“This won’t happen again,” he muttered, shutting his eyes tightly as he pushed aside the harsh memories and the devastating pain that had been buried deep within him. When he opened his eyes again, his cold, dark demeanor had fully taken over. He quickly texted back, “Do your job,” and hit send.
“I don’t think it’s this far,” Clarisse said innocently, following the shady man who had told her that the man she was with had sent him to bring her to him. She believed the guard must have taken a wrong turn.
“It’s this way, ma’am. We’ll soon see him,” he replied, guiding her toward a secluded area where he could carry out his intentions. Clarisse looked around, hoping to catch a glimpse of Christian from afar. As they neared a quieter spot, she turned to ask him a question, but she saw no one. She chewed on her ice cream cone slowly, her confusion growing.
“Where is he?” she asked, her voice laced with uncertainty.
Unbeknownst to her, as she looked around, the man who had been guiding her had his mouth suddenly covered by a strong hand from behind. He was dragged away silently, leaving Clarisse completely unaware.
Just as she felt more disoriented, she heard Christian’s voice from behind.
“Christian.”
He walked briskly toward her and roughly pulled her into a tight, desperate hug, leaving her even more confused about why he seemed so restless.
“I told you to wait right there!” he yelled, pulling back with fury in his eyes, frustrated by her recklessness.
Her words caught in her throat as she wanted to explain why, but all she could hold in her hands were the empty cone crisps.
“But I’m here now,” she managed to say, intimidated by the dark, dangerous glare he gave her.
“You wouldn’t have been,” he replied sharply.
She didn’t understand what he meant by that, but she could sense the hidden pain in his words. Without another word, he turned and began to walk away, leaving her no choice but to follow him.
In the shadows, the man clad in black made another call.
“It’ll be dangerous to take her,” he said in a low voice. “Like you said, a man like him won’t stroll out alone. He has dangerous shadows protecting her.”
“An opportunity will arrive soon,” the other person on the phone said mischievously before hanging up.
Kyle drove into the unusually isolated compound. There were guards everywhere, but something felt off, and he couldn’t help but wonder as he alighted from the car. The guards bowed as he walked towards them. With keen observation, he noticed some bruises on the majority of them as he walked past, growing more agitated to see his brother.
Mari rushed into the bedroom where Damien was lying, smoking cigarettes. The sudden rush into the room jolted him, and he looked at the frightened Mari, sensing her fear.
“Is he back?” he asked immediately, tossing his cigarettes away.
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.