Chapter 6

“SIR, do you want me to buy you food?” Vindicta asked Kyle when lunch break came. Maybe that was just the side effect of being guilty.

“Are there still reporters outside?” he asked her instead. She nodded. “Just order lunch, I’ll treat you. Let’s eat together here in the office.”

“Oh, no, Sir, I am okay.”

“It’s sad to eat alone here. Please join me,” he pleaded though he didn’t seem to look sad because he was smiling. Her guilt feelings lessen a little.

“Okay, Sir. I-I’ll just order food. What do you want?”

“It’s up to you.”

“What are you doing, Vindicta?!”

Vindicta jerked with shock. Allison suddenly shouted after she went out of Kyle’s office. Vindicta looked at the CCTV camera that was focused on her. She showed Allison her frowning face.

“Do you want me to be hearing impaired?” she whispered angrily.

“What the hell are you doing? You are showing sympathy to Kyle? For what?! I am not happy with your actions,” she scolded her.

She deactivated her earpiece because she didn’t know how to answer. She didn’t want to be interrogated.

She went to Kyle’s office when the food was delivered. She was relieved seeing he was not too affected by the scandal she did herself.

“Veronica…”

“Sir?”

“You watched the video, right?”

Vindicta nodded and avoided Kyle’s gaze. Why did he have to mention it?

“Did your opinion of me change? I want to hear your honest opinion,” Kyle said seriously.

Vindicta smiled before she shook her head. “I have worked for you for only a short time, Sir, but I know that you will never take advantage of the power given you just in case you won the election. Maybe if I don’t know you personally, I would be doubting you.”

“That is actually the problem,” he said then sighed. “Those who don’t deeply know me might judge me. That is how it is, right? Those who don’t personally you would be the first to judge you. Honestly, I don’t know what to do to clear my image again.”

Vindicta lowered her head. She wanted to tell Kyle to stop dreaming to be Aldemar’s mayor for the time being. She thought it was the easiest way to stop those filthy people from harming his image. He did not deserve all that, all the stress, all the bashing. Kyle was a great person.

If she could only quit her mission, but she was a professional. She can’t just turn her back from her clients because of her personal reasons. She would be ashamed of her co-workers. It was not only her mission. There were people who planned with her, they were paid together. She didn’t want to disappoint Allison and Roma.

Vindicta didn’t say anything until they finished eating. She just let the deafening silence filled the room. When Kyle left to go to the restroom, she quickly got the hidden recorder and changed it with a new one.

She played the recorder when she reached home and she firmly shut her eyes when she heard Kyle’s voice.

“I don’t need the likes of her. How can I trust that person if she was really behind that viral video? I can face all these scandals without her help.”

She knew that it was hard for normal people to understand the life that she has chosen. She didn’t care about anyone’s opinion because, for her, it was the only way to earn a living. Everyone else was working their ass off to earn a living, it was just that, she picked a nonconventional way.

But hearing how horrible of a person she was from Kyle’s mouth, That he hated the kind of job that she was in, was quite painful for her. It was like someone was ripping her heart off while listening to the disgust in his voice. Thanks to Allison’s voice, her attention transferred from the recorder to her.

“Get in here. Rome is here.”

“Sure,” Vindicta replied.

Without second thoughts, Vindicta stood up and went to Calvento. When she got there, not only Allison and Roma were there. There was a teenage girl too who was at the corner. The girl looked distant.

“Who is she?” she asked them.

“She is Ria Opella. I saved her from some bad guys,” Roma replied.

“And what is she doing here?”

“She came with me because she has no family.”

“And we are going to train her. Because me and Roma can feel that you will be out of this group soon,” Allison added.

Vindicta frowned at Allison. She was not thinking of dismissing herself from the group! “Now, you’re doubting me?” she asked Allison resentfully.

“How about you? Aren’t you doubting yourself?” she asked her instead.

Vindicta was caught red-handed. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she denied.

“Stop it, you two,” Roma reprimanded them. “I will leave Ria here. You take care of her because I can’t stay here for long.”

Roma faced Ria. “Please think about your decision, Ria. Be sure. If ever, the world that you’re going to infiltrate is no joke. If you want to study in a formal school, I will help you.”

“I want to be strong,” Ria replied instead. She saw her old self in Ria. That was her same goal before when she had no choice but to watch how some men killed her parents.

“You don’t know what kind of life we have,” Vindicta told the girl. In her estimate, the girl was about fifteen years old.

“Teach me your ways. I just don’t want to be weak anymore. I will do everything that you want me to do,” the girl pleaded.

Vindicta’s eyes flew to Allison, the latter’s forehead was knotted. “Joining us means you have to turn your back from everything, even to your own emotions,” Allison reminded Ria.

“I have nothing to turn my back from because I have nothing to get back to outside this place,” Ria replied, determined. “One more thing, I don’t have emotions either. It was all gone.”

Vindicta pitied Ria because it seemed like the world had already stolen her youth. There was no glint of youthfulness in her eyes, there was only anguish in there. What happened to her that she hated the world?

“I am going,” Roma said then went away quietly.

“We will not ask you what happened or what you have gone through before you and Roma cross your roads, well, at least not now,” she told Ria. “But I want you to know that when you infiltrate our world, there is no easy way out. Make sure that this is what you really want. Think wisely and do not rush. You’ll never know, your anguish in this world is just temporary.”

“I am sure,” Ria answered.

Vindicta took a deep breath and faced Allison. “You take care of her. Talk to her intensively. I need to go back to my apartment.”

“And you will really leave her to me?” Allison asked. She was really annoyed with the way she frowned her face.

“I can’t bring her with me.”

“Go. I think of a way we can use Ria to our mission. I will contact you when the plan is ready.”

Vindicta nodded without any emotion and walked away. She was sure that Allison’s next plan will be worse than what they already did to Kyle.

Before going to the apartment, she stopped by the convenience store. She bought cup noodles even if she was not hungry. She just really wanted to pass the time there.

While stirring her noodles, she remembered Kyle. In that exact place, she witnessed how pure his heart was.

“Are you just eating dinner?”

Vindicta was stunned upon hearing a voice at her back. She didn’t have to look to know who was the owner of that voice. She already memorized his voice. “Sir,” she said when she looked back and saw Kyle.

He was also holding cup noodles and he sat beside her. “Our dining room is nice, right?” he jokingly said.

“I am too lazy to cook rice,” Vindicta said then laughed.

“Me too.”

“Why don’t you hire a housemaid? You have the money to pay one, even ten,” she suggested. They were both looking outside the glass wall while eating.

Vindicta was confused; she felt at ease and content at that moment. If you were going to ask her, they were not talking about something interesting. Sitting beside him, talking about nonsensical matters, eating unhealthy food, was somehow comforting for her.

“I don’t like living with somebody else,” Kyle said.

“Why?”

“Ever since I studied abroad, I got used to being alone. So, right now, I realized I loved the feeling of being alone, not having eyes watching over me. You know, my house is the only place that I can do everything I want freely.” He looked at her then smiled. “How about you? Are you used to being alone too?”

“Of course.”

“What if you get married? How can you handle a new housemate?” he jokingly asked.

“How about you, Sir? What if you get married?” she just asked the same question in return.

“I thought you could answer my curiosity,” said Kyle then laughed.

“What?” she asked, confused.

“I thought you'd say that you don’t have a boyfriend so how can you get married,” Kyle said, which made Vindicta frown.

“So, you just want to know if I have a boyfriend?” she asked, then laughed to cover the sudden fast beating of her heart.

Kyle nodded then smiled a little.

“W-Why do you want to know?” She cleared her throat.

“I’m just curious.”

“Why?”

“Why do you think?”

Her heart started beating triple time when Kyle looked straight to her eyes. Vindicta looked away first. She shook her head after a few seconds. “No idea, Sir.”

Kyle laughed and Vindicta smiled secretly. “One day, you’ll know,” said Kyle.

She remained quiet and did not say anything, she might have indigestion because of…happiness? She could not find any words to describe what she was feeling inside. She knew that she should give attention to the warning sign but she could not. Just for that night, she wanted to drown herself with happiness. Just for that night.

***

“No, Vindicta…No…” she reminded herself. She laid on her bed, she was tossing and turning there for a few hours, trying to sleep but she can’t.

She lost sense of time and got shocked that it was already bright outside. That was one of the hardest nights she had. The hardest was after her parents were murdered. Nothing has made her that restless for a long time.

Almost everyone noticed her eyes when she went to work that morning. They said the bottom part of her eyes were really dark. She put her head on the table when she reached her spot outside Kyle’s office. She felt sleepy all of a sudden.

“It looks like you haven’t slept all night, Vindicta.” That was Allison. She talked as soon as she activated her earpiece.

“Right, I haven’t slept,” she whispered.

“Why?”

“I don’t know either,” she lied. “I think I have insomnia.”

“What made you restless?”

“Nothing.”

“Kyle is going up. Fix yourself.”

Vindicta automatically straightened her back upon hearing Kyle’s name. He was worse than coffee, just hearing his name, made her palpitate already. She pretended to be doing something in front of the computer. Kyle saw her like that when he came out of the elevator.

“Good morning, Veronica,” Kyle greeted her.

She looked at him and smiled a little. “Good morning, Sir.”

He didn’t stop to talk for a while. He went straight to his office while she rested her back on her swivel chair and shut her eyes.

“Vindicta…” That was Allison again.

“Hmmm?”

“After you work, get here. I have an idea for our next plan.”

Vindicta took a deep breath. Honestly, she wanted to withdraw herself from the mission already. “Okay,” she replied instead.

Vindicta tried to work efficiently even if all she wanted to do was to sleep. She needed that distraction so she would not think of their next move on ruining Kyle. She didn’t want to think about that.

“Veronica, let’s eat lunch together,” said Kyle from the intercom.

“But—”

“No buts. Be ready in five minutes.”

They went to a restaurant nearby but that was not a good idea. She heard the customers there talking badly about Kyle. They were still talking about Macario’s viral video.

Because of that, Kyle has lost his good mood. The spark in his eyes and the smile on his lips disappears. “Sir…”

“I’m okay. Do not mind them.”

“Are you sure that we can eat peacefully here?”

“Why not? Just don’t mind them.”

She obeyed Kyle. They put their attention to their food. “Have you encountered a lot of people like them?” she whispered to him.

“Yes. After that viral video, people started treating me like that. I am not even reading comments from social media because I don’t want to ruin my day. For the first time in my life, I had bashers,” Kyle said shaking his head.

“Bashers?” she asked with a knotted forehead.

“Yeah,” Kyle said, smiling. “I am not even a celebrity to have bashers.”

Vindicta laughed. “Maybe you should change your career and just be a celebrity, Sir. Maybe you’re not really cut out for politics,” she said. That was what he needed to do for the devil with the name of Lizardo, stop ruining his name.

“I am not good at acting,” Kyle said instead. “I don’t want them to say that I am just good-looking but I don’t have talent.”

“Humble, huh?” she said sarcastically.

After having lunch, they decided to go back to the office. “About what I said last night,” Kyle said while they were walking. She suddenly stopped walking.

“Do you still remember it?”

She wrinkled her nose and shook her head.

Kyle smiled. “I like you, Veronica,” he said without a break.

Vindicta opened her mouth but nothing came out of it. She was unsure of what she was feeling. Having that kind of conversation with Kyle was not part of a plan. That was the last thing on her mind doing that mission. He was the target for Pete’s sake!

“Hey, you don’t have to say anything,” Kyle said then laughed because of her reaction. “I’m sorry. Am I too fast?”

She smiled a little. She was lost for words. Words were juggling inside her head.

“Did I make you uncomfortable?” Kyle asked. His face was slightly distorted.

“A little, Sir,” she admitted.

He reached one of her hands and squeezed it. She just looked into his eyes for a moment. She saw what she wanted to see in there, sincerity. How she wished she could tell him she liked him too.

She wanted to tell him that she found him amusing. She wanted to tell him that he was the first person that caught her attention, that it was only him that made him nervous with a simple smile or even when just their eyes met.

But she could not tell him that. She was not allowed to do so. She could not let her emotion get ahead of her. For the first time in sixteen years she wished that she was another person, that she had a normal life, that she was really Veronica.

“You don’t have to say you like me now, Veronica,” said Kyle. “I will wait for the day that you can say that you like me too, you don’t have to force yourself.” Kyle smiled and gently pulled her to their office without releasing her hand.

That would never happen, Kyle, because when you knew the real me, I am sure that I don’t have to walk away from you because you will run away from me…