Chapter 7

“WE HAVE to make it look like Kyle has a relationship with a minor,” Allison announced right after Vindicta came.

Vindicta bit her lower lip to stop herself from opposing. She kept on reminding herself that she needed to separate work from her personal feelings. But why was that so hard to do?

“What, Vindicta? You can’t do this?” Allison asked her. “This is a very easy job. It’s not as if this is the first time.”

“Did I say anything?” Vindicta sneered.

“I know that you like Kyle. But let me remind you, you are not Veronica. You are not the woman that Kyle liked. Did you hear what he said? Didn’t you hear how disgusted he was with Vindicta and those like her, like us?”

Vindicta could not react. “Tell me what I have to do,” she asked, then let out a sigh. Allison would not understand her. It was wrong to debate with her. Anyway, Allison was right, she was not the right woman for Kyle. He deserved so much better. “What is the plan?”

Allison looked at her like she was reading her mind before talking again. “The plan is simple. Make Kyle fall asleep, bring him to his room. Make a way for Ria to enter his house and take a picture of them. Make sure that it will look scandalous for everyone to believe that he is having an affair with a minor. You can do that, right?”

“I can,” she quickly replied. “But what about Ria? Can she do it?”

“I can. I will prove you that I can be like you,” Ria interrupted. She didn’t know that the girl was listening.

“When are we going to do this?”

“As soon as possible, so we can finish this mission. You have to get out from that office, from his life,” Allison said seriously while looking straight to her eyes.

Vindicta just nodded then left. She was certain to end that mission and she was certain to forget her feelings about Kyle too. She should not have let it grow, that should not have been a problem for her at that very moment. It was her fault.

Vindicta lowered her head while walking, she covered her head by the hood of her jacket. She didn’t know where to go. She just wanted to walk endlessly until all her feelings for Kyle went away. She could not handle her emotions. That was a first. She thought she lost all of it.

She had to remind herself that she and Kyle were impossible because she will never be the woman worthy of him. She promised herself never to fall in love and she has to keep that promise. She would not pull Kyle into her world, he did not belong there, he did not belong to each other. He deserves someone who can give him a peaceful life.

She came back to her apartment at around nine in the evening and was stunned when she saw someone waiting for her. Kyle was there, standing in front of the gate. “Sir, what are you doing here?”

“I haven’t had dinner. Let’s eat?”

“You waited for me because of that? How long have you been waiting?” she asked, concerned. It was late when she realized that she should not show him that kind of emotion.

“An hour? I am calling you but you’re not answering. I came here but the lights were still off so I thought you had not come home yet. I just waited for you here outside,” Kyle explained. “Let’s go, let’s have dinner. Where do you want to eat?”

“Sir, ahem…”

“Did you eat already?”

She could not talk for a moment. She tried hard to fight the urge to just go with Kyle wherever he wanted to. “I have eaten already, Sir,” she lied. God knew how much she was restraining herself. She could not even breathe properly.

“Can you come with me even in the convenience store?” Kyle insisted.

Before she could even reply, Kyle took one of her hands and pulled her towards the convenience store nearby.

***

“Why so restless, Vindicta?”

Vindicta stopped playing with her beaded bracelet upon hearing Allison’s voice. That bracelet was her mother’s only remembrance. She was at the office and it looked like Allison woke up early to watch her. She went to the office earlier because she had a hard time sleeping again last night. Instead of tossing and turning, she decided to get up and make herself ready to go to work.

“You’re playing with your bracelet nonstop. What’s bothering you?” Allison asked even if she was not replying.

“I want to finish this as soon as possible, Allison,” she finally whispered. “Let’s do what we’re supposed to do so I can get back to my old life.”

“Why? You’re starting to like being Veronica? Honestly, I am disappointed in you. I never thought that a certain mayor-wannabe would move you. But at least it was still clear to you what kind of life we have and where you really belong to. Don’t you worry, I am just making Ria ready. Hold on a little longer and you can get out of that place soon.”

Vindicta didn’t reply. She took a deep breath then turned on her computer. Kyle came a few minutes later. He greeted him with the most gorgeous-looking smile in the world. Vindicta forced herself to smile at him.

“Are you free tonight?” Kyle asked her.

“I think you are the one who is not free tonight, Sir. There are lots of documents on your table waiting for you,” she jokingly replied.

Kyle laughed. “How about lunch?”

“I will meet a friend later at lunch break, Sir,” she lied.

The beautiful smile on his lips wiped away. He pouted then shrugged his shoulders. “Maybe, tomorrow?”

“Maybe.”

Vindicta sighed when Kyle went into his office. “Vindicta…” That was Allison again. “Good timing that you rejected Kyle today. This afternoon, during your lunch break, get the Rohypnol from my shop. You will need that tonight. I have talked to Ria and it looked like everything is okay. She said she is ready.”

Rohypnol was a tranquilizer that ten times stronger than Valium. It can sedate a person in twenty minutes and the effect can last from eight to twelve hours.

“It was Kyle’s routine to drink juice from a box right after he comes home, right?”

Vindicta nodded.

“Make sure that the juice is just enough to fill a glass then put in the tranquilizer. You and Ria should be on standby while waiting for Kyle to be knocked—”

“I know what to do, Allison,” she whispered.

“Good. After this, say goodbye to Veronica. Do your best in this last stunt, okay?”

She knew that Allison was mocking her but could not fight back. “I’m off.” She turned off her earpiece and distracted herself from thinking of what would happen later.

***

“Are you sure that you can do this, Ria?” Vindicta asked Ria. They were together at the abandoned house in front Kyle’s. She had just put the tranquilizer on Kyle’s juice and they were just waiting for him. Kyle was still at his office, finishing some paperwork that was why she didn’t have a problem infiltrating his house.

“There’s no more backing out, Vindicta,” Ria replied with a smile.

“It was not easy being like us, Ria. I was like you when I was younger. I thought being strong and brave is the best thing that I can give myself. I thought that the world is a filthy place so I escaped from it. And now, even if I want to, I can’t get out of this job because there is no normal life that’s waiting for me. I can’t just love anybody. Why? Because I can’t drag him to my life. He will never understand me or this job. Now, tell me, Ria, are you really certain with your decision?”

Ria nodded with certainty. “There is nothing that can change my mind, Vindicta. Wait, are you in love?” the teenage girl amusingly asked.

“I don’t know. I don’t even want to think about it because I have a lot of things juggling in my mind. My focus is to finish this mission as soon as possible.”

“Kyle is coming. Be ready, the two of you,” said Allison.

Vindicta made sure that her earpiece was in place and then looked at Ria. “You heard her, right?” Ria nodded. “When I say ‘go’, run quickly to Kyle’s house. I will unlock the gate after he falls asleep. Just walk inside calmly.”

“Okay, Vindicta.”

Vindicta followed Kyle right after he went inside his house. Kyle walked towards the fridge just like what she expected. She clenched her fist while watching him drink the juice that has tranquilizer.

All she had to do now was wait until the tranquilizer took effect. It took thirty minutes before Kyle felt the effect. He held on the dining table, seconds later he dropped himself on top of it.

Vindicta went to the front door because she could not unlock the glass door from the backyard. “Make sure that I won’t be seen on the CCTV outside,” she told Allison.

“Of course.”

She quickly went to Kyle after she opened the front door and tried to carry him to his room. She thought carrying him was the hardest part of that job because he was so heavy.

She used a hairpin to unlock his room. She pulled Kyle inside and laid him in his bed. She suddenly stopped while unbuttoning his shirt. “This is not the first time you’ll see his body,” she told herself.

“Vindicta, how long are we going to wait?” Allison asked.

“Just give me a minute.”

Vindicta turned off her earpiece. “I’m sorry, Kyle, I’m really sorry. This is my job, I have to do this. I have never regretted anything in my life, this is the first. I hope that you can forgive me someday.”

She took a deep breath and turned on her earpiece. “Ria, go!”

“Why didn’t you turn off your earpiece?!” That was Allison.

Vindicta did not reply. She covered Kyle’s upper body with a blanket. “Ria, go directly to the second floor.”

“Okay. I’m on the front door already.”

Ria quickly took off her shirt when she came to the room. She was wearing a skin tone colored tube underneath her shirt to make her look naked in the picture.

“I am feeling so guilty that you have to do this, Ria,” she whispered to the girl.

“Don’t worry. This is just a job, right?”

“Vindicta, we have done a lot of illegal things before, is this really the time for guilt to grow on you?” Allison interrupted. Allison talked to Ria afterwards. “Ria, you already knew what to do. You just have to act like you’re having sex. Position on top of him. Don’t worry because your back would be the only thing seen on the picture.”

Vindicta clenched her teeth. Then Allison talked again. “Vindicta, put your recorder on standby. Make sure that there would be no doubt that that was Kyle’s room.”

For the first time in her life, Vindicta got ashamed of her job. Watching and recording a girl acting like having sex with a man was disgusting. Especially when both of them were innocent, in a different way.

Vindicta instructed Ria afterwards. “Lay down on his shoulders,” she told her. “Act as if you are sleeping. Kyle’s face should be seen on the picture.”

Ria nodded and did as she was told. After capturing a few pictures, she told Ria to put her clothes on. “We’re done here, Allison.”

“Good. Get here. I will just edit the CCTV camera footage. You can walk out through the front door, Ria. Act as if nothing happens, okay?”

Vindicta used the backdoor to escape. She could not go back to Calvento together with Ria, no one should see them together. She surrendered the videos and pictures to Allison right after she came. “You take care of that. I need to go back to the apartment.”

“Roma relayed a message for you,” Allison said before Vindicta walked away completely. “Do not resign yet. Kyle will be suspicious of you if you just disappear like a bubble. Wait at least two weeks.”

She nodded then quickly left. She went back to Kyle. She sat beside him. He will be unconscious for the next few hours. That meant that she was free to be with him.

“Things will get worse when you wake up,” she said to the sleeping man. “You would not be feeling well, bad news will strike you. It will be difficult but please be strong. I know that it is very stupid of me to say all this after all I’ve done to you. I am sorry I can’t choose you.”

Tears ran down Vindicta’s face. Never in her wildest dreams did she think she would feel like that about any person. A kind of feeling that woke her up from her delusions that the world was a filthy place to live in.

“I’m sorry for crushing your world. I promised you that after this, I will make sure that no one will ever hurt you again. I’ll watch you from afar. There would be distance between us and I know that would not be easy for me but I am only allowed to love you that way.”

She ran her fingers through Kyle’s cheeks. “I should be regretting meeting you. If I ruined your world, you ruined mine too. But you know? I can’t find any regret in my heart because you, too, is my most wonderful memory.”

It was three in the morning when Vindicta decided to go home. She was not expecting Kyle to be at the office the next day. She was sure that Kyle would not be feeling well.

She received a call from him around nine in the morning. “Veronica, I can’t come to work. I am not feeling well. I don’t know what was happening to me. Can you come over to bring me the important documents?”

“Sure, Sir.”

She stood up quickly. It was just a few hours but she missed him already. She went to the convenience store first before going to Kyle to buy some food.

“Sir, these are the documents you need,” she told him.

“Come in,” he said instead. He looked pale and his voice was hoarse.

“What happened, Sir?” she asked as if she knew nothing.

“I don’t know. I tried eating breakfast because I don’t feel well but I just vomited everything. I don’t even remember what happened last night. I can’t remember how I went up to my room. It feels like I’m drunk without even drinking alcohol.”

Kyle put down the documents in the center table. “You can sit down first.”

“I brought noodles, Sir. That’s light so maybe your stomach will accept it.”

She didn’t wait for him to protest. She walked to the kitchen and prepared the noodles for him. That was the least she could do for him. She got back to him when the noodles were ready. She offered him her hand. “Let’s go, Sir, you should eat.”

“I can manage.”

“But you walk like a drunkard a while ago,” she said, smiling. She gasped for air when Kyle accepted her hand.

He didn’t let go of her hand until they reached the dining table. “Sir,” she said then simply got back her hand but he just held her tighter. “How can you eat?”

“It’s okay. Just hold my hand.”

And she let him be. She just watched him as he ate slowly. He kept on wincing every time he swallowed food. Her conscience ate her some more. She squeezed Kyle’s hand. She already wanted to apologize but she stopped herself from doing so.

“Can you stay? I think I need a nurse,” Kyle asked her. He can already smile.

Vindicta nodded. “I’ll stay.” I will stay until you want me in your life because I know that the time will come that you will be driving me away.

She wanted to make the most out of the time that she was allowed to be with him. She stood up to clean the table after Kyle ate but he didn’t let go of her hand.

“Leave the plate in there. I will clean up when I feel better.”

“But—”

“I don’t want to let go of your hand.” His eyes were pleading.

Vindicta smiled. Me too…