Chapter 64 Chapter 63:
Anna:
I feel fulfilled and accomplished, not that kind of fulfilled you get when you land yourself a killer job or you graduate college. It’s the type of fulfilled you get when you kill a multi-billionaire in his own villa and when you frame your best-friend for murder, I am sure the feeling is very rare, as many people hasn’t achieved this kind of fulfilment, but I have and it feels so fucking good.
Right now, I am seated on the dining chair, waiting for Theo like the good girlfriend that I am, the table is filled with food ranging from Chinese food to American dishes...You can name it.
The door opens and my ear perks. He’s here, my boyfriend is here, like a giddy teenager, I skip to the door hugging him as he enters, Theo looks tired today and I feel for him, well not exactly, the last thing I want him to do is get tired. Who’s going to cover up my petty crimes?
“Hey, baby. You look tired, let me take your coat.” I say sweetly, removing the coat from his body, he nods his head without saying a word and heads upstairs, damn it. What’s wrong with him today?
Minutes later, he comes back, hair wet from the shower. He already changed into a sweatshirt and sweatpants. He goes to the living room and sits down, staring at the TV.
“I made dinner.” I offer, walking slowly to his side. I desperately want to wrap my hands around him and kiss his neck, but I doubt he would like that. Considering he had a rough day at work, I still haven't told him that I am the one behind Julian Ford’s death, nor did I tell him the truth about my family.
My plan is to break the news to him after we have had a long and steamy make-out session, his brain might be foggy then, it might not probably make sense to him but it sure will eventually.
“Actually, I am having dinner tonight with Daphne.” Theo looks at me, “You can come if you want to and I can introduce you.”
“Who the fuck is Daphne?” I snap, I know. It wasn’t proper of me to snap, but I can’t help myself. “Are you fucking her? Is that what this is?”
“Fuck it, Anna. No, I am not fucking her, she’s just a friend.” Theo says, now he’s starting to get angry.
“Who you were having lunch earlier today with?” I ask.
“Jesus Christ, are you stalking me, Anna?” He seems surprised and shocked at the same time.
“I just happened to be there! Do not change the damn topic.” The lie seems to roll out of me so easily, I wouldn’t actually call it stalking, it was more like monitoring, Theo knows that I am responsible for the death of Kevin; I don’t want him bitching about it to people, so I am just keeping an eye on him.
Theo is still staring at me like he can’t make sense of who I am. “You’re not the Anna I knew.” He is breathing heavily.
“You know what? I am not having this conversation with you.” I stomp to the kitchen and pull out a sharp butcher knife from the knife collection and sip it into my bag. Looks like Daphne or whatever just made it to my radar list. As I stomp out of the house, Theo tries to grab me and apologize. To be honest, he’s a calm and good man but right now, I don’t have time for that. I have someone to kill.
The moment I’m in my car, I ignite the engine, clutching the wheels hard, I have incredibly hard trust issues, this Daphne, I don’t really know her, but what could make Theo have lunch with her and also dinner, he’s fucking her, I am sure of that. I have to kill Daphne quickly and leave the crime scene before Theo makes it for dinner.
Luckily for me, I already linked Theo’s account with mine so I can be able to view the messages that come in and out of his phone; of course, he has no idea about this. Daphne’s message comes in when I am in the car.
The only thing she typed is Hey, with a smiley emoji I will rather not describe followed by her home address. Uh...weird, looks like she typed the address of her own house. Do they want to have dinner in her house?
I scoff, looks like Daphne is going to have an unlucky day. I drive off to Daphne’s house, blasting music till I get there. When I get there, fifteen minutes is gone already, shit. Shit. Pulling out my phone, I see that Theo has already responded with ‘be there in thirty!’
Shit, he sent the message fifteen minutes ago. How fast can one murder someone? Guess, we are about to find out. The porch of Daphne’s doorstep is dark; doesn't she have a globe or something on her front porch?
I am literally quaking as I ring the doorstep, fuck. It occurs to me that I didn’t even plan what I am going to say, she doesn’t know me so how in the hell am I going to introduce myself?
As I am debating over it, the door swings open and a middle aged woman greets me with a bright smile. No way, this woman is like in her late forties, if anything.
“Are you Daphne, ma’am?” I ask gently, she holds the door out and I catch a peek of the dimly lit room.
“No.” Her voice is warm, with a touch of Spanish accent. “That’s my lovely daughter.” Before I can say anything, she tilts her head back and yells in Spanish. I am not really good in Spanish, but I guess she’s calling her daughter.
“Is that Theo?” There’s the rush of feet heading our way and jealousy hits me hard. Is she expecting Theo here? To have dinner with her mother?
Daphne comes into view and damn, she’s beautiful. She has that straight blank face that screams ‘don’t mess with me’ from a distance and I bet she can handle a knife pretty well.
“Hello.” She stares at me, disappointment evident in her eyes that I’m not Theo. “How can I help you?” She quickly asks, I am sure she wants to shush me away as soon as possible before Theo gets here.
“Uh...” Now, I don’t know what to say. They are both staring at me, patiently waiting for my answer. If I don’t say anything in the next five minutes, I am sure they are going to call and have me arrested. I cannot risk any of that.
I hurriedly take out my phone as an idea pops into my head. “Damn, sorry, you’re not the Daphne I’m looking for. Apparently, she lives on the other street. Sorry to disturb you.” I tap at my phone. “Wrong address, happens every time with my foggy memory.” The woman-whom I assume is her mother laughs softly but Daphne doesn’t bat an eyelid.
Shit.
I can tell she’s suspecting me with the way her eyes are boring on me. I step down, waving. “Nice to meet you guys, okay well. I’ll get going.”
They watch as I dash to my car, panting heavily. Goodness, that was so close, I was almost caught. I reverse my car away from them, parking it in a place where I can see her porch but they can’t see me. I sit there, watching and observing with my stomach rumbling, I am hungry, I am angry, and I want to murder Daphne or whatever! I feel like piercing the knife into her insides, taking pleasure in how she groans in agony.
After a few minutes, a car parks into the driveway and I stare. Theo opens the door and at that moment, the door of the house swings open and Daphne and her mother walks out. Daphne goes to hug him gently, though it’s not in a way I consider flirty, the mother holds his hand warmly like he’s the prodigal son that just returned from planet mars.
They lead him inside the house, now I can’t see what is going on inside. Damn it. What’s really going on? I drive home to eat the food that’s already fucking cod.
\--
Arya:
Devon and I are sprawled on the floor, our head resting on the headboard of the couch; we are eating Chinese takeout while watching a comedy on TV. Vera’s on the couch, distracted by her gaming pad, ever since Devon got her that thing yesterday, she can’t seem to stay away from it.
We had just finished taking a look at my sketches earlier and to be honest, it feels good showing someone my work and watching them admire it.
When the comedy is over, Devon and I already had a good laugh. We haven’t had a good laugh since everything, Clara is in jail as we speak for a crime that she did not commit, we are still betting on Nicole to get her out of there but the only thing we need right now is concrete evidence.
We both sigh and I decide to bring in the topic.
“I’m thinking of starting my own design house.” I breathe in, suddenly anticipating his response, he raises a brow and I say hurriedly. “I want to start small, just work on getting sponsors and hiring other designers, I could work from home until I can like rent somewhere.”
“I’m going to give you the money, Arya.” Devon chuckles, spreading his tall legs on the floor, strands of his hair falling on his face and damn it, he’s incredibly sexy whenever he’s talking about business.
Don’t get distracted; do not get distracted by his handsome face.
“No.” My voice is surprisingly husky. “I don’t need your money.” A lot of people might think that I am a gold digger or that stuff, but it’s not my fault, he should have at least mentioned on the cruise that he was a billionaire, maybe then I could have avoided him, no I don’t think I would have avoided him. I would still have kissed him senseless.
“I know that, Arya.” He pushes the takeout plate and scoots closer to me, “But just think of me as one of your sponsors. I’m putting money down for the success of your business and you can’t afford to let me down.”
“What if it all fails?” I say weakly, “What if everything crashes down and it all turns out to be a failure.” These are the times where I doubt myself and my work, staying up all night and asking myself ‘what if?’ and then I play the worst case scenario in my head.
“What if I don’t get the recognition that I need?” I say, resting on his shoulder, closing my eyes. “I am scared, Devon.”
“Well, that’s how I felt when I wanted to start my own company, everyone was telling me not to do it including my own father, but I went and did it anyway and look at me now. You don’t have to listen to that voice in your head that’s telling you not to do things. I believe in you.”
Devon’s words reassure me, he always reassures me, every time he’s with me, things just get better.
“I love you, Arya Morris.” Devon says and I widen my eyes immediately, sitting upright on the floor, I stare at his warm eyes, unsure of what I just heard. Did he just say he loves me?
“I am deeply, completely and utterly in love with you, Arya Morris.” Devon kisses me on the lips and my whole face goes red. Vera looks up from her pad and stares at us both, she focuses back on what she’s doing with pursed lips. “I thought I could hide it, perhaps bury it up but you always want me to be a better version of myself. You make my heart beat and I feel this weird fluttery feeling.” He scrunches his brows, and damn it. He looks adorable when he’s confused.
“I believe they are called ‘butterflies in your stomach’” I say, leaning in to kiss him on the lips. “I love you very much, Devon Brookes. After Kevin, I thought loving someone else was impossible, I just had this thought that every guy was like him. You know, toxic.” Devon is looking at me calmly, waiting for my words.
I can feel my eyes starting to water. “And then, I met you on that cruise ship and I just knew that you were different. I was really saddened when you left without leaving your number. You’re different, Devon Brookes. You’re real and I love you for that.”
“That was a speech.” He chuckles, enveloping me into his arms. “Ready for the party soon, I’m sure you can meet other sponsors there?” The part of his eyes crinkles with warmth. I can’t wait to take down Barbara and Anna and live in peace with this handsome man that I have come to love very much.
Perhaps, I do deserve my happy ending.