Chapter 29: Healed scars and open wounds….

One year later…

“Forgive me father for I have sinned.” I said in a low voice as I sit down on the pew beside a priest praying the rosary.

“My child,” he said without turning to me. “No guns? Are you new?”

“I don’t need a gun.” I said while twisting the rosary on his hand with my mind. It started to twist so tight he yelped in pain as the rosary beads exploded on the floor at his feet.

He stared at me with so much fear as he continued to make the sign of cross which made me snicker.

“You know that doesn’t really work when you’re a priest who holds a stash for the mafia.” I said placing my arm on top of the pew that we were sitting on which made him flinched in fear.

“I may have been on the other side of things, but I still have faith in God.” He said in a firm voice which made me let out a dry laugh.

“God doesn’t look at people like us,” I said with a smirk. “Murderers, thieves, pedophiles.”

“That’s where you’re wrong, my child.” he said with conviction. “God pay more attention to us, waiting for us to repent and go back home in his arms.”

As he said this, he handed me the package.

“Then why are you still doing this?” I asked as I took the package from him.

“I haven’t repented yet,” he said with a small smile. “I’m still getting to know Him.”

I stood up and started heading for the door.

“You should try reading His Word, my child.” He called out to me but I didn’t respond.

God? He stopped existing for me years ago.

…..

“I don’t think that’s a smart move, papa.” Alexei said in a heavy tone as I cocked my head in boredom.

“You don’t call the shots, Alexei.” Ivanov snapped back before looking away from the window and turning to my direction. “Kill him, Calanthe.”

“Papa,” Alexei said in an almost pleading manner. “We just started getting our old numbers back. This will decapitate the family!”

“I will not let a traitor stain the honor of this family! Cut off his head, Calanthe, and feed his remains to the dogs!” Ivanov grimly said as he looked down on the cowering beat up man in the middle of the room without a glint of remorse or mercy on his eyes.

“As you wish, boss.” I simply said with a shrug which made Alexei look at me in utter disbelief. I stood up and grabbed the cowering man by the collar. Alexei grabbed my hand and held my gaze for a moment as if looking for something that I know to myself has long been gone.

A year ago, I called this man Doctor Warren but that’s all a part of the past now, along with the little hope I had of going back to my normal life.

“He is a traitor, Alexei.” I dismissively said before dragging the man on his collar across the carpeted floor.

I can hear his irritated groan as I walked out the door. I have no idea what celestial thing that man has that kept him from being turned into a merciless evil person after staying in this hell bound family for a long time. Because I’m sure I didn’t have whatever that is in me.

Vadim was easily overthrown. Ivanov killed Vadim within twenty minutes and no one even dared to protect or fight for him. The mutants that Ivanov sent to different schools who had the same mission as me were recalled to the base. Fortunately, they haven’t executed their mission yet.

Project A4156 was shut down within a month after Ivanov took back his position. And Section C was just used as a home for the other mutants in the family.

I am now the official hitman of Ivanov. I do his dirty work while he pays me money and allows me to see my family. I first visited them six months after Ivanov killed Vadim.

Six months ago It was a windy a summer night and I walked swiftly over the dried gravel on the road. As soon as I saw my old home, I started crying nonstop. Tears just kept streaming down my face to a point that my vision blurred and I almost bumped on a car parked in front of our neighbor’s lawn.

I wonder if Mr. and Mrs. Harper still live there with their daughter Haley.

This is it. After years of waiting, I am finally coming home.

I stood on the driveway behind my dad’s old pick-up truck and stared through the window of our house. Like always, mom, dad and Kyle are sitting on the dining table eating dinner. Mom cooked my favorite pasta today. Oh, how I missed her food.

I dared to glance at their faces and Ivanov is right.

Mom’s eyes were sunken and she definitely had lost a lot of weight. Dad’s face is now suddenly filled with wrinkles and his hair is almost all white. Kyle also had lost weight and he seemed to have dark circles under his eyes, something he’s never had before.

But they all seem….better. They’ve moved on. They’re past the grieving stage. They’re okay.

And I don’t blame them for that, I was gone for a very long time.

Ivanov was right, I will only be opening their wounds that they had such a hard time healing if I show up out of nowhere. They’re okay. I don’t need to come home.

As much as I want to come home, I can't. Maybe they don’t need me anymore. And besides so much has happened, everything will not be going back to the way it was.

I am now an official member of a Russian crime family. And not just a member, I have a rank to hold. If I get myself involved with them, I will only be putting targets behind their backs for my enemies.

I can’t afford that to happen.

“I’ll take care of the garbage, mom. You just stay right there.” Kyle gleefully said, I held back a sob as I heard his voice one more time. His voice used to bring me comfort every time I’m afraid.

I heard the back door open and realized that he’s going to throw the garbage in the garbage can in front of the driveway.

Shit! I immediately ran and hid behind the car in front of our neighbor’s lawn.

As I watched him open the garbage lid feeling my heart ache every second, I accidentally touched the hood of the car which triggered its alarm that was loud enough to catch the attention of the whole neighborhood.

I pulled my hood over my head and ran away when I saw Kyle look at my direction.

“Wait! Who are you?! What are you doing out here?! Wait!” I heard him call out to me as I ran as fast I could. “I’ll call the cops, you creep!”

I didn’t stop running until I reached the main road where Doctor Warren was waiting in the car for me. He didn’t ask any questions, he just drove back to our hotel while I sobbed on my seat, feeling my heart finally giving up on me and leaving my body.

It’s been through so much pain.

By dinner, as I was enjoying my meal in my room, a knock on the door stopped my reminiscing thoughts.

“Come in.”

“You haven’t changed a bit.” Alexei smirkingly said as he sat on the seat opposite to mine.

“You still can’t eat meat after a kill.” he added motioning to the vegetable salad and plates of fruits on the table.

“What are you talking about? I’m on a diet.” I said with a scoff.

“I wonder,” he began with a smile. “If you also didn’t eat meat in that academy after you killed those beasts and that girl Irene Smith.”

“If this is your way of getting back at me for what I did earlier, then you’re acting like a child.”

He remained silent as he stared at me longingly as if looking again for something in my eyes that has long been gone.

“Stop that. She’s gone.” I simply said impassively. “Your father made sure of that.”

“Don’t blame this all on him, you had the power, the chance to live differently and you didn’t take it.” he said with a shake of his head.

“That’s not true.”

“This is not who you are, the Lilian I know would have hesitated killing anyone, traitor or not. You never wanted any of this.”

"Maybe this is who I really am.” I said in a forlorn voice as I gazed out the window. “I was born on the other side but I was brought here. Maybe this is where I should be."

“Do you really believe that?” he asked in a pleading voice.

"I got a glimpse of the other side and it was so brief, it almost felt like a dream.” I smirkingly said as I reminisce on the memories, I had in the Deviant Heritage Academy. The first time Alexander saw me punching the wall and calling me someone who’s cruelly played by faith. The beautiful night sky view that I shared with Felix so many times. The Christmas Eve where I slept for the first time without medications or anything.

The Christmas morning where Alexander cooked breakfast for me in the school kitchen. The passionate kiss we shared in his office. And the fact that I never got to tell him how much I love him.

“But it wasn't. I know it wasn't. What I felt was real." I added as I tried to stop a tear falling from my eyes.

“What about Alexander Grant?” Upon, hearing that name, I felt my stomach churn and my head spun like a carousel ride. “You're free now, aren't you going back?”

“He’s not waiting for me.”

….

6 months ago Kyle Ambrose Griffin heaved a sigh as he stirred the pasta sauce on the pot. His mom tried cooking again for the hundredth time ever since his sister was kidnapped but like always, she couldn’t finish it. She would carefully prepare the ingredients and perfectly cut them into pieces but right in the middle of mixing them all in the pan she breaks down and drops the wooden spoon on the floor.

That’s when it’s time for Kyle to take over and finish cooking their meal. It’s not only his mom that had difficulty finishing daily routines for the past four years ever since they lost his sister. Even his father couldn't drive up to work or anywhere without parking the car on the side of the road to cry before reaching his destination.

As for Kyle, the grief comes to him at night, when he’s all alone with his thoughts of how he failed to protect his sister. For four years, he would either cry himself to sleep or take medications to battle his insomnia.

They tried looking for her. They went to several people to ask for help like politicians looking for a lost cause that would boost their approval ratings on the elections. They even started a fundraiser online in order to find her because apparently this had happened to several other families all across America. Teenagers being kidnapped from their houses or schools by a group of armed men. And the government is not doing anything about it.

They fought for the truth for two years along with the other families who lost their children to those armed men. But all their efforts were futile. They didn’t even come close to the truth.

“I’m really sorry, monkey.” his mother said in the kitchen doorway as he turned off the stove.

“It’s alright, mom. I understand.”

“I-I’m r-really trying. I-It’s just so hard when s-she’s n-not here.” his mother stammered before breaking into a sob once more.

“Mom,” he said as he approached her and gave her a hug. “I’m sure wherever she is, she’s happy and safe.”

“I-I just wished we knew what really happened to her and why did they have to take my baby girl.” she said, taking a step back to wipe her tears with the back of her palm.

“Me too, mom, me too.”

“Thank you for being my rock, monkey.” she gratefully said as she cupped his cheek. “I’ll set the table. You go call your father.”

Ever since that tragic night four years ago, his father would sit on the front porch with a bottle of beer in hand waiting for his sister to come back. She’ll come home, no matter what, that I know for sure. He had repeatedly said to himself and to anyone who asked.

“It’s time for dinner, dad.” Kyle called out to him from the doorway.

“What classes will you be taking this year, Kyle?” he asked which took Kyle by surprise because ever since they lost her sister, they never asked much about him. They had their focus on finding her. It was as if they had forgotten that they had another child.

Kyle didn’t take this personally, he understood why they acted that way. And so, in the middle of finding his sister, he had applied for the engineering program at a local university, a half an hour drive from their house. He wanted to pursue his career in music but he could never bring himself up to play the piano again after what happened to his sister.

“I was thinking about taking a subject on economics, dad.” he hesitantly answered.

“How’s college life treating you?”

Kyle couldn’t bring himself up to answer so he remained silent.

“I know your mother and I hadn’t been paying attention to you for a while because of what happened to your sister.” he said, his voice breaking into a sob.

“It’s okay dad, I understand.”

“No, it’s not son. You know as I stared at this empty yard for the thousandth time, waiting for your sister to come home, I realized that maybe after four years it’s time to accept the fact that s-she’s...s-she’s… she’s on a better place now.”

“Dad, you don’t have to force yourself to do that just for me.” he said, placing a hand on his shoulder.

“I have to do this, son. I really think it’s time to move on.” his father said before standing up and giving him a hug. “Now, let’s go stuff ourselves up with some food.”

“I heard your conversation from the porch,” his mother began while they were eating dinner. “Your father is right, we have been neglecting you these past four years, monkey. And we’re really sorry.”

“M-Mom, it’s okay you don’t have to—”

“No, monkey, it’s okay. Now, I can’t promise you that I could easily move on and forget about your sister, no, a mother could never do that. But what I can promise you is that I will try to pay more attention to you and convince myself every single day that she’s in a better place right now.” his mother comfortingly said, placing a hand on top of his.

“Thank you so much, mom and dad. I know it’s hard, but we will get past this. I know her and she would’ve wanted us to move forward with our lives even when she’s no longer around.”

After dinner, Kyle decided to take out the trash but as he did so, he heard Haley’s car alarm go off and when he turned on that direction his heart dropped to the ground. It was only for a brief second and he only saw two pairs of eyes underneath that dark hoodie but he had a feeling of familiarity as he stared at those eyes.

The figure ran away and he chased after it, calling out to that stranger and saying stuff like calling the police. But something inside him told him that those eyes belonged to one of the few people in this world that he loves so much.

“It’s you, isn’t it? Lilian?” he murmured as he kept running after the hooded figure. But it was too fast, he could catch up to it anymore as he fell down on his knees in the middle of the road.

“It’s you, isn’t it?!” he screamed in delight. “Lilian!” he called out in joy, not knowing if the figure had heard him or not.

….

Professor Alexander stared at the small piece of paper on his hand as if he had just been handed down a check for a hundred million dollars. Except it wasn’t a check, it was an address.

He wiped the blood dripping from his nose that he got from fighting with the man now lying flat with his face kissing the damp ground in front of him.

With a dislocated shoulder, bleeding gums and sprained ankle, he smiled like a fool as he walked out of the dark alley and into the cold streets of Moscow.

When he got back to his hotel room, his cellphone rang.

“Hello?”

“Professor Grant” James said on the other end of the line.

“James.”

“I just heard from the Interpol that you haven’t been in contact with them for more than a month,” he said while trying to control his anger. “Where the hell are you?”

“I’m not going to find her with a legal approach.”

“Why do you even want to find her? She lied to you! And after what you did to her the last time you spoke. I am confident that she wouldn’t want to speak nor see you.”

“There were others, James, mutants like her who had fallen victims of—“

“Stop making that excuse, Professor Grant, it’s just the two of us here.” James said with a groan.

“James, I need to find her.” He said in a serious tone. “This is the first time I’ve become selfish and started to put what I want first before anyone else’s.”

“I know and I’m happy for you but can’t you be selfish about something else? She’s a murderer.”

“Don’t call her that.”

“It’s been almost a year since she left, why don’t you just give her up?”

“I’m not giving up on her...again.” After saying that he ended the call and turned off his phone.

The next day, Professor Alexander headed straight to the address without even eating breakfast. He had a gut feeling that it would be closed right now since businesses like these only open at night but he wanted to scout the area first.

To his surprise, the address on the paper led to a vibrant pastel colored flower shop. He spent the next twenty minutes asking around if the address on the paper really was the flower shop.

With a confused look on his face, he entered the flower shop and saw a slender, pale, gray haired woman behind the counter arranging some flowers on a vase. He could smell her alcohol breath even when she’s five feet away.

“What can I get you? Apology flowers for your girl?” She said in a thick accent.

I hope it’s not another chrysanthemum from Paris, it’s too early. I’m not in the mood. He heard her say in her mind.

“I’d like to have a chrysanthemum from Paris.” Professor Grant said, trying to sound casual, like he’s been doing this for a while. The lady stared at her with an impassive look on her face. She studied him like a predator does to its prey.

“Follow me.”

He followed him around the back of the store and he expected to find one of those dark shady dens that you see in the movies. Instead, he was led to an oddly looking office with pastel walls, white furniture and several famous movies or television series merchandise scattered everywhere. It looks like the room of when an elegant fashionable woman and a fanboy had a baby.

He sat on the vintage white chair in front of the desk which was littered with action figures and bobble heads of fictional characters.

“What’s your name?” The lady said with a sigh as she sat on her big pink and gold egg chair.

“Robert Freud.”

The lady didn’t even glance at him as she grabbed a cigarette from her drawer and said, “Your real name.”

“Collin Williams.” He tried again, clearing his throat to sound convincing.

“Don’t worry I won’t steal your identity. I only need some leverage.” She said as she placed her cigarette in between her lips and started typing on her computer. “What’s your real name?”

“Alexander Grant.” He said in defeat.

“It says here you’re a professor at a private tutoring school,” she said with a grin as she took a puff of her cigarette. “So, who do you want dead, professor?”

“Dead?” He said in confusion which he immediately regretted because the lady in front of him suddenly widened her grin and grabbed a gun from underneath her. She pointed it at him as she shot him a deathly glare.

“Who are you?”

She pressed a button underneath her desk and all of a sudden Professor Alexander’s hands and feet were bound by metal on the chair.

“FBI? Interpol? MI6? Wherever you came from, you will not leave this room alive.” She threatened as she pointed the gun at his head.

“I’m not an agent!” He frantically said. “I c-came here to look for someone.”

“Then why didn’t you use the correct code? How did you find out about this place?”

“I was chasing a man down for days, he was some kind of errand boy for a boss in a drug den. I heard he knows about someone who could help me find my girlfriend.”

“This is not a police station. I don’t look for missing girlfriends.” She said with a scoff. “And besides that’s the lamest cover up story from an agent, I can’t believe those people send idiots like you in the field.”

“I’m not an agent! You have to believe me! I’m just looking for my girlfriend! She was taken from me by some guy named Amon’s men.” He said in a desperate tone. “Please you have to help me!”

“Amon?” She said, slowly lowering her gun. “Tall, not so buff, blonde man?”

“Yes! That’s him!”

“What’s your girlfriend’s name?”

“Cali—I mean, Calanthe—I mean, Lilian—“

“Calanthe?! The Calanthe?! Ivanov’s newest lapdog?” She cut him off, placing her gun at the table and sinking into her chair with wide eyes.

“Y-You know her? Wait, lapdog? Who’s Ivanov?”

“Everyone knows her, professor! I knew it! I knew this day would come!” She jubilantly said as she stood up and went to a corner table.

“This calls for a celebration!” She said as she came back with two glasses of scotch on the rocks.

“Wait, how did you know this day would come?”

“Well, I’ve been observing Calanthe and Alexei for a while and I’ve always known they’re full of shit! To many they may be the most powerful couple in our world, they’re like Barack and Michelle Obama in your country.”

“I’m not from—“

“But I saw right through them!” She said with a snicker. “I knew that it was all crap! A show that they have to pull off to prevent war. Well, at least it is for Calanthe, I can’t say the same for Alexei. That man had the eyes on her.”

“Who’s Alexei? And what eyes?”

“And so, I figured that Calanthe had a different man in her life.” She said, ignoring his question. “Like in the series, Crash Landing On You, she’s in love with someone who she could never be with because they both live in separate worlds. Worlds that would cause havoc and chaos if united.”

“What series?”

“Or like Lucifer in the fourth season where he had to go back to hell despite being in love with the detective so that he could keep the demons from hurting the humans.”

“I don’t follow.”

“You haven’t heard of these amazing Netflix shows, professor?” She said looking amazed and at the same time disgusted.

“No, I-I was busy for the past year looking for my girlfriend all over the world.” He sarcastically said.

“You looked for her all over the world?” She said with a dreamy smile. “Like in the movie The Lucky One but this time you are already in love with her so maybe it’s more like Sleepless in Seattle? But with you being the—“

“It doesn’t matter!” He said in frustration. “Will you help me or not?”

“I would if you stop being such a cranky little boy.”

“How much would it cost me? Do you need my kidney or my lung?” She laughed so hard when she heard this Professor Alexander started to feel embarrassed by what he said.

“What would I do with your kidney? Play with it? Do you really think that that’s how we do things?”

“Well, isn’t it?”

“Actually, it is, I often require a large sum of money for my services. But for your case I would make an exception.” She said as she kept her eyes on her computer.

“What? Why?”

“Because seeing you reunited with Calanthe in front of Alexei is a real-life television drama scene for me! It’s like watching a Netflix series live!” She excitedly said as she grabbed a piece of paper and started writing something that she found on her computer.

She handed him the paper but he motioned that his arms were bound.

“Oh, sorry about that.” She released him from his bounds before handing him the paper with coordinates.

“What’s this?”

“That’s the place where Calanthe would be exactly 32 hours from now.”

“And I get this for free?”

“Oh, nothing is free in this life, professor.” She sneered. “You have to pay me.”

“With what?”

“In exchange for that information, you’re going to have to take me as your date.”

“My date?”

“That’s a location for one of the most prestigious parties,” she said with a wide smile. “Wear a tie and a mask.”

“It’s a masquerade?”

“Most of the people in our world don’t want to be known.” She shrugged. “But she’ll be there, Ivanov never misses a party.”

“You kept mentioning that name along with that Alexei guy, who are they?”

“Professor, if you really want information about them, you’re going to have to pay me for real. They’re not names to be messed with.” She said in a taunting voice.

Professor Alexander saw from her eyes that digging deeper into those men would only be bad for him and as much as he’s willing to risk his life for that, he knows that he needs this lady to get him in that party unnoticed.

“I best be going,” he said as he stood up and headed for the door. “I never got your name, you are?”

“I’m Jo, see you in 32 hours.” She said with a smirk on her face as she raised her glass at him. “Professor.”

Professor Alexander immediately went back to his hotel room and typed in the coordinates on his laptop.

“New York City?!” He exclaimed as he stared at the coordinates on his laptop if he typed in the correct numbers. “How am I supposed to get to New York City in 32 hours?!”

He started calling every airline in Moscow but all of them either had a fully booked flight or that the next airplane leaving for America is not until three days from now. By then, Calanthe is most likely no longer in New York City.

The only flight he was able to find that would leave today is a plane to London. He booked the flight and decided to take another plane to New York from there.

After 30 minutes, he was already on a taxi heading for the airport. His plane leaves in an hour, he prayed to all the gods that he would make it in time to see the love of his life.

When he arrived at the airport in London, it took him three hours to get into a plane to New York.

He got to New York City with only an hour to spare before the time he's supposed to meet Jo. He ran to the nearest hotel, changed his clothes and jumped onto a taxi.

He wanted to take a bath or even a nap so that when he faced her, he would look presentable and noble but he didn't have the time to do so.

The party was in a massive mansion on a hill outside the city. It was heavily guarded that the taxi was only allowed to drop him off the gate which was a couple of yards away from the mansion. He had to walk all the way up to the mansion.

"Professor!" He heard a familiar voice said from a blue 1947 Rolls Royce Silver Wraith.

"Glad you made it." She said with a cigarette in between her red lips.

"Yeah, barely."

"Did you bring a mask?"

"I didn't have the time to get one."

"It's a good thing you have me." She said, tossing him a plain black mask before stepping out of her car.

Jo was wearing a strapless red wrap dress and a big faux coat that reached her knees while Professor Alexander wore a plain black suit.

"Let's go and find your girlfriend, professor."

He followed her towards the big white doors of the mansion where two beefy guards in suits were standing.

"Good evening, Miss Jo." The other one greeted, opening the door for her. But when Professor Alexander started to follow her, he placed a hand on his chest to stop him.

"Invitation." He simply said.

"Oh, Hank, he's with me." Jo said from inside.

"Another one of your toys, I suppose." the guy named Hank answered with a grin.

"I'm a woman, I get bored easily." She said with a shrug as the two men let Professor Alexander in.

“Was that necessary?” he whispered in a harsh tone as he walked beside Jo towards the main hall where the party was being held.

“I’m sure Calanthe wouldn’t mind once she finds out that all of it is just to get her back.”

The main hall was big enough for at least a hundred people all dressed in expensive suits and majestic ball gowns. But Professor Alexander couldn’t recognize any of them since they were all wearing a mask.

“A masquerade indeed” he whispered as they walked towards the mini bar. There was a jazz band on stage with a beautiful singer in the middle. For a while, he thought he was suddenly thrown back in the 60s.

“Scotch on the rocks, my darling.” Jo playfully whispered to the bartender.

“And what would you be having, sir?”

“Uhm...just a soda.” Professor Alexander answered in a distracted manner as he was scanning the room for Cali.

“Make sure to put rum in it.” Jo whispered to the bartender, thinking the distracted professor didn’t hear her. He did, though, but he couldn’t refuse since he was busy searching the crowd.

As soon as Jo got her drink, she left him on the bar without saying why.

“You looking for someone, kid?” the man behind him said and he noticed it was a different bartender, an older one. His eyes and the lines on his face suggested that he had seen all the horrible things that these people had done to get what they wanted.

“If I was, would you be able to help?”

“It depends.” he said with a shrug. “What’s your price?”

“Hey old bag, he’s my client.” Jo said in a taunting voice. “Get lost.”

The old bartender gave her a disgruntled look before walking away.

“I left you for a few minutes and you’re already barking up another tree.” Jo teasingly said.

“You said she’ll be here.”

“Patience, professor. I thought you have a lot of that since you're a teacher.”

Five minutes later, Jo nudged him on the shoulder and pointed at the entrance of the hall.

“There’s Ivanov,” she said, pointing to a tall buff man with white hair in a dark suit who walked like he holds the life of everyone in this room by the thread.

“And his son, Alexei.” A tall man wearing a dark red suit and a plain black mask like the one Professor Alexander was wearing.

“And of course, Ivanov’s lapdog, your girlfriend—”

“Cali” Professor Alexander breathed out as he watched Cali walk into the room wearing a sheath V-neck black lace half-sleeves gown. Despite the sequined black mask, Professor Alexander knew exactly the woman behind it.

“It’s showtime, professor.” Jo said before walking towards their direction, he followed her before finishing his drink in one gulp.

When they arrived at their spot, Ivanov was nowhere to be found.

“Alexei!” Jo cheerfully said as he gave him a peck on the cheek. “Calanthe.”

“Who’s this? Your new boy—” Cali stopped in the middle of her sentences when she saw those piercing blue eyes that she could recognize anywhere.

“Jo, how many times do we have to tell you that you’re not supposed to bring civilians in parties like this?” Alexei said with a groan, without noticing the change in his companion’s aura.

“You can keep telling me that until the day I die but I won’t stop,” she playfully answered while Professor Alexander and Cali stared at each other. Cali was stupefied while Professor Alexander felt scared of what she’s going to say in the next few seconds.

The song changed into a song covered by Ella Fitzgerald in 1951 entitled “Someone To Watch Over Me.”

“You know what kids? Let’s have some fun!” Jo giggled. “Let’s switch partners! Dance with me, Alexei.”

As soon as she said this, she pushed Professor Alexander towards Cali then dragged Alexei to the dance floor.

“May I have this dance?” he nervously said, offering his hand to Cali who blankly stared back at him. “Please?”

When Cali took his hand, he almost shrieked in joy but he didn’t, instead he remained calmed and gently brought her to the dance floor. Slowly, he placed her hand on his shoulder then wrapped his other arm at her waist.

He stared down at her brown eyes longingly as they swayed into the music.

“What are you doing here with Jo?”

“To find you.”

“Why are you looking for me?” she surprisingly said. “I’m not lost. I just came back to where I belong.”

“You don’t belong here, Cali.”

“And who are you to be the judge of that?” she loathingly said. “You hate me, remember? Because I’m a liar like you?

“Cali, a-about that please let me explain I—”

“Stop calling me that.” she said with a grim expression on her face. “I’m not Cali.”

“Then who are you? Calanthe? Cali? Lilian? Which one is the real you?” he said, raising his voice.

“If this is your way of apologizing then you’re doing one hell of a great job.” she sarcastically said before starting to walk away but he pulled her back into her arms.

“Stop running away.” he whispered in her ears. “You don’t have to run away anymore, I’m here.”

“You see that’s funny because when the time came where I needed you to just be there and support me, you weren’t.” she pulled her closer to him before whispering in his ear. “I placed my faith in you but you broke my trust. I will never forgive you for that.”

She pushed him away, harder this time before running out into the hallway. Unlike before he chased after her.

“Cali! Wait! Please just listen to me! Cali!” he desperately called out to her.

“I’m done listening to you Alexander!” she said, walking out into the deserted garden.

“Cali! Stop!” he commanded which made her stop dead on her tracks reluctantly.

“Did you just use your abilities to me?”

“I just need you to listen to me, please. I’ve searched the world for you for a year, you owe me at least five minutes of your time.”

“I owe you nothing, Alexander.” she loathingly said as she tried to break free from his mind control.

“Cali, please.” he begged with tears on his eyes.

“Five minutes.” she said, rolling her eyes at him.

He took a deep breath before staring straight into her eyes.

“I’m sorry for lying to you, for not doing anything when I knew exactly what you were going through. I guess I got way in over my head, thinking I could save you on my own. I’m sorry for not believing in you when you needed me to. I’m sorry for everything, Cali.”

“Your sorry means nothing with all the pain you’ve caused me!” she angrily screamed at me. “You broke your promise, Alexander! You know how I hate promises but you made me believe in them again, you made me believe that I am not a lost cause and then y-you...you—”

She broke into a loud sob and could no longer mutter anymore words.

“W-What can I do to make it up to you?” he said in a defeated tone. “I don’t want to lose you, Cali. I love you.”

“You can’t do anything, Alexander.”

“But—”

“Let me go.” she firmly said, unconsciously using her mind control abilities at him as well.

Alexander watched the love of his life walk away as tears rolled down his face. He wanted to run to her, embrace her, kiss her and tell her that he will never let her go. And that he loves her so much. He didn’t want to lose her. But something tells him that he already did the first time he didn’t listen to her voice and let her lose faith in him.

….

“That was him, wasn’t it?” Alexei said beside me on our way back to our hotel. Ivanov rode with a friend of his, saying he wanted to do some “private” business. It was so exclusive that he didn’t even bring his own bodyguard. Me.

Well, that’s good, knowing that I am not in the right state of mind to fight as of the moment.

“Who?” I said, staring blankly into the streets of New York City. It’s always been a dream of mine to go here, I never knew that I would be able to do that in this way.

“The man with Jo, that was Alexander, right?”

“Stop bringing up the name of the dead.”

“What did he ever do to you for you to hate him so much?”

“He told me he loves me.” I said, allowing a tear escape from my eye.

“And?”

“I was dumb enough to believe him.”