The living room is private, and only the Osakr family can enter. Elegant furniture or even a unique statue, beautiful rare flowers, and decorations make it seem as if they have so much money and don't know what to buy.
"Where do I begin…" he says and sits on the sofa. We've known each other for so long since we were young. Then I sit across from him, "Me, Vanderbilt, and Serafinne."
"Serafinne, you mean my mother?"
"No—Keeth, your father." he says, "We had goals; we were all ambitious, as you can see, heh. We thrived on being the best in our own goals, and of course, we were young—boys. You know we had fun like a teenage boy normally had. We were thriving back then. Then, after graduating, we separated, Keeth was like a muscle, full of energy, and his thrive wasn't different from Paul and me. He knows what he wants and is not afraid to explore outside the town. But not us—we lived here and achieved what we have now—in this town. Paul and I had the same goal: to be the best in Apollon. For family legacy and for our desires so you can guess what was next," he says with a smile.
"You guys turned back to each other." I assume.
"Heh, that's right. We both wanted to make our family proud and maintain the privilege or even more."
"Then you against each other since then?"
"Even though we were against each other, we were still friends," he pauses, "friends who know each other well but not close like in teenage years we could not turn to be a ride or die friend anymore." he says calmly, "Then Keeth came back not by himself—heh, with his beloved partner—your mother and you. And of course that time we already had our own family. I have Emily and Tytas, and Paul has Viktor." he leans toward and looks at me, "his arrival changed everything—we turned to have that time again, joy, fun, passion in every way. Keeth was like a leader who wasn't afraid of anything, and your mother was also the reason we came back together." he stops and stares, "You look a lot alike with her in so many ways." he says, "You're kind and beautiful."
I try not to show any reaction.
"Don't think me in a bad way, heh. You're more than just a beautiful lady; your intelligence draws people in, not just your beauty, Letizia. I truly say that my son thinks of you that way as well."
I smile lightly,
"Since I saw you—I'm sure of myself that I wanted to protect you," he says,
"Protect me?" I'm confused,
"Not just for Keeth's sake, but—I do care for you, young lady," he says with a smile. And I'm sure that he doesn't mean it in a creepy way. He's always genuine and treats me kindheartedly, different from other kids or even other people. Emily is also nice, but my soul can obviously know the difference.
I bite my lips again and move myself to the edge of the sofa, closer to him, and look at him seriously and nervously. He's also confused and wonders what's on my mind at this moment, but he doesn't move away from me. "Mr. Oskar…" he waits for my word patiently, " I do feel…safe around you," I say, "and I want to—" Then he lifts his fingers, touching my wavy hair away from my face gently. I'm stunned myself.
"Yes?" he says,
"I–I want to know that you—Was there any possibility in any way—that you have feelings toward my mother?" I finally ask,
"Who didn't?" he says and strokes my hair softly, "Keeth is the lucky man. He has the most beautiful and kindest ladies in his life."
"Ha…" I gasp lightly as his palm touches my cheek. He's warm like Tytas.
"Even if you're not with my son, if you have any problems—you can come to me," he pauses, "Keeth shouldn't be far away and left you here alone for too long," he says with a serious face. "I couldn't,"
I don't know why I feel shivers inside my body; I sense something in my stomach. And the emotional system runs to my eyes. I feel my tears coming. My mother's gone, and I don't even have my father here to share anything with or feel protected. I haven't touched the warmth from him for so long. Everyone's gone.
"Letizia," he holds my face closer and wipes the tears before they come. Don't cry," he says. You must feel a lot of pressure…it's okay," he says and holds me in his arms. He pats me on the back, the backless dress of mind. I can feel his bare skin touching me gently. You can talk to me—should I call him back?"
I push him away a bit, "my father?" I ask,
"Darling—what are you doing here?" Then suddenly, his wife enters the room, glancing at us. I quickly pull myself away from Mr. Oskar and clean up my face. "Letizia, you are here. What happened?" she asks and walks in with two glasses in her hands.
"We were talking—" Mr. Oskar says calmly and glances at me.
"About what?" Emily asks and pauses behind the backrest.
"Personal stuff," Mr. Oskar says,
"Well, we have a lot of guests here, Darling. Should you go greet the guests outside? You've been hiding for too long," she says with a smile.
"Sure," he says and then gets up. He turns to me, hesitating to leave me alone,
"I understand," I say to him, and he puts his hand over my head and leaves the room. "I apologize, Mrs. Oskar, for keeping him away," I say,
"Is something alright? You were crying." Emily walks to the private drink station inside the room.
"We talked about my father, that's all," I say,
"I see, you must miss him, " she says and turns around with two drinks in her hands. She offers me a drink. "You'll feel better after the fresh drink," she says, smiley.
I take the offer, "Thank you, Mrs. Oskar,"
"Emily," she says,
"Emily," I repeat,
She smiles widely, "He's gone for too long, your father, leaving you for half a year now." She sighs and shakes her head, "Parents shouldn't leave their kids alone, especially a girl."
"He's busy, I understand," I say, and I have Zygmunt. He's more improbable than security cameras, I must say. Then I take another sip. "I haven't seen Tytas yet…Is he alright?"
"Yes, he will come down in the minutes I told him, You're here, '" she says.
"I'm glad that he's alright," I say, and I feel the atmosphere is a bit awkward, perhaps because she saw the inappropriate behavior between her husband and me. Honestly, I can't ensure the rumors about Mr. Oskar and my mother's affairs, but I might be persuaded if it's about romantic emotion. "I won't be staying here long."
"Oh, why not? You don't have any curfew, do you?" She asks,
"No, I don't, but I have so much to do—paperwork," I say,
"Well, don't you think you should have some time for a break, darling?" She says,
"Thank you, but the party isn't my thing anyway…" I get up and smile, "I know that Tytas is here with his family; I'm very glad," and I'm about to walk away. I feel a bit weak in my legs, so I put down the glass on the table and try to walk properly. But my head is round and round like a merry-go-round.
What is happening?
I catch the table and don't have the energy to lift my leg. I try to find the seat again.
"Are you alright, dear?" Emily asks as she sits on the sofa across from me,
"I feel a bit dizzy," I say, and finally, I rest my legs on the same sofa.
It's weird.
My vision starts to haze, fuzzy.
"You can rest here, waiting for Tytas. He will be here in a minute, " she says as I try to look at her face.
"It's o—"
"I'm delighted that you convinced him to come home." she interrupts, "As I thought he always listens to you,"
"I…don't think so," I say lightly. "He…loves his dad," I say as my eyelids suddenly get heavy.
"You are downvalued yourself, Letizia. You are more influence than you think," she pauses, and her emerald green dress is fading away. "He always follows you, just like the way I…" she pauses, "Seeing you with him reminds me and Gen," she says,
My mother,
"She talked, and I listened. She smiled, and I smiled. Where she walked, I followed her." My sight is full of green. I feel that she sits next to me, touches my face, and holds it to look at her, "Her eyes are almost as blue as yours," she says,
Then I have trouble breathing, the temperature of my body is warmer,
I feel hot.
"Ha…" I breathe lightly,
"Mother and son must be alike when we are in love," she says softly as if she is whispering to me,
What is she trying to say?
"You're in love…"I barely talk,
"Deeply, my dear,"
She was in love with my mother.
Then, I try to control my body to sit straight, but her hand holds my body and forces me to lean on her breast.
"I feel…hot, Mrs. Oskar." I say,
"Probably because of something you drink," she says lightly,
"Ha," I gasp, and my body is burning, "You…"
I hardly breathe, it's harder and harder,
I push myself away from her
It was not Mr. Oskar; it was her.
I try to get up and I almost fall, but I use my hand to support by grabbing the backrest of the sofa. She must put something in my drink.
Can it be her?
The real Killer?
I crawl myself grab by grab,
"Honey, stop. He will be here in a minute; if you persist, you will faint and hit your head," she says,
"Ha," I gasp, "Ah," and my body hits the side table.
"See?" she gets up and about to approach me; I quickly walk away,
"Ah," and I hit someone. I look up. It's Mr. Oskar,
He instantly holds me, holding me up as he finds out that there's something wrong with me; my body is burning like crazy. I see Mr. Oskar's eyes, which look very concerned and worried.
"What the hell did you do to her, Emily?" his angry eyes look to the woman behind me,
"It's not your concern, she's just a bit dizzy," she says,
"She's just a child!" he shouts and holds me up again as I'm falling. He grabs my waist and arms so tight like he's scared that something might happen to me, but I feel his protectiveness screaming around me.
I look up and try to look at him, "Help me, please," I beg him, holding onto his suit.
He strokes my cheek through my hair, "Let's take you home,"
"Hey, you can't. You have your guest here!" she grabs her husband's arm,
"No!" he snatches his arm back, "It's too much, Emily, I'm going to send the girl home." and my eyes starts to shut.
"Hey, I did for Tytas—for our son's favor!" she shouts through my closed eyes that she is trying so hard to open.
Then, suddenly, I feel someone take me away from Mr. Oskar. No. I open my eyes barely, "I'll take her,"
The sound belongs to their son, Tytas. "What the fuck did you do to her!?" he shouts.
"I-I thought you want her," she says,
"You have no right to do this, mum," he growls, and I feel my body grabbed and pulled away from another big hand, "take your hands off her, Dad," Then, my body is fully in Tytas' arms. He holds me up, carrying me like a princess, but in this situation, I don't want to be. I feel uncomfortable in his arms for the first time.
"What's your plan here?" his dad asks, but Tytas says nothing. "Tytas, if you love her, please," his dad says,
Tytas carries Letizia's body in his arms, letting the long, dark hair flow down. He takes her to his bedroom, not putting her down on his bed. He opens the secret room, the room he showed to her before, the dark red wallpaper and his mad collections all over the wall. Her eyes open a little after she senses something uncomfortable. Her eyes might be unfocused, but red and burnt powder are the things most familiar to her. But still, Tytas doesn't put her on the massive couch in the center of the room. He keeps on carrying her to the next door. The door that he stopped her from, the room that he hadn't been ready for her to see, but now he is, but the girl in his arm might not be entirely ready and not consciously prepared.
Finally, he puts her down on the king-sized bed in a dark, red silk-like sheet. The room is darker than the first room. He looks at her, surveys all over her body, and leans himself closer to her face. He rubs her cheeks gently, touching her face. "I'm sorry for my mother, Zia," he says,
She might not hear him, but her eyes are completely shut.
"But she knows me best that I want you so bad," he says while he caresses her body through her thighs on the rose pattern as another hand touches her waist and softly touches her boobs. He uses his nose to smell the perfume on her chest and glides to her neck to sniff the real allure sense. "I miss you," he whispers and kisses her smooth neck. And slide to her lips and kiss her deeply. "You might not forgive me, Zia. And I also won't forgive my mum for drugging you like this." Because I want you to be conscious enough and look at me directly when we make and confess our true love."
Cling.
Then, some sound appears behind his deep, secret room. He flinches and gets up immediately. He turns to look at Letizia again and gently strokes her head. "I'll be right back; you'll be safe here," he says. Then he leaves the room.
After Tytas leaves her alone inside. He is trapped in the bait with nothing outside. He quickly gets back inside his room and returns to his dream girl, but unfortunately, she is gone. He ran to find her and knew that she was on drugs she would be fainted and unconscious. His sweat is running down over his body. Then he comes to the senses. He calls someone.
"Hey, find her for me. She's gone. It must be him." He thinks Zygmunt stole her from him.
"Oh right," the sound of the Winston's brother seems suspicious.
"Where the fuck is my girl?" Tytas growls,
"There's a change of plan," Winston's brother.
"What—" did-did-did. "FUCK!! SHIT!"
His nerves and his heart run wild; he quickly grabs the gun and runs downstairs. He ignores the classy guests and the shouts from his friends, his mother, and even his father. Viktor watches him run like a mad dog and notices the gun behind his back. "What the—"