Welton Residence, Ivory Mansion, Harriden City
5:00 AM
Warren was going out for a jog to clear his mind from all his thoughts. It was a foggy morning. The cold made both of his hands tremble. There were no rays of sun in sight, but it was a fine day. He stood at the gate with eyes closed and yawning. Half of him wants to crawl back to bed.
'Pardon me for I am not a morning person.' He thought.
When he opened his sleepy eyes, a rolled newspaper flew mid-air and perfectly landed on his face. When it dropped on the ground, he saw his face on the front-page headline saying, 'Billionaire's Fiancée ran off on their Wedding Day'.
'What a good way to ruin your day!' He thought.
He glanced up to see the suspect throwing the rolled newspaper.
"Hey! Watch it! What is wrong with you?!" He yelled at the newspaper girl,
"Oh my gosh! Sorry. Sorry. I'm so sorry," she apologized with a terrified face, as she got off her bike and went to her victim.
"I wasn't expecting that you were standing at the gate the minute I threw the-"
He didn't let her finish. "Just- get lost." He said while picking up the newspaper from the ground.
"I'm so sorry, it was an accident. I was in a hurry."
"I said get lost!" Warren roared.
'Annoying.' He thought.
Her heart jumped in fright. "Okay! Okay! I will! But seriously, are you hurt?" She said, looking at him with concerned eyes.
He rolled his eyes as he turned around to face the woman. He wants to say Obviously. You throw like a man.
"No." He said it with a plain face.
"Are you sure?" She asked, searching his face for injuries. Then she gasped as she noticed something. "Your nose is red! Did it break?"
'It hurts, but it didn't break, stupid.'
He sighed. "If I say yes. What are you gonna do about it?"
"Buy you some—Uhm—Ice?" She said as her brows crumpled.
'You take them to a nearest hospital or clinic, stupid girl. Well, she looked like she couldn't pay for a hospital bill. So why bother telling her that?' He thought.
He scoffed. "Ice my ass."
She gasped in disbelief. "If you want, do it yourself! Rude." She commented.
He just raised his brows at what she said. He didn't put up a fight on it, because he knew he was intentionally being rude to her.
"What are you still doing here? Begone!" He shouted coldly, then he continued walking in the opposite direction.
"Huh! And ungentlemanly." The girl said to herself, shaking her head in disbelief.
The newspaper girl walked towards her bicycle. "Wait a minute. This guy looked familiar."
She looked down at the newspapers.
"You're the man on the headlines, aren't you?" The girl said that made him stop walking.
"No." He replied abruptly.
"He is. So, that explains his mood.'" She thought.
His eyes narrowed at her. The girl threw her head back, then laughed heartily. She even shakes her head like she can't believe it.
"What are you laughing at? I said "No"."
"Yes, you are."
"I'm not. Leave me. Alone. Nosy."
He gave another deadly glare and darted towards the girl laughing on the road.
"Tch. Crazy."
______________________________________
Now he was treading this lonely road with a bottle of rum he bought from the liquor store.
"How did I end up drinking? Why did I drink knowing that I have a low alcohol tolerance? When did I become so doleful?"
He questioned himself as he walked back home. Though, he wasn't sure if he was walking on the right street.
Questions that hurt him, for they likely have the obvious answers. He knew he was making himself a fool for not accepting them as facts.
Slowly, he's turning into someone whom he never knew. Some stranger to himself.
'This might be my unknown self coming out from its den after hiding in the dark for a long time.' He thought.
"Mister Welton! Oh, my goodness!" Ms. Levinson cried his housekeeper when she saw Warren curled by the fireplace.
"Way ham I hew?" Warren asked looking around.
He was too drunk to recognize what he was doing. He looked awful, but he had no idea.
"No, no, no. No, Mister Welton. I should be the one asking questions. Not you." as she helped him stand.
Ms. Levinson was like a grandmother to him. She served the Welton Family since Warren's grandparents got married and she was still a girl at that time. When Warren's grandparents died in a car crash, no one was able to care for their son, Logan, so she didn't leave her job. She was so busy raising the only heir of the Welton Family, Warren's dad. Years passed, and another member of the Welton family, Warren, before realizing that she was becoming an old maid.
______________________________________
The next day, Warren woke up alone with another throbbing headache on the same bed dressed in pajamas, which was odd. Because he only wears boxers when sleeping. Then he comprehended that someone might have made him wear it while he was still drunk. He curled on his bed feeling like his head was about to explode when a sudden knock on the other side of the bedroom door sounded irritating to his ears.
"Who's that?" He asked with an annoyed tone.
"This is me, Ms. Levinson. I brought you some soup, Mr. Welton."
"You may come in."
Ms. Levinson entered the room with a tray that he believed was the soup. She left the tray on his bedside and left without a word. Warren knows she's mad at him for being drunk last night. When he finished the soup, he took a shower because he had to wash off the smell of vomit from last night. He got dressed for his work with all the tux and black shoes. Suddenly, he felt something coming out of his throat. He ran towards the toilet. Then, the series of vomiting began.
Ms. Levinson reported to Warren's office that he will have a day off.