Victor was so mad at Kate. He had been scolding her ears off for an hour at a stretch.

He placed the wet cloth on her forehead again and dropped the earlier one in the water bowl. The faint scent of vinegar mixed in the water had Kate crinkling her nose. He glared at that. He was in no way going to fall for the faces she was making. Not today.

"Do not give me that look, Kate. What came upon you that you dared stand like that in the rain? That too for so damn long! You were bloody covered in mud from head to toe—"

"Now that's a slight exaggeration, Victor!" she cut in only to receive another glare.

"You're not a child, Kate! You're already not well—having fever every now and then, those freaky headaches - and God knows how long we'll have to wait for those damn test results—"

"A few more days."

"Do not interrupt!"

"Victor, would you please stop!" she sighed, getting exhausted by his endless chiding. "I told you I'm feeling fine now." 

"The damn you're! Do you even have any idea how worried I was? You didn't come to the boutique today and, Ellie and I—kept trying to reach you over the phone. Thank f*ck that I decided to come over to your apartment, or you would have probably stood before your apartment staring at the rainy sky for God knows how long—"

Not finding any other way, she put her hand over his mouth. It worked because instantly, the never-ending lecture came to a halting stop. However, at the same time, his eyes, too, glazed over for some reason. 

The distress in his eyes changed into that of affection.

Feeling the sudden shift in the ambiance, she slid down her hand slowly. She looked away, maybe because some things are better to be left unseen.

He cleared his throat awkwardly.

"Kate," he tore the silence, the tone of his voice soft yet grave. "You need to tell me what happened because I can tell something has really happened recently. Is it that friend of yours -- what's his name? Uh—Neil, yes. Did he again try to meet you or contact you in any way? Is he stalking you or something?"

She shook her head in negative. 

Victor was already stressed up to the limit, telling him that Alex was here in Asthel would just mean another freak-out session, and even, possibly, a war. It was only reasonable that she kept quiet for the time being. Anyway, it wasn't like Victor was running off somewhere, and she wouldn't be able to tell him later.

"Nothing of that sort happened, Victor. I—I was just, I don't know—I kind of lost myself in the rain on my way to the boutique. I've always loved the rain."

And Alex.

She met him for the first time on a rainy day. Her love for the rain and for him had conjoined since then.

She listened absentmindedly as Victor returned to his boundless lectures after checking her temperature for the hundredth time.

Her thoughts floated back to the lakeside—back to Alex.

She squeezed her eyes closed. 

Why had fate been playing with her like this? There was nothing left in her that could break any further—yet the heavens had found a way to do just that by flinging him back into her life so cruelly. Her instincts whispered they were to cross paths again, and again until he ruined what was left of her shattered self entirely.

She felt restless. She had been like this since that unexpected encounter with him a few days ago.

The desire to curl up into a ball, run away again, and hide in a corner so that she would never have to face him had gripped its cold, clammy fingers around her throat for the most part of her lonely nights. Not because she was scared to fight him, but because of the fact that then she would have to fight the one she loved.

But then, as dawn would break through, the revived rays of the sun always filled her with vigor and perseverance which were as if born in another world unknown to all men, and she tried like hell to hold onto them inside her weak, struggling fists. 

She wasn't in the wrong here. She had never been. 

And she knew she would stay strong until her last breath. What more she had to lose anyway! 

--

The next day she was early in the boutique. There was a hell load of pending work, for she was absent yesterday. Victor had insisted that she called sick today as well, but Kate was adamant about hopping back into position. 

Idle time made her mind an inferno of negative thoughts and nightmares anyway. She was better being drowned in work.

Ellie arrived late this morning and was a flurry of activity, a sullen woman on crack since the moment of stepping foot inside the boutique. Her hostile comments indicated that this shitty mood she was going through was because of a recent breakup. Kate gave her space and waited for Ellie to bounce back into cheeriness. It wasn't a scenario to her. Breakups and Ellie, in one sentence, were regular since Kate got to know her.

Ushering a customer towards the changing rooms, Ellie huffed, coming to stand near Kate. "You know who's coming to survey our boutique today?"

Kate put away the fancy hats and glanced up at Ellie, who, by the looks of it, was getting back into a decent mood. "Who?"

"The big fish Victor has landed the deal with."

Getting very much interested, Kate turned to face Ellie completely. "Why don't I know it yet?"

Kate knew how important this deal was to Victor. This was his big break. She couldn't help but feel a little dejected that he didn't tell her yet. 

"He was going to yesterday,"  Ellie clucked her tongue. "But seeing you committing suicide—"

"I wasn't committing suicide, for heaven's sake," Kate cut in, rolling her eyes. "It was just fever, and I didn't intentionally get it. I just lost—"

Ellie threw up her hands playfully. "Yeah, yeah. You lost yourself in the rain! Whatever. By the way, why don't you try your hand at poetry, or maybe you already did, and I don't know it yet..."

And the blabbering went on. Kate sighed. "Ellie! Would you at least tell me the name of this big fish? Victor had been behaving like I don't even deserve to hear the name just because I don't take care of myself—according to him, of course."

"Yeah? He was being like that to you? The jerk." Ellie scoffed. "Not to worry, Kate, I will tell yaa." And then Ellie bounced on her tiptoes in a sudden gust of excitement. "It's  Alex Leon! Rumors are that his wife beat him black and blue one night because he was having an affair with a royal bitch, and then his wife went missing. People say Alex Leon killed her and then buried her body in his backyard. The guy's apparently an alpha male of a psycho kind and couldn't take the blow to his ego that he was totally pulpified by one - little - woman...."

Ellie kept on with the task of emptying her bag of information while Kate stood petrified on the spot. This just had to be her luck.

The ground beneath her feet suddenly seemed like rotating. She had to hold onto the rack beside her for support. 

Suddenly Ellie noticed Kate's pale gone face and beads of sweat on her forehead. "Oh, my God! Kate? Don't faint on me now. Please. Is it the fever coming back? Are you frightened hearing the beastly tale of Alex Leon? Shit, Kate. They were probably making up stories in the tabloids. They do that freaking all the time. Though I personally believe Leon getting beaten by his wife was true, maybe she just ran off after that. Oh gosh, I should shut up now!" 

Gripping Kate by the shoulders, Ellie helped her towards the tiny office of the boutique. But the sound of a car coming to a screeching halt made them stop dead in their track. 

Kate's eyes widened along with Ellie's. 

"Don't you worry, Kate," Ellie thumped on Kate's back. "Even if he actually turns out to be a psychotic murderer and backyard grave digger - do not ever forget that I AM HERE, alright? You know how good I can punch people's noses in, and I've got this baby knife hidden in my bra. Always."

Kate didn't hear a thing Ellie was saying. This time the girl's never-ending talk wasn't enough to distract her mind. For his footsteps neared her. She could feel his presence as he approached her, closer... and closer every passing second. Her skin prickled, and her heart thudded. 

It was frustrating how she still responded to his presence, just like in those old days. This was her doing, she had been a fool in the past to give someone so much power over herself - over her heart, and now it was impossible to, even after this long separation to tear him off of her soul. So she recalled what she'd been trying to forget—the last thing she had witnessed of him. The hatred in his eyes.

Kate sucked in the negativity, the pungent taste of death, and all the darkness it provided, like a miracle taking place—they conjoined and transformed into the kind of strength she never knew existed. Even if it so much felt self-destructive, she held onto whatever she got at the moment. 

Victor's voice chirped behind her.

"... and this is the girl I was talking to you about. My encouragement, the lifeline of my boutiques - Kate." 

Slowly Kate turned around. She heard Ellie say something in greeting from the sideline but what Kate could only focus on was a pair of beautiful eyes that dominated her nightmares - through the love she had once admired in them, through the disgust she had memorized in them. 

A shaky sigh left her lips, seeing the shock on his face. And the attempt seemed sick. Still, she smiled at her own destruction, looking somehow so fragile before her.

~

This cover is for Alex's turmoil. Foolish or not, he's suffering too. Watch out for his bleeding eyes later. ;) (evil laugh)

In recent comments, many people have suggested that the kid in the earlier chapter be involved more permanently in this story. :D And I'm finally, after a lot of pondering, have decided to do just that. Yes, it will mean that I need to change so many things from the first draft of the story, but like most of you, I believe that will be only for the better. What do you say?

Please let me know if you're enjoying the story so far. If you've any suggestions, please tell me, that will be very helpful. :)

Don't forget to VOTE and COMMENT pls! Follow/fan me to get notified when I update a chap or want to let you know something important. Share the story as well.

And... thank you all so much for your votes, your comments, your support, and your love for the story. It's going up slowly on the hotlist! Thank you soooooooooo much!!! 

Massive hugs! 
Lots of love,
Lara.

P.S: How do you like Ellie's blabbering? ;) She reminds me a lot of Oliver and Elli in YSTO book 3. By the way, their story will be next uploaded, almost done writing. Tada!