"Seraphina?"
I stopped walking and looked at the person who called my name. I gasped when I saw Mira standing in front of me. She looked at me with a confused expression, then glanced at the clinic I had just come from.
"What are you doing here?" she asked with a sympathetic yet confused look.
I let out a deep sigh. She had already caught me in the act. There was no need to create a lie just to hide my illness.
"I came here for a consultation," I started.
"Are you sick?" Mira looked at me with teary eyes.
"I have depression."
As soon as I blurted out that I had depression, Mira came closer and hugged me as she started to cry.
"I'm sorry. I didn't know," Mira said between sobs. I smiled even though she couldn't see it.
"Of course you didn't know because I didn't tell you," I said.
She pulled away to look at my face. Tears fell down her cheeks. "And why didn't you tell me? I was so worried about you."
"You didn't ask," I said jokingly. Yesterday had been heavy for me, and I wanted to ease the tension between us. I didn't want Mira to cry because she pitied me.
She slapped my shoulder in response to my joke. "Yeah! You've been keeping so many secrets from me. I treat you as my best friend, yet you couldn't open yourself up to me." Her voice sounded like she was mad that I couldn't share things with her.
I smiled sadly. "It's the trauma that keeps me from opening up to others," I answered.
Her little anger turned into a concerned look. "Tell me about it, Seraphina."
"Do you want to stay at my house tonight?" I offered.
She nodded, and we went to my house. I decided that I would just buy the medicine tomorrow during my lunch break.
When we arrived, I took a bath and changed my clothes. Mira ordered food online. After I finished taking a bath, she went in to take one as well. Since she didn't have any clothes with her, I let her borrow some of mine.
After she finished bathing, the food was delivered. We ate in the living room, sitting on the floor as we started digging into the fried chicken, rice, and kimchi she ordered.
"Was your check-up the reason you didn't come to work?" Mira asked while munching on her food.
I shook my head. "I had no plan to take a leave today, but something happened last night."
"What was it?"
"My mom came here."
"You've never told me about your mom."
"Because I never planned to. My parents gave me enough trauma to deal with until now. They left me with my grandma and started their own families. When my grandma died, I had no one to turn to. My mom was there with her new family, but she never even comforted me. I was there as if I didn't exist. I haven't seen my father in a long time either."
"That really hurts, Seraphina." She was about to cry again, but I tried to stop her.
"That's the reason why opening up to others is quite hard for me. When I was in high school and college, I had friends too, but they betrayed me. That was the last time I made an effort to befriend other people."
"Now I completely understand you." She nodded and wiped the tears from her cheeks. She wasn't sobbing, but her eyes were teary.
"Thank you for waiting for me to open up. For years, you've been the only one who has consistently made an effort for me. I appreciate it."
"Because I know there is something in you that I want to discover, and today you gave me the chance to know about it. Thank you for having the courage to tell me this, Seraphina."
I smiled. I wanted to hug her, but my hands were dirty. I would do that later.
We continued talking while eating. It took an hour before we finished our dinner. After that, we went to my room and sat on the bed. This time, I felt comfortable and happy with Mira.
"I think we need to unwind, Sera," Mira suggested.
"Unwind? But where?"
"Holidays are coming up, right? We could have at least a one- or two-day trip. Maybe we could go to the beach and have some fun."
"I want to do that. I want to do the things I've never done before."
"What do you really want to do?" Mira asked.
I looked at the ceiling. What did I really want to do? For now, I didn't know yet. I just wanted to survive the illness I had. But Mira's suggestion about going to the beach sounded like a nice idea.
"Let's go to the beach. Maybe that will help cure my depression."
Mira held both of my hands. "I'll help you cure your depression. I won't leave you alone. I'll try my best to be a good friend. I won't let you deal with your problems alone. I'm here your best friend. If there are problems, don't forget to call me."
My eyes became teary when she said that, but I still managed to hold back my tears.
That night was a smooth and heartfelt moment between me and my friend. It also became a bond that made the string between us stronger and tighter.
We woke up late in the morning since it was our day off. Mira and I decided to go out and have fun. We went to church first before eating lunch at a Japanese restaurant.
"I really like tempura and gyoza," Mira said while munching her food.
Mira and I both liked those dishes. Aside from that, we also ordered ramen and bento. I didn't know if we could even finish everything.
"Next week will be a long weekend. Let's do our beach trip," she said while still munching her food.
I nodded. "What do we need to prepare?"
"Let me handle it," Mira said confidently.
I raised my eyebrow. It wasn't fair to let Mira do all the work. I should do my part as well.
"I won't allow you to do all the planning. Let me do my part too," I said.
"Okay, just prepare the food that we'll bring. I'm not a good cook."
"Okay. I'll go to the grocery store this Thursday."
We continued eating until we finished everything. I thought we wouldn't be able to finish it, but since we hadn't eaten breakfast, we were very hungry.
After eating, we decided to stroll around the city park. Since it was Sunday, the park was a bit crowded, but not too crowded.
While walking, Mira touched my hand and held it. She had been very touchy and clingy since last night. We had even slept while hugging each other.
"I really like the design of your black ring," she said while looking at the ring on the hand she was holding.
"As long as I have this ring, I can always remember my grandma. She gave it to me, and I promised not to remove it until I die."
"Your grandma was so lucky to have you. And you were lucky to have such a loving grandma."
"Do you think I could have survived if my grandma hadn't been there? I always wonder what would have happened if my parents had left me without her. Would I have survived in this world?"
"You have a strong personality. I know you can survive in this world alone. But don't worry, as long as I'm here, I will protect you."
I smiled. Aside from being clingy, she always gave me assurance that she would protect me like a boyfriend would. If I were Damian, I would fall for Mira right away.
We strolled around the city park while holding hands for an hour. When our feet started to hurt, we decided to go back to her car.
"Before we go home, can we stop by the bookstore?" I wanted to go back to the bookstore I first visited when it had just opened.
"Yeah, sure. I want to buy a new set of books too," she said.
Then we went there.
We started on the first floor. We parted ways for a while so we could focus on the books we wanted to buy. Even though I hadn't finished the books I bought before, which were free because of the promo, I still wanted to buy more to add to my collection. I really prefer fiction over non-fiction.
When I couldn't find anything interesting on the first floor, I went upstairs until I reached the third floor. The third floor wasn't crowded, but it wasn't empty either. A few people were sitting on the sofas, quietly reading.
As I was looking for a book, I saw a familiar face in the corner sitting beside the window. He wasn't very visible to everyone since the shelves were partly hiding him.
I moved closer to check if the person I saw was really someone I knew.
And I was right.
It was Sir Dominic's friend.
What was his name again? Lucca?
I was startled when a book on the shelf suddenly fell. The noise caught Lucca's attention, and he looked in the direction where I was standing.
I quickly hid behind the shelf and picked up the book that had fallen earlier. I probably looked like a thief trying to hide. I hoped he didn't see me.
I waited for a few minutes before finally looking toward where he had been sitting. I hadn't heard any footsteps, so I assumed he wasn't interested in finding out who had been hiding behind the shelf.
But when I looked in his direction, Lucca was no longer there.
Only the book beside the window remained.
Where was he?
"Are you looking for me?"
A baritone voice whispered behind me, giving me goosebumps.
Startled, I immediately turned around. When I looked at him, he wasn't even smiling after scaring me like that. He was staring at me seriously, waiting for my answer.
"What are you doing here, Seraphina?" he asked in his deep, manly voice.
It sent shivers through my body. His authoritative voice could make people tremble, and surely many girls would want to be with someone like Lucca, who had the perfect features of a man, the true definition of tall, fair, and handsome.
Then I remembered the time when he almost hit me with his car. The way I stared at him back then felt as if I were looking at a Greek god.
The most striking part of his face was his perfectly pointed nose, as if someone had carefully sculpted it, and his dark brown eyes that looked like lasers capable of seeing straight into your soul.
"Are you done inspecting me?" he said irritably.
I snapped back to reality and reprimanded myself for acting like that. I hadn't even realized that I had been staring at him for minutes.
"I'm sorry. I was trying to remember where I saw you," I reasoned out, trying to hide the awkward moment from earlier.
"It took you minutes to confirm it," he said sarcastically.
There it was again. I remembered the last time he spoke to me like that, sarcastic and careless about whether I might get offended.
I sighed. I shouldn't have encountered him today.
"I'll go," I said. I returned the book that had fallen earlier to its place and turned my back.
I couldn't stay any longer with the way he stared at me. It felt like I was melting ice while he was fire.
I didn't hear his voice again. He didn't stop me either.
Well, why would he stop me? We weren't close enough to talk to each other. In fact, I didn't like the way he spoke. He always put sarcasm into every word he said.
"Sera!" Mira called out. She was already on the third floor as well.
I looked at her and immediately pulled her arm, which confused her. I didn't want her to see Lucca. I didn't know why, but I suddenly felt like I didn't want her to meet him.
"Where are we going?" Mira asked in confusion.
"Let's go to the other side," I said while continuing to pull her arm.
"I want to go there," she said, pointing to the shelves where Lucca had been.
"I already checked that area. The books there weren't interesting."
"How do you know my interests?" Mira asked back.
Oh shoot. I had never even asked her what kind of books she liked. In fact, I rarely asked about her personal life.
"But if you insist, I'll follow," Mira continued.
I felt relieved.
We went to the other side of the shelves, away from the sarcastic Lucca.
I glanced once more in his direction before looking away and focusing on helping Mira find her books.
After staying in the bookstore for an hour, Mira finally bought three books, while I only bought one.
I don't know why, but after seeing Lucca there, I couldn't focus anymore. I felt like he was staring at me even though he probably wasn't.
Lucca POV
"I'll go," Seraphina said after I sarcastically asked her a rude question.
Looking at her, she didn't seem comfortable or at ease with me. She looked away and started walking. I didn't stop her either. Why would I? She was close to Dominic, not to me.
While she was walking away, I kept staring at her. I also saw her friend Mira. Her friend kept pointing in the direction where I was. She probably wanted to go there and look for books too. But judging by Seraphina's gestures, she was stopping her friend from coming over.
Maybe she didn't want Mira to encounter me.
If I were Damian, she would probably do anything to help her friend have a moment with her crush.
I shrugged and went back to the window where I had been sitting. I tried to focus on reading again, but the image of Seraphina kept bothering me.
I didn't know why, but that woman really intrigued my curiosity about her. Every time I saw her or went near her, there was this strange energy between us that I couldn't even explain.
My thoughts were interrupted when my assistant called me. I took my phone from my pocket and answered it.
"Yes?"
"Katerina called. She said she wasn't able to force her daughter to bring the black ring to her."
I raised an eyebrow. Did he call me just to tell me news I didn't want to hear? I only wanted to hear good news, not this.
"But she said she will give you the address of where her daughter lives, and you can go to the cemetery where her mother's tomb is."
"Just text me the address," I said without showing any emotion in my voice.
I ended the call and closed the book I had been reading. My mansion was huge, and I even had a library there, but I preferred reading here because the atmosphere was different.
As I went down the establishment, I walked straight to the small parking area in front of the bookstore. My phone vibrated, indicating that my assistant had sent the address.
I decided to go to the daughter's house first.
I sped up my car and followed the address my assistant had sent me. When I got out of the car, people from the neighboring houses stared at me. I walked toward an old white-haired woman.
"I'm looking for a friend's house. Is this the address?" I asked, showing her the address.
"Yes, it is. Why?" the old woman asked.
"Was she here?" I asked. Katerina had mentioned that it was her daughter, meaning a woman.
"Are you her boyfriend?" the old woman asked with a grin.
"No."
I was somehow annoyed by how nosy she was. I had only asked a simple question, so why interfere with my business?
"She's not here. She probably went to her grandma."
So my assistant was right. If Katerina's daughter wasn't here, then she was probably at the cemetery.
I nodded and thanked her. People were still staring at me, but I didn't bother. I got back into my car and drove to the cemetery where Celina Morgan was buried.
This was the same cemetery where I once saw my master grieving for his lover. Sadly, he had never been able to confess his feelings to her.
I got out of the car and looked around.
Someone was standing not far from where I had parked. The person had been standing there for minutes without moving.
I walked toward a nearby tree and leaned against it. Crossing my arms, I watched the person who still hadn't moved.
I stayed there for a few minutes when suddenly my phone rang. I took it from my pocket and answered it without looking at the caller.
"Hello."
"Where are you?" Dominic asked.
"Why would you ask?" I replied sarcastically.
"Because I miss you."
I almost wanted to puke at Dominic's cheesiness. At a moment like this, he still had the time to joke?
"I'm busy," I said and was about to end the call when he stopped me.
"What now?" I asked, already irritated.
"Tell me where you are."
"I told you I'm busy."
"But I still want to go there."
"You want to go to the cemetery?"
"What? What are you doing there?"
"It's none of your business."
"I'm your friend. What cemetery?"
To end the discussion, I told him the address and hung up.
I put my phone back in my pocket, and that was when the person I had been waiting for finally moved.
I frowned when I saw who it was.
She started walking away from the tomb, unaware that someone had been watching her the entire time.
So her surname was Morgan?
I walked closer to the tomb where she had been standing. I read the name engraved on it.
Celina Morgan.
"Seraphina?"