Darling Point, Sydney, 6:00 pm.
Camellia and Nadine were on their way to Liam's house. While Nadine was thinking about their earlier conversation, Camellia was talking and laughing with the taxi driver. It took them ten minutes to get to his house. They exited the cab and searched for the East Haven building.
It was a stunning modern ten-floor building. Liam's place was on the eighth floor. When they arrived at the apartment door, Nadine was about to knock, but Camellia stopped her. "Hold on a minute... are you going to tell him?" Camellia whispered.
"Tell him what?"
"About the proposal." They both moved their bodies and faced each other as they stood in front of the apartment door.
"No, and please don't ask why!" Nadine said firmly and turned away; she raised her hands to knock again, but Camellia stopped her. She rolled her eyes and turned to face Camellia.
"Please, Nadine, just admit it!" Camellia said, dramatically shaking her hand.
"Admit what?" Nadine said, removing her hand from Camellia's grasp.
"It's because of Liam that you're confused about the proposal," Camellia exclaimed.
"I'm not confused, Adam just surprised me with the proposal, that's all," Nadine snarled angrily.
"It's not the proposal, it's Liam," Camellia stated flatly.
"This isn't about Liam."
"It is," Camellia said quietly. "You're head over heels in love with him, and I'm sure he is, too."
"What?! No!" Nadine said in a hushed tone.
"If you believe that, why do you want to keep it hidden from him?" — "If you're not in love with him; just tell him what Adam asked you," Camellia crossed her arms and said with a half-wry smile.
"For the love of God, I'm not telling LIAM!" Nadine yelled out his name.
"Tell me what?" Liam inquired. Camellia and Nadine were startled when the door surprisingly opened.
"Did you hear us?!" Nadine raised both of her eyebrows at his sudden appearance.
"You yelled my name," Liam said, smirking.
"Well, I forgot to buy you a gift, so I asked Nadine not to tell you."
"Right," Nadine said, looking at her befuddled with her mouth open. Camellia returned her gaze with a wink.
"You didn't have to get me anything, just come in," Liam said as he pushed the door open completely.
It was a massive, well-kept apartment with a breathtaking 180-degree harbor view. The walls are white, and the floor is a light gray, smooth carpet. Several paintings hang on the walls, lending the space an artistic feel. The furniture was modern black and dark gray, with yellow art pieces on every corner. An L-shaped kitchen layout with an island workspace filled with delicious food was on the left side.
"You must be Nadine," said a six-foot-tall man who emerged from behind the counter. He approached Nadine and unexpectedly hugged her. He wore his long blonde hair in a loose man bun and sported a full beard. Dressed in dark blue jeans, a white tee, and a black apron.
"Oh... Hello," Nadine said, tapping on the man's muscled back.
"Hello, I'm Ethan," he said, releasing her from his unexpected hug. Nadine smiled at him, then looked at Camellia and Liam, who was still standing at the door and seemed to be whispering over something.
6:55 pm.
After they finished eating what Ethan cooked for them. Liam asked them what they wanted to drink, all of them wanted black tea but Nadine was tired; she couldn't resist a big cup of coffee. She left them and went to the bathroom to wash up. The bathroom was on the left side of the apartment.
Nadine walked down a long hall to reach it at the end. She washed her face and hands; feeling a sudden need to sleep. She put her hair in a high ponytail and went outside. She noticed that one door of the other rooms was open.
She wasn't the most inquisitive person, but something piqued her interest: a large painting of a beautiful woman in her early thirties, drawn in a detailed portrait that looked like a photograph from a distance. Nadine entered the room without a second thought.
It was Liam's office room, and it was as neat and spacious as the rest of the apartment. On the right side was an L-shaped glass desk with black stationery and a silver-colored desktop computer, and on the left side was another L-shaped glass desk with work papers and books.
Two large paintings hung on the right wall, and a portrait of the woman and unique pictures hung on the left wall. Nadine examined the painting and noticed the painter's signature. "Mark... wow," Nadine thought to herself.
She took two steps forward to see the rest of the pictures. It was a collection of photos of Liam with his friends on various occasions. She was drawn to one particular image. It was Liam, dressed in his graduation robe, standing between his parents, the same woman in the portrait. But as she grew older, she appeared more elegant. Liam appeared younger, with shorter hair and a shaved face.
Nadine grinned. The image of the same location flashed through her mind. I've seen this before, she whispered. For a few moments, it felt like déjà vu.
Her gaze shifted to Liam's father, and her smile faded slowly. Nadine took a deep breath and her eyes widened in surprise. She took a step back, puzzled by what was happening to her. When she saw Mark's face, a vague sense of familiarity washed over her.
An image appeared in front of her eyes, she lost all sense of reality. She blinked hard, her vision blurred, and flashes beamed across her. She closed her eyes briefly, then opened them to look around.
Darkness with weak lighting coming from some candles. Everything seemed slow. Too slow to her liking. She felt her body unable to move. Some force was holding her tight. The moment her brain grasped where she was, everything began moving normally.
She moved her head, looking at the force holding her, a number of dark strings squeezing her hard, the strings were increasing, and moving upwards, reaching her neck, and choking the life out of her. Her panic was rising, her gaze fell on shadows of two men fighting far from her pinned body.
She wanted to scream, but her terrified body was immobilizing her voice. One of them approached her. It was Mark. He was younger, with messy medium-length hair covering the sides of his face and dressed in a white linen shendyt and a tunic with blood running out of his nose.
She looked at his anguished face and eyes; he was screaming in a language she didn't grasp, but she understood every word he said. Mark hugged Nadine, and the ground shook violently.
"Nadine!" Liam said loudly, his hand nudging her shoulder.
Nadine took one step back after looking at him, losing her balance for a second and gasping.
"Are you okay?" Liam inquired; his face concerned.
"Yeah... I'm fine, I was just..." — Nadine gave him a half-smile before returning her gaze to the graduation photo — "thinking."