"Your package, Miss Darren."
Veronica Darren raised an eyebrow, amazed. She remembered very well that she did not order anything this month. Her older sister did not send anything either, because if she did, her older sister would have told her first.
"Package? For me?"
The courier man confirmed the position of his hat. It was difficult for her to recognize the courier because the man was wearing a mask and hat that covered his face. Only his voice indicated that the courier who was currently waiting for her signature was a man. Her feelings were starting to feel bad. The way the man was looking at her also seemed strange. Should she accept the package or not?
"Yes. Please sign here,” the man handed her a pen along with the receipt form. Reluctantly, she signed the form while glancing at the man’s name tag in front of her.
Gustav. She already memorizes that man’s name.
"Here it is. Have a nice day,” the man withdrew the form, then left.
Hurriedly she closed her apartment’s door, looking at the package suspiciously. From its weight, it looked like what was in this box was not that heavy. Her hands holding the box were trembling, covered in a cold sweat. Swallowing hard, she walked quickly to the sofa chair and placed the box on her lap as soon as she sat down, opening the box. She was even more confused when she saw the contents of the box which turned out to be containing a pair of red high heels, with a small paper beside the shoes.
I hope you like it.
—From the person who will soon be seeing you—
She took the high heels out of the box, examining them carefully for anything else besides them. Unfortunately, she found nothing but those little paper and red high heels. Giving up, she grabbed her smartphone, sent messages to her two friends, Erna and Bianca, asking them to meet at the cafe where they usually spend their time after their class.
Her eyes fixed on the high heels again, wondering whether to keep the high heels or throw it away. Seeing the shoes made her think of the red shoe fairy tale she had heard from the one who saved him ten years ago when she got lost in the forest trying to escape from home. She lifted the high heels, casually trying it on both prosthetic feet.
Strange. The size fit her prosthetic feet. How did the person know the size of her feet? Could it be, from a stalker? No, no. Her wind-like existence could not possibly have a stalker. It would be a different story if it was Erna or Bianca. The two friends had long been known as the most attractive type because of their appearance. Bianca Pedrosa has a handsome face for a woman, coupled with her princely attitude that attracts a lot of attention from women. Meanwhile, Erna Chen, her other friends who was a daughter of a publishing agency at Waterford City, with her cool and cool expression and demeanour, attracted anyone's attention—no matter what gender they are. In a way, if she stood beside his two friends, she would become dust. Just like that.
Her smartphone turned on for a moment, displaying messages from her two friends agreeing to meet her this afternoon. She glanced at it, turned off her smartphone screen and took off the high heels she was wearing earlier. Leaning her body on the sofa chair as she closed her eyes.***
She scooped up the last bite of the chocolate parfait she ordered an hour ago into her mouth, kept glancing at the entrance to the cafe where she was now, with Erna who focused her gaze on the screen of her smartphone, playing games with her ears attached while taking a sip the second fruit juice her friend ordered. Bianca was not in sight at all, making her anxious. Where was Bianca?"Alright, don't expect her to come. I give up on that idea the moment I arrived here, ”Erna looked away for a moment from the smartphone screen, maybe because her internet connection was unstable. "Just leave her. She must be busy with her 'harem'. You can just talk to me. Maybe I can help. "Once again her eyes darted toward the cafe entrance before she finally took a deep breath. What Erna said was true. She forgot Bianca was the type who prioritized her 'harem' more than the two of them. Simply put, her friend always breaks her promises at every meeting. If she was lucky, she will find Bianca coming late to the meeting. She leaned towards Erna who took off the earphones she was wearing, ready to listen to her words when she heard the sound of the peaceful cafe door open widely, ringing a bell that was attached to the top corner of the door. The two of them turned towards the source of the sound to find Bianca's breathless figure running to reach their table. The woman's sweat was pouring down until she made the black shirt under her jeans jacket wet with sweat. The woman looked at the two of them in turn, clasping her hands in front of her chest after she managed to catch her breath.
"Sorry, I’m late, guys! I was stuck with my girlfriends! "
Erna stared indignantly at Bianca. "Are you apologizing or not?"
"I’m apologizing, of course! That's why I rushed here! "
"Feel guilty, huh? For what? To make us wait for an hour here like idiots? ”
It seemed that her friend really felt guilty because her friend immediately got up from her chair and took the initiative to prostrate in front of them."I’m really, really sorry!"
Erna leaned her head against her left hand on the table, grinning as she stretched her legs closer to Bianca's face. "Very nice. Now lick my shoes and Veronica, if you want to be forgiven by us. "
Bad habit, Veronica muttered to herself."Now?"
And as usual, Bianca did not even mind Erna's bad habit at all.She rolled his eyes, removed the parfait glass which had run out of content. “Erna, you’re too much. You better sit down now, Bianca, before your behaviour embarrasses us."
"O-oh."
She caught a glimpse of Bianca's disappointed face. Then the woman got up from her place and sat beside Erna.
“You’re too forgiving, Veronica. Occasionally just let her do it. She definitely won’t reject it. Right, Bi-an-ca?" Erna lifted Bianca's chin as she brought her face closer to Bianca, speaking in a hushed voice.
“Y-yes… that…,” Bianca looked nervous looking at Erna, until the woman's face flushed slightly, swallowed repeatedly. “I …”
“That's enough. I'm not interested,” Veronica took Erna's hand away from Bianca. “Just get to the topic. I just got a strange package sent to my apartment this morning.”“Strange package?” repeated Bianca and Veronica, almost at the same time. She nodded.
“You brought the package?”Veronica opened the handbag she was carrying, took out the box she received this morning and placed it on the table. Bianca was about to pull the box closer but stopped her intention when she saw Erna's fierce gaze that snatched the box from her.
“Let's see,” Erna opened the box, looking enthusiastic. Then his bright face suddenly became confused after seeing the contents of the box. “High heels?”
“Let me see,. Bianca finally ventured to take the shoe from Erna's hand, paying close attention to the details of the shoe. The woman's eyes brightened at once.
“Geez! This is from a famous shoe brand! You know Karl Smith?”
She shook her head, so did Erna. "What’s that?"
“One of my girlfriends mentioned this brand a few days ago, so I know a little bit about this brand. Wait a moment, I’ll show you,” Bianca placed the shoes on the table, took out her smartphone. The woman's curved fingers moved quickly on the screen of her smartphone, then showed the search results to the two of them, the website of Karl Smith that features a collection of shoes of various styles, with the price of each shoe enough to pay for her two-month apartment fee.
“This brand attracts a lot of public interest because of their vision and mission of designing shoes that are friendly to all genders. Each shoe they sold only had fifty pairs in stock, completely exclusive. On each of their shoes, there is always some kind of code that we can check, to keep their brand authentic. Let's see if the shoes you got are really from their collection shoes or not, ”Bianca pulled her smartphone away from the two of them as she took one of the shoes, pointing the bottom of the shoe to her smartphone camera. After waiting for a while, she noticed that Bianca's happy face had turned into confused, then showed the two of them her search results.
"Nothing?" said he and Erna, almost at the same time."Yes. It's really strange,” Bianca took her smartphone again, busy staring at her smartphone screen, trying to find out about the shoes after waving her hand at a waiter who was busy cleaning the table that had just been left by a visitor. "But this is real. I'm sure of it! Fake items will not have a code. This one has the code, but there is no explanation. "
“Maybe fake goods are getting sophisticated now. You know, like in China, a market that sells fake goods at low prices but the quality is almost the same as the real thing? Maybe like that,” said Erna, with cynicism.
"No! I'm pretty sure—ah, wait! There, I found it! Here!”
Bianca looked enthusiastic, showing them both the results of her search.
Red Cinderella, a pair of shoes released only by Karl Smith this year. According to leader Karl Smith, who is until now has never wanted to show himself in public, the design was inspired by a girl he had saved. Who is the lucky woman that received this limited edition?!
After reading the article, Bianca and Erna looked at each other, nodding, rushing closed the box and pushed Veronica, forced her to put it back into the bag.
"This is bad. So, it means that you got a rare item!?" Bianca bit her thumb after placing her smartphone on the table, unable to hide the anxiety that showed on her face. “If my girlfriends find out about this, I will definitely be dead by now. You better be careful, Veronica."
“O-oh,” Still confused, she closed the zip of her bag. The waitress who had been called by Bianca came, put on a business smile on the two of them before the waitress’ smile turned into a warm smile upon seeing Bianca winking one eye at her. The anxiety she had seen on her friend's face earlier seemed to disappear at once."Afternoon, Sir. May I take your order?"
Smoothly, Bianca gently pulled the waitress’ hand while kissing the back of her hand. “The arrival of an angel like you confused me.”
“C-confused?” The servant's face now blushed greatly.
“Yes, confused. I'm confused and afraid if I finish ordering, your pretty figure will soon disappear—awww!”
"This person, never learn from the experience, huh?! Showing your charm everywhere!?" Mercilessly, Erna tapped Bianca's head and twisted Bianca's ears, successfully making anyone who saw her could not stand with that. “Where was your apology earlier for making us wait here long ago!? Where!? You dregs! "“I-my goodness, Erna! This isn’t like you saw! I didn’t intend to— ""From other people’s perspective, they know that you're spreading charm, Moron! " Erna grabbed Bianca's hair, which was neatly arranged, brought Bianca's face closer to Erna until they were only a few centimetres apart, unable to hide her annoyance anymore. "Answer it!! Where was your apology earlier? "“I’m already apologizing to you. Right, Vero?!”
“So, how you explain the other one? With the waitress, I mean?!” Erna waited for Bianca's answer.
“It's just like a greeting, nothing more,” muttered Bianca.
“Oh, greeting, huh? Like I believe it!"
Bianca laughed nervously, raising her hands. Satisfied, Erna let Bianca talk to the waitress again. Bianca herself stopped throwing her rags at the waitress, returned to put on the cool face she always showed when she was silent. Honestly, Veronica did not understand why Bianca always liked to provoke Erna, as if it was like a special ritual that Bianca must undergo every time she met Erna. In fact, her friend knew very well that Erna was the type who gets provoked easily.
“Waiting for the order, Sir.”The waitress blushed, leaving Bianca, who returned to her scattering mode, winked at the waitress. It seems that the waitress also misunderstood that Bianca was a man, considering that the only sign that Bianca was a woman was only from her identity card.
“Whatever! Do as you like! I don’t care!” Erna puffed her cheeks, ignoring Bianca who smiled slightly at Erna. “Don't forget, the one who came late pay for everything.”“Yes, I know. I'll pay. Order whatever you want.” Bianca supported her head against one hand that was resting on the table, still focused on Erna who did not notice Bianca's gaze.
“You say it! Don’t regret it!” Erna no longer frowned, took her menu book with a happy face, as if her irritation had just vanished. “There, Veronica! She already said it confidently, so we should order the most expensive one!”
Unconsciously she laughed, seeing Erna who was so expressive. To be honest, she was also relieved to hear Bianca's offer, because in her house there was almost no food left, and the allowance that her older sister gave her was running low. She also took the menu book, looked at the list of foods that could be satisfying her stomach hungry because she only ate the parfait. If possible, she would take a doggy bag. “Lemme think.”
“Okay. Take your time. Which is the most expensive…"
Her attention was diverted from the menu book when she heard the sound of the bell attached to the entrance, giving rise to the figure of a man in a black leather jacket and white shirt with blue glasses perched on his nose, stepping into the cafe. The man's hand held the door for a few moments, while his left hand took off his glasses, looking around. The man's slender legs were neatly wrapped in dark blue jeans with rips at the knees, and dark brown ankle boots, further enhancing the man's appearance.
“Vero! Oiii!”
She ignored Erna's call. Her eyes were still locked in admiration for a man who seemed to be walking towards her after smiling in relief.
Uh, wait. Towards her?Her eyes flickered. Hurriedly she hid her face behind the menu book that she had been holding. Her lips were busy muttering reassuring words to herself, hoping that what she had seen just now was not real. No way that cool guy would come over to her, right?
“Yes, enough with that. The book is got in the way.”
She gasped, swallowed hard when what she was thinking earlier became real. The man did approach her, pulling the book she used to hide her face from him away.
“This much better. Hello, Miss Veronica Darren.”
***Veronica's eyes blinked, could not believe what she had just seen at this moment, continued to stare at the 185 centimetre-tall man who was staring at her while wearing a warm smile that could dazzle anyone's eyes. It was like she was now desperately trying to calm her noisy heart just because she saw the strange man's smile. That smile was strangely, far more dazzling than the smile Bianca always showed to all the women Bianca met. “Yes?” she said after managed to control herself, controlling her heartbeat, which was no longer as fast as before. “How do you know my name?” The man reluctantly pulled out the chair before asking permission from all of them, sitting on the chair with his eyes still on Veronica, placing the menu book back on the table. Erna also looked shocked at the presence of that man's figure, because her friend did not say anything at all with her mouth half-open before Erna's eyes were blocked by Bianca's hand which ha
Veronica could no longer hide her shock as she entered what Stephen called the home of his friend, Karl Smith. It took the. fifteen minutes to reach around the front yard of the Karl Smith residence. Since they entered this place, she saw several men in black uniforms who did not hide their dislike at the sight of Stephen. The man himself seemed to ignore their rude response, instead of whistling softly, as if not realizing it. Ah, no. To be precisely, that man was clearly aware of it. Without hesitation, Stephen crashed the car he was driving into the three men who were standing in front of the car. Stephen casually opened the window, poking his head from the window, laughing softly. "Oops. Are you okay? Sorry. I really didn't mean to do it." She did not find any regretful in his tone, so she questioned the man's sincerity when apologizing. Without waiting for the answers from the three men who were grimacin
Veronica was stunned. Let Stephen, who had just returned after his business was finished, escort her home. She was mentally shaken after he declared his interest in her which she thought was too sudden so she did not listen to Karl afterwards. Her brain went blank. Like a F4-size paper book which was still white, losing all the scribbles that had decorated the book. She could not process what she just heard from the black-haired man with an Asian face. In fact, she forgot to thank Stephen for bringing her home. "Nikki? Hello?" A heavy pat on her shoulder brought her back to her senses. She turned around, looked at Stephen who was standing behind her, laughing softly at her. "Finally you're awake. Your forehead will soon hit the door of your own apartment."
Only this time was he, Stephen Laurent, felt so nervous.Carrying a bouquet of red roses that were usually loved by all his girlfriends, Stephen continued to wait anxiously while pressing the bell button for Nikki's apartment. Yesterday, Nikki was angry with him, and he did not understand the reason why she was angry. He did not feel like he was saying anything that offended her. Instead, he carefully chooses every word he said so it would not hurt Nikki's feelings, given her special condition. Even though he still did not understand the reason behind Nikki's anger, he better initiate to apologize. Usually, this fresh, organic rose bouquet would always do the trick. He hoped so. Still no answer from Nikki. Again, he pressed the bell for his apartment. "Just a second!" Nikki's voice was heard from inside, looking in a hurry. He had heard a loud crash from inside. Was tha
After dropping her off in front of her campus building, Stephen immediately left her without saying a word. Even though the man promised to explain everything in the car. For a moment, she saw Stephen's face, who was so worried, that she tried to not mind Stephen's attitude. She took a deep breath, tidying her belongings on the table. Her smartphone which she changed to vibrate mode so as not to disturb her concentration when she was in class vibrated several times, indicating an incoming call. She paused the activity of tidying up her things, reached for her smartphone which was to her right side, pressed the green button when she saw the name on her smartphone screen. "Hello, Sis," she said, clutching her smartphone to her left shoulder while she went back to tidying up her things. "What's wrong? It's rare for you to call me at this time." “I didn't bother you, right? Still in class?" asked her older sister—Febri
Bianca's eyes glanced outwardly at Veronica, who was chatting with the man yesterday, Stephen Laurent. Not the kind of guy she could trust to look after Veronica really. But her older brother—Theodore Pedrosa, asked her to trust him. If her brother believed that man, then she must believe it too. She did not understand why Theo could easily give permission to the man without paying attention to the territory entry permit protocol as was usually emphasized on all werewolves and vampires who intend to enter Pedrosa's territory. The man asked permission five minutes before entering his family territory. Five minutes! Whereas it should have been, if a foreign party wanted to enter the Pedrosa area, the permit could only be obtained at the earliest the day before they enter.No, no. She better not think about it anymore. Her brother clearly did not mind it, which meant there was a high chance that her brot
Veronica looked at the screen of her smartphone, full of worry. It was been a week since Bianca said she would investigate the vampires who had come to her apartment, and until now she has not heard from her best friend. She repeatedly sent chats to Bianca, hoping that her best friend would reply to her messages. Unfortunately, there was no answer. Not even read her text. Likewise with Stephen. Since that day she has not heard anything from the man, making her regret not having asked for the man's LINE ID on the first day of their meeting. Now, how should she contact that guy?Urgh ...Why was she so stupid, anyway?She ruffled her hair, buried her head on the table in Karl Smith's library room where she was now. When she looked up, she found the figure of Karl Smith who was covering under his nose while laughing softly, standing leaning against the side of the table beside her."Karl!" Reflexively she jumped in surprise. "When did you come here?""Just no
Arriving at the Pedrosa family residence, where Bianca lived, she immediately got out of the car before Karl opened the door. She ran, intercepting one of the maids who stood beside the entrance to the house, asking the sad-eyed maid to lead her to Bianca's room. The maid looked doubtful when she saw it, but as soon as Karl, who had caught up with her, stood behind her, the maid finally willing to escort her to Bianca's room.The place where they were now looked magnificent, although not as large as Karl's mansion. Since she arrived at the Pedrosa residence, she saw many people walking in and out. Their condition was terrible. Her eyes caught two people holding a stretcher, carrying the body of a man who was no longer moving into the house. The man's wounds were so severe, they were bleeding profusely (she had thought that vampire blood was dark black or green, but it turned out to be normal like human blood) that she could not bear to see it. The man's body was destroyed, bur