2
They drove to the nearby shopping mall that Anaya and her friends frequented and parked in the underground parking lot. As they walked towards the entrance to the mall, a group of five approached them. Chan could recognize the company as Ron and his gang. Ron Hailey was the second son of Hailey Constructions that ruled the real estate and constructions sector in the whole Ochre city. His friends were also from influential families that were not to be trifled with. It seemed that they were waiting for Anaya.
As they came face to face with each other, Ron scanned Anaya in a frivolous manner and said, “Lucky that you are a beautiful girl and I don’t beat such sweet faces. But you harmed one of us and I don’t like to delay settling scores. So your friend stays and you are free to go.” He tapped Anaya’s chin lightly with a smirk and pulled Chan by his collar.
Anaya reacted and grabbed on to Chan’s hand, trying to protect him. She pleaded with teary eyes, “Please, don’t hurt him. He didn’t do anything wrong”, and kept clinging on to his arm. Ron pulled Chan harder and pushed Anaya away while walking towards his caravan. Anaya ran towards the security office shouting for help, seemingly doing everything to save Chan.
By the time she reached the entrance to the security office, Ron and his team was long gone in his caravan. One of Ron’s friends, Mili Feng and Anaya had a cat fight in the mall that morning. They were arguing over a rose gold chain and Anaya beat Mili and Mili ended up with a sprained arm. There was no point in knowing who was at fault now, because Chan had been chosen as the scapegoat.
Seeing that the caravan had gone, Anaya stopped in her tracks to the security office and adjusted her makeup. Then she turned and walked towards the lift. She got down at fourth floor were her mom Mrs. Lian Shaw had been waiting for her.
The moment Mrs. Shaw saw Anaya she went up to her in a hurry and asked, “Is everything fine? You aren’t hurt right?”
Anaya shook off her mom, and walked towards the massage parlor while replying, “Of course momma, I am fine. What can possibly happen to me? Now that I have made Ron notice me, everything will go as I have planned.” She sat at the lounge leisurely and continued, “I was sure that Ron won’t touch me. He has always been fond of beauties, though he keeps a gentleman image. And as for Chan, he needs to be useful if he wants to keep his position of son-in-law in our family. He also knows that. So my dear momma, don’t worry and let’s enjoy our time here. I really need to relax after all that work today.” Mrs. Shaw relaxed after hearing Anaya. She agreed with her daughter to have the massage and went in with her.
Meanwhile in the caravan, Chan saw Mili and could roughly guess what had happened and what was going to. As expected Ron and team beat up Chan until they were satisfied. But Mili wasn’t happy with what was going on. She complained to Ron, “Why did you leave Anaya and taking out everything on him? What I wanted was her, not her assistant!”
“This is enough for now, Mili. You know I can’t physically hurt beauties. We will deal with her later in some other ways if you want. I am sure she is up to something and we will surely have our chance. Be patient. Okay?” Ron said thinking about the pitiful Anaya from before. He had also seen fair share of women that he could sense something wrong from the start. It was just that he also liked to play, and that’s why he decided to go along. Moreover Anaya was eye pleasing; he could surely have a good time playing along her.
Chan heard everything in his dire state but couldn’t grasp everything fully. He was badly bruised and was in pain. If it wasn’t for his good stamina and acting skills, he would long be dead. He knew putting up a fight now was unfavorable and he had no power to act against them. So he could only silently suffer and protect himself from worst consequences. Like now, it was important to save his life than to ponder unnecessary details.
“Tell your young miss to never cross her limits. Next time, it might be really her. We know it wasn’t really your fault, but somebody has to pay the price. I pity you, so go and get treated,” said Mili and they threw Chan in the alley nearby the Ochre city hospital and drew away.
Chan limped his way to the hospital. He felt that Mili did pity him. After all he was alive and was left near a hospital, all thanks to her. He went and had his basic treatments done. They really should be thanked for sparing him from major injuries. Chan then hailed a cab and went back to the Lilac mansion.
3 The handsome face of Chan was now purple on one side and he had bruises all over his body. He stood at the entrance of the mansion and saw that the garden was in full bloom with purple lilac flowers. When he left three days before, the plants weren’t in bloom. Now it was a purple show, so was his body. He strained himself to walk through the hallway and lounge to reach the stairs. It was an old fashioned mansion with cellar and attic. It had huge hallways and corridors along with big wooden furnished stairs spiraling its way up. The whole mansion still maintained its old furnishing and decorations which made it look like a cursed castle from ancient times. And unknown to him a figure in the shadow of a pillar was watching his struggles. Chan only remembered reaching his room and he fell into a deep sleep the next moment. The work and injuries along the analgesics pushed him into an unconscious state. Anaya and
1 Chan woke up only at five o’clock in the next morning. After a deep sleep he felt relieved but famished at the same time. He hadn’t had a proper meal since yesterday morning and now his stomach was revolting because of that. He got freshened up and went to the kitchen to find some food. On the way, he looked at the closed door at the end of the hallway for a moment and then continued walking. It was still early for anyone to wake up and the whole mansion had an eerie silence. When he reached the kitchen, he saw nanny Shu already busy in her works. He went to the fridge to look for something to eat but was stopped by nanny Shu’s words, “Cold food will be bad for you now, young master.” Chan turned around with an awkward smile and said, “Good morning nanny Shu!” “A very good morning to you too, young master! I was waiting for you to wake up. This is specially prepared for you. Have a warm breakfast, young master
2 While Chan was thinking about Jina, he saw a person walking through the garden along the Lilacs as a cover and entering the house. The lazy shirt and jeans outfit with a bag on the shoulders and high tied hair made Chan recognize that person as Jina. Her always calm face was now tired and she seemed to be tensed. She hurriedly went inside her room before anyone could notice. Chan saw all these and doubts filled in his brain. She wasn't home last night and it seemed like no one else knew. So, where was she and why all the secrecy? Chan also noticed some ash marks on her white face and hands that stood noticeably. It was obvious that she was up to something and Chan couldn't help but worry. Though Jina was one of the daughters of the Shaw family and meant to be pampered like Anaya, she was instead considered as a jinx by all others. She was always a weird and closed person. And whenever she spoke, something ba
3 By the time he sorted his thoughts and emotions, the bus from downtown to the Ochre city hub came. He got in and his thoughts again wandered off to Jina. “Curiosity killed the cat!” He had heard her saying this before, but never gave much thought to it. She always talks in riddles and those keep ringing in his ears from time to time. So he usually avoided giving much thought on her words to keep her voice off from his head. Now that nanny Shu said it, especially when he was asking about Jina, he felt that something was amiss. What is the secret that she holds, which can cause him his life? He needed more information on her to make plans ahead. So he took out his phone and sent a message to Mr. P, to dig on Jina Shaw’s details in a very detailed manner. Chan reached the office in an hour. On seeing the files piled on his desk, he regretted coming. The tax investigations were getting on his nerves. Everything
1 It was Sunday and was meant to be a holiday. But for Chan, it’s the worst day of the week. It was the day Anaya went for shopping and clubbing with her friends. Naturally, Chan was the escort for the party team. Escort was just in name, and Anaya used Chan as her maid, personal assistant to carry everyone’s bags and even as a server in the party hall, when required. Moreover, he was the best cover up for everything she did, as he won’t tell on her to Mr. Shaw and can solve all the issues she made. Chan woke on time as usual and got dressed. He was planning to escape before Anaya’s call came. He got out of his room and found that Jina was room was still locked. Her absence made him wonder, if Jina had met some trouble yesterday. Then he shook off that thought and decided to focus on himself. When Chan reached downstairs, he saw Shen Shaw and his wife already leaving the house. There must be some gathering to a
2 Seeing the sister’s come to the car, Chan hurriedly went to take over and place Ameya’s luggage into the car. “Am not I pretty, Chan? Don’t I look better than before?” Ameya walked over, made a swirl and asked Chan with a smile that could impress anyone. Ameya was sure beautiful, and as she was much younger, she had that sincere and pure charm of a young little girl. She would surely attract anyone’s attention, with that round dimpled face and smile, not to mention her perfectly modeled figure. “Why aren’t you answering? Am I not beautiful?” Ameya asked Chan with a depressed face, seeing how Chan was taking time to answer an obvious question. “Oh! I am sorry. You surely are beautiful, Ameya. Actually, I was thinking, exactly how you looked like, the last time we met. And I couldn’t remember it, unfortunately.” Chan said regretfully while scratching the back of his head. Ameya was dumbstruck hearing that a
3 Hani broke away quickly and sat straight as if nothing happened. Though Anaya saw what was going on, she also turned a blind eye and said to Chan in a hurry, “Chan, go and look for Ameya. She is drunk and has gone out for some time now. Her phone is here with me. I am afraid she will be in some trouble. Go and find her quickly.” Chan saw the instructions as lifesaving and went out to look for Ameya. He started with the washroom and then the nearby halls, but Ameya was nowhere to be found. Every specialized event hall was similar. There were DJ and bar, along with dance floors and other amenities. Everyone inside were either drunk or dancing. If not these two, there were pairs getting intimate under the elevated moods. Chan made a round of all the venues in their floor and stood at the fire exit thinking what to do next. On one hand Ameya was missing and Anaya was still drinking. On the other hand, Jina was no
1 Chan walked aimlessly into the night. When the path ended at the sea, he also stopped. He was still wet and the cold breeze made him shiver. He walked along the beach for an unknown time hoping to make his brain go numb in the coldness. He knew Anaya was a hopeless case, but he didn’t expect Ameya to be also twisted at such a young age. The thoughts spiraled out of his control and ended in Jina. He realized that he had forgotten about Jina. He quickly hailed a cab and went home; hoping that she was already at home. When he reached Lilac mansion, it was already two in the morning. He first went to check the garage and found that none of the Shaws were back. He worried if that included Jina too. Chan then went into kitchen to get something to eat. He was starving from all the exhaustion and had started to sneeze from the cold. He got himself some milk and bread and went upstairs. Jina never used th