The Secrets Hidden In The Scars

      It’s dark on the streets of New York. Now it’s about eight or nine o'clock. A little excited tall man is walking, almost running with a quick step. By far not a young boy, but not a decrepit one. The one with dark hair is wearing all black and walking kind of hesitantly, slouching slightly as if he is afraid of something or someone.       This mysterious stranger walks in a deserted place full of high trees, grass, and weeds, for a long time. And some time later, he comes to a low, shabby building that is made of little rotted bricks and located in quite a quiet and deep place. After looking around scarily, the man enters it, goes down long halls, gets up on an old, squeaky elevator, comes to one of many doors, and unlocks it with a key that he takes from the inside pocket of his coat. When the stranger sharply pulls the door on himself, opens it, and enters the small apartment, he exhales with closed eyes, leans on the wall, and raises his head, thinking about something bad with anxiety in his soul.       After standing near the door for a few seconds, the man quickly finds a switcher that can switch on and switch off the light in this apartment, which is tiny. When he turns the switcher to another side, the light lights up one of the small halls in this apartment, where there is some old furniture. It’s quite cold here because all the windows are open. It makes the stranger shake from the coldness much stronger and try to warm himself up, embracing himself with his arms and rubbing his body.       He is hiding his eyes and hair under big dark glasses and a hood from his black coat that has lost its brightness and looks as cheap as his pale black jeans and shoes that are ripped on the sides. But it’s possible to see his noticeable bristle with dark and white hairs and little shrunk cheeks and see his skin is a little white and shriveled due to his by far not young age. The man, who looks like a homeless beggar, also has a definitely good body and looks quite slim, fit, and tough.       Some time later, the stranger slowly comes to one of the windows and starts to watch what’s happening outside without any emotions on his face. However, there is nobody and nothing in this dark place but trees, bushes, grass, and some low buildings, the windows of which are spreading bright light. But then the man exhales sharply, running his hands over his face, takes his touch-tone phone, which was definitely bought a long time ago and has crushes in some places, from the pocket, types someone’s number, still standing near the window, and starts to wait for an answer excitedly. Luckily, a voice that belongs to a man answers him.       “Hello,” the masculine, low voice says.       “Good afternoon, it’s me,” the man replies quietly in a quiet, little shaking voice.       “Yes, yes, I got it. Good afternoon.”       “Sorry for bothering you. You are supposed to work.”       “It’s alright, my work time is over. And I wanted to call you.”       “I just wanted to know how you were doing. Did you find out something from what I asked you about?”       “Not very much, sadly. But I can say exactly that something not very good is going to happen very soon.”       “What?” the stranger gets horrified, rounding his eyes full of fear and horror. “What do you mean?”       “Judging the information that I got through my sources, you can have no doubt that the man is going to stop hiding and start to do what he wants after a long silence. And I’m afraid very many people that have to do with the one you need are in danger.”       “Gosh… I hope anybody won't suffer. Or are there some victims?”       “I can’t tell you more for a while. That man is kind of silent and not spreading anything among his circles. Unfortunately, my person hasn’t found out anything yet.”       “I must not let anyone of those people suffer or especially die.”       “Don’t worry, please. I swear I’m doing my best to find the people I mean and always keep contact with my informant that tells me everything.”       “Does that rat say nothing to anyone about his plans? He did love telling everybody about his business!”       “As I was told, everybody will know his plans very soon. Moreover, we found a track of that man and got closer to him some time ago. If his people know something, they will say nothing to our informant until they deserve their trust.”       “I understand it. But I must know everything… Or just something to know how I could take measures. I can’t sit and do nothing and feel nervous!”       “You can do nothing now because you should not show up. It would ruin the plans of that man. We need to do everything secretly and very carefully.”       “I know…” the stranger exhales sharply. “But you know how it’s disgusting for me to stay here and wait…”       “When the time comes, you will do what you want. But now leave it to me and let me find out everything about your close people. Especially the one that man has a grudge against.”       “Don’t let anything happen to that person!” the stranger begs with pity in his eyes. “I would be hurt if something happened to that one. You must protect that person in any way and foresee a threat to save them from terrible things.”       “I’m doing everything I can. Nobody is doing something. I’m personally working on this business that I keep under my control.”       “I get bad presentiments about it…” the stranger sighs heavily with closed eyes and puts his hand on his forehead. “I think something terrible will happen very soon. And I wouldn’t help anyone of those, who that scumbag had a grudge against.”       “My helpers and I will not let it happen,” the stranger’s interlocutor replies confidently. “Don’t lose hope, please. I’m begging you. We’re working and doing our best.”       “But when would I know something about the plans of that poisonous snake? Would we have time to react before someone suffers?”       “I hope, we will plan our actions before he does.”       “Oh, damn!” the stranger swears and starts to walk in circles nervously in front of the window. “Damn, damn, damn! I must do something! Must! I can’t stay here and hide like a crime from the police! I terribly want to deal with that scumbag and make him pay for everything.”       “I understand your feelings, but what could you do? Since you are now pronounced missing, you should act very carefully and not show up much. Someone might get you caught and say it to that man, who would try to harm you again.”       “Yes, I know, I was almost killed…” the stranger grabs his throat and exhales quietly, realizing it’s getting hard for him to breathe from the excitement. “But I’d rather take it again… It’s terribly unpleasant for me to sit here and do nothing, while that scumbag is planning to do a bad thing to my close people.”       “You should not show up in public for a while. Of course, you aren’t a famous person and wouldn’t be mentioned in newspapers. But there is a threat to get caught by people of that man or him. They would feel no sorry for you if they knew you were fine.”       “It’s the only thing that stops me from dealing with him. I would’ve dealt with that bastard a long time ago.”       “Be happy that nobody but fewer people know you are alive. Very trustful people, who would never say anything, know it.”       “I know… And I wouldn’t like those, who I want to protect, to know it. But I’m afraid that scumbag would tell them about trying to kill me early or late.”       “Yes, but trust me, you can’t always believe words. To prove that his plan came true, that man needs real proof of that, but he can’t give it.”       “But he could say much that would make you believe anything. Either your worthlessness or your uniqueness.”       “He can say what he wants. We have a goal – to find out the plans of that stinker and protect your surroundings from his threats. And believe me, we will do this.”       “I don’t think they know what’s waiting for them,” the stranger replies with a little hope, sighing heavily. “But I’m afraid they would have to know what’s gonna happen at the nearest time.”       “Anyway, we will do our best to find them and provide absolute safety.”       “Yes, please, do it! If we have at least one chance to protect those people, we shouldn’t miss it.”       “Don’t doubt it! Just don’t give up and get ready that you will give a hit to your enemy when the time comes.”       “Yes, I know,” the stranger replies confidently. “And I’m ready for that.”       Silence settles in the air for two seconds, and then the stranger breaks it, starting to massage his neck.       “Oh, alright, I think I will not bother you anymore,” the stranger says thoughtfully. “Thank you so much for telling me just something. At least, I know that man will start doing something soon.”       “Always happy to help you,” the stranger’s interlocutor replies amicably. “Moreover, it’s my job.”       “I know… All the best.”       “Goodbye!”       The stranger turns off the call, puts his phone in the pocket of his coat, and comes to the window, thinking about some dark thoughts for a few seconds.       “That rot will not turn the lives of those, who are dear to me, to hell,” the stranger swears in a quiet, cold voice. “No, bastard, you will not get them! I swear, I will do my best not to let it happen! Even if I have to sacrifice my life to save someone’s life, I’m ready to do that. Moreover, I’m really guilty of those people…”       The stranger sighs heavily.       “I made a fateful mistake once, because of which I lost everything…” the man adds with sadness in his eyes. “I no longer have a right to make much more… No, I can’t… Can’t… I must save all those people in any way.”       Still thinking of something, the stranger sighs heavily and keeps looking through the window, nervously wrapping the flashlight that he took from a table in the hall, turning on or turning off with a thumb, shifting his weight from one foot to another, or shaking in the same place. He is too worried about something and cannot make himself stop thinking that something bad might happen at the nearest time.       

***

      Terrence and Raquelle’s house. It’s about eleven or twelve o'clock. While the servants went to their rooms to fall asleep, the lovers are not even going to do it, even though they got exhausted today. Raquelle and Terrence are now in their room, lying on the bed without taking off the clothes they have been wearing almost all day long, and talking about what they found out after spending time with Natalia and Edward.       “Hey, did you find out something about Edward and Natalia’s relationship?” Raquelle asks with sadness in her eyes, lying on the bed and looking at the ceiling. “You said you got something out of him.”       “Not as much as I'd like to know,” Terrence replies, being in a half-lying position, leaning on the back of the bed with his back and looking around the whole room. “Actually, I got almost nothing out of him.”       “Nothing that could give a reason to reflect?”       “Nothing… But Edward said Natalia and he were in a fight on the day we invited them to our home and behaved so strangely because of that.”       “Really?” Raquelle rounds her eyes.       “Yes, I was trying to get him to talk for a long time on the way to Mother. At first, he joked, lied openly, and tried to change the subject. But Edward eventually gave up and mentioned the fight.”       “But why did they fight?”       “Honestly, it’s hard to say…” Terrence shrugs. “But when I joked that they fought because of not being able to decide what to watch at a cinema, my bro didn’t deny it.”       “Could they really fight so hard because of a cinema? Yes, it’s possible… But how strong were they supposed to fight, knowing my friend was shaking while sitting next to your friend?”       “By the way, did she tell you something?” Terrence glances at Raquelle. “You said you found out something, as well.”       “Yeah, but nothing good… Natalia said almost all the same as Edward did. They just fought.”       “Hm…” Terrence frowns slightly. “And is the reason, in her opinion, the same?”       “Absolutely different… She says Edward wanna do what he wants and doesn’t care about her. When Natalia does something he doesn’t like, that guy gets mad and says bad things.”       “That’s how! Edward said no word about it! But he confessed that he began to think Natalia wasn’t the type of girl he needed. He thinks your friend takes everything too seriously. He says that’s why she behaved like that and made something out of nothing.”       “Rochester said your friend didn’t love her and actually lied to her about his love. She kind of knew that Edward didn’t need her from the beginning and used her to meet you.”       “You know, Raquelle…” Terrence moves a couple of strands of hair off his eyes. “On the one hand, I wanna believe Edward, ‘cause Natalia is really too emotional and sensitive. She can make turn a little problem into a catastrophe. Maybe, they really fought not very seriously, but that girl took that as something horrible and got a strong offense on my friend.”       Terrence glances aside for a second and sighs quietly.       “On the other hand, I refuse to believe,” Terrence says confidently. “They said different things about many things, and they lied, so we got off them. I talked about a cinema for fun and didn’t think Edward would confirm it. He was actually false when talking about her. I began to think he wasn’t interested in her and even despised her.”       “Natalia said no word about a cinema,” Raquelle notices thoughtfully. “But if we think better, we could assume Edward’s words could be true. He didn’t wanna go to watch a movie she liked and decided to do what he wanted.”       “Was Natalia so confident when telling you that?”       “Well… At least, when she said Edward didn’t love her, I thought my friend could tell the truth.”       “Maybe… But something makes me confused… Their words don’t fit because of something… Edward was often stuttering, as if he was trying to think up something to tell me and close the topic. And I saw him being nervous and looking white. He didn’t almost look into the eyes when speaking. And his voice was strongly shaking.”       “Well… Natalia was behaving in the same way… She had been quiet. But when I started talking about Edward and her secret, she became timid and scared shortly.”       “Yeah, did you find out something about the secret she’s hiding?”       “Nothing. She refused to talk about it. But she clearly let me know tht there was a secret, and it didn’t have to do with Edward.”       “That guy also knows nothing, as he said… And he could tell the truth about that. I guess Edward really knows nothing about Natalia’s secret.”       “Right… I think she’s the only one to know it. But when I mentioned that secret, she was shaking much stronger than she was when I mentioned Edward. She tries to pretend that everything is fine somehow in the first case. However, my friend denied nothing, but she refuses to talk about it in the second one.”       “Oh, damn, what a problem…” Terrence moans quietly, running his hands over his face. “I don’t know where to start: trying to find out your friend’s secret or finding out the reason for Edward and Natalia’s conflict.”       “Do you think they had really fought before that dinner? Or did those two lie to us to make us get off them? My friend talked about the fight that happened some time before that dinner. But she was back from Mexico one day before we invited them to us.”       “Maybe, they did, but not because of choosing a movie. Of course, Natalia loves exaggerating and dramatizing. But I don’t think she’d be shaking when seeing her boyfriend and dreaming of leaving as far as possible just because of that. And on the other hand, it’s really weird to hear the fight could happen ‘some time before that dinner.’ Your friend was in a different country and didn’t speak to Edward on the phone.”       “Agree, it seems to be questioning.”       “But I don’t understand why they came to our dinner if they fought? Was it so hard to say they fought and didn’t wanna see each other? Instead, they came to us and unsuccessfully tried to play a perfect couple.”       “I don’t understand it, either,” Raquelle shrugs with sadness in her eyes. “If it was so unpleasant for them to be next to each other, what was the point in doing that? Didn’t they want us to meddle in their business?”       “Right, they don’t really want it ‘cause they refuse to tell us the truth and made us get off them by saying about the fight. But I don’t believe it! It seems like if I had said something else, Edward would’ve said it was true. I noticed that the kid could speak well and talk you down so well that you’d forget what you talked about before. But I do know his tricks and tried to get that guy to talk.”       “I think if he wasn’t so nervous, he would play the fool with anyone and make them sure about what he wanted.”       “And I think we could assume it’s not the only fight between them,” Terrence frowns slightly. “They could’ve had other fights that made their relationship much worse.”       “Probably… They wouldn’t be so strange after one little conflict. Yes, I completely agree that Natalia takes everything too seriously and can be worried for weeks. But not so much to get mad without a reason.”       “Exactly! But I don’t wanna know how many times they’ve fought. I wanna know why they fought. The reason is quite serious. And I have a suspicion that Edward didn’t behave well toward her. We both saw Natalia have some fear in her eyes. She’s kind of afraid of something or someone very much. Maybe, even my friend…”       “Do you wanna say the problem is with him?” Raquelle rounds her eyes. “Do you think he could do something bad to her?”       “Well, as she’s afraid and keeps herself far from him, I can assume something like that.”       “Oh, I did feel that something was not right with Edward. I didn’t like him at first sight for a reason. He’s kind of sweet shy, and gentle, but he is kind of fake. And he’s definitely hiding something.”       “Yeah, I’m starting to believe that you may be right,” Terrence exhales quietly and strokes down his hair. “Though, I don’t wanna believe it. Edward is an amazing man, who can support people and find something to say. I will always be grateful to him for not letting me go crazy because of the conflict of you and me and didn’t turn his back on me when he learned about my terrible actions.”       “Nevertheless, we should watch him better. I am not gonna turn you or Natalia against Edward and say he came from hell. But… It’s so weird that he came into our life so suddenly. And the weirdest thing is that the guy was imposing his friendship on you so hard.”       “Yeah, it seems weird to me, too. But I stopped paying attention to all of that not because of everything he had done for me and because my mother literally fell in love with at first sight.”       “Yeah… Mrs. MacClife got attracted him like a son. Yes, I understand that he reminds her of her missing son, and she is kind of giving that guy the love that her child did not get. But still…”       “I’m also a little surprised by their strong attraction for each other. Mother has never been so close to Ben, even if I’ve been hanging out with him since I was a kid.”       “Edward is like a witch! He managed to charm everyone! Even if everyone has some suspicious, they keep befriending him and letting him get into their personal space.”       “Hard case…” Terrence pronounces thoughtfully. “That guy is definitely gonna be a tough nut that is so hard to crack. We’re gonna have to work a lot to find out about his problems with Natalia and about all of his plans toward it.”       “Nevertheless, I can’t also defend Natalia and say she’s guilty of nothing. Because my friend has been hiding something from us for a long time and always avoids the answer. Edward could get sick of her lie and fight with her because of that.”       “You know, I doubt someone actually thought about that event ‘till the present. Well… They saw she seemed to be happy with my bro and forgot about that case, believing nothing serious happened.”       “As for the secret, I don’t doubt it’s much more serious than we think. Nobody in our circles knows about it. I think Natalia’s parents could also guess what happened after my fight with Natalia and ‘till our reconciliation.”       “Hey, I almost forgot!” Terrence exclaims, clicking his fingers. “Natalia’s mother came here today.”       “Natalia’s mother?” Raquelle wonders and sits up. “Letitia Rochester was her?”       “She introduced herself to me as the one. That was a woman at the age of about forty, and she had blonde hair. The same color as Natalia’s one, but not very long and less healthy, as I thought…”       “Yes, that was her – Mrs. Rochester… But what was she doing here?”       “She wanted to talk to you about Natalia. She had come here some time before Edward and I went to Mother. And when she found out Natalia was my friend, that woman guessed I was engaged with you and was Edward’s friend.”       “Didn’t you know her at all? You supported Natalia after my fight with her and were at her home.”       “Yes, but she was in Mexico. I met only Mr. Rochester, who was here and solving his problems at work.”       “Okay… So, what did Natalia’s mother tell you? She knows something?”       “Almost nothing,” Terrence falls into silence for a second. “Mr. Rochester and she also suspect something is not right about Natalia, but can do nothing and get her to talk. The mother of that girl asked me if you or I knew something about this situation. But I said we understood nothing and mentioned the dinner, after which we got suspicions.”       “So, would a talk with the Rochesters have been worthless if we’d gone to their home?”       “Absolutely worthless. But Mrs. Rochester said she was praying that her daughter didn’t get in touch with bandits and was anxious ‘cause Natalia was spending time with guys, who she and her husband didn’t know.”       “I don’t also know anyone of those she had been spending time with before meeting Edward… Not saying about barely communicating with Benjamin. But Natalia has never hinted that someone hurt her somehow.”       “No, those guys hardly have to do with her secret. We need to call the memories of everything that happened after she met Edward. Because she began to behave strangely at that time. Mrs. Rochester confirmed it.”       “But what could happen?” Raquelle throws her hands up. “What happened between her and Edward? What is she afraid of so much that she’s afraid to say it to her close people? As if she’s gonna be killed if she told someone something!”       “By the way, Mrs. Rochester said Mr. Rochester and she would go to Mexico in two days. And when they told Natalia about it, that girl asked them to take her with them.”       “Asked them to take her with them?” Raquelle looks at Terrence surprisingly. “She just came back from there! Why does she go there again?”       “Her parents are surprised, too. They thought she would be happy to stay here and spend time with her friends and boyfriend. But she wanna spend time taking care of her grandmother. Natalia’s mother said her daughter was next to that woman for hours and took care of her even when she and her father didn’t need help.”       “My gosh…” Raquelle shakes her head. “So, was she next to that woman and having no fun for one month?”       “She was. And Mr. Rochester doesn’t like it. Her daughter is kind of too young and must not spend all her time on her grandmother, for whom she’s done too much. But in her opinion, Natalia felt much better and looked much happier there.”       “Gosh… Is she trying to run away from New York to forget something?”       “Maybe. If your friends are begging her parents to take her to her grandmother for the second time.”       “Second time? Do you wanna say Natalia…”       “Persuaded them to take her one month ago. And they agreed.”       “What a twist…” Raquelle puts her hand on her forehead and exhales quietly. “So, Natalia is really running away from something… Something that reminds her of bad things that happened in this city. So, she aims to run away. Maybe, she really felt better in Mexico?”       “Mr. Rochester said she became strange some time later after Natalia and Edward met. During those days, her father was in New York, often spoke to Natalia’s mother on the phone, and kept her aware of what was happening. Of course, after proclaiming her and Edward a couple, your friend’s mood got a little better. But about one month ago, as Mrs. Rochester said, her daughter became strange again.”       “You say, one month ago?” Raquelle frowns slightly, looking into the distance. “I think a conflict had happened between Natalia and Edward some time before my friend and her parents went to Mexico. If it’s so, I could assume those two were in a fight during her departure. It would explain why she didn’t miss him and gave a damn about him.”       “And when she got a chance to leave, Rochester did her best to run away far from Edward. It confirms that my bro may not be as sweet and fluffy as it seems.”       “What if they broke up a long time ago but don’t wanna say yet?”       “And say nothing for a long time? Hardly! If they broke up, they would’ve said it to us.”       “You know, I could expect anything from them. Natalia is scared to death, and Edward seems too suspicious… You’re probably right that my friend could get so scared that she wanted to leave him.”       “Honestly, I wouldn’t also be surprised…” Terrence confesses thoughtfully. “And it seems like the problem is not about a little fight.”       “You know, Terrence…” Raquelle nods and silently looks at her hands and one of the windows in the room for two seconds. “I talked to Grandpa about it, and he thinks we better watch them silently. He believes they will get sick of pretending, and Natalia is gonna be the first one to give up. She doesn’t have strong endurance and would give up soon.”       “Yes, yes, Natalia’s mother also said her daughter was by far not the strongest person and had always been vulnerable and emotional,” Terrence nods. “Sometimes she may pretend that she fears nothing, but sometimes…”       “I’ve often had to watch it,” Raquelle looks at her hands folded in front of her. “My friend may seem to be the one, who's ready to move a mountain and literally beat the face of any offender. But she’s actually too vulnerable and even a little cowardly. That girl couldn’t become a superheroine, who saves the whole world. I guess a superhero would have to save her.”       “Mrs. Rochester thinks the same…” Terrence nods. “And I prefer believing Mr. Cameron because he always says the right things.”       “So, let’s at least think our friends had problems in their relationship one month ago. And we know that a horrible situation happened to Natalia about three or four months ago.”       “But it would give us nothing. These two are too stubborn and would hardly wish to confess everything at their wish. And we’d probably never know what happened.”       “I don’t know why, but I have a feeling that Natalia’s secret could have to do with what’s happening to her and Edward.”       “Do you think Natalia is hiding something from Edward?” Terrence frowns slightly.       “I don’t know why I think so, but it could be possible,” Raquelle shrugs. “If Edward doesn’t like when people lie to him, and Natalia keeps lying and refuses to confess what happened or lied, the reason for a conflict is quite clear.”       “I think I’ll agree with you… It’s quite possible…”       “So, we should keep doing what we talked about originally and trying to find out what Natalia is hiding. Who knows, maybe after finding out this secret, we’d know something about this story.”       “Yeah, but…” Terrence thinks for a few seconds. “You know, my sweetie, I think your grandfather said the very right thing. We should listen to his advice as a wise man, who hasn’t said a stupid thing yet.”       “What do you mean?”       “We shouldn’t try to talk to them anymore. They’ll keep being silent and pretending, and we’ll get nothing out of them.”       “Do you suggest forgetting about their problems and pretending everything is fine?”       “Yes, but it’s not what you thought…” Terrence slowly sits up and bends his legs under himself. “We can pretend that we really began to think of ourselves and don’t worry about them. But we’d be carefully watching them, waiting for a good moment, testing the water and getting some guesses.”       “Yeah, it’s a wonderful idea,” Raquelle says confidently. “We could really pretend that we don’t care about them. And they could keep pretending ‘till one of them wishes to tell everything.”       “Exactly!” Terrence exclaims. “Let’s live our lives and do our business without meddling in the business of our friends.”       “I guess Edward would really be a tough nut. But Natalia would open up early or late and tell us what she’s hiding.”       “We’ll see, honey… But now we agreed about the plan of action, did we?”       “This is the best thing we can do now.”       Silence settles in the air for a few seconds, during which Terrence and Raquelle either look at each other or everything they see in their room, hearing a little muffled dog’s barking behind the windows closed tightly.       “By the way, how were your shootings today?” Terrence asks and looks at Raquelle more carefully. “You look too exhausted…”       “The day was really hard…” Raquelle sighs heavily, putting her hand on her forehead and stroking down her hair. “Today I was ‘lucky’ to work with the photographer, who is a nightmare for all models.”       “Do you mean that crazy idiot, who always shouts on the set for no reason, pissed reporters off many times, and even broke the camera of an operator once?”       “Yup, him… If I’d known I’d be working with him, I would’ve immediately refused even to come on the set. But I got overwhelmed by the news that the one, who was supposed to photograph me originally, was replaced.”       “He shouted at you?”       “Not just me. The whole set. He can’t actually speak kindly and give orders with loud shouts. And the most terrible thing is that he should’ve photographed me on a few photoshoots. I thought that torture would never end… That’s why I got tired much more morally…”       Raquelle sighs heavily and runs her fingers through her hair from the top of her head to the nape of her neck, while Terrence watches her with sadness in his eyes.       “Ah, Raquelle, sweetie…” Terrence sighs quietly and embraces Raquelle with his arms, pressing her tightly to himself and kissing the girl tenderly on the top of her head as she is pressing to him as close as possible and enjoying the warmth he is giving her. “I know what working with a psycho person is…”       “Tomorrow, I wanna talk to my managers and ask them to decline offers if that man is a photographer,” Raquelle replies confidently, putting her head on Terrence’s shoulder and her arms around his waist. “If I work with him again, I’ll really hang myself…”       “That’s right, my sunshine,” Terrence kisses Raquelle tenderly on the forehead and puts his hand on her cheek that he caresses softly. “Don’t spend your nerves and energy on him. Going crazy because of his mental problems would be too much. I heard a certain model ended up in a hospital with a nervous breakdown after working with him.”       “Yeah, I heard something about it… But I’ll refuse to work with him out of harm’s way, support those, who know about his madness, and warn those, who haven’t experienced that hell yet.”       “If you didn’t do it, I would do it instead of you and ban you from even talking to him,” Terrence says confidently. “But if he dared to hurt you, he would have to deal with me.”       “Aw, sweetheart, my wonderful defender…” Raquelle caresses Terrence’s cheek with a slight smile, looking at him tenderly. “I don’t know what I would do without you…”       Terrence presses Raquelle closely to himself with a wide smile, and she kisses him cutely on the cheek and enjoys his strong but madly nice and tender hug with closed eyes for a few seconds. But then the girl sees the man looking sad and depressed because of something while caressing her head with a free hand, stroking down her hair, and keeping his warm hand on her soft cheek. She steps back from him a little and looks at him for two seconds.       “You look sad,” Raquelle frowns slightly. “And your voice is a little broken… Did something happen? Got problems with the band?”       “Nope, the problems are the same…” Terrence replies quietly, still hugging and pressing Raquelle to himself, and kisses her cutely on the temple. “But now I’m not trying to solve them and forgot about the band for a while.”       “Lost inspiration for songs?”       “No, I can write songs very, very well. I’m full of inspiration and find good lines for songs.”       “But why are you so sad? Are you upset because of the situation between our friends and the conflict between the band?”       “I am… These cases seem to be hopeless, ‘cause there’s nothing we can do to know all the truth. But actually, the problem is not about it…”       “Don’t you wanna tell?”       Terrence sighs quietly, steps back from Raquelle, caresses her head, and looks down, being silent for a second or two.       “Erm, you see…” Terrence pronounces hesitantly, fingering over nervously. “Today, when Edward and I went to Mother and stayed with her for dinner, she began to talk about our fathers again. But we quickly closed the subject… However, when Mother went to the kitchen to cook, Edward said something that I still can’t get out of my mind.”       “Something bad?”       “Nope, he said…” Terrence does not finish his thought, stuttering for two seconds, but then he sharply runs his hand over his hair and moves his eyes to Raquelle. “I think I’ll also tell you why I hate my father. I’ve never talked to you about it because it’s madly unpleasant for me even to hear the word ‘father.’ But to understand what Edward told me today, you should know the reason.”       “Yes, sure, speak,” Raquelle nods. “I’m listening to you.”       After hesitating for two seconds, Terrence braces himself silently and exhales sharply with closed eyes.       “I think you already know that I hate my father because I’m sure he was beating my mother,” Terrence swallows up nervously. “And the fact that he left us at such a hard moment also impacted the way I treated him.”       “But how do you know it?” Raquelle wonders. “You saw that?”       “I was never a witness to those regular beatings that are the reason for my hate for my father. But I have one memory from my childhood that got stuck in my head.”       “What memory?”       “I remember my parents had a big fight because of something with my pretense. I don’t know why, but it seems that their conflict was serious… My father was screaming at my mother, she was trying to calm him down, and I was literally shaking every second…”       “My gosh… But what was your age? Your father left your family when you were too little!”       “I was about two or three, I don’t know exactly… But despite my age, I clearly remember Mother and Father fighting right before my eyes, but I can’t remember the reason. I can still hear Father’s shouts and Mother’s sobs and pleases of stopping in my ears. I felt very horrified and was afraid of something bad…”       “Was their fight so serious?”       “Yup… Because some time later…”       Terrence sighs heavily, shaking slightly because of the bad memories, and exhales sharply. “Some time later, Father got so wild that he slapped Mother in the face strongly. Mother could do nothing ‘cause she was overwhelmed and crying quietly… And I was doing along with her… I remember I got scared… I was shouting and crying when I heard that loud slap…”       “Oh my gosh…” Raquelle gets horrified, closing her mouth with her hands.       “And a little later, Father said he was gonna leave our home and the lives of Mother and me. He was a coward after what he did… And then he hadn’t shown up before I turned eighteen. Mother somehow told me she met that man and added he wanted to meet me.”       Raquelle gets sharply white and feels like she shakes slightly from excitement, thinking this situation is similar to the one that happened to them a few months ago. At some moment, a tear even rolls over the girl’s cheek because she calls the memories of those horrible days that the two want to forget but have not done yet. The girl says nothing for a few seconds, trying to hold down a wish to cry as the memories get obsessed with her, but then she braces herself and finds the will to say just something.       “I can’t believe…” Raquelle pronounces in a little shaking voice. “It’s… It’s so similar to…”       “To what I did…” Terrence finishes hesitantly and looks at his hands.       “Terrence…”       “All my life, I was afraid I’d like him and do the same. That’s why I literally had paranoia, was terribly afraid of that, and thought of every single step very carefully. But unfortunately, a few months ago, I did almost the same thing to you that he did it more than twenty years ago.”       Raquelle cannot say something because the memories make her too excited, and she feels how strongly she starts to shake. Terrence watches her for two seconds with pity in his eyes, barely holding down a wish to shed a tear and realizing it’s a little hard for him to breathe. But seeing the girl fighting off a wish to start to cry, he takes her in his strong, tender hug, putting his hands on her back. She answers him immediately and starts to cry quietly, tightly keeping her arms around the man’s neck, sometimes touching his hair, and snuggling her nose in his shoulder. Terrence does his best to comfort her, kissing her on the top of her head, tenderly touching and stroking her hair with one hand, and caressing her back with smooth movements with another hand.       Those memories do give the two too much pain that they cannot get rid of. They have been alive in their hearts until now. The lovers cannot forget that, despite the promise to do it. Terrence still shakes when thinking about how he let his biggest fear come true. And Raquelle cannot forget the horror and fear that the man made her feel through his aggressive behavior. She still remembers his loud shouts, his eyes full of evil, and the strong slap on the cheek, which she did not expect.       Some time later, Raquelle and Terrence step away from each other. None of them feels better after this hug. The girl is still crying quietly with her mouth closed with a hand, and the man is shaking and looking at her with his scared, widely open eyes, looking literally much whiter than she is. Silence settles in the air for a few seconds, and then Terrence hesitantly breaks it, breathing heavily and looking at his hands, which got a little sweaty and started to shake from the excitement.       “I still shake when I think about it,” Terrence confesses with sadness in his eyes. “I guess, no matter how many years are gone, remorse will always prick me…”       “I know we agreed not to think about it…” Raquelle replies in a shaking voice and sniffs quietly. “But I haven’t done… I can’t forget the case that still makes me horrified…”       “After calming down a little, I thought of Father and Mother’s fight and got horrified from thinking I did the same. And I realized I was getting more similar to that man, no matter how hard I didn’t want it.” Terrence shakes his head and swallows up nervously. “Or maybe, even worse… I did what I had never done to any other girl… I… I could’ve killed you with no regret.”       “I was really horrified and thought something bad would happen someday,” Raquelle sniffs with tears in her eyes. “But I forgot it when I was obsessed with anger and fighting with you. I didn’t think of the consequences of my actions. I didn’t think I’d make you go too far. Slap me… Do what made me scared and decide to break up with you forever.”       “You know I didn’t want it and am ready to apologize to you every day ‘till the end of my life.”       “Of course, I know, sweetie…” Raquelle softly caresses Terrence’s cheek. “Now, I don’t doubt you didn’t want it.”       “I know I’d never make amends for those disgusting acts that got you totally cold to me and made you think I was a beast. And I’m sure I won’t forget what almost ruined what I’m terribly afraid to lose.”       “I’m guilty of that situation, too… If I treated you differently, you wouldn’t have believed the lie you were told, just because our relationship was very tense. I thought too much of myself and gave a lot of attention to my job.”       “No, no, Raquelle, please, don’t blame only yourself!” Terrence softly takes Raquelle’s hand and caresses it, looking at her with pity in his eyes. “Both of us are guilty of making our relationship worse. Due to our obsession with work, we forgot about each other and didn’t even think of being together for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, for sickness.”       “I’m the only one to blame for that case. You were interested in our relationship, but I gave a damn about it and you. But our separation helped me realize how much I underestimated you. And what a terrible mistake I would’ve made if I hadn’t decided to fight for my happiness.”       “I just should’ve immediately told you about the bullshit that stinker told me,” Terrence looks down. “We wouldn’t have fought to hell, and you wouldn’t have to overcome all the problems alone and get my help at the last moment.”       “Don’t blame only yourself, Terrence,” Raquelle replies quietly, calming down a little but still wiping tears off under her eyes. “Because there’s my fault for what happened.”       “No, Raquelle, I have a bigger fault,” Terrence softly grabs Raquelle’s face. “I made everything worse and acted like a real stinker and betrayer. But when I realized I was behaving terribly, it was too late to change something. You left and decided to break up with me.”       “I was just too nervous because of that situation and couldn’t find time to sit down and think about everything well. But at some moment, I just realized our breakup would’ve been a knife in my heart. I was protesting when one side of me begged me to save my relationship. So, I eventually made myself tell you about our breakup… And I swore at myself for what I did.”       Raquelle sighs heavily, looks around the whole room with wet eyes, and glances down, thinking of something that does not give her happiness. The new wave of memories gets obsessed with her, and she starts crying quietly, closing her face with her hands. Terrence watches the girl with pity in his eyes for one second or two, feeling his heart squeezing. And then the man tenderly her back and head caresses, hugs her touchingly around the shoulders from behind, and presses her to himself, cutely kissing her on the temple and snuggling his nose in a curve of her neck.       “It’s okay, my sweetheart, don’t cry…” Terrence pronounces softly, tenderly caressing Raquelle’s cheek that he kisses two times, moving some strands of her hair aside and carefully wiping off a couple of tears getting out of her eyes. “Now nothing threatens our relationship. I won’t leave you anymore, and I know you’re loyal to me.”       “I know…” Raquelle pronounces quietly.       “Don’t cry, my sunshine, it’s okay…”       The warmth that Terrence’s body spreads and his strong hug and tender caress and kisses help Raquelle get a little better and not to cry much more bitterly. Of course, she still makes sobs and shakes slightly, but she controls herself and her emotions.       And a few seconds later, the girl lies down, puts her head on Terrence’s laps, and curls up, setting her wet, sad eyes into the distance. The man caresses Raquelle’s head with tender movements, running his hand through her long brown hair, breathing in the nice smell of hairspray that it spreads, and sometimes leaving cute kisses on her face. The man says nothing for a few seconds and tries to calm his second half down while she tightly but tenderly holds his free hand. But some time later, Raquelle decides to carefully ask Terrence about his memory.       “Hey, why do you think your father was beating your mother?” Raquelle asks hesitantly, keeping a hand on Terrence’s knee. “You said you were never a witness to their conflicts!”       “But I became a witness to Father slapping Mother in the face,” Terrence notices, still stroking Raquelle’s hair. “And I still clearly remember that.”       “But how could you remember what happened when you were two or three? I don’t remember anything that happened to me at that age. My memories have been more or less clear since five or six. But I remember some things only thanks to some flashbacks…”       “I also barely remember my childhood, but I kept that memory very well. I’d hardly remember, for example, Father and me waiting for the news about Mother, who should’ve given birth to Edward. How I calmed him down when he was worried.”       “Don’t you remember yourself living with the young Edward?” Raquelle turns onto her back, still letting her head lie on Terrence’s laps, but seeing his face now. “How your mother found out she was expecting him… When she was pregnant…”       “No, I don’t remember… That’s why I couldn’t even guess I had a brother, whom Father took away with him when he left Mother and me. I can’t say where Edward was on the day of our parents’ fight.”       “But you remember your father.”       “Yeah, I remember Father. Maybe, he got older and doesn’t look as young as he does in the photo, but I think there’s no difference. I’d definitely recognize him if he showed up in front of me.”       “Are you so sure he was beating your mother? How could you know it?”       “Erm…” Terrence thinks for a few seconds. “I was just told…”       “Told?”       “Yup. I was too young when it happened.”       “Did you believe that easily?” Raquelle shortly sits up and looks at Terrence a little surprisingly. “Didn’t you think of finding out if it was true? And why couldn’t you talk to your mother and persuade her to tell all the truth?”       “Just knowing it was enough for me,” Terrence confesses. “And knowing that Father slapped Mother and screamed at her like crazy, I didn’t doubt it was true. Such a terrible man would do a lot.”       “Sorry, Terrence, but how could you believe the words so easily and not try to find out if they were true? What if someone wanted you to believe it like a naive silly boy and get mad at your father?”       “You know, Edward told me something like this…” Terrence confesses with a quiet chuckle. “He thinks I need to think better and not to believe it at one hundred percent.”       “I agree with him. I don’t deny that your father did a disgusting thing. But what if he didn’t beat your mother? She’s insisting that you meet and defend him for the reason!”       “Anything is possible… I guess Mother is not the only one to know about her conflict with my father. There must be someone else to know something. Someone, who told me about regular beatings, wasn’t a stranger. I think at least my parents know that person.”       “But who told you that about your father?”       “I swear, Raquelle, I don’t remember! I tried to remember the face of that person, but I could not. I don’t know whether it was a man or a woman. But I remember the voice was very disgusting and didn’t belong to a kind person.”       “And what was your age?”       “I don’t know… But I remember I was very little.”       “It happened at the home of you and your mother?”       “Maybe, I remember a small room that there was in the apartment where Mother and I had lived before the whole world discovered me. It was full of green colors, and there were very many shabby places on the walls… Our apartment was very old…”       “Your father left it to you?”       “Yes, he left somewhere, and Mother and I kept living there. That man did at least one good thing – he didn’t kick us out of home,” Terrence nods. “So… Yes, I heard about the beating of Mother at our home.”       “Hm, it’s strange…” Raquelle frowns slightly. “So, someone was at your home and told you that. Someone should know what you don’t remember.”       “I don’t know, I don’t remember… I remember only the words about Father beating her constantly and leaving us so easily because he didn’t love her and me.”       “And there was no mention of Edward?”       “Nope, no words about Edward. But that person knew my name, ‘cause they called me Terrence.”       “Why don’t you ask your mother about it? That wasn’t her! That woman wouldn’t say that. Especially to her son, who was a kid.”       “No, it was hardly Mother, ‘cause she’s always defended him. But I think she could really know something about that person and tell me the truth about her relationship with that betrayal. My mother has been trying to persuade me to meet him since I turned eighteen for the reason.”       “You should ask her about it, Terrence,” Raquelle replies confidently and caresses Terrence’s hand softly. “I’m sure she wants it for a reason. If that man had really done such a terrible thing, she wouldn’t wish you to start to speak with him and like to talk with him herself even after their divorce.”       “I tried to find out why she wanted it so badly when begging her to stop trying to persuade me to meet him. But Mother refused to talk about it and said Father was the only one to tell the truth.”       “Maybe, you really need to talk to him? I think he could explain the situation and even say something about the one, who told you about beatings.”       “No, Raquelle, I don’t wanna meet him. Father will start to excuse himself and blame his nervous breakdown. But I’d get sick if he did that. And I mean his slap and regular beatings. I’m angry because he’s a betrayer, who easily rejected his family and preferred getting married to another woman. And we recently found out that Father took away my brother, who he never needed. Who is now nobody knows where and nobody knows with whom.”       “Of course, I was surprised she could forgive your father so easily and communicate with him. But now I understand it’s quite possible.”       “Mother is just too kind and has never been able to be mad for ages. She’s not vindictive and can quickly get cold and forgive anyone. I think my mother forgave Father much earlier, but they met only a few years later and talked about everything.”       “But I wonder if his second wife minds his meetings with his first one?”       “I think, no. But who knows…”       “Do you think your mother still loves that man? Is she regretting getting divorced from him?”       “I don’t know, sweetie. Mother has never told me about her feelings for him. I guess she considers him just the father of Edward and me and speaks to him for us two.”       “But she doesn’t definitely have a wish to make you forget your father. Vice versa, she does her best for you to remember him.”       “I wouldn’t think about him if she didn’t remind me of him during all of our talks. She doesn’t care that I don’t wish to talk about the man, who betrayed us. My brother is also probably mad at him if he has never contacted him all the time.”       “I believe he still loves you two and would like to make his relationship with you better.”       “Yeah, where was this man twenty years ago? Why did he leave me and Mother when we needed his support, love, and care? When Mother had to work for hours to feed us two! When she gave me all the best while being happy with what she got! But if Edward had lived with us, what would she have gotten? Nothing!”       “But he showed up later.”       “Yeah, he showed up. When I earned enough money and was able to live alone and help Mother,” Terrence simpers quietly. “He chose a good moment, agree. He decided to get a benefit. His sonny became rich, got famous, and was able to help the one, who got another family!”       “Do you think he has lived in poverty all this time?”       “It’s been many years. Everything could change. But as far as I know, Isabella has a job with a good enough salary. So… They hardly suffered from a lack of money.”       Raquelle says nothing and just shakes her head, while Terrence exhales sharply, glancing at a window.       “I don’t want to meet father…” Terrence says thoughtfully. “But I must confess that Edward’s words made me reflect on this story. I wouldn’t definitely forget all of that…”       “So, what are you gonna do?” Raquelle asks with sadness in her eyes.       “I dunno…” Terrence glances at the door that leads to the dressing room for a second and looks at Raquelle again. “But I’m not gonna focus all my attention on it. I have too many problems. Getting much more would be too much.”       “Aren’t you afraid it would be too late?”       “Kidding?” Terrence smiles shyly. “As my father has been trying to manage to meet me for almost ten years, he’s gonna keep convincing my mother to change my mind for twenty more years. And it made me see that the man was too stubborn and got used to getting what he wanted. Well, okay, he can keep doing this… Maybe, someday, he’ll understand I don’t wish to see him and will leave my mother and me alone.”       “You aren’t also used to giving up,” Raquelle notices with a slight smile and strokes down Terrence’s hair slightly. “You’re as headstrong as a donkey and get what you want, despite nothing. You and your father are similar about it.”       “Oh, I wish I took after Mother and wasn’t so cruel and nervous. You know how disgusting it is for me to hear someone compare me with my father. I began to feel especially disgusting after I dared to slap you. After that event, I wanna curse everything in the world.”       “Erm…” Raquelle stutters and looks at her hands guiltily, swallowing up nervously. “Sorry for comparing… I didn’t think it’d make you mad… I should’ve been silent…”       Terrence embraces Raquelle tightly with a shy smile, caressing her head and kissing her on the top of her head.       “It’s okay, my sunshine,” Terrence says softly, caressing Raquelle’s back and putting a free hand on her cheek. “You can say anything you want. Because you’re partly right…”       “And you do what you think is right,” Raquelle smiles shyly, putting her hands on Terrence’s back and her head on his shoulder. “You know I’ll support you anyway, no matter what your decision is.”       “I know, my love.”       Silence settles in the air for two seconds, and then Terrence steps back from Raquelle, grabs the girl’s face, kisses her on the forehead, and caresses her cheeks, seeing how cutely she smiles at him. And then he glances at the watch hanging on the wall in the room and sees the time is getting closer to half past midnight.       “Oh, listen, maybe, we get ready to sleep?” Terrence suggests. “It’s almost half past midnight. All the servants are sleeping, but we don’t think about it.”       “Oh, right,” Raquelle replies thoughtfully, massaging her neck and looking around. “I didn’t notice how fast time was gone… And I even forgot that I got terribly exhausted and wanted to go to bed and fall asleep.”       Terrence and Raquelle get up slowly from the bed and are going to leave the room.       “When you’re with me, I don’t care about time,” Terrence says with a slight smile. “I’d realize I’m terribly exhausted only after looking at a watch and getting surprised.”       “Hey, what if we go for a walk somewhere at midnight?” Raquelle suggests with a shy smile, opens carefully the door of the room that she leaves quietly and starts to speak much quieter. “I can’t remember when we went on dates the last time. And busy with our business and cares… What do you think, my love?”       “M-m-m, as such a charming beauty is inviting me, I’ll go anywhere with her at any time.” Terrence also leaves the room and closes the door, not switching off the light.       “If you have no plans for tomorrow evening, I’ll give you some time with pleasure and walk with you in a quiet place at nighttime.”       “I think I’m gonna have no plans at the nearest time. I don’t have roles in movies, don’t have to give interviews, and don’t have photoshoots… And my band has almost broken up,” Terrence smiles slyly and hugs Raquelle by the waist while they are quietly going down the long hall of the second floor not to wake anyone up. “So, cutie, get ready to go on a date with me tomorrow evening.”       “With great pleasure, respectful Mr. MacClife,” Raquelle says confidently with a wide smile and decides to tease Terrence a little, walking her fingers over his chest. “I won’t reject my suggestion and will go on a date with such an incredibly handsome man like you.”       “Oh, yeah, it’s me!” Terrence raises his head with a sense of pride. “For such a handsome man like me, going in public with such an attractive girl is a great honor.”       “Just like it is for me.”       Terrence gets much prouder, smiling much wider and slier, and then laughs shyly along with Raquelle. And a little later, the man puts an arm around the girl’s neck and presses her tenderly to himself, as if she’s the dearest thing he has. Well, she puts her head on her fiancé’s shoulder and puts one hand on his back and another one on his chest, kisses him on the cheek at some moment, and rubs the tip of her nose against it, tenderly holding another. Then the brunet kisses her cutely on the temple, looking much happier when she looks at him with true admiration.       

***

      It's a new day in New York. It’s about eleven or twelve o'clock. Natalia and Anna agreed to meet at a small café to sit down with a cup of coffee and talk quietly. When Natalia thought her friend had forgotten about her, Anna showed up yesterday evening and called her after Raquelle had gone home. The friends already stood in a short line, bought a cup of coffee, and are now going to a free table placed where nobody would bother them.       “I was thinking of you yesterday,” Natalia confesses with a slight smile, sitting on the table, putting a cup of coffee on it, and putting her purse on a chair next to her. “And then you called me.”       “I kind of felt you were thinking of me,” Anna smiles mysteriously, sitting down in front of Natalia with a cup of coffee in her hands and putting her purse next to her. “So, I decided to call…”       “I must confess that we’ve lately, rarely met each other. But we used to meet more frequently.”       “Yeah, we did… Raquelle, you and I were spending time together somehow…”       “But we could agree about meeting and spending time together at any time,” Natalia notices with a slight smile.       “You know, I think I haven’t met Raquelle for ages… And I even think of going to her home ‘cause she forgot about me. Of course, she contacts me on Facebook or WhatsApp, but we met a long time ago.”       “No, what you’re talking about! She didn’t forget about you! She’s just a little busy with her job and tries to find some time for her six-foot, handsome guy. He does need at least some attention to keep feeling wanted and irresistible.”       “Oh, yeah, for MacClife, it’s as important as breathing, eating, and drinking.” Anna laughs shyly.       “By the way, Raquelle and I spent the whole evening at my home and talked about you yesterday,” Natalia drinks some hot coffee from her cup. “She stayed with me for dinner and made me stop feeling lonely while my parents were working.”       “Really? You spent time together?”       “Yup, before you called, we’d spent a wonderful time together.”       “Oh, why didn’t you invite me to join?” Anna takes a couple of little sips of coffee. “We had such a good chance to spend time together!”       “Well, if you replied to my messages and checked your missed calls on your phone at least rarely, I’d have the pleasure to invite you,” Natalia smiles slyly, rolling her eyes. “And Raquelle and I would spend time with you.”       “Did you call me?” Anna frowns slightly.       “Actually, yes. When I agreed with Raquelle about a meeting, I decided to suggest you go to my home. But you didn’t answer my calls and even turned off your phone.”       “Right!” Anna opens her mouth slightly and claps her forehead with a hand. “Sorry, friend, it got out of my mind! I did see all your messages and calls when I turned on my phone after coming back home.”       “Did you walk with your boyfriend so much that you forget to turn on your phone?” Natalia chuckles kindly. “Or did you turn it off on purpose, so your friends didn’t annoy you with calls during a date with your handsome guy?”       “Actually, I always put my phone in silent mode or turn it off when going on dates. I don’t want anything to distract me or make the wonderful time I spend with my sweetheart worse.”       “Raquelle and I understood that and guessed you didn’t answer because you were walking with Daniel. Moreover, he got much more free time that he could spend on you.”       “And that’s great ‘cause I madly miss him when we’re separated and want to be with him every minute,” Anna smiles shyly and drinks some coffee from her cup.       “You’re always with him ‘cause you’re living together and don’t have to go to each other’s home and go to another place to meet.”       “My late grandparents would’ve been horrified if they’d known I lived with the man, who wasn’t my husband. For them, the fact that unmarried people could live together would’ve been a horror. In their opinion, a man and a woman must register their marriage officially to live together. Living and being unmarried is something terrible that can’t be normal for them.”       “I personally see nothing bad about the fact that loving people live together. That’s great to wake up in your bed with your beloved person and snuggle them.”       “I actually don’t know how people could live together after a wedding. You need to know if you like living with someone… If your habits, tastes, and wishes are similar. What if two people get married, start living together, live for a while, and start to nag each other. I’ve always been sure living together is a wonderful way to get to know a person better and see if you can get on after a wedding.”       “That’s good my parents aren’t so critical and treat living without marriage and living together in a marriage in the same way. Even though they began to live together only after a wedding. And luckily, they’ve been living for twenty-eight years.”       “Your parents really love each other,” Anna smiles shyly, drinking some coffee. “It’s clear that they have a true love and are ready to support and help each other at a hard time.”       “That’s right. Mom could’ve taken care of Grandma alone and worked on her therapy. But Dad said he wouldn’t let her do everything alone. And he’s still helping her take care of Grandma Adriana, whom he treats very well.”       “He’s so caring. After this act, there is no doubt that your father treats your mother very tenderly and deeply respects your grandmother.”       “My daddy is the best, and I madly love him,” Natalia smiles widely and drinks some coffee from her cup. “He's harsh at work, but tender at home.”       “Ah, sorry that my father and mother have never been so close…” Anna sighs quietly. “I never felt like I lived in a full family, even with two parents. Everything wasn’t like in the case of other children, who were truly loved by their mothers and fathers.”       “But thank God, I’m very lucky in this case, and I’ve never been deprived of my parents’ love and attention,” Natalia takes two more sips of coffee. “And I’ll madly miss them while they’re getting ready for Grandma’s move.”       “Do your parents wanna leave again?”       “Yup, they’re leaving tomorrow in the early morning. Yesterday, Father went to an agency and bought tickets to Mexico for him and Mother. And Mother has been packing bags since the morning.”       “They’ll leave for a long time?”       “Probably. They never stay in Mexico for two days. Their trip may last for weeks.”       “So, it means you’ll stay alone?”       “Yes, sadly, I’ll have to stay home. Of course, I’m used to it. And my parents promised to call me and transfer money if I spent the amount they’re gonna leave. But I’ll madly miss them. I’ll be lonely and sad without them…”       “So, Raquelle and I can go to your home at any time,” Anna smiles shyly. “Have a little party while your parents aren’t there.”       “It’d be great…” Natalia says thoughtfully. “I’ll stay all alone and could accept visitors. If someone wants to come, of course…”       “It goes without saying, we’ll use such a wonderful chance and have a little party at your home. Well… At least a movie marathon…”       “Yeah, but I’m afraid you’d have no time for that,” Natalia says with a shy smile. “You have love, romantic, dates, and something like that…”       “What does it have to do with that?”       “Well… I wouldn’t let you enjoy your relationship and spend time with your sweetheart.”       “What?” Anna rounds her eyes. “Friend, what are you talking about? When did I say you didn’t let me enjoy my relationship?”       “I just thought you spent less time with me because you wanna spend much more time with Daniel,” Natalia says hesitantly, looking down shyly.       “Oh, gosh, Blondie, are you serious?”       “No, I get it, and I don’t get mad,” Natalia smiles slightly and drinks some coffee from her cup. “I understand Daniel needs greater support due to the conflict in the band, and he is probably worried about it. Being by his side and supporting your sweetheart is your duty that you must do if you wanna prove your love to him.”       “So, dear Natalia Emily Rochester…” Anna frowns slightly, putting her cup on the table. “Let me ask you, when did you get such stupid thoughts into your head?”       “Isn’t that true, friend? But as I’ve said, I completely understand it.”       “Remember, Natalia, even if I have a relationship, it won’t be a reason to forget all my friends and spend all my time with my sweetheart. Daniel does think I shouldn't always be with him, even if he feels bad. And I’m very glad he treats my wish to see my friends with a great understanding.”       “I just thought of that…” Natalia raises her hands in front of her. “Literally for a second… When you didn’t answer my calls…”       “Don’t even dare to think about it and get these stupid thoughts out of your mind. Got it?”       “I got it, got it! Sorry, I won’t be talking about it anymore.”       “Don’t dare to.”       The friends share a slight smile and say nothing for two seconds, drinking some coffee from their cups, looking around, and seeing visitors of different ages, who came here to eat something and taste something delicious.       “And yeah, I think you have a bad mood,” Anna notices, taking her cup and drinking from it. “Are you so sad because your parents are going to Mexico without you?”       “Erm…” Natalia stutters and smiles falsely. “Yes… I’m really very sad because they’re leaving. I wanted to help them with something, but they said they’d do everything.”       “You’ve done very much for her and helped your parents enough.” Anna softly caresses Natalia’s hand placed on the table near her friend’s cup. “That’s very good. But you shouldn’t spend all your time with her. You should have fun. But you wanna forget about you and spend your life taking care of your grandma.”       “You know how much I’m worried about her,” Natalia takes her cup and brings it to her lips to drink some coffee. “And it’s hurtful for me to see Father and Mother tearing between her and their job. If I took care of Grandma and let my parents work… I wanted to do it so badly, but they didn’t let me.”       “That’s right. You can take care of her when she’s back in New York and live in your apartment. Your parents will be working, and you could help her and go to the hospital if she needs to give samples or get some therapy.”       “When she’s here, I will undoubtedly go everywhere with her and do everything I can for her recovery.”       “But please, don’t forget about us. About me and such wonderful friends like Raquelle and Terrence, who’d always support you.”       “Yes, I know, and I don’t doubt my friends. But they won’t always be with me. I can’t make anyone be my babysitter and take care of me. Cameron should now think of her wedding with MacClife.”       “That’s right, but you’ve got friends anyway,” Anna smiles mysteriously. Well, not only friends. But also someone to be very dear to you.”       “Ah, you mean Edward…” Natalia puts on a shy but absolutely false smile and bites her lip slightly, looking at her cup tensely. “Erm… Yeah… He is, too… How I’d do without him…”       “Hm, you didn’t kind of get too happy, even though I didn’t call names…” Anna frowns slightly.       “It’s easy for me to guess who Raquelle and you mean when speaking with such a mysterious smile.”       “Is it unpleasant for you to talk about Edward?”       “Me? No!” Natalia chuckles nervously and clenches her hand in a fist for a second. “Why do you think it’s unpleasant for me to talk about Edward?”       “Is everything okay?”       “Yup, everything’s fine! All my thoughts are just focused on Grandma and her recovery.”       “You strangely reacted to Edward’s name during our talks for the second time. You didn’t wanna talk about him at our last meeting.”       “Erm…”       “Listen, Natalia, I don’t wanna meddle in the business of you and Edward,” Anna says softly, looking at Natalia with sadness in her eyes. “But I have a feeling that you no longer love that man as much as you did before. And you’d definitely be happy if nobody even mentioned him.”       “No, I still love him… Just…” Natalia sighs heavily and glances at Anna. “MacClife and I just had fought before Raquelle and Terrence invited us to their home.”       “Fought?” Anna rounds her eyes. “But why? You got on so well!”       “Well, we had different opinions… I didn’t like what Edward wanted to do, and he refused to listen to me and my advice…”       “But why couldn’t you agree?”       “We just couldn’t decide where to go to talk… Some time before dinner…”       “Some time before dinner? But you were in Mexico for a month! What do you mean when saying ‘some time ago?’ Is two or three months ‘some time ago’ for you? Or did you fight a few hours before the dinner?”       “Erm…” Yeah! We…” Natalia swallows up nervously, feeling strong tension in her whole body, while her breath gets closer, and her eyes are running from one side to another. “We had fought some time before my trip, but it wasn’t serious… And after my return, a few hours before dinner, we fought more seriously.”       Natalia moves her sad eyes to her glass of coffee and thinks about something. Anna does not like her friends’ words, as they do not sound true. She sees the blonde getting more excited and tenser and twirls nervously the ring that she has on her index finger.       “Is that why you’re so sad now?” Anna asks with sadness in her eyes.       “Yeah, you know how hard I take fights with some of my close people…” Natalia replies quietly and sighs heavily. “One fight with Raquelle proved it…”       “Did you and Edward have such a big fight that you’re afraid of him and don’t wanna talk about that man?”       “Sometimes I think he doesn’t love me and used me for meeting with Terrence. I mean nothing to him…”       “Why do you think so, honey?” Anna rounds her eyes. “He did swear he didn’t lie and really loved you!”       “That man just can speak beautifully. But I, silly girl, believed him and thought I met my real love.” Natalia sniffs quietly. “But I was used again… That man dated me for some time, but now he has decided to leave slowly… Not to get me shocked…”       “No, Natalia, don’t say it. Any couple has fights, and that’s fine. No matter what happens, I’m sure you'll reconcile soon.”       “Nope, Anna, hardly…” Natalia moves her sad gaze to the half-emptied cup of coffee. “We had a big fight… It could hardly be forgotten…”       “Are you gonna break up? But doing it because of just one fight is stupid! You may calm down and regret it much later!”       “A too unpleasant situation happened, and I can’t forget… Since Edward treated me like that and didn’t regret it, it’s getting clear he doesn’t love me… I’m just a toy for another guy…”       “It’s gonna be fine, sweetie, don’t get upset,” Anna says softly, caressing Natalia’s hand. “Are you gonna take all conflicts so seriously, leave your sweetheart, and then come back to him? That’s wrong! Conflicts in your couple are a part of your relationship, without which you can’t do.”       “It’s just hurt for me that I’ve always been treated like a naive idiot and an unprotected victim. Why haven’t I met the one, who would really love me? Why do guys think just because I’m a blonde girl, I’m stupid and naive?”       “Natalia, stop saying it! The fight between you and Edward is temporary, and you’ll make peace. You did think you wouldn’t reconcile with Raquelle after your big fight. But you did it. You became the best friends again, and don’t think of what happened not because of you.”       “It was one of the worst moments of my life.” Natalia glances at the window and sighs heavily. “I must confess that I still have a bad feeling. I understand I was framed, and someone wanted to set Raquelle against me. But it was unpleasant that she blamed me for what I would never do.”       “I completely understand you.” Anna sighs heavily again. “It’s always hurtful to fight with those, who are dear to you. But be happy that those terrible days are over. They stayed in the past. And the one, who wanted to get you and Cameron to fight, got what he deserved.”       “Sometimes I wanna find a thing that would erase all the thoughts that hurt me from my memory,” Natalia sighs quietly, wrapping her finger around her cup. “I wish I had amnesia and could forget bad moments… It’d be great to remember only good things and forget what makes my heart bleed.”       “Sadly, it’s impossible. The only thing you can do to forget bad things is to focus on good things. Enjoy your life and do what you like. You have friends, who’d always help you distract. Maybe, if you go somewhere at a gymnasium or nightclub, you’ll meet new people and distract yourself.”       “Honestly, I have no wish to go anywhere and meet people,” Natalia folds her hands on the table and tightly locks her fingers. “I wanted to do something and go somewhere before, but now I don’t.”       “You know, Natalia, I haven’t lately been able to recognize you. I remember you being sanguine and funny two years ago when you and I began to communicate again. You were happy and looked much liver and more active… You went to clubs, met men, went on dates, and traveled around the world… You’ve got loving parents, and you’re able to make any wish come true. You’re banned from nothing. Nobody makes you work and earn money. You’re living like a princess. But instead of being happy, you’re about to have depression.”       “Do you wanna say I changed?” Natalia wonders.       “Of course, you did. I’d say you were a different man after coming back from your first trip to Mexico. Nothing is left of the former you. Of course, you’ve always been very vulnerable and sensitive. But now it’s super easy to make you upset.”       Natalia sighs heavily and looks at what surrounds her, seeing a couple of little children, who are giving loud, happy whoops and running around their parents, who are examining a list of dishes on the wall near the cash.       “No matter how much I wanna deny it, I have to admit it’s true,” Natalia says quietly and drinks some coffee. “I know I became different and began to take everything about me more sensitively.”        “Ah, friend, I’d like to know what influenced you,” Anna sighs heavily with sadness in her eyes, softly caressing Natalia’s hand. “You’ve lately been so depressed. And the problem is not about what’s happening to you and Edward or what happened to you and Raquelle. The problem is that you have something you don’t wanna talk about. What you’re afraid to tell.”       “You do know what I’m worried about. Only about Grandma Adriana. I want only one thing – her to get well and be by my side. She can’t leave me now… I know she wouldn’t live forever, but now her death would be a much harder hit for me.”       “But what about Edward? Don’t you care about your fight?”       “I already accepted the fact that we wouldn’t be together. I guess Dad was right when he somehow said he had nothing against Edward, but wasn’t sure our relationship would last for a long time. And I knew we wouldn’t be a couple… I agreed to be his girlfriend because nobody wanted to pay attention to me. But it seems like it was my biggest mistake.”       “But you love him. I remember how funny and happy you were when talking about him. And how much you talked about his voice that drove you insane!”       “You won’t understand what I have in my mind, Anna,” Natalia says in a depressed voice, sighing heavily and moving her tense gaze to the window. “But sometimes I wanna run away from everyone to spend the rest of my life where nobody will find me. Or at least take a trip and see the world… I’ve been to many countries, but wanna visit many others where I haven’t been yet.”       “So, why don’t you go somewhere? Look at Raquelle, how fresh and cheerful she became after coming back from a trip abroad, on which Terrence insisted. She also had an exhausted gaze and a depressive mood. But after a rest, our friend began to look better. And she’s happy that she’s gonna get married soon.”       “I’ll think about it when Grandma gets better. When I know she needs a little to get well, I’ll remember my geography lessons and use the maps to find new countries where I’d like to go.”       “Think about it, friend. I don’t like your kind of depressive mood.”       “Don’t pay attention,” Natalia replies in a low voice, moving her eyes to Anna and taking a few sips of coffee. “I’m just worried about what’s happening to my grandmother. Because she’s very important to me. I often spent time with her when I was a kid and visited her and her Mexican husband, who was alive. He was like my grandfather, and I loved him very much. And I was like a granddaughter to him.”       “Don’t you know your real grandfather?”       “Nope. Nobody in my family likes talking about him. Mother has always been mad at him because of something and called Enrique, the Mexican husband of Grandma Adriana, her father.”       “So, have you never known your grandfather?”       “Never. But I don’t show interest in him and called Enrique my grandfather since childhood. I’m grateful to him for everything he gave me, Mother and Grandmother… I’m sure he will do his best to help Grandma get through the illness if he was alive.”       “Ah, Natalia, is her illness the reason why you got so shocked and depressed?” Anna sighs with sadness in her eyes. “I completely understand your feelings, but you got too depressed after knowing about her illness. You stopped being a funny and positive girl I knew many years ago.”       “You’re right… It really got me depressed… And every single day, I pray that she gets well soon. Of course, nobody lives forever, and we will die someday. But if Grandmother dies now, I won’t take it.”       “I’m sure she’ll overcome the illness,” Anna smiles shyly. “Moreover, your grandmother keeps a positive spirit and does everything the doctors say. If they tell her to lie, she lies. If they tell her to give samples, she goes and does. With such a positive spirit and your parents’ money, she’s gonna get well. Mrs. Lascano is gonna have fun at your wedding.”       “Ah, sweetie, what kind of wedding…” Natalia glances aside. “I’m afraid I’d never get married and, to the horror of my parents, die as an old maid that has no husband and children.”       “Gosh, don’t bury yourself! If you aren’t happy with Edward, you’ll meet another man. Your eternal beauty drives all men crazy, and they fall in love with you.”       “Exactly, beauty… They have a crush on my beauty. Nobody cares about my soul. I don’t wanna get married to the man, who sees me only as a beautiful, empty shell.”       “Listen, you say it like you and Edward broke up. You’re still his girlfriend, and you just fought. You won’t meet each other for some time, will think about everything, meet, talk and reconcile. And then you’re gonna have a gorgeous wedding, a joint life, children, grandchildren, and quiet oldness with each other.”       Although these words make Natalia much sadder, she laughs quietly, being grateful to Anna for trying to comfort her friend.       “Aw, friend, you can comfort me,” Natalia smiles shyly. “Of course, getting married to a beloved man is my forbidden fruit. But sometimes I could imagine myself going down to the altar in an awesome wedding dress.”       “I don’t wanna see a girl with a crying and depressive condition,” Anna replies cheerfully and takes Natalia’s hands with a wide, encouraging smile. “Brace yourself and stop believing in some stupid things. I don’t doubt someday you'll become a happily married woman and a wonderful mother of beautiful princesses and handsome princes. As I said, if you aren’t happy with Edward, you’ll meet another man. More handsome and more wonderful.”       “It seems like love impacted you well,” Natalia says with a much wider, truer smile and drinks some coffee. “I never saw you so happy. You’ve been shining since you fell in love with your handsome guy.”       “Yup, you’re right…” Anna replies thoughtfully with a slight smile. “We could count my boyfriends on fingers, but I can say Daniel is the best one. With him, I feel like a real queen. A happy queen.”       “Yeah, you were definitely lucky to get such a handsome guy. Of course, we don’t know how good he is due to his conflict with Peter, but Perkins definitely praises you.”       “Daniel says his conflict with Peter won’t impact our relationship, and he’ll never dare to hurt me. And I prefer believing it… I feel he truly loves me and aims to make me happy and give me everything I need.”       “Raquelle and I will believe him when he tells the truth about what happened between him and Peter, and why they became enemies. Anyway, he’s gonna have a very serious talk with his girlfriend’s friends.”       “I’m afraid he’s gonna have a serious talk if someday my parents find us and make us explain everything.”       “Do you think they’ve understood nothing and still want to marry you off a son of someone?”       “Kidding? They were telling me that I’d get married only to the one to give our family a benefit. But I’m not gonna take it and wanna decide who I wanna marry. My parents tried to educate me the way they were educated. Of course, I’m grateful to them for giving me many positive features and a good education. But my personal life is only mine. I’m twenty-three! Should I do what Mommy and Daddy say? I don’t think so!”       “That’s right, but I think they’re actually worried about you. Because you’re the only child. It means they’ll love you very much, even if you never hear it. And your parents are probably looking for you.”       “Maybe, they love me silently. But I don’t wanna live by their rules until the end of my life and doom myself to an unhappy life. That’s good I wasn’t made to rule the business of my parents. I understand nothing and don’t care about it.”       “Well, thanks to your stubbornness, you’re living as you want, and nobody tells you what to do.”       “I know, and I madly like it,” Anna smiles shyly. “I like being independent, getting pleasure from life, and being with those I adore.”       “Everyone loves it, my sweetie,” Natalia notices, taking a couple of sips of coffee.       “I know,” Anna also drinks some coffee from her cup. “I like my present life. I get pleasure from it and want to change nothing because I’m pleased with everything.”       “I’m glad at least you’re fine,” Natalia leans on the table with her elbow and on her hand with her chin. “I’d like to change much about my life…”       “Gosh, you’re having a pessimistic mood again…” Anna moans quietly, rolling her eyes. “When would you start to have fun to the fullest and get pleasure from life?”       “Someday it will happen,” Natalia shrugs.       “I don’t want to see you falling into a deep depression and losing hope to get your happiness.”       “I don’t also wanna come to this.”       “So, friend, recall the funny girl Natalia that lived a few years ago and become the same.”       Natalia says nothing and just chuckles quietly, making Anna smile slightly and shake her head. And then the red-haired girl decides to find more interesting and funnier things to talk about. The girls laugh at some jokes and other things while drinking the rest of their coffee. But Natalia still keeps being sad and tense, even though she laughs a lot and tries to smile as truly as possible.       

***

      London. Great Britain. While it’s lunchtime in New York, it has already gone here. Having some free time, two women, good long-time friends, decided to meet in one of the small cafés in London to talk about all the latest news that happened to them while they did not meet and were busy with some business.       One of the women is Alicia Middleton, the aunt of Raquelle and the older sister of her mother, Elizabeth. This woman played a major role in her niece’s life and has always been by her side at the hardest times. Somehow, Raquelle helped her get saved from the woman named Eleanor Woodham. And then Alicia literally thanked her for rescuing her. Somehow the woman felt some threat and was absolutely right because the man named Simon Ringer craved revenge and wanted to destroy Raquelle and set everybody against her.       Later, Alicia stopped guessing and decided to go to New York to find out what happened to Raquelle. She was supporting Raquelle along with Frederick and helping Terrence, whom she warned that her niece was going to meet Simon face-to-face. When Alicia made absolutely sure Raquelle’s life got better, she quietly came back to London and kept working, living, and getting all the documents for adopting a little girl from an orphan house.       The second woman, who is a little younger than Alicia, is Amelia Sanchez. She somehow told Raquelle much about Eleanor Woodham and gave a hint about getting happiness with someone she would be very happy with. Someone, living with whom would not always be easy. To be clear, the woman with fiery red hair and bright green eyes found it out thanks to her love for palmistry. And her words are coming true yet.       “Hey, what about adopting?” Amelia asks, sitting at the table near the café and holding a cup of coffee in her hand. “When would I finally introduce my Hailey to your daughter?”       “Everything is fine,” Alicia smiles shyly, taking a sip of coffee. “I think I’m gonna take that girl soon because I've received almost all the documents.”       “Did you get some problems?”       “Actually, no. But I still have to get over a bunch of processing and answer many questions.”       “I’m very glad your adopted daughter is gonna live with you soon.”       “You know how excited I am! I can’t wait to take her with me and give her all the love I was meant to give my own children that weren’t born.”       “Of course, I’m sorry that you didn’t give birth to your child, but that’s good there is an opportunity to adopt a child. If you decided to take a girl, a little princess is gonna be running in your apartment soon.”       “Yeah…” Alicia smiles shyly. “I don’t know what a woman feels when she sees her own child after giving birth. But I definitely feel like I’m gonna give birth to her, not take a girl from an orphan house.”       “I get it, honey,” Amelia takes a couple of sips of coffee. “I had the same feelings when Hailey was born. At first, I was a little afraid and thought I’d die from the pain when I had contractions. But when they showed my baby, I immediately forgot everything and didn’t want to get separated from her.”       “I remember my sis giving birth… It was clear she felt strong pain, but Elizabeth bravely took that and tried to give birth as soon as possible. After giving birth, she was very exhausted, but her eyes were shining brightly. She didn’t even think about how it all happened.”       “Now I completely get it… And that strong pain wouldn’t stop me from wishing to give birth to one more child someday when my Hailey grows up a little.”       “One more child?”       “Yes, Raphael and I don’t wanna stop after one child and hope our second child will be a boy. Of course, if we’re lucky… We aren’t young now…”       “I wish it happened. Somehow, I also wanted to have a boy and a girl when I was married to Dominick. But now I shall give all my attention to my future daughter and give her everything I could.”       “I’m sure it would happen,” Amelia smiles shyly. “If you can’t watch your daughter due to your work, you can always leave her with me. I sit at home almost all the time and only go to a store or for a walk with Hailey.”       “Thanks, Amelia, I’ve always known I could count on you.”       Silence settles in the air for two seconds, during which the women drink some coffee from their cups and look around, seeing that the flow on the road, near which the café is placed, is quite dense, and cars make a sound every few seconds.       “By the way, how is Hailey doing there?” Alicia asks.       “Hailey is doing fine,” Amelia replies with a slight smile. “She’s growing up too fast… She’s almost six months.”       “M-m-m, she’s big!”       “But I need to carefully watch her because she started to creep into the apartment and examine everything.”       “I get it,” Alicia laughs shyly. “Is she inquisitive?”       “Too much. So, I have to have my eye on her because Hailey can go anywhere, get busy with any little thing, and take it in her mouth.”       “Who is she more similar to: you or her father?” Alicia drinks some coffee from her cup.       “I think, her father. Her hair color is not mine, her eye color is not… She’s got dark hair and small eyes, as Raphael does. The only thing she inherited from me are some features of her face, and her character is very similar to mine. Of course, she’s capricious at times, but Hailey usually behaves very quietly. And I was also quite curious and could go anywhere.”       “Great,” Alicia smiles shyly. “Would you teach her everything about palmistry?”       “Of course, I would,” Amelia shrugs. “If she wanted it. If she was interested in it.”       “It would be great if another girl, who could read a person’s fate by the lines on a palm, lived in the world.”       “Agree,” Amelia takes a couple of sips of coffee and smiles shyly. “But as you know, I don’t use my skills to earn money.”       “I know. And I’ve made sure you know very much about it. Thanks to you, I decided to go to the USA and help my niece when that stinker Ringer decided to ruin her life.”       “By the way…” Amelia thinks for a second while taking a sip of coffee from her cup that she puts on the table. “How long ago did you speak to Raquelle? How is she doing?”       “Well, I spoke to her the last time about one month ago,” Alicia shrugs. “I was too busy with adopting a daughter. And I had much to do at work… This year, I’ve got a huge group of students.”       “Did she say something about how she was doing? I personally wonder to know what’s happening in her life.”       “When I talked to her the last time, she said everything was fine. And I’m sure about it because her voice was quite calm and clear.”       “So, did she save her relationship with Terrence?”       “Yes, thank God, they’re now living in peace and aren’t as obsessed with work as they were before. Besides, Raquelle is finally getting married.”       “Really?” Amelia opens her mouth with a slight smile.       “Yes, Terrence proposed to her. But as I know, they haven’t picked up a wedding day yet.”       “Wow… Great… I’m so happy for them.”       “I hope their marriage will be strong.”       “Anyway, your niece will marry once in her life.”       “I hope, my sweetie.”       “By the way, an article on the Internet said they had a vacation somewhere in the Maldives or Bali.”       “It’s true. They’d told me about their wish to go there before I came back here. Terrence insisted on that trip because he thought Raquelle and he needed it.”       “As I understand, it was good for them. A movie premiere in New York took place recently, and they attended together. I saw some photos, and they looked very happy and didn’t almost leave each other alone.”       “Yeah, I saw something barely, but I had no time to view them better.”       “Oh, Raquelle was so beautiful… What a dress, what a hairstyle, what makeup… Not surprised that such an attractive beauty became a model and conquered lots of hearts around the world.”       “Yeah, many hearts have been conquered. But only one man is lucky. And I hope her heart will always belong to that man.”       “I’m sure it would happen…” Amelia drinks some coffee from her cup. “By the way, I wouldn’t mind looking at her hands again. See what has changed since her reconciliation with her fiancé. I didn’t think about that, but now I’d like to come back to it…”       “Yeah?” Alicia slowly stops smiling. “Something might happen? Might they get problems again?”       “Erm… Not quite…” Amelia thinks about something for two seconds and sighs quietly. “You know, Alicia, I didn’t want to say it… But when I found out Raquelle reconciled with Terrence, I called the memories of my first reading of her hand. And I saw that she would have many serious problems and run into a serious threat.”       “Threat?”       “Yeah, but that threat might be pointed at her or even her fiancé’s one… One of their close people or friends.”       “Do you want to say something bad is gonna happen very soon?” Alicia expresses anxiety with a scare in her eyes.       “I don’t know, Alicia. But I’ve told you the problems with your niece are not over. And now I would like to come back to the lives of your fiancé and her fiancé…”       “You say, there might be a threat to her close people?”       “Yes, when the story of Simon Ringer ended, I thought there was something that was hidden.”       “So, is something gonna happen to those, who are connected with Raquelle and Terrence?”       “Maybe. I don’t know, maybe, something has already happened, but we don’t know it. I would say more if I saw the hands of one of them. Or hands of their close people… But that’s impossible…”       “I think I need to call Raquelle and ask her what’s happening to her. Maybe, something really happened to her.”       “Yes, yes, talk to her and find out how she’s doing. If something’s really happening there, she’ll tell you.”       “Okay, I shall choose the time and talk to her. Solve some problems with adopting and call Raquelle at once.”       “Great! Today I will try to call the memories of other signs on the palm of your niece and let you know it.”       “Maybe, I ask her to photograph her hands and send photos to you?”       “It would be great.”       “Alright, I shall talk to her,” Alicia smiles shyly. “Thanks a lot, Amelia! You’re just a gem.”       Amelia answers Alicia back while they drink some coffee from their cups. After that, the friends change the subject and start talking about other themes that do not have to do with Amelia’s child, Alicia’s future children, Raquelle, and her family. While some people go by them, and a cleaning woman cleans up the territory of the café and takes plates with leftover food from tables.       

***

      The United States. New York. The time is getting close to the evening. Edward decided to walk in his favorite places – where there are many elevators and not almost anyone. Where the air seems much cleaner. Where there is nothing but infinite high mountains, dry ground, and some trees. There are too many people in a large city, but Edward has lately loved being alone and thinking about his life. Sitting on the edge of the abyss, letting his legs down from it and looking into the distance, Edward starts to think about Rebecca’s suggestion, who asked him if he wanted to move to her house.       “I don’t know if I should move into Mrs. MacClife’s house…” Edward thinks with sadness in his eyes. “On the one hand, I’d be happy to live with that amazing woman. But on the other hand, I’ll really miss Mrs. Richardson, who’s done too much for me. Without that woman, who gave me a place to live and taught me much, I don’t know where I would be now and what I’d be doing. I know I could always visit Mrs. Richardson if I lived with Mrs. MacClife.”       Edward exhales quietly with closed eyes, feeling the light, cold wind blowing up his face.       “But I would live with someone…” Edward thinks. “I’m ashamed of not being able to earn money for my apartment, or at least not finding money for rent. I’ll have no opportunity to earn much money and live in my own house. I will be dependent on someone forever. Mrs. MacClife says I shouldn’t be ashamed, but I’m sure she’s swearing at me ‘cause I have nothing. Oh, shit…”       Edward runs his hands over his hair from the top of his head to the nape of his neck with a quiet sigh.       “A normal man is earning money at my age, but I work for pennies,” Edward swears silently. “Holy shit, Father was right when making me study… He has an excellent education and has a good job. But I didn’t even graduate from school… Holy shit… Although it was unbearable for me to stay with Father in the same house, I should’ve taken it for a few more years. Father was the only one to be able to pay for my studies and help me with a job. But I got out of home and am now living like a beggar and literally beg to survive…”       Edward glances down and looks at what’s under his legs.       “Damn, sometimes I wanna hide from everyone…” Edward thinks tiredly. “If I could, I’d get out of here as far as possible and never come back here. I’m here for the one, for whom I was looking for so many years. Whom I will have to tell something early or late. Open all my cards. At least, he trusts me now. So, time is more or less good. And it’s gonna be hard in the case of the others because they still don’ trust me. Yes, everybody smiles at me, but they still treat me with suspicion. They think I’m dangerous. I know it.”       Edward moves a strand of hair from the face that gets into his eyes and glances at the high mountains he sees far and kind of disappear in the thick smoke.       “However, I truly hope that they will understand me when they know the truth. Understand that my actions were not caused by a wish to harm or kill someone. They were caused by the different reasons. I’m not really going to do that. Though, I feel hurt that not everybody believes it.”       Edward sighs heavily with sadness in his eyes and looks into the distance again.       “I’m sorry that they aren’t able to spend their time together because of those two’s fight…” Edward thinks. “And I feel very sorry for Terrence ‘cause he’s not guilty of what happened and just wanna save his band that Rose and Perkins gave a fuck on. My friend is the only one, who does care about it… It’s clear that he needs it so badly and aims to make his dream come true in any way. However, his dream will come true anyway… That man is stubborn and would get what he wants. Not only thanks to his perseverance, but also thanks to his money and loud name. I’m sure it wouldn’t be hard for him.”       Some time later, a sudden call stops Edward from thinking. The man, exhaling quietly, takes his phone from the pocket of his jeans, presses the button, and puts the one to his ear, not being pleased to look at the phone screen and find out who just called him.       “Hello,” Edward pronounces without emotions, still looking into the distance.       Someone’s masculine, cheerful, and rude voice, the owner of which has definitely known Edward for a long time, sounds on the phone:       “Hello, Edward. It’s been a while, my dear.”       Edward sharply shakes like he got electric and immediately gets up on his feet with his widely open eyes full of horror. This call literally makes him much more nervous than he does when someone talks about his relationship with Natalia.       “You?” Edward gets horrified. “Again?”       “I am, you, stupid boy,” the stranger replies with a contemptuous sneer. “Or did you forget about me?”       “I did tell you that…”       “So, did you think you’d hide from me? Oh, no! You did not deceive me. Even if you’ve got enough lives. If you saved your ass after what happened.”       “I give a fuck about whether you found me or not. I do not wish to have business with you.”       “Of course, you made my people and me work hard, but our effort was worth it. You are too stupid, and you did not have me wrapped around your finger. Because in order to plan something, you need to have good brain. But you have never had them.”       “What do you the fuck need from me? I did tell you I was not going to dance attendance on you! You can make all your accomplices watch me and tell them to attack me. But I will not agree to work on you!”       “Believe me, honey, I know how to change your mind,” the stranger replies confidently. “But I will keep this plan for later. I do not doubt that when I threaten to do something, you will do anything.”       Edward closes his eyes for a few seconds, exhaling sharply, and runs his hand through his hair.       “Listen, I’m begging you, don’t do stupid things,” Edward says quietly. “You would make it all worse. Why do you need it? I don’t see a meaning in everything you are doing.”       “Yeah, you are really too stupid, Edward,” the stranger smirks evilly. “If you think you and I would agree, you are deeply, deeply wrong, my dear.”       Edward gets sharply white from fear and starts to walk in circles in the whole territory and breathing heavily as he runs his hand through his hair at times, puts it on his forehead, or runs it over his face.       “What do you want from me?” Edward asks excitedly, sometimes starting to yell. “Just tell me why you are doing all of this?”       “Oh, my boy, you are not able to understand it…” the stranger replies confidently with a wide smile. “But someday, when you and I are the team, I will help you understand everything you should know.”       “Listen, I think the one to be stupid here is you, not me! I have told you thousands of times that I am not going to do anything about your stupid plans and do give a fuck about them.”       “Of course, you will be doing what I want. What would give benefits not only to me. One of the reasons why you will not dare to go against me is the fact that very many people will suffer if something goes wrong. Even absolutely innocent ones. And of course, they will know that you are not the one you are pretending. That you have some secrets…”       “What do you want to say?” Edward frowns slightly, feeling his heart misses a beat.       “I want to say I will do my best to destroy those you love,” the stranger replies very confidently.       “No!” Edward shouts, feeling how strongly his heart is beating, the sound of which echoes in his head and opening his dumbfounded eyes wider. “You will not dare to do that! I swear, I will not let it happen!”       “Of course, I will do! You know me well – I cannot take playing games and am used to getting everything I want.”       “Don’t dare to hurt anyone!” Edward hisses, clenching his free hand tightly into a fist. “Or you will regret it!”       “Oh, damn, Edward, how stupid you are… Well, I can’t expect anything else from the boy, who didn’t even graduate from school.”       “Ha, as if you have a brilliant education!” Edward smirks contemptuously. “As if you are smarter than I am!”       “I’d have much more brains than you. You have never been so talented and able to make your close people truly proud of you. Well, your daddy is also stupid. Even if his close people somehow praised the diploma of that bastard.”       “Do not dare to insult my father!” Edward demands a little louder, while his face gets literally red from anger, and his nostrils get larger. “You have no right to insult the one, who is thousands of times better than you.”       “I did not insult anyone. I could do it. But you make me much more irritated. You began to do it after you deceived me and made me believe my plan came true.”       “I’m surprised you have not sent a killer to me that would kill me to the fuck.”       “I will need you to complete some especially important missions. But if you keep irritating me and make me much more enraged, I will really have to pay someone to kill you by shooting once.”       “I’m suggesting you shoot me down because I will not do anything of what you want. You have your accomplices, who kiss your legs, to do that.”       “If you did not meddle not in your business and try to seek adventures, nothing would probably threaten you. And someone else would have to pay for some sins. Well, some people will pay a great cost for their tricks anyway.”       “Do not get Father or anyone from my family involved in it,” Edward throws crossly. “This case does have to do only with us two. I will not let anyone innocent suffer because of me.”       “No, Edward, it does not only have to do with us two. Very many people, who are very important to you, have to do with it. Someday they will have to know who I am and pay for everything they have done to me.”       “Nobody should do anything to you, respectful! You did make yourself think someone hurt you and must pay for that. And yeah, I should also do nothing for you! So, just forget about me and leave me the fuck alone. Let me live a quiet life! I have too many fucking problems! But I have to solve yours!”       “Yeah, you have many problems… You are a beggar, without a home, living on someone’s account…” the stranger simpers contemptuously. “Yeah… You are unlucky, my boy… The boy. The stupid boy, who has reached nothing by the age of twenty-five. Other men of your age are working, developing their business, and owning a few apartments and houses. But you have no money for clothes and wear what you wore when being very young.”       “Do not worry, I will find a way to earn lots of money. In an HONEST way. Not by stealing and cheating.”       “No, Edward, you will never be rich. Not only because you will not get a job without having an education. But because you are a stupid, worthless, and pathetic boy, who should not have been born in this world. I’m sure your father was madly happy that he got rid of a heavy burden that didn’t let him live.”       “I will be thousands of times happier if I get rid of such a heavy ballast like you. I am waiting for that day!”       “Keep waiting, my dear. Keep dreaming and believing you would be stronger than me. But if someday I make you sure to work for me, you and I will be connected forever. As they say on weddings, until death does us apart.”       “You keep dreaming. I still have a coincidence and will never do what would make me regret or wish to die from shame.”       “Time will show it, my boy. But early or late, I will get what I want.”       “Stop it, I’m begging you,” Edward begs with pity in his eyes as he is shaking slightly from fear. “Just forget all the bad things and start to do kind things. You will see, after doing a few good things, you will like giving people kindness.”       “Ha, puppy, did you forget who you got in touch with?” the stranger smirks loudly. “Who are you suggesting THAT? Stop whining like a girl and trying to pity me! Well, you are like a girl anyway – the same tender creature that believes in tales. The real sissy! You also need to cry bitterly, as girls do it when begging of doing something.”       “Do you think your insults would hurt me?” Edward tries to act confidently, doubting himself as a real man. “It’s a waste of time! I do give a fuck about who you think I am!”       “No, Edward, I feel it’s hurtful for you to hear the truth. You know well that you will never become a real man. Strong, brave, and confident. Your toughness is just a mask that you put on to show me you don’t care about it. We both know you have always doubted yourself since childhood. Because your father constantly humiliated you and never believed you would be successful. And I agree with him, at least on something. Now we see how it ended, and what you got. I mean, you got nothing.”       “Do you mean, nobody has ever believed in you? Nobody has put hopes on your wonderful future?”       “Don’t try to hide your fear, boy,” the stranger pronounces confidently. “I feel you are afraid of me. Me and the truth that I'm not afraid to tell you. Maybe, your close people say they do not think you’re talentless and are sure you won’t always be a homeless pauper, who is used to living on someone’s account. But remember – they despise you deep inside because you did not become a real man and will never be the one.”       “It’s your guesses. Those, who are close to me, really love me. Despite my poverty and the fact that I don’t have my own place. And I do not doubt their love.”       “You are just too stupid and cannot know a real lie from what they try to make a lie. You have always despised those, who lie to you… So, those people, who you are supposed to get mad at, are close to you. They do lie when saying they madly love you and don’t judge you for having nothing. Moreover, I do not doubt they are sure you are with them for a wish to get their help with housing and a job.”       “Gosh, dear, what a rich fantasy you have!” Edward rolls his eyes. “I thought you had no fantasies but the one that is about you lying in a big bath with millions or even billions of dollars.”       “Well, it’s quite real for me because I’m rich, but you can only dream about it. And envy your provided friends because they have their houses, their cars, much money, and all the possibilities that are not available for you.”       “I envy nobody and am not going to ask anyone for help. If I want something, I will get it by myself, no matter how much time and energy it would take.”       “Alright, alright, my boy, if you want to keep dreaming, that’s alright. Nobody bans you from dreaming. But the fact is a fact – you are insecure, envying rich and successful people, and terribly afraid of me and what I can do to your close people.”       This stranger makes Edward feel such a strong horror that the man gets quite nervous and shakes. He feels how fast his heart is beating, his hands get sweaty, and his knees get weaker. The white enough man cannot stand in the same place and breathe quietly, and his widely open eyes full of horror do not stop running from one side to another. But Edward does not want to let the fear get obsessed with him and let the stranger know he feels like a little, unprotected boy in front of the man.       “I do not fear you!” Edward says as confidently as possible. “But I will not help you make any of your plans come true and hurt anyone of my close people.”       “Alright, barking puppy,” the stranger replies confidently in a rude, low voice. “You can keep pretending to be a hero and believe your close people are not lying to you. But I advise you to get them ready to pay for everything very soon.”       “They did nothing to you!” Edward tightly clenches a hand into a fist, getting more enraged. “NOTHING, THE FUCK! You have no right to attempt them. Do not dare to do anything to them. They are guilty of nothing! NOTHING!”       “Hey, do not shout on the phone!” the stranger demands crossly. “I understand it’s unpleasant to hear the truth about you and know your close people are lying to you. But shout at someone else, not me.”       “I swear, bastard, if you at least touch one of my close people with a finger, I will kill you with my own hands,” Edward says with hate and evil, breathing heavily enough. “I will do it! And I give a fuck about being in jail!”       “Try, Edward, try,” the man laughs evilly. “But I doubt you would find the courage to do it. Because you are a coward! A curious coward, however.”       “Do you think I am kidding? No, respectful! If you do not leave me alone, I will have to take desperate measures to get off you and protect my close people.”       “You will get off me when you die. Trust me, it will happen very soon if you keep showing off and pretending to be a brave and sassy boy.”       “You are a scoundrel! The real scoundrel that I hate to death!”       “You know, my sweetie, I will be very happy if you try to kill me…” the stranger says thoughtfully. “You will not do it because I’m protected by the people, who would die for me, and quickly twist your arms around your back. But I could do my best for you to go to prison for ages. You have no place to go, and your friends will not help you find a home and a good job. And you would not need it in jail.”       “Someday you will go there, I swear! Do not think you would get off that! Early or late, you will have to pay for your dirty business and go where you belong.”       “Ha, not this life, kid!” the stranger simpers loudly. “I will undoubtedly get what I have dreamed about for half of my life… I need to finish a few things and defeat two or three people. But it’s going to be easy, and I’ve planned everything.”       “Don’t dare! I will do my best for you to get showered with mud, with which you shower those, who do not please you. While I am alive, my surroundings will be under my protection. I will not let you and your pathetic people at least touch those people with a finger.”       “Stop trying, you will do nothing. Because you are nobody. Just a worthless piece of shit. But I have great contacts, thanks to which I can impact and subdue everyone I want.”       “You do not have many contacts. There are just too many people, who would sell their souls to a demon for a lot of money. They don’t need you. They only need a lot of money.”       “Ah, Edward, my dear, if you knew how much money I want to offer you, you would lose your humanity and fall in love with large bills.”       “A wish to have as much money as possible turned you into a shameless and disgusting bastard,” Edward replies coldly, shaking his head. “You have always been horrible. And you think everyone is also shameless and would be ready to do dirty tricks to people for money.”       “But we will talk about your potential money later. Now we have more interesting things to talk about.”       “I do not wish to talk with you about anything! Just leave me ALONE!”       “Alright, if you want it, we will finish this talk,” the stranger replies confidently. “I wanted to tell you something that happened after you and I lost contact. But I will do it next time. So you work your brains. Now I can say just one thing – your life will turn into a real hell, and your close people will be dead soon. However, when you realize they are lying to you, you will wish to turn your back on those liars.”       “You will not set me against those I truly love.”       “We will see it, Edward. But now I’m saying goodbye… Stay happy!”       “Listen, I…” Edward wants to say.       But the stranger turns off the call, and only deeps are heard on the phone. Looking into the distance with his widely open eyes, Edward slowly moves his phone off his ear and puts it in the pocket of his jeans. His heart is beating like after a long run, every single muscle is very tense, and his eyes are chaotically running from one side to another. As if the man is looking for a danger that might be waiting for him somewhere near.       “Holy shit, he found me!” Edward swears with a heavy breath. “I guess one of his pals noticed me in the city and immediately told that bastard everything. Fuck! Now he’ll get much madder and pity nobody.”       Edward sharply runs his hands over his hair.       “Damn, it seems like I need to be more careful.” Edward assumes. “Because that scoundrel might tell his people to watch me or actually kill me. But it’d be better if he dealt with me than someone he is looking for. I can’t let anyone of them suffer!”       Edward slowly shakes his head, setting his gaze full of horror into the distance, on high mountains.       “No, no, he won’t dare to do this,” Edward pronounces in a little shaking voice. “I’d better die with tortures than let that man do what he wants. If I have to give my life for the quiet lives of my close people, I’m ready to do it. I swear I will do my best to save them from what may happen at the nearest time. I don’t know what, but I mustn’t let that man hurt my close people. I can’t… I can’t…”       Edward’s eyes run from one side to another too quickly and nervously, his breath is a little uneven, and his body is shaking strongly. Strands of his black hair constantly get into his eyes because of the strong, cold wind, and he is not able to calm down and think of something else except for the threats of that man, who might be very dangerous for him and his close people.       A few seconds later, Edward, who gets much whiter, sharply gives a start and carefully goes down the elevators, trying not to fall down on rough paths and holding metallic railings while going down a stone path that leads down from one of the highest mountains. And some time later, the excited man runs to the empty road, on the side of which quite an old white car of a known label made in the 90s is parked. This car looks too old, but it’s still working, has perfect condition, and is able to move. After running to it and taking keys on the way, Edward quickly unlocks it, sits in the driver’s seat, starts a motor with shaking hands, strongly presses the gas pedal, and goes on the road, while the wheels make a disgusting squeak and leave a little vortex of road dust.