Chapter 3 03: Dark Silhouette

Ruelle~

Missed me, ma cherie?'

The words, the disgusting endearment, it rang in my ears for long enough to dull my senses. The thorns piercing my skin became painful to bear, and the weight on my chest held down my ability to breathe. My mind was nothing but a haze of dark, unknown surroundings, a silhouette masked from top to bottom with eyes that shined with malice.

"Ruelle!"

My name was screamed, two hands gripped my shoulders.

The silhouette in my mind backed away though his eyes promised terrors unprecedented. My ears blared with a deep sound when the darkness got all too consuming.

Funny, how I thought I wasn't weak but all it took was 4 words for my facade to crumble into pieces.

"Ruelle!"

The voice sounded too far, too far for me to grasp for support. When unconsciousness lent a hand forward, I graciously accepted it with a relieved smile.

Being free from thoughts was the best choice for me at that time.

*****

"I'd recommend full rest for a few days and if possible, try to divert her mind from everything stressful."

I stared blankly at the doctor getting up from the bed after a good few checkups. Mama sat by my side, her hand constantly running across my head while dad looked calm- deathly calm.

His eyes were a giveaway of a brewing storm, a promise of chaos as he forced a smile at the doctor and asked Jose to escort her out. His eyes found mine and with a strained breath, he took a seat where the doctor sat not long ago, taking hold of my palm where he placed a few kisses as though confirming my presence.

"You're fine. Everything is fine."

He whispered, to himself or me, was a question.

"Where was the security team?"

It was Nana who asked the question. Her eyes glared down at Louis who cowered away, not used to the old woman looking so angry. Nana could get frightening when her temper got the best of her and this incident... dear Lord.

Closing my eyes, I inched closer to mama who kissed my forehead, holding me close while dad held tightly onto my palm.

"I-It was a p-parcel. We receive a lot of bouquets almost every day. Nobody thought of it as s-suspicious."

"Don't blame him, ma. He wasn't aware."

Mama tried to calm her mother down from lashing out at my innocent assistant. I didn't need to look at the grateful smile that Louis for sure sent her way.

"This is not fucking right."

"Jarred."

Mama pressed dad's name on hearing the curse word. It was an unspoken rule to abide by a respectful language but they were days that saw an exception to it.

"I'll kill that motherfu-"

"Oh, God! If you don't stop cursing, I'll kick you out of the room."

Dad gritted his teeth but said no more.

I bit the insides of my cheek to stop myself from snickering at his smitten state. No matter how powerful he was to the world when it came to mama he was completely a goner.

Not the time to gush over them but...

"Check the details of the parcel and send it to me."

Dad's words were directed at Louis who nodded, immediately racing out of the room. Sighing, I snuggled in mama's hold, allowing myself to become a baby just for the time being.

"Sleepy?"

"A little."

The pills I had taken not long after waking up were to be blamed for my drowsiness. I felt a rough yet gentle touch on my forehead- my dad- followed by a gentle pat.

"Get some sleep. We'll be here when you wake up."

Dad whispered; promised.

The words acted like a magical spell and so did mama's fingers massaging my scalp. What felt like a few minutes was enough to lull me into a deep sleep and what made it sweet was the warming presence around me, guarding me against any nightmares or dark silhouettes wishing to be my ruin.

*****

The notes started appearing shortly after Ardor's first grand success.

Dad had thrown a huge party as a celebration. I didn't mind the noise, the cheers, and the proud smiles until I was offered a drink with a note by its side.

To this day I remember vividly the first note I had received after which numerous many followed. At first, I disregarded it, thinking of it to be a fan of Ardor who was simply complimenting me.

'You look lovely tonight'.

The note had read and I had smiled.

If only I knew what would follow.

Every alternate week I'd receive a bouquet of different flowers. The cliche woman in me has always been irrevocably in love with flowers of all types. I remember spending an entire summer vacation researching different types of flowers and their symbolism in different cultures and eras.

But upon seeing those flowers week after week, the sweet scent was overpowered by something nauseous, and the beauty in them was masked with feelings so revolting that without a second thought, I had thrown them out of my sight.

Though by the time I took precautions, something didn't feel right.

Paranoia crept in with such intensity that I had taken security measures to a neck-deep level. For a week it was silent until it appeared again in the form of a folded note from a kid the day I decided to take a walk in the park.

It had taken everything in me to not break down crying with all that weighed on my shoulders at that moment.

Dread suffocated me every second after that, not letting me breathe in peace.

And it occurred again in the parking lot of a hotel I visited.

But that time, it wasn't a kid, it wasn't a bouquet, it was a man cloaked in black, and only his malicious eyes were visible. To this day, I recall the fear that statured my feet to the ground, not letting me move even a step away. It felt as though somebody held me by my neck, leaving me helpless.

Through his eyes that crinkled, I knew without a doubt that he was smiling under the mask, and imagining the smile terrorized me continuing until today.

The figure disappeared from my physical surroundings but left me terror-stricken in my sleep, visiting day after day in my nightmares.

It got to the point where I questioned all that was real and all that was a figment of my imagination.

The boundary between factual and fictitious was non-existent.

Those were the days of terror for me.

If it was in my dad's hand, he'd have dragged me back to the Farrington house, keeping me locked away like Rapunzel but just like her, I had the prideful spirit to remain free.

It was as simple as the fact that some anonymous notes weren't enough to uproot all that I've built. I was scared- who wouldn't be- but the person sending the messages was no braver.

A coward hidden behind shadows in hopes of protecting himself.

Dad went to far extents to find the man though as it was, he vanished into thin air. After bestowing me with eight months of endless mental torment, he was gone like he never existed.

Only to reappear five months later.

"This is the fifth security profile you've rejected."

I couldn't hide the tiredness in my tone. Even though I've done nothing in the past two days apart from lazing around like a sloth; it seems that laziness also tires people.

Dad didn't glance up from the security company reports, simply disregarded my grumbles, and focused on selecting the almost perfect security program for me.

He might've gotten a report of every security company in the country and the neighboring ones as well.

My phone lay looking as dead as me and slowly getting down from the couch, I had just taken a step when dad had the courtesy to finally look up, giving me a questioning gaze.

"Library."

Technically, it wasn't a library. It was just numerous bookshelves aligned together and neatly stacked with books upon books of genres I like.

My late teenage-hood's obsession and my bittersweet escape.

Now though I read when I got time, when things got rough, and I knew not how to deal with the amount of stupidity around me.

Turning on my heels, I skipped to the end of the hallway past my bedroom. The room was originally supposed to be a guest room but everyone knows my love for guests, the reason why I reformed it to my liking.

Tall bookshelves rested against the wall of the two sides in a continuous manner opposite to the door. I had covered the glass walls of the room with cocoa-colored curtains to add a touch of warmth.

It looked extravagantly pretty.

And I loved it that way.

Before picking a book to read, I made myself a cup of chai and quickly roasted mixed nuts for myself, knowing well that 'just one more chapter' would take more than two hours.

Skipping almost happily back to my sweet heaven, I gently closed the door behind me. Placing the tray of snacks on the table, I switched on the AC at not too low of a temperature because to put it in simple words, reading makes me lazy.

To think of it, everything nowadays made me lazy.

Shuffling closer to the divine looking books, I decided to read something light and surreally cliche, not even glancing at the books kept under the dark theme section.

Skimming through the beautiful spines, my eyes stopped at the book tucked deep under the shelf. Confused, I pulled it out only to feel the pathetic ache in my heart. It was dull and unnoticeable, but I was never one to ignore my feelings- until he came along.

Regardless of the warning alarms ringing in my ears, my fingers on their own flipped open the pages. The crispness was still there, it looked brand new if not observed keenly. Going through the scribbled words, I stopped towards the middle, looking at the bookmark tucked in between the pages.

It was a dried raisin lavender bookmark with a golden tassel. Softly touching the tassel, I tightened my grip on the book upon feeling the faintest blaze on my fingertips. My skin relished in the tenderness much to my mind's dismay.

And all through it, I wasn't aware of the small smile that had come to rest on my lips.

"What's this for?"

"My claim."

"Huh?"

"You're too in love with your books. Next time, your characters and I shall share your love equally when you see this bookmark."

The memory burned at the back of my mind. An irritating itch at the corner of my eyes wiped all and any traces of acceptance. Gritting my teeth, I shut the book close, stuffing it deeper in the corner from where I had retrieved it.

Closing my eyes, I took ten deep breaths, completely known to the gentleness that burned into ashes in my heart giving way to unadulterated resentment and hate.

That's the power things hold.

Especially if they belonged to a time one wishes to forget.

A mere memory, vague voices, faded walls, and an oh-so-familiar face.

Ridiculous.

Emotions are ridiculous.

Long gone was my good mood and diverting from the rom-com section, I picked 'Confessions by Kanae Minato'.

Not glancing again at the bookshelf, I climbed on the bed and dimmed the lights of the room. The temperature around had dropped considerably and with that, I opened the first page, hooking myself to the plot right from the first word of this dark revenge thriller.

The cup of chai and plate of roasted mixed nuts were long over by the time I closed the book, feeling the heavy weight on my eyes and the need to tuck myself into bed. The imaginations flowing from the book to my mind were all too vivid and enough to divert my mind from everything else.

Deciding on an hour or two of nap, I pulled the thin blanket over myself, lay down on the bed, and closed my eyes but not before setting an alarm.

My eyes closed just in time for the knock that sounded on the door. Sleep had almost caught up to me when I felt a gentle touch on my head followed by a sweet kiss on my forehead. I knew all too well my father's love and as the door closed again, I drifted to sleep with a smile on my face.