5. Human's Trust
With sweet words, gentle stare and handsome face, one might feel butterflies in her stomach while sitting in front of Chaylen.
But Ophelia couldn’t feel that way.
Because his words aren’t a confession. Rather, it is the same as asking her if she knows anything about his identity. Because if Ophelia knows that Chaylen isn’t really her brother, then she might think that he’s really romantically interested at him.
If she even shows that she’s flustered at the question, it is enough to tell Chaylen to be suspicious at her approach.
Yet Ophelia declined to fall for his trap.
“I will be happy,” she answered with a smile. “A love from my brother. That is the best.”
The intimidating figure was gone, replaced by a man who seemed delighted upon seeing a cherry blossom at night.
“Right. A family love,” he added as he smiled like a young man of his age. That smile was not unfamiliar to Ophelia.
In fact, she was scared to look at it too closely.
Pulling her hand away from his arms as to avoid touching his skin and making him realize how much her heart was pounding so hard, Ophelia moved away. She picked up the towel and placed it back to the bowl.
“This is the first time a family member is willing to have a good relationship with me,” she uttered.
Chaylen kept staring at her without a plan to set his eyes off her. Because there is no predator who takes its eyes off the prey.
“So, brother, no matter what happened, I hope you won’t hate me.”
It was a simple request. But somehow, the words burned into Chaylen’s mind.
Hours passed by.
Ever since Ophelia left Chaylen’s room, he continued putting his things out of the box. When he finished, he sat on the chair Ophelia sat on.
He wasn’t sure if it is just his imagination. But the seat is still warm, as if it’s not been that long since his stepsister visited him and tended to his bruises.
While sitting on the chair, Chaylen looked at the bruises on his arm.
The wounds and bruises he got from Justine cannot be compared to the injuries he caused to his enemies.
“He should be thankful that I am playing the idiot act,” Chaylen uttered with throaty chuckles.
He tilted his head and looked at the bowl on the table. Then he fell into deep thoughts again. He really hated to fall into the abyss of puzzling thoughts because he knew that it is all about that weird woman again.
And he was right.
Chaylen found himself thinking Ophelia again.
He would never forget that fluttering red hair when Ophelia ran down on the stairway with a sweet smile on her lips. When she stood in front of him, she looked tinier than his. She was the woman who would soon become his new sister as planned.
But that woman confused Chaylen yesterday and today.
To begin with, he did not believe when Ophelia said she was happy to see him. Chaylen was a man who didn’t know the word ‘trust’.
He was a man who lived in the black world. He had seen ever human’s rotten aspects.
Humans are filthy. That sentence was deeply engraved in his mind. Ever since he lost his mother and was roaming around the back alley, distrust was inscribed on his body.
Betrayal was the only thing that comes back when you trust a person. Because people only care about their own interests.
‘So what she says and does can’t be true.’
Ophelia’s afterimage was painted in Chaylen’s chilly gaze.
She has an indifferent cheerful figure. But she does not look like someone who will stay in this place. Her figure looked as if soon, she was going to disappear, and it was dangerous that even Chaylen was almost fooled.
If it weren’t for the words that she left behind, he might continue that Ophelia will use him.
[“So, brother, no matter what happened, I hope you won’t hate me.”]
Chaylen noticed a small lingering feeling in that sentence. He was familiar with all kinds of negative emotions. Had he not noticed such blatant lingering feelings, he would have had to reflect on himself. However…
‘I don’t understand.’
Ophelia’s trick to make him let his guard down was so shallow and obvious. In addition to that, she has melodramatic way to gain his pity.
She was like a winter frost pretending to be a flower petal. But when you hold her, she will break like a piece of thin and stinging ice.
Yet, Chaylen couldn’t take his eyes off her.
“Am I this weak in the presence of a beauty?” he asked himself.
He once heard that among the Blaine siblings, the youngest is the prettiest. And when he saw her, he cursed the information for not being accurate. Ophelia has face that can surpass the word ‘beauty’ itself.
But one thing is for sure. The boundaries were clearly relaxed.
“The two of us will become close siblings from now on,” Chaylen laughed at this. “Whether she likes it or not,” he added in a way as if he was giving a warning beforehand.
Then he grabbed his phone.
Since he was going to stay closer to his little sister, he thought it will be better to contact the person who might be his brother-in-law someday.
He dialed the number and placed his phone in his ear.
After two rings, the CEO of Jack&John company picked up the call.
[“Let me guess. You called me because you already heard that I could be your potential brother-in-law. Am I right? No. Don’t answer the question. I am 100% right.”] Hunter said with confidence.
Chaylen smiled while listening to his partner’s voice. But it was a beam far from the bright smile he showed to Ophelia. It was closer to destruction.
************** *****************************
Ophelia locked herself in her room after meeting with Chaylen.
“He is not an easy foe,” she murmured.
If she was not careful back there, there was a chance Chaylen might find a clue that can conceal her real intention. He has eyes which see through someone.
Fortunately, Ophelia practiced how to read the situation.
Back there, Chaylen gave her a warning that he would not condone any ridiculous word games. The red gaze choked her breath. It was Chaylen’s specialty to prevent his opponent from turning away.
And as a human, it is natural that Ophelia was able to sense a predator even if didn’t bare its teeth. A person’s sixth sense, or the so-called hunch, was more sensitive than expected. So, it was easy for her to notice and be wary of those who reveal their superiority.
“And Chaylen told me those words without actually saying it.”
Ophelia was challenged to improve her act and to think of a way how to show she’s sincere in being on his side.
“If I protect him with my life, he will believe me, right?”
It didn’t take it long before she shook her head.
Unlike the other members of the family, Chaylen lived in a harsh world of betrayals and deceits. Surely, the people in Blaine family are horrible people too. But in terms of expertise, Chaylen holds the upper hand.
“Let’s not give up. I am sure someday, he will open his heart to me,” Ophelia said while sitting down on her bed.
She’s been walking around in her room, only to feel her legs hurt in the end.
While sitting on the bed and thinking, Ophelia remembered the first time she met Chaylen.
It was a cold day when Ophelia sneaked out of the mansion without guards with her.
She only wore a pants, shirt topped with black jacket, a face mask and a gray cap. Inside her shirt, she hid the money that she will use to buy the information she needed.
Her destination was UniZamp. A town that a sane person should not even think of stepping a foot in there.
They said it is the city’s biggest mistake and shame, also known as New York’s nuisance.
Ophelia felt like the words “mistake, shame, and nuisance,” described her because she was born in UniZamp before her mother brought her to Callix Blaine. And she would agree that her existence is really a great mistake.
Anyway, she went back to that shady place which was silent, cold, and it seemed that even the light that entered into the alleyways could not find a way out and was home to many people who hid themselves during the day.
Ophelia went inside the dark alleyway. An unpleasant stench wafted her nostrils, and she dry-heaved when she saw a decomposing dog’s body.
“Please…”
“Ahhh!”
Startled, she turned around to see a dirty-looking beggar with gaps in his rotting teeth, right next to her, asking money.
She would like to share her money to the poor beggar. But she must not. If she shows that she has money with her, then she will be the target of thieves lurking around the shadows.
Catching her breath through the mask, she walked in silence through the narrow, dark passageway. The sounds of her footsteps echoed in the cave-like alley, and the rats that had been digging through the rubbish bins hurriedly scattered away.
Other beggars laid on the cold ground covered themselves with old newspapers or flattened box. Other people wandered about semi-conscious from drug use, which was normal to see in UniZamp.
While walking, Ophelia tried to see things from her perspective and recalled what her mother told her when she was young. Her mother said that she survived in the cold winter in the alleyway of UniZamp when she was pregnant with Ophelia.
‘Mother was sure a tough one,’ Ophelia thought.
Although her surroundings hadn't been anything to write home about, there’s no way to refute that this place was her birth-home. But she couldn’t remember living in such cold and pitiful town like this.
Finally, after walking for fifteen minutes down the alley that zigzagged, she reached the north where she saw the odd-looking restaurant where she will meet the person who holds information about her mom’s whereabouts.
Ophelia held her cap and pulled it downward as to hide her face. However, someone bumped onto her shoulder and the money inside her shirt fell down on the ground.
“Ouch!” Ophelia winced.
The boy and her looked downward. Their eyes both widened at the sight of the money. Quickly, Ophelia bent down to pick it up. But the boy was faster. He snatched the money and ran away as much as he could.
“Wait! That’s mine!” Ophelia shouted.
Recalling how much she suffered just to get that money, Ophelia chased after the young thief.
“Hey!”
She sprinted as fast as she could. But soon, she lost the boy who knows the road better than her.
“Haaa… haa… ha…”
Ophelia rested her hands on her knees while catching her breath. She was so damn frustrated that she lost the money as easy as that.
In addition to that, she arrived in a darker place. Looking around, Ophelia wasn’t sure if she can find her way out in the maze.
Sighing, Ophelia turned around and about to walk. However, she heard voices that caught her attention.
“Callix Blaine?”
Ophelia ceased moving. It was a faint voice, but she was sure that she heard her father’s name. Thus, she hid behind the corner of the wall and then peeked.
Ther is only one light in the long narrow way. But it is enough for Ophelia to see the two masked men from the good distance.
‘Why are they wearing masquerade masks?’ she pondered.
“Callix Blaine believes that I am his son,” the one with black mask uttered in a deep voice.
Ophelia’s eyes widened. Did she hear him right? She leaned a bit closer to hear more.
“Wow! How did you do that, boss?” the other man with red-mask asked.
“It’s not important how. As long as he fell into the trap.”
“So, what is your plan? Are you really going to steal his wealth?”
“Wealth? You mean his billion dollars corporation? That’s not enough.”
The man with black mask pulled the grin from his lips. He jutted his chin and gritted his teeth, as if he was a predator that was about to attack his prey.
Then, he dropped his answer in an eerie tone.
“I will kill everyone in that family. Everyone.”
The air in the narrowed hallway turned chilly. The creep travelled on Ophelia’s spine as she froze on her spot. Something squeezed on her lungs, and for a moment, she forgot how to breathe. She does not want to believe that this man has the capability to kill the most influential family in the city; moreover, Callix Blaine. However…
“Boss, the gang from Dale city said that he wanted to meet you,” said the other man who just came.
“Why do they want from our boss? They must be thinking that his Mafia gang is a joke,” the red-masked man chuckled.
“If you have nothing to say, are you going to come with me?”
“No. I have another business in this place.”
“Then…”
Krrklll…
The two masked-men stopped when they heard sounds from the corner. They both looked back to the direction of the wall where Ophelia was hiding.
With open mouth, Ophelia looked down at the empty bottle that she accidentally stepped on.
Then, a deafening silence swept the air.
Even though no voice came after that, Ophelia knew that the two dangerous men noticed her presence.
