Chapter 05: Under Blule Sky and a Crimson Sun

Present day…

Fragrant Pine Bathhouse

Outskirts of Ayodale

The city of Ayodale woke up… to sultry weather. And a crimson sun. Rising in the east.

The sky above was clear and blue… too blue. Not even a speck of cloud.

“That doesn’t look too good…” Karlyle said, his eyes locked on the sky. A towel on his shoulder. He wiped the sweat from his brow. He was still in the same shorts and tank top from yesterday.

He looked at the black tank top… whitened from the salt left by dried-up sweat. Fresh sweat had made some parts of it invisible again. He pinched his tank top, pulled it up close to his nose, and immediately moved his face away with a crease around it.

“Whaakkk… it stinks…”

Need to wash them before I leave for school…

He had just finished his morning cleaning in the bathhouse. People had already begun to come and freshen up for the day. He had a plan.

To leave the cleaning of the morning shift to Daniel alone. He looked at Daniel… who stood right beside him… observing his face… as if trying to figure out his funny intentions.

“Why? You like rain?” Daniel frowned.

“Noope… Why would I? It leaves behind days like this…” He looked at the sky again. “Tiring… depressing… keeps you worried if there will be a rain soon or not.”

I fucking hate rain… it gives me a fit of rage… I don’t know why… but I feel like breaking things…

Daniel smirked.

“Well, rain or not, you are cleaning the morning shift with me… then you can go. Come inside… time is of the essence…”

He was wearing shorts and a tank top, too. It was easy for them to handle the grinding work of cleaning in that outfit.

“Ugh! Big brother… can you not handle it today? It’s my first day at school!” Karlyle tried to squeeze his way out.

But Daniel didn’t pay any attention. He just laughed. “Yes, little brother… this is the very work that will support your food and lodging here… The world is a give and take place… you hear me…? Now let’s not waste time and get in…”

He vanished through the main entrance of the bathhouse.

Karlyle made a funny, hopeless face.

“Yea, yea, yea…”

Then followed Daniel through the entrance, glancing back at the sky one last time.

But will it rain today…? He shivered. A faint tremor went down his spine. The air was too still. Too heavy.

*******

Meanwhile, at Wei Manor—

Liora woke up… bathed in sweat and tears.

Her hair stuck to her head and face like an abstract painting on a canvas.

The pillow was wet, so was the bedsheet and her nightgown… clinging to her skin… leaving her vulnerable.

She wasn’t wearing anything underneath. She had been feeling uncomfortable and suffocated after last night’s episode. It felt like she needed to shed every layer to breathe.

Removing the layer of bedsheet, she rose from her bed, and wearing her sandals, walked to the massive mirror across the room on the wall. The mirror, framed in polished silver, was like a window into another world.

“I see you, Liora… good morning to you, too…” she greeted herself in the mirror… looking right at her other self.

“But you look pretty nice in that gown… all hot, wet, and sexy…”

Her eyes were on her beautiful shape… barely hiding behind the thin layer of fabric.

“You are a beautiful girl, aren’t you? Your daddy’s girl… so, don’t disappoint him.”

She wore a faint smile on her lips. She couldn’t move her eyes away from the mirror. She walked closer… and closer… Then there they were…

Those rosy lips…

She touched the lips in the mirror.

Trying to seduce me right in the morning? Bad… you are naughty… I’ll teach you a good lesson…

She looked deep into those hazel eyes in the mirror. A strange invitation pulled her closer…

She kissed those lips.

You are mine… just mine… You belong to no one else…

“Young Miss!” Sophie’s shout from outside the door… woke her up from her sudden romantic ritual.

Ah, that lady… she can’t stand me having a nice time…

Then she looked at herself in the mirror again.

“Don’t you dare, like you did last night… not on my watch, you hear me, silly girl?”

She put on an angry face as her eyes shifted to the box cutter on the bookshelf.

Never again… Liora muttered, then turned away from them all and shouted to Sophie standing behind the door.

“I’m getting ready, give me a minute!”

Outside the door, Sophie heaved a sigh of relief.

She is back to her cheerful self… thank goodness…

Last night, Dorian came as fast as he heard the messages Sophie left him. After a long, fifteen-minute monologue—crafted carefully with chosen keywords—from Dorian, Liora had opened the door to her room.

“Ah, my baby girl….” Dorian immediately embraced her and showered her with kisses. “Do you know how scared your dad was? Don’t do that ever again… or you will not see me again.”

The tear-filled kisses washed away the sorrow from Liora’s heart… she felt loved again.

If Master hadn’t been here last night… Sophie’s body shivered just from the thought of her first experience of Liora’s dark intentions.

That day… she didn’t look like a human… but like a devil who wanted to burn herself and the whole Wei empire to the ground.

How beautiful the young miss is… She needs someone… a friend or a boy… to show her the world she has never experienced…

The world of childish romance and love… those little escapades…

Running away from home, going to the park, holding hands, watching movies…

Sophie got lost in her own childhood memories.

Yes, she needs something like that… she needs to know how beautiful life is… it’s a blessing to be able to see the next morning…

She slowly turned away from the door, then headed down the stairs to the dining hall.

It’s breakfast time… have to give them a hand…

She thought about the other maids working hard.

********

Dorian got ready for his office—shaved, bathed, and dressed in a crisp shirt and a suit. He glanced at Clara… who was still on her bed, deep in sleep, exhausted.

What is eating you alive, Clara? Where is the cheerful Clara I fell in love with, got married to, and had a beautiful baby with? He shook his head in deep sorrow.

I have everything but you… wake up already… don’t look into the past that you left behind seventeen years ago…

He looked back at himself… at the image of him in the mirror.

Dorian, is that you? Or an empty shell of your past? Dorian… Dorian…

A knock on the bedroom door broke his daze.

“Who is it?”

“Master, the breakfast is ready…”

“And Liora?”

“She is getting ready… she will be downstairs any moment now…”

“Very well… I’m coming. Tend to Liora. See if the food meets her taste, otherwise make something she wants.” He said as he tied the knot of his tie.

He tucked in his shirt, worked his cufflinks, and wore his vintage rose gold Patek Philippe wristwatch.

One last glance at the mess of a woman the world called his wife, then he turned his back on her, picked up his wallet, cellphone, and the black leather Montblanc document case resting on a chair near the room door.

Taking a deep breath, he opened the door and left the dark room… cold from the air conditioner.

The breakfast was brief. Without much of any conversation between the father and daughter.

“Liora… you are coming with me?” Dorian looked up from his plate as he chewed on a piece of garlic bread.

“No, Dad… I will take the bus.” Liora chewed on her omelet and garlic bread.

“Good choice… always be around people. Alone is a no-no for you… okay, dear?” Dorian smiled—a smile that seemed to brighten the whole room.

His whole existence was around Clara and Liora… but he had lost one of them and was losing another one… gradually… he felt that way.

He had always been scared of a divine punishment for the sin they had committed when he was young. That night still haunts me… but I have Liora now…

He smiled again.

“I’m done, darling… you go slowly… watch your every step… and for heaven’s sake, try to make a friend… girl or even a boy… I don’t care… just a good friend you can confide in… I know, a teenager can find it difficult to open up to their parents… so, make one…”

He stood up, wiping his face with a napkin.

“Then baby, I’m off…”

He took his suit hanging from the backrest and the document case, and with a goodbye smile, he left toward the main entrance where a car waited for him in the driveway.

Liora smiled back at her father. Her face brightened too.

“Sophie, the bread tastes so good today…” She chewed and slowly finished her food.

She drank the fresh orange juice, wiped her mouth, and stood up.

“Get my bag, Sophie… You are coming with me to school… I don’t want to go to that place alone…”

As she strutted toward the main entrance wearing her running shoes, Sophie slung Liora’s school bag over her shoulder and smiled.

“My lady… as you wish.”