"My daughter isn't the type to disappear,"

9:00am

15/07/2023

THIS morning, Hellen wakes up early to go to the hospital to ask for a time off from work so that she can go to the police station later on to report her missing daughter.

As she walks to the bus stop, her phone rings in her bag and pulls it out to see the caller and answers when she sees that it was Mr. Timber.

"Miss Lynn?" he calls.

"Morning, Mr. Timber," she says.

"Morning to you too. I was just wondering if you're still up for it to go over to the police sta-

"Yeah. Yeah, I am but first I'm heading to the hospital to ask for an off,"

"Okay. When you're done, please, call me back,"

"I will,"

Hellen hangs up and waits for the next bus since she missed the other one. As she looks around, she hears two girls laugh and turns to them. Their familiar uniform they are in reminds her of her daughter and her eyesight blurs.

She looks around wondering if anyone cares. Whether anyone has seen her. Still looking at the two girls, she clears her throats and moves closer to them—the two girls feeling uncomfortable.

"I'm sorry for disturbing your conversation but, do you know a girl in your school called Elodie?"

The girls look at each other and shrug. "We don't know her. Which class is she in?"

"She's a senior in the fourth class,"

One of them hums while looking down at her doll shoes. Hellen waits for her to say something and the girl nods. "Yeah. I've heard of her. She's the top performer in the whole school,"

"Yeah," the other one responds.

"Well, have you seen her? In school?" Hellen asks.

The girls shake their heads. "Juniors are not allowed into the senior's building. I'm sorry,"

Hellen shakes her head and smiles. "No problem. Thank you for your time,"

The bus arrives just in time at the end of their conversation and Hellen gets in after them—swipes her bus card on the scanner and takes a seat on the front chairs behind the driver. The bus is not full yet but she knows that it will be because it's a weekday so people are trying to get to work as fast as they can.

She tries her best not to think too much about Elodie but it's too much when students keep flocking in—most from Elodie's school. Keeping her sight on the passing cars on the road through the window, helps to keep her mind busy.

The bus stops at her stop and Hellen alights, crosses the road and walks to the enormous building—Madison Hospital. It's owned by the Madison family that has other various businesses—hotels, schools and their company.

Hellen does the usual; swiping her card on the monitor that allows her to pass through and takes the lift all the way to the eighteenth floor where her office is. Her boss, Mr. Lenny is in his office, surprisingly not performing any due surgeries and this makes Hellen sigh in relief.

It will be quick.

"Hellen! Come in," he tells her.

Hellen does as she closes the door. She then walks over to his table and clasps her hands in front of her. "I would like to talk with you about something,"

Mr. Lenny stops his work and looks at her. His face contorts to worry and admonishes her to continue. "Yes. Go on,"

Hellen takes a deep breath. "I need some days off,"

"Why is that?"

"My...my daughter, she has been missing for...two days, now," she commences.

Mr.Lenny raises his eyebrows not believing what she just said. "What? What do you mean?"

Hellen sniffles. "I'm going to report it today at the police station,"

Mr.Lenny drags his hand down his face. "Are you sure?"

Hellen's glassy eyes immediately went dry and then drawn to slits. "Am I sure?"

Mr.Lenny almost flinches at the hard glare thrown towards him but Hellen throws the fact that he is her boss out of the window.

"Are you in my house to see whether my daughter is there or not?" she asks, her tone sounding sharp.

Mr.Lenny quickly shakes his head as he stands up. He rounded the desk and came closer to her. "I didn't mean it to come out that way,"

Hellen sighs feeling exhausted—looking away from him. "Can I leave?"

"Y-

"And I don't care whether you say no or yes. I'll still leave and look for my daughter," she snaps.

Mr.Lenny's eyes widen in surprise but nods his head. "Yeah, sure,"

Hellen nods. "Thank you,"

She then gets out of his office and out the hospital—her phone pressed on her ear, waiting for Mr.Timber to pick up. Once the line clicked, she says. "Let's meet up at the station,"

~

After Xavier had dragged Serena all the way to his room, he locked her in.

Serena stares at the door befuddled and scoffs, turning her head to the window. "This man," she says.

She is still sitting on his bed and gets up from it to try the door—maybe, it's not locked, but when her hand turns the handle downwards, the door doesn't budge and she starts feeling frustrated.

Her hands then start banging at the door. "Let me out,"

"Let me out, right now!" she screams, as she forcefully rattles the door knob while pounding the door with her free hand. "I command you to open this door, right this instant! I am the empress! Let me out!"

She heaves and backs up then places her palm on her forehead—her pleads ignored. What will she do? If this is how things will go, will she be able to find that diary from the library? From Xavier's wrath a few minutes ago, she does not have the guarantee that she'll be let out any time soon.

Tears start rolling down her cheeks—sobbing quietly. It doesn't make any sense. Why would Xavier forcefully bring her back when he could just get rid of her because whenever he looks at her, maybe he sees her father and that's not a pretty image.

She then goes over to his bed, pulls away his bed covers and gets in. She sighs with how soft the bed is and the pillows that smell like him. She can't help but dig her nose into them and smiles but it drops in a millisecond when she remembers that Xavier told her that she'll be staying here—meaning that they will be sleeping together.

Serena has never slept with anyone and she doesn't want to. First, she doesn't know how she looks when she sleeps—probably with her mouth open and drools or if she's the type to lay like a starfish. Second, what if they cuddle and later wake up in the morning, stuck together like glue—his face in the crook of her neck and her head laid on his arm.

Serena laughs at the vivid imagination thanks to the books she has read. She is getting too ahead of herself.

However, she sighs and takes the opportunity to catch up on her interrupted sleep and think about what she's going to do later on.

~

Judy stealthily walks to the empress's room when she gets back home a few minutes ago. Her heels echo in the empty hallway and the sound makes her heart pump harder. She needs to be alone as quickly as possible. Her right hand is starting to get heavy from all the luggage she is carrying that has Serena's new clothes that she bought yesterday before the rain and their secretive conversation.

Getting inside the room and shutting the door, Judy looks around to make sure that no one is in here and when the coast is clear, she slowly places the luggage on top of the bed and takes out the red envelope from the inner wears that she had hidden inside her dress. That was the only place she could protect herself and Serena's.

Her fingers tightly hold the flimsy paper as thoughts race through her brain.

What is in this envelope? Who was the man who had given this to Serena? Is Serena planning something? Perhaps, against the emperor? Is Serena hiding something?

Her fingers are itching to read it and she swallows, blinks her eyes then looks up at the ceiling.

No. She will not do it. She will not betray Serena's trust. After all, she has been treating her better than she did before.

At first, she was confused how Serena has been acting all this time—abruptly having amnesia. She remembers how she left her that night, brushing her hair and her face all gloomy as if she had heard or told something.

Something is up with Serena but Judy tries her best not to question her master's behavior and walks over to her wardrobe. Her eyes glances around the cabinet, trying to find a safe place to hide the letter, her head whips back to the door when she hears the knob rattle and quickly shoves it inside one of her coats.

She anxiously turns around and her eyes widen when she sees that it is George.

His eyebrows furrow as if he has found her in the act but Judy quietly sighs in relief when he shakes his head and further walks in.

"What are you doing here?" he asks, his tone respectful.

"I was about to hang the new clothes the empress had bought when we were in town," she explains smoothly.

George nods and then points at the bag on top of the bed. "This one?"

Judy nods and George grabs it.

"The emperor wants all the empress's clothes to be moved to his room so if there's anything left, do pack it and bring it to the emperor's room,"

Judy's eyes widened in ultimate shock, feeling like her ears had betrayed her by going partly deaf. "I beg your pardon?" she whispers. "He wants to move the empress's things to his room?"

George nods. "Hurry up,"

After that, George walks out and Judy slowly turns around and starts removing the clothes from the wardrobe and places them on top of Serena's bed. They weren't much because Serena had thrown away some of the exposing dresses so it's only a few coats and night dresses but her collection of shoes are too many therefore she'll have to call for some help, but first, she will have to go to the emperor's room and speak with Serena.

~

Serena groans and rubs her eyes before getting up from her lying position. She cracks her back and neck, hearing her bones crack and sighs.

It's dark and she wonders how long she has slept. She then flings the bedsheets away from her body and slowly walks to the bathroom to relieve herself. The moment she opens the door and raises her eyes from the floor to the room, she screams in horror and promptly bangs the door shut.

She runs and plops herself on the bed face flat and rolls side to side, squealing.

The bathroom door opens and she stays still—her eyes closed.

"Serena,"

Serena refuses to respond to Xavier's call because she doesn't know if she's ready to look at him. To face him from what she saw.

All her life, she has never seen a man's lower region until to this day. She knows that some men are blessed but Xavier seems to have been specifically chosen because that was too big.

She jerks when she feels his hand on her shoulder not expecting him to come close.

"Serena. Stop with this nonsense," he tells her.

Serena turns her head towards the wall and hums but Xavier doesn't like that and starts lifting her from the bed but Serena shakes her head, trying her best to shake off his hands but winces when her body hits the bed face flat—her nose not missing the impact.

"Ouch!" she groans, and then turns around to clutch it. She glares at a smirking Xavier and suddenly gets up to hit his arm. "You dropped me,"

Xavier shrugs. "You wanted me to,"

Serena soothingly rubs it but stops when her cheeks start flaming when she remembers.

"I didn't see anything," she blurts out.

Xavier lips lift sideways and moves closer to her by placing both his hands beside her thighs on the bed. "Really?"

Serena holds her breath and shakes then nods her head looking utterly confused. What is she supposed to do in this situation? What is she to say? Should she brush it away, as it was nothing?

Xavier then laughs and backs off—his hands moving to his towel.

"STOP!"

Xavier halts and quirks an eyebrow at Serena whose eyes are wide open and her right arm in front of her—her palms shown to him.

Serena clears her throat. "Sorry. I thought...

"Nothing will happen," he says. "Yet,"

Serena inwardly gasps, feeling her heart beating and stopping—repeating the motion—clearly loss of words and this makes Xavier smile more. She looks down at his lips and the straight milky white teeth exposed and then up to his eyes.

"You should smile more," she tells him. "You have a beautiful smile,"

Xavier's mouth drops and he looks away. "Don't say things like that,"

Serena squints her eyes not understanding his statement. "Why? What's wrong? I didn't mean to off-

Xavier grabs the back of her neck and brings their faces closer—their noses touching and lips gently grazing one another. Serena looks up at his eyes—not able to see the beautiful shade of blue since it's dark.

"Don't say things like that or I'll end up losing control," he warns. "And we both know that we wouldn't want anything to happen between us both,"

Serena swallows painfully at what he said, trying not to take in his words because she doesn't know what she'll do if her impulse thinking takes over and ends up doing something that she's not ready for. So, she nods her head. "Okay,"

Xavier releases her and goes to his closet. "Take a bath. Dinner is ready,"

_______

DURING dinner, Serena hasn't stopped bobbing her leg up and down since she was forced to sit beside Xavier.

She has never sat next to him and it feels weird. As if, she's not supposed to be here and she isn't the only one to think that way. Right across the table, she can feel a pair of eyes drilling her face.

Lillian.

Serena knows that sitting near Xavier will bother Lillian so much. When they came down, Lillian and Jade sat in their respective seats—both on the right and left hand of Xavier's chair. However, when Serena was about to take her seat next to Jade, Xavier abruptly tells Lillian to switch places.

Both girls were taken aback—lost for words, but they both agreed on one thing.

"No,"

Xavier lifted his eyebrows in surprise at their answers and Serena hoped that he would give her some space but Xavier dismissed their decision and forced them to switch.

Now, the only sound that can be heard is the cluttering of the cutlery on plates and faint sounds of chewing. Serena is grateful that she's around people who have good etiquette when it comes to eating—no open mouths with food in it or loud chewing.

"You haven't touched your food,"

Serena looks up at Xavier from her food then back to the broccoli that is still stabbed by her fork. "I have. I've eaten,"

"Nibbling, you mean," Xavier replies, and Serena wants to smack him at the back of his neck.

"Leave her alone, brother. If she doesn't want to eat then let her," Jade comes in.

Serena wants to mimic her annoying nonchalant voice but painfully lets her lips remain shut. On the other hand, Xavier confronts her and the dinner resumes to normal.

Serena has to think of a way to access the letter and try her best to find the library but has no idea on how she'll do so. Is there a way Judy can help her? Anyone? But it looks like she has to solve this herself and that means that she'll have to earn Xavier's trust.

But first, have an excuse to be alone.

"Xavier," she starts, and Xavier hums.

"I would like to get my things first from my room before I move to yours,"

"What?" Lillian asks, shock laced in her voice.

"There's no need," Xavier says, putting down his fork and calls the maids to remove his plate. "Your things were already sorted out. Everything that is yours are in my bedroom,"

The table shakes all of a sudden—the plates cluttering in the process and also makes Serena jump in her seat. They all look at Lillian whose face is red and her mouth in an ugly scowl. She then stands up and throws her napkin on the table.

"Excuse me," she says, and walks out.

Serena's eyes follow her outside then comes back to Jade. Unlike Lillian's tantrum, Jade resumes eating without making a sound. She expected that she would glare at her and follow her friend as well but here she is, still seated on her seat and sipping the soup from her spoon.

Xavier also gets up. "When you're done, come back to sleep,"

He goes his way and she's left with Jade. The room is quiet and Serena starts eating her soup, discarding the broccoli, as she feels her heart slowing down for she is now comfortable and at ease.

Two maids come in and clean up Lillian's and Xavier's mess then leave promptly.

"Where were you?" Jade asks, her voice filling the air.

Serena clears her throat. "I was warmly invited to stay over at someone's place due to the rain,"

"Where have you gone to?" she inquires.

"Shopping,"

"Have you been trying to leave?"

"What's with these questions?"

Jade finishes up her food and raises her hand to call the maid to take away her plate. She looks at Serena's annoyed face and smirks. "I didn't mean to offend you. I want to know if you want to leave my brother,"

Serena balls her fists under the table, resisting herself from flinging her body across the table and gives Jade a good beating. "No. I'm not. You heard rumors," she denies it.

"Then why was Xavier acting that way?"

"Acting like what?"

Jade remains quiet then shakes her head. "Never mind. Goodnight,"

Jade gets up after saying that and leaves the room. Serena looks down at her plate feeling her appetite ceasing and pushes it away from her. She stands up as well and the maids clean up as she walks out to the empty hallway.

Everyone is probably preparing themselves to go to sleep and takes the advantage to go to the library before she's on lockdown. She rushes back to the dining room and is relieved when there's still one maid remaining, wiping the table.

"Excuse me," she says.

The maid looks up and stands upright. "How may I be of assistance, empress?"

"I would like you to show me the way to the library," Serena tells her.

The maid nods. "Alright. Please, follow me,"

Serena follows the maid closely, memorizing the turns so that she can be able to go there without help. They reach at a double brown door and when the maid opens it, Serena gawks at the size of it.

It will take her days to find her diary. It's as if it's a maze with high bookshelves and a few tables in the middle and others towards the wall. The room is dim but it gives out a cozy feeling that will go well with reading a book or studying.

"Here we are, empress," the maid says, and Serena smiles, thanking her.

Once the doors slammed shut, she felt smaller. She then walks next to the shelves, tracing her fingers on the books—craning her neck to read the names on the bridge of the book even though some are too difficult because of their exaggerated fonts.

She comes to the windows and it has a beautiful view of the backyard. She imagines how marvelous it might look when it rains and gets lost in a book.

Sneeze.

She takes out a small silk cloth from her pocket and blows out her nose. This had started when she came back and she thinks that it might be her asthma. She also lets out multiple coughs and her throat burns a bit in the process—her eyes swelling up and tears blurs her sight.

She takes a seat and places her head on the table, feeling lightheaded. Serena thinks that she might be sick—maybe, from the rain. And for that reason, she puts her palm on her forehead and it's hot. Her body shivers when she suddenly feels cold and wraps her arms around herself to try to generate some heat.

"What are you doing here?"

Serena turns to a confused Xavier but isn't surprised. She is starting to get used to his presence when he decides to pop in from anywhere. "I wanted to see the library,"

Xavier walks closer to her and bends a bit as his eyes stay glued to Serena's. They just stared at each other—no movement, no talking. He then stands upright and offers his hand to Serena to take.

"Come on. Let's go to bed,"

His hands are rough, a bit. But she can't help but think of how he can slap her and would be propelled outside the windows. The imagination makes Serena snicker but Xavier gets offended and forcefully grabs her arm bringing her to a stand.

He then leads them out and up the stairs to his room. When he closes the door, Serena's heart jumps when they are all alone. She doesn't know what will happen but hopes that the night will go as smoothly as possible.

Her eyes widen and she abruptly turns around—covering her face with her hands. "Why are you removing your clothes?"

"What do you mean?" Xavier asks, and Serena can hear him getting under the covers.

"You-You know what I mean," she says.

Xavier sighs. "I sleep shirtless, Serena. I'm not naked so stop talking and come to bed. I'm tired and would like to get some sleep but I won't get any when you're standing over there like an idiot,"

Serena looks back to him and glares hard. "Why do you have to be so rude?"

"I'm not being ru-

"Shut up," Serena interjects, after removing her robe and getting under the covers. Immediately she does, rain drops sputter the windows and she smiles. Turning her back on Xavier, she switches off the lamp beside the bed and raises the bed cover up to her chin.

"Goodnight," she says, and closes her eyes.

Xavier hasn't said anything after being interrupted but replies and switches off the other lamp as well. The bed moves because of his weight and after some time, Serena slowly looks behind her and sees that he had his back to her as well. She shuffles, feeling relieved and listens to the rain.

Serena knows that she won't be going outside any time soon, therefore, she'll take this advantage to follow the instructions from the letter. Maybe, this will be an answer to all her questions about why she's here and figure out how to leave after solving the mystery.

She hopes that Judy hasn't read the letter otherwise things will get out of hand. If Xavier or anyone else knows about the diary, the whole library will be ransacked and it will disappear meaning all her questions will end.

It looks like her father had something going on with Xavier's father and it didn't end well. Serena is suspicious of the father but everyone claims that he was in his office the whole night. So who did it? Who killed Xavier's mother?

From the way Judy described Xavier's mother, Serena knew that she was wonderful. She missed meeting such a remarkable woman.

She also wonders how Xavier was before the death of his mother. Was he gentle? Sweet? Caring? And what about his sister?

It is clear as day that these are not who they are but understand where they are coming from.

Grief comes in different ways—sadness, anger, regret or it can also make a person change drastically. That is what happened to Xavier. He is still in denial that his mothers died years ago probably when he was still in university or was already done while Jade on the other hand was young but knew what was happening.

The only thing that worsens this whole situation is not knowing what happened that night. Serena knows that she will find the answer and maybe, just maybe, it may give Xavier some closure.