In a dimly lit room, Tristan sat by the worn TV screen he had received as a gift from his landlady. He coughed as he hit the upper part to clear the distortion on the screen. He sighed, picked up the remote, and clicked the buttons continuously, but to no avail.
The ancient television hummed with voices while the screen stubbornly remained blank. He crossed over and lay on his tiny sunken bed, giving up on making the television work.
The walls of the room were badly painted, and a small, tiny bulb served as the only means of illumination. On the little table before him, he had a stack of documents, a scarf, a pair of glasses, and a bowl of cold noodles.
The only place he managed to get was an abandoned storehouse, which was converted into a room, and he was often disturbed by rats.
He picked up his cellphone to check if his father had replied to his texts. He had been asking them to let him know the orphanage his sister was taken to, but there were no messages from him. Same result with his mother.
His hands clasped tightly to the phone, and he swung his hands as if to smash it on the wall, but then he held back. That was the only reasonable thing he had left. It was damn expensive, and he couldn't afford to get another one in his current situation.
A knock fell on his door. "Erm…young man, you have a visitor waiting for you downstairs." His landlady told.
The door creaked open as he walked out, and he smiled and bowed a little at the landlady before following her to the gate.
"There he is." The old woman pointed and left.
Tristan's legs dragged as his gaze fell on Baron. Baron Haine.
Someone he was forced to be friends with because his whole family was friends with Baron Haine's family.
"What's up, my friend!" Baron called playfully, stretching his arms wide for a hug as he approached Tristan. When he got none, he wrapped his hands around Tristan for a second and then withdrew almost immediately.
"Man! This place is a mess." Baron uttered grumpily
"Why are you here?" Tristan's voice was low, almost inaudible. The Baron Haine, he knew, wouldn't volunteer to come look for him unless he needed something. To him, Baron was a selfish being who cared about no one but himself.
Baron chuckled as he dipped his hands into his pocket. He leaned on his car and crossed his legs.
"Dad wants you to move in with us." He said
"No, thanks." Tristan refused immediately. He knew their games. He knew Baron's father wanted to keep him close to ask him questions about his father's whereabouts.
Tristan turned and began to walk away.
"You know, for someone with a story like yours, you shouldn't be so haughty."
Tristan halted once. He had intended to ignore him, but that one statement messed with his feelings, and he remained steady despite the anger bubbling inside of him.
Baron continued. "Your father is indebted to mine. Just be an obedient child and come live with us. That way, my father is probably going to waive the debt."
Tristan faced him. "Tell your dad I am going to pay him back."
Baron burst out laughing at Tristan's foolishness. "You..." he pointed at him, laughing midway. "You don't even have a penny, let alone having seventy million dollars. Are you insane, bro?"
Tristan bit his lower lip in frustration.
When Baron's laugh had subsided, he continued. "Hey, who do you think covered your bills at the hospital when you were in a coma? My father fucking did! I always hated your ego as the ceo, and I'm grateful you've finally been humbled."
He averted his gaze from Tristan and walked towards the owner's corner of his car. But before going in, he paused one more time and gave him a pathetic look.
"Tristan. I'm getting married, I have no best man, but I do hope you will be one." With those words, he ducked into the car, and they zoomed off.
A volcano of anger erupted inside Tristan. The next thing he did was to pass the aggression on to the bucket placed at the entrance. He kicked it and smashed it into pieces.
"That son of a bitch!" He cursed, giving frustrated screams.
While his breath ragged, he turned only to see his old landlady staring surprisingly at him. He controlled his breath and tried to put on a fake smile, but the old woman was staring down at something.
Her bucket.
"Erm…..fuck!" He bowed partially and scuttled away from her side.
...
[Benedotte Family—Evening.]
Cassandra was called upon for dinner. As she descended the stairs, she took notice of her parents and sister already seated at the dining table.
She joined in silently, but their expressions were quite unreadable, and they ate in silence.
The food was tasty, she had to admit. She requested more, once, twice, thrice, and the fourth time.
The maids stared fearfully at her.
Why is she eating so much? Is she depressed? They thought.
"Cassandra," Mr Benedotte called, breaking the silence. "We have to go see the Doctor as soon as possible." He said.
"Why?" Cassandra asked. "I'm not going." She refused, enjoying her food deliciously.
"Cassandra, you have to." Madeline interrupted, slamming her cutlery on the table. She faced her. "Does it not hurt your gentle heart to be sitting close to me after what you did today? How could you be so cruel and heartless?"
"Cruel and heartless?" Cassandra repeated. Pushing her plates to a side, she continued. " Aren't you the cruel and heartless one here?"
Madeline chuckled sarcastically. "How? What on earth are you saying?"
'You fucking killed your sister, you little witch!' Cassandra echoed inside of her. She hated pretenders.
Madeline continued. "Is this really who you are? You hid your true self under a facade for so long. These are your true colors?!"
"True colors, facade, whatever, I have to sleep," Cassandra said, rising on her feet to leave, but a slam on the table made her flinch.
Madeline's face reddened in anger. "You've made a terrible mistake, Cassandra." She said between gritted teeth.
Cassandra scoffed.
Madeline continued. "If really these are your true colors, then I am ready to show you mine, and I swear, I will deprive you of as much happiness as you took away from me today."
Madeline glared fire-glazingly at her, but before she knew it, tears began to roll down her cheeks, putting an end to her hard girl era. She covered her face with her elbow and scurried over to her room.
In response to her reaction, Cassandra yawned, stretching her hands, and she ascended the stairs.