Hello, Kenzo

Deceitful

The booming sound of an upbeat song greeted me as I entered the club I usually go to with my friends---before friends, and though I had told Narih that I would handle this, she came up with a bright idea of making it better and bigger.

Wearing a lousy pair of pajamas and my fogged eyeglasses, I was blinded by the lights and the crowd around me as I squeezed in the crowd, trying to find where my old friends were seated, feeling uncomfortable with all these faces and knowing nothing about them. The noise made me feel even more out of place as I got lost among the people dancing around, until a girl bumped into me, sending her drink flying over to her elegant, revealing dress.

"STUPID!" Narih cried in a loud shrill, and the club went into total silence.

Everyone turned on their heels and faced my way, watching me and staring at me. A few girls gasped and started whispering.

Narih glared at me through her dark sunglasses, her face covered in makeup but looking like the most gorgeous person I had ever seen. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" I begged for her as I rubbed the hem of my jacket to wipe her dress. "Slap me," I whispered as I got closer, acting like a pathetic loser cleaning up the mess I made.

Narih crunched her face to put up the act and pushed me hard to collapse on the floor.

As everyone's attention was successfully caught on our little altercation, my gaze finally caught my friends staring at me along the crowds by the second floor of the club. Their faces were filled with so much satisfaction; the anger in me was just fueled by their sight.

I tried to stand up and beg Narih to let me clean her dress, but she stopped me, slapped me hard on the face, and poured me a glass of red wine to make things worse.

The loudest gasps succumbed to the entire area, and it was just heartbreaking that no one, not a single bit of pity, came to my old friends to help me.

"That is the dumbest s**t I have ever seen." and "She looks pretty useless." Comments that echoed through my ear while others were happily capturing every moment with their phones.

For a moment, I felt stupid with everything that was happening, but the fact of the matter was that no one knew who I was. No one knew who Narih really was either, so I should not care at all now.

Kate came rushing to help me, but Narih tackled and pushed her intentionally, sneaking a push, and sending her collapsing to the floor. That was when Narih faced me to grab me by the hair.

"How could you do that to my sister? You b***h, she was just helping you!" Narih exclaimed, and that was when Kenzo came in and carried Kate out of the club, leaving everyone in total confusion.

Narih followed suit, and I was left in the wreckage. I saw my friends snap their eyes at me and go back to their seats as the music started to blast again. I felt my knees weaken and stumble down the floor. It was not part of the plan. Kenzo carrying Kate was the most painful thing I could ever see tonight.

And Kenzo looked infuriated.

Tears pricked my eyes as my vision blurred and became unclear. I am beyond astounded by the way Kenzo was looking pissed.

"Hey! I know it was not part of the plan, but yeah, you wanna go somewhere? You're still wet and you could get sick!" Tim appeared, crouching before me, and I swear this man was always on time for my rescue.

"Yeah, I needed a saving now!" I gulped a glass of wine he was holding before accepting his hand.

He pulled me up easily and took my hand in his hand as we began to walk towards the door.

"So, where to my secret lady billionaire?" Tim asked in a low voice. I blushed and tried not to look at him. He was too charming for his good, and I felt embarrassed that I would be taking him for granted once again.

"Stop calling me that, Tim. After all these, I prefer to live a simpler life, with or without Kenzo in it. I have decided. But I will fight my all to keep the things I have worked on my whole life, even if I have to start somewhere else anew."

"That's very brave of you. You wanna go sea watching? Narih talked to me about something, and I need you to tell me the whole details."

"Is it about..."

"Not here! Yeah?" He smiled and helped me hop on his bike.

I shook my head and wrapped myself against him as we rode off to the seaside.

"This is nice!" I yelled as I saw the lights up in the sky scattered in a beautiful mix of colors and patterns while I hopped off his motorcycle. My eyes followed the waves to the shoreline, which ended in sand-covered rocks as the sun was about to rise. It was just a perfect dawn to relax all the hardships away.

"So, what's the story?" Tim asked as he motioned for me to sit down by his side on the warm, soft, white sands of the beach.

My legs dangled on top of them. The water gently hit my feet and tickled my toes. I sighed with happiness and leaned on Tim, who rested his hands on my bare shoulders.

I told him everything as the sound of the waves slowly drowned out all thoughts from inside and outside, as well as the rest of the world. The only sounds left were the sound of our breaths coming out of our mouths as our bodies slowly relaxed, and the wind blowing through our hair.

In that moment, I realized how grateful I am to have the courage to face all these people who chose to stay with me, for better or for worse.

After some moments, Tim asked me, "It's going to rain soon; you want to stay longer?" he inquired, looking up at the clear blue sky.

"No, I'm fine. I need to talk to Kenzo." I smiled weakly, and he helped me up to stand.

However, as much as I wanted to make things complicated, Kenzo came in rushing to punch Tim.

"Bastard!" Kenzo screamed, grabbing Tim to choke him. "Don't you dare f*****g touch her again, asshole!" and then they both ran and fell on the sand together, screaming and hitting each other hard as they rolled on it.

"Kenzo, stop!" I tried to break them apart, but Kenzo shoved me away, making me fall on my ass.

"You won't say a thing, Stella!" Kenzo spat before turning back to Tim, who struggled between laughing and crying due to the beating.

"Kenzo. Stop, please! What's wrong? Why are you angry? What happened? Tell me!" I cried while I remained on the sand.

Kenzo didn't want to hear anything; he continued to pound on Tim. "Stop, Kenzo!" I begged for him to stop as I tried to stand up and hold onto his arm, trying to pull him away from Tim.

"Why, Stella? You can't see him like this? Your hurt ha? Damn him! I was waiting for you the whole night, I was scared you wouldn't show up anymore. And I'll see you here? You looked so happy and relaxed on his shoulder, it just made me feel so worse! I understand you pushing me away because I was just bad news for you, but this is unfair! I know...I know I'll never...be enough! I know...he's better, but I tried! So you could have just told me you are tired!" He let go of Tim and kicked him harshly in the stomach before running away.

Tim was crying and bleeding badly from everywhere; his nose and cheek were bruised and swollen. "Damn, he broke my nose." Tim sobbed out in pain as he sat there on the ground while holding his broken nose.

"Oh God! Oh God!" I kneeled beside him, holding his hands to comfort him, tears streaming down his face.

"Are you okay?" I asked him, wiping off his blood.

"What did you expect, Stella?! It was painful," Tim scoffed with a weak smile. "Follow him. You cannot just let him go with a misunderstanding!"

"Go, I'll take care of him," Narih came from nowhere, and said while eating ice cream.

"Narih?" I gasped in astonishment.

"I am not into drama; you know me, Stella. And uhm, I know I did too much back at the club, so I am going to give you fifteen percent of my salary; just let me keep my palace!"

"Whatever! Take Tim to the hospital!" I shouted at her before rushing to chase Kenzo.

My feet were getting sore from the constant crushing against the rough sand, but I ignored that pain as I ran after Kenzo. The wind started blowing coldly as the sky turned dark and the rain began pouring down in buckets.

"Please!" I mumbled in heavy breaths, trying to keep my eyes on Kenzo as he ran away from me.

My legs ached as I stumbled over a bunch of stones, and then I tripped and fell hard on my hands and knees.

"Kenzo!" I wailed in pain, but he never looked back.

I helped myself up and got back on track as I caught up in the flooded streets while my knees bled profusely. I wiped it off quickly before picking up speed again.

"Come on! Don't you dare go on running away from him!" I yelled at him, hoping it was enough to get him to turn around and come back to me.

But he wouldn't!

Argh! He was as hard-headed as me.

"Kenzo!" I limped through the puddles, and the wetness was making me lose my balance. I fell again, but before I could continue walking forward, my ankle gave out underneath me, stumbling hard down, soaked in the rain, and I lost my patience.

I wailed in so much frustration, heaving in pain.

No soul could be seen in the streets, which made the darkness around seem much more intimidating than it usually is.

"This is bullshit!" I writhed in pain as I could no longer take a step or stand up to take myself to shelter.

I curled up my knees into my chest, hugging them tightly while resting my forehead on my arms. It was getting harder and harder to breathe, despite being in such an unpleasant position as I sat at the corner of the street.

"Dammit!" I cursed quietly as I hugged my knees tighter, trying to hide away my cries while rocking myself to ease the pain.

I waited for Kenzo to come back, but he never did. Great thing a tricycle stopped by and helped me to the highway where I waited for a taxi.

As I got to the apartment, I sank onto my bed and reflected on my actions. It was heartbreaking to think that the harder I tried to keep Kenzo close to me, the more I pushed him away.

I let my tears flow down as I prepared myself to cry to sleep, but my attention was caught when I heard someone enter the door.

"Kenzo," I whispered as I turned to check who it was.

I immediately helped myself up from the bed and limped toward him. My heart raced the moment I touched his face while the water dripped from his hair down to his face. He was soaked in the rain, and I could see his face, afraid, tired, and confused.

"Hey, I'm sorry!" I barely said as he pulled me into a tight hug.

However, I was already drained and emotionally tired, and I felt my world slowly sinking into darkness.

All I know is that I woke up in different clothes; my wounds were already cleaned up and wrapped in bandages. I walked out of the bedroom, and my heart sank to find out that Kenzo was not there anymore.

I decided to take a rest the whole afternoon after asking Nai to file me a sick leave. I waited for Kenzo to go home or contact me, but he did not make any effort to contact me.

"I should just get going!" I mumbled to myself and fixed myself to go visit Narih and maybe check on Tim afterward.

I am beyond angry that Kenzo was at it again, leaving me without even trying to talk to me to fix things and misunderstandings.

It was a three-hour drive to the building where Narih was living, and my brows arched upwards seeing Tim's motorcycle by the parking lot.

Upon reaching the top floor, I walked the long corridor to the penthouse room. "Narih..." I called to her as I opened the door, but I was halted as I saw Narih walking out of the bathroom with Tim following behind her.

"Stella?" Narih stopped, her eyes fixed on me, looming as guilty as she stood rooted to the spot.

"What is this?" I tried not to freak out, but it was freaking me out.

I saw Tim freeze, unable to move at the sight of me looking at Narih in shock, and I couldn't help but notice how his cheeks blushed as his hands nervously fidgeted around the edge of the towel wrapped around his waist.

"I know...I know! But...this is nothing. You know, I uhm...I felt how sad he was and when he cried like a baby at the hospital, I could not help myself to kiss him. Well, that's what we do to stop babies from crying. However, we uhm sort of did more than just a kiss. It's not my fault, he followed me here and he looked at me seductively, but that's it. Nothing special or one more time, it's just one random night, right?" Narih explained like a criminal caught in the act, averting her gaze.

Well, they were caught in the act!

"Go get dressed! You Tim, we talk!" I demanded of him.

"Can't I get dressed too?" Tim asked hesitantly.

I shook my head, glaring at him in irritation. Narih took a deep sigh. "Okay, I'm going ahead!" she exclaimed quickly, turning her heels as fast as she could into the bathroom and shutting the door behind her, leaving us alone.

"What happened?" My arms were crossed over my chest, and my brows were raised while I looked at Tim with the most untrusting look still standing outside the bathroom. "I know you are hurt, and I'm very sorry about that! But you cannot use my cousin to get back on me."

Tim exhaled as he put on the t-shirt I tossed him from the laundry. Good thing Narih wears men's clothes when not in character.

"I understand your concern, but you see, I am not getting back at you. I already accepted that we couldn't be with each other a long time ago. I was just there to be a friend. But this thing with Narih, I don't know. I cannot help myself but get drawn to her that I lost my control."

"Make sure to never hurt her, or I'll take everything from you just to avenge her."

Narih cut into our conversation, dressed into her character, and we accompanied her to her meeting with the Illominus. As soon as we arrived at the building where she was supposed to meet with Kate and her father, an intense wave of anxiety and silence washed over me and Tim as we watched Narih walk into the lair of the enemies. She didn't even bother saying anything; she went straight inside the building.

"Are you sure she'll be fine?" Tim asked hesitantly, watching her enter the building.

I nodded my head at him reassuringly. "Yes, she will be fine," I assured him softly. "So, relax. Narih is an intelligent woman who knows how to handle impossible situations in her unusual way, probably getting the things she wants. She is not an engineer for nothing."

"She's an engineer?" Tim looked up at me with an interested look on his face.

I grinned and shook my head to confirm.

Our conversation abruptly ended when the doors of the building opened wide and Kate and her father greeted Narih and welcomed her in.

"Narih, be careful!" I hissed on the earpiece to remind Narih on the other line.

We watched on Tim's laptop connected to the camera placed on Narih's suit button.

My face twisted in anger as I saw Mr. Illominus look highly boastful and greedy to convince Narih how capable he was of almost everything.

"I heard you want to put down Ms. Del Mundo?" Mr. Illominus laughed as he gestured for Narih to sit down.

"Well, not to put her down really. I just want to put my money to good use, and she is on my way! Now, my sister in fate, Katie, told me you could help me with her?" Narih tried her best not to sound offended or strained toward the Illominus.

"You came to the perfect person with your problem." Mr. Illominus grinned and motioned for the waiter to come serve the food.

As expected, Narih handled everything smoothly and got him to talk about everything, including how he tricked the GRIVA into stopping the contract signing last time and many more of his dirty things. Kate was all out being proud of how she manipulated a lot to invest in her father's candidacy and illegal doings.

"Recorded!" I hissed at Narih to signal her to wrap things up.

"OK, I think I had enough to use to file for her termination as the top shareholder; I owe you a lot. As favor should be returned, when I took over her spot, you can see yourselves out of your cheap town." Narih stood up and shook their hands, and from the camera, I could see Mr. Illominus so into it, I could not imagine that day he realized he was just being tricked.

As the door of the huge mansion opened, Narih walked out in satisfaction and confidence as Kate tailed behind her. "Oh, Kate, have you already packed all your clothes for next week's trip?"

Kate smiled and excitedly giggled. "Yes, I did. I was just fixing my schedules for my upcoming tests, making some adjustments."

"Good, Kate!" Narih praised her and patted her head.

My insides felt like being tickled as Narih was nailing on manipulating Kate to get back to her for the people she played all along her claws, including Kenzo and his family, even Tim.

"To Japan!" Narih squealed, and I could see how Kate was so excited and looked forward to it.