Moonlight Lovers

Eight

GODRIC Octavius looked like a breathing painting as he sat at the same table of Café Bliss the following morning. He had a different book with him this time and just like yesterday, he ordered a large black coffee and a bagel. But after a few minutes of his order being served, he never touched them again and just kept reading.

Selene still could not take her eyes off the beautiful man. How can such a gorgeous person like him exist? Yesterday, she had not been paying any attention towards anybody except Godric, but today, she just realized that most of their female customers were ogling at Godric, too. A couple of girls about her age even secretly snapped a photo of the man as he silently read his book. And Selene could not even blame them for doing so, Godric just looks…ethereal.

Caleb, being the overprotective friend that he is, would try to keep her on her toes—clearing his throat behind her every time he catches her staring longer than she should at Godric, sometimes even pretending he’s cleaning the counter so he could block her view. She would just frown at him. As if she would be noticed by such a handsome man. She knew that he’s way out of her league.

Last night, Selene did a little stalking on the man. She caught a glimpse of Godric’s last name from the card that he used to pay for his drink. And so she tried to find out about him on the internet.

She wasn’t so surprised to find out that Godric was not just a random guy. She thought at first he could be a model. But she found an article about him detailing his success as the youngest CEO of the thriving The Orchid Corporations.

Selene could not help but be more attracted to him as she read about his accomplishments despite being a beginner in the business game, all his charity works, and his overall positive attitude towards other people. She figured it made sense. When Godric first stepped into the café, he just radiated calmness so contagious that you’d stare at him and sigh contentedly even if he wasn’t doing anything much. The same way a person would look at a still lake and find it captivating.

But finding out more about Godric only made him unreachable for Selene. That kind of man will not look at someone like her. That kind of man would date someone as perfect and as wealthy as him. That kind of man will never want a modest café waitress.

Being confronted with the truth allowed her to keep her expectations on realistic grounds. Now, even if she can’t stop looking at Godric, she knows in her heart that she’s just simply admiring the man. Nothing more and nothing less.

“I’ve never seen you crane your neck like that,” Caleb sarcastically remarked as he polished the counter for the umpteenth time that morning just to keep Selene from staring at their handsome customer.

Selene frowned. “Rude.”

“He won’t look at you, you know,” he pointed out.

“I know.”

“Why does he keep coming back here anyway?”

Selene shrugged. “Maybe he liked the ambiance of the café?” She suggested.

“I don’t like him. I can’t put a finger on it but something about him kinda sets me on edge.”

Selene chuckled. She pulled the towel from Caleb’s hand and dumped them on the sink. “Stop villainizing him.”

“I’m not. It’s the truth.”

Godric’s visits happened daily for the next few days more, repeating his schedule as soon as he got inside the café. The only things that change every day are his expensive-looking clothes and the books he’s bringing with him. Selene was starting to get used to seeing him around. She had even started looking at the clock every morning, counting the minutes until Godric dropped by. Because he always walks inside the café at exactly 9:30 AM.

The interaction between the two of them is gradually increasing, too. Two days ago, he asked her for a pen when he wanted to mark down some pages of the book he was reading. Yesterday, he complimented her, saying she’s working really hard. And maybe those were mundane things to celebrate about, but she’s really happy about his little crush on him to let anyone burst her bubble.

Selene was looking forward to more of those small interactions. It was why the following day, when the clock showed the time, 10:00 AM, she kept looking at the door, waiting, because Godric Octavius had not dropped by the café yet.

It seems like she was not the only one who noticed it, though. The café’s other customers, mostly women, who gradually grew in size as Godric visited the café daily, seemed to be concerned that he wasn’t in his usual spot yet.

What could have happened to him?

“Looks like your eye candy has found another café to spend his time in,” Caleb commented.

Selene looked at him and she couldn’t help but feel sad. Because it may be true.

That night, as they were finishing for the day, Caleb pushed a movie ticket on the counter to her. Selene looked up at him.

“You didn’t forget, right?” He asked.

Selene smiled and shook her head. “Of course, not.”

“We’ll do something fun after the movie.”

Selene chuckled. “I look forward to that.”

There was a short moment of silence between them as they both entered the employee quarter.

“I wonder why that Godric came here in the first place. I could imagine he was trying to catch Dahlia.”

Selene slowed down. Now, that made sense. She has been trying to figure out why such a prominent man would walk into a common coffee shop like Café Bliss. He probably wanted to meet Dahlia. That could be the only reason. Dahlia was a very charming woman and attracted the attention of a lot of men. Godric must have noticed her during one of those days she was in the café, and he got very curious about her so he decided to come by.

Too bad, Dahlia has not shown herself at the café recently.

Every once in a while, Dahlia would take a break from visiting her café for at least a couple of days. She would not tell them but they guessed that she was probably traveling those days. And Godric had chosen such a bad time to try to get a chance to meet Dahlia if their boss really was the reason he was frequenting Café Bliss these last few days.

Selene inadvertently sighed. Dahlia’s lucky. She and Godric would make a perfect couple. “Maybe,” she said. “I’m sure they’d look great together.”

“Why do you sound sad, then?”

“I’m not sad.” Selene pushed the doors to her locker closed before looking at Caleb. “Just wondering when I’ll get to experience something as beautiful, you know?”

Caleb’s voice was quieter. “You didn’t have to look far, Selene. Sometimes, the person you’re looking for is right under your nose and you are just too occupied to notice.”

GODRIC’S face was filled with disgust when he found a face he hadn’t seen in a long time as he stepped down to the foyer of the house that morning. He angrily released a short puff of air from his mouth, pushing his clenched fists inside the pockets of his pants.

Silas was with a guest—an unwanted and uninvited one, that is. When he noticed him coming down the stairs, his assistant looked up at him with a warning stare. “He’s here,” he said.

Godric ignored Silas and stared back at the piercing cold stares of the man sitting comfortably on one of the upholstered sofas. His gaze was intense and fierce.

Finally, Godric was standing right in front of their visitor. “Boris.”

Boris Octavius pushed himself up from the seat to meet Godric’s gaze. The older blood being was looking calm yet emanating a powerful and fearsome aura.

“Good to see that you’re well, brother,” Boris said, a lopsided grin forming on his lips. “It looks like you are doing just fine despite the hunting restrictions the council has put on you.”

Godric’s jaw tightened. “How nice to hear you care about my well-being, brother.” The last word he almost spat out with revulsion.

Boris turned to look at his assistant. Silas was standing on one side of the room, just listening to two of them. “You’re much older than when I last saw you, Silas. I remember you were just fifteen when my brother employed you after the sudden demise of your grandfather. What a tragedy that was. He was a great man, your grandfather.”

Silas did not speak. He stood still, hands behind his back, eyes lowered.

Boris continued. “If you ever want a change of environment, or a much bigger pay, you can always come to me.”

“So, is this why you come here? To steal my assistant?” Godric asked sarcastically.

Boris laughed. “No, Godric. I came to talk to you. About you.”

Godric wants to strongly refuse Boris. But he knew he could not escape a confrontation with him forever. Having no other option, he obliged himself to lead his older brother upstairs to his study.

BORIS poured himself a drink and sat leisurely behind Godric’s desk, putting his drink down the expensive mahogany furniture, and propping his feet up the table.

“I missed this house,” he said, scanning the room. “I never really thought I would, but I kinda do now that I’m here again.”

Godric narrowed his eyes at the older blood being. “That’s bullshit. You never liked this house. In fact, that’s why you released a monster upon our family and killed our parents.”

Boris’s smile disappeared quickly. “Be careful what comes out of your mouth, Godric. I did not kill them. It wasn’t my choice.”

His tongue touched the inside of his cheeks. “Oh? Not your choice, huh?” He spitefully repeated.

Boris grinned, as if he was having fun seeing Godric’s reaction. “That’s right. So don’t talk about it as if I murdered them.”

“Don’t you f**king lie! You are a murderer! You killed a lot of people more than I did when you first Changed. You killed me, too.” Godric paused. “And you killed her.”

Boris sighed. “Oh, come on, Godric! Are you still hung up on that one small mistake I made? You’re probably getting a lot of women right now. Why can’t you move on from the past, huh?”

Godric was fuming in anger. From where he was standing near the door, he was now gripping the collar of Boris’s shirt in a blink of an eye. The force pushed the chair to the furnished wall and created a huge crack on it.

Boris remained to look relaxed, gently laughing at his younger brother’s outburst. “What are you gonna do, Godric? Kill me? That’s funny. We both know you are incapable of doing it.”

Godric snatched Boris’s neck, dragging and shoving him to a bookcase standing opposite of his desk. The books fell and scattered to the floor. Some of the shelves got dismantled, creating loud crashes as they fell.

“I will always regret saving your life. I should have let you die,” Godric spoke softly to his brother’s face.

Boris tapped Godric’s hand. “You must have forgotten, dear brother, that you almost did.”

Godric shoved Boris on the bookcase again before harshly releasing his neck. “Don’t come back here again! Or I might actually kill you!”

Boris fixed the collar of his clothes. “I will let that pass because I know you are probably just not getting satiated enough.” He picked up a book, dusted it off, and gently placed it on top of Godric’s desk. “But if you ever do something to disgrace our coven again, like you have recklessly done so these last couple of months, I will not hesitate to destroy you. You know, I can rip your head off faster than you can bare your fangs,” he finished, smirking. “It was so nice seeing you again, by the way. Let’s do this again some other time, huh?”

Godric moved away when Boris tried to put his hand on his shoulder as he passed by him to the door. When the door opened, Silas was outside looking extremely anxious.

“Ah, Silas!” Boris said. “I’d love to have a conversation with you, too, but I’m afraid I must go now. Don’t forget, my offer still stands, though.”

When Boris Octavius finally left, Silas rushed to Godric. He looked around the ruined study room. “Godric, are you okay?”

“Call somebody to fix this,” Godric replied. He turned his back and left the room without another word.