Red Strings of Fate (Haunted Series 2)

Strings 45: His side (Part I/II)

She agrees, and now I'm staring at Scarlet with tears in her eyes as we surround her. "Then fire her." Scarlet stared up at me with confusion and anger as I said those words

Better anger than fear.

I light a cigarette and blow smoke into the quivering branches above us before passing it to Chance.

"Paano siya mag a-apply sa inyo? Ganun na ba talaga siya ka-desperado para kunin ang trabaho?" He inhales, the cigarette butt glowing an angry red.

I stare up at her friend's apartment. Scarlet is on the balcony while she looks through the city. I could feel her sadness all the way here. "She'll be given a bait. Let's wait for her to take it."

I stare at the stick as he passes the cigarette to me. We lived by a set of pointless etiquette rules, both at home and in public. One of the biggest is no smoking. But honestly, it was the only way I could handle everything—the stress, the nightmares, the aftermath of it all.

The council backed my decisions, but my brother says I always take the hard route. He doesn't get it—how could Scarlet ever apply for a job as a housekeeper when fashion has been her whole life? But for me, that's the easiest part. The hardest part? It's watching her get crushed by it, knowing fashion was her dream—her goal—ever since we were kids.

...And she's near, yet I can't touch or hold her the way I once did.

That's the part that breaks me.

"It seems like their car stopped working, Boss."

"Team, maintain distance. Retain from being seen. Is there a mechanic nearby?"

"Negative, cap."

"I can see my girlfriend chasing a random car. Let's go." I heard Evan on the radio, and I let out a long sigh. Why did my brothers drag themselves into this? Oh yeah. Because they're both hopeless, lovesick, horny idiots.

"We're good. We should be nominated for an Oscar." Mark laughs after their car leaves. But the image of Scarlet trying to hide from me still plays in my head. So cute.

[She's in, Sir] Allan reports through a call when Scarlet and her friend are officially working in the house. I could finally breathe a sigh of relief.

I was on a mission, and I heard it was my twin sister who greeted her. Great. Jamie's going to murder me when she finds out the girl she's showing around is our childhood friend. This is going to be... interesting.

Madaling araw natapos ang trabaho ko. I was supposed to report back to Ces Vallis, but there was no mistake—I was already inside my house before I even realized.

The air seems different because I know she's only meters away from me... I realized that maybe I summoned her at this moment. Because when I was thinking about her, before I could even eat, I heard a loud screech, a battle cry.

In the middle of the darkness, I could see the frame of a crazed woman running towards me with a slipper and a broom. "Shit! What the fuck?!"

Am I being assassinated right now? But her grip on me is so poor that I must be mistaken.

"Magnanakaw!" She screams as she grabs my hair behind me.

Oh.

She thinks I'm a thief in my own house?

This was not the homecoming I'd imagined because the crazy lady turned out to be her.

It was fate. I'll tell you. We met again in an unconventional fashion. It started when we were kids, and it continues even now.