Veronica's eyes blinked, could not believe what she had just seen at this moment, continued to stare at the 185 centimetre-tall man who was staring at her while wearing a warm smile that could dazzle anyone's eyes. It was like she was now desperately trying to calm her noisy heart just because she saw the strange man's smile. That smile was strangely, far more dazzling than the smile Bianca always showed to all the women Bianca met.
“Yes?” she said after managed to control herself, controlling her heartbeat, which was no longer as fast as before. “How do you know my name?”
The man reluctantly pulled out the chair before asking permission from all of them, sitting on the chair with his eyes still on Veronica, placing the menu book back on the table. Erna also looked shocked at the presence of that man's figure, because her friend did not say anything at all with her mouth half-open before Erna's eyes were blocked by Bianca's hand which had already cast a sharp gaze at the man.
“Who are you? Don't you know that this is Pedrosa's territory?!”
Erna, who has now managed to control herself, was confused at Bianca's question which she thought was strange, as well as Veronica, did not understand why Bianca mentioned her surname all of a sudden.
“Woah, calm down, calm down! I don't mean to attack your territory. I still have ethics. I'm just here to pick up the person my friend asked me to,” the man said, seemingly undisturbed by Bianca's gaze. The man was now holding her hand, ignoring Bianca and Erna, “I didn’t expect to meet such a beautiful woman."
“Don't ignore me, you jerk!” Bianca grabbed the collar of the man's clothes, immediately catching the attention of the cafe's visitors, who there were not many people at the moment. “Pick up, pick up! Your smell is suspicious enough! Where are you going to take Veronica!? Don’t think that you can easily take my friends from my territory!”
“Suspicious? Me?”
“Is there anyone else but you here, motherfucker!”
“Ah, that's right. I'm too direct, huh?” The man laughed softly, releasing Bianca's grip with ease. “Oh, I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Stephen Laurent. I'm here at the request of my friend, Karl Smith. You received the shoes, right?"
“Shoes?” Veronica glanced at her bag beside her, about to take the shoes out of her bag when the man's hand moved to stop her movements. "No, no. Not now."
Bianca's anger subsided at once upon hearing the reason of a man named Stephen. "Is that the only reason? No more?"
“Yes. I came in a hurry, so I confirmed your family five minutes ago. You can confirm it.”
“I’ll check it.” Bianca reached for her smartphone, busy calling someone, ignoring Erna who still did not understand the situation. Many times Erna looked at her, waiting for an explanation, but she did not understand what was happening.
“Yes, that's enough for our conversation,” said Stephen after glancing at the watch on his left wrist, displaying the firm bony structure of his hand. “I don't have much time because I still have a lot to take care of. Shall we go now, Miss Veronica Darren?”
She hesitated a little, looking at Bianca who was still talking with someone on the phone. The woman's face was tense at first, then turned relieved, nodding occasionally.
“I understand. See you later.”
Her friend hung up the phone, no longer as curt. “Okay, Laurent. I just confirmed your words earlier. As payment for suddenly coming, let me and Erna meet your friend. We wanted to see what kind of man after our friend.”
“I'll try—no, I'll make him do it. It's mostly his fault, too,” says Stephen, casually, tugging at Veronica's wrist. “We'll go first. It's okay, right?”
“Of course. But take her home after your friend's business is over. You know what the consequences are if you dare to do something wrong in someone else's territory?”
“I know. I'll definitely take her home. You can take my word.”
Reluctantly, she took her bag which was immediately taken over by Stephen, who invited her to walk ahead of him. What a gentleman's attitude. The man walked beside her, opened the cafe door and led her to the black car which was neatly parked in front of the cafe. As soon as they got to the front of the car, Stephen opened the car door, ushering her in with the man's hand resting on Veronica's head, making sure she did not hit the car ceiling. Then after she entered, the man closed the door, jogged to the steering seat and left the cafe.
***
Veronica gripped her skirt tightly, did not dare to look at Stephen who focused on driving. Her eyes kept hanging down, playing with his legs, then grimacing, realizing she had moved her prosthetic leg too much and scratched her knee."What!? Where does it hurt?! Do you want to stop first?” Stephen's attention diverted from the wheel, looking at Veronica worriedly.
“No, nothing big. I just scratched my knee.”
“Oh,” The man murmured in relief, refocusing his gaze on the road. Using his free left hand, the man opened the car drawer in front of Veronica, looking for something until he finally found ointment cream.
“Use this to relieve pain in your knee. It must be tough, walking with prosthetic legs all day long.”
Her eyes flickered in surprise, but he still accepted the ointment. “You know?”
“Of course. Just call me Stephen. We don't need to be formal, because shortly we’ll meet each other often.”
“O-oh …” Veronica removed both prosthetic legs, realizing that the man was slowing down the car so that he could give her a chance to rub the cream on her knees. Slowly, she spread the cream.
“You don't mind if I call you Nikki?”
“No.”
“Very nice.” The man smiled with satisfaction. “I've been attracted to you since seeing you at the cafe earlier, but well, my friend attracted to you already and I'm not the type to stab my own best friend in the back, so I stepped back first. For now.”
“What do you mean?”
“It's okay if you don't understand. I'm just making small talk,” said the man again, not trying to explain what he meant earlier.
“Oh,” Veronica nodded, even though she did not understand what the man was saying. “By the way, sorry about earlier.”
“Hm? About what?”
“My friend’s attitude earlier was rude, yelled at you like that. But she’s not a bad guy! Usually, she’s a gentle person. The type who likes to cast charm everywhere she finds a beautiful woman, but not someone who gets angry easily. So I'm sorry, representing my friend earlier.”
“Sorry? For what? It’s natural if your friend was angry with me,” Stephen was surprised to hear what he said. “I entered her territory suddenly without notice. Naturally, she felt cautious. "
“Entering her territory? From earlier I didn't understand your conversation about territory. What exactly do you mean by territory?”
“Territory, like region. The territory of each group that must be protected.” Stephen answered straightforwardly.
"That's why I asked. What does the territory mean? I don’t understand."
Stephen glances around, raising an eyebrow. “Well, you don't know at all or pretend to not knowing?”
“What do you think?”
“You really don't know, huh? I'll just explain, so it won’t be complicated.” Stephen pulled the car over to a quiet place, then turned off the engine, approaching her. Her nose caught the scent of the perfume the man was wearing, making her feel somehow comfortable. Brings out a feeling of security that she had not felt in a long time.
“Well. You know the urban legends about vampires, werewolves, warlocks, and dragons, right?”
She nodded, trying to guess the direction of their current conversation.
“They are all real. And wait, I know what you think right now. You may think this is strange, but they are all real. For example, the me who is in front of you right now. I'm a werewolf, and so is Bianca who is a vampire.”
"Wolf? Vampire?”
“Then my friend who you will meet soon is a dragon. He's already eight hundred years old, but that doesn't mean he's a conservative dragon-type like a normal dragon I have to admit, it's annoying.”
Her head suddenly got dizzy at the strange explanation that man had just said. She raised her right hand, asking the man to give her a moment to digest the absurd information she had just received from that man.
“Can we continue? Like I said before. I don't have much time."
“Wait.” Veronica assembled all the pieces of information she just got, then nodded. “Yes, please continue.”
“Very nice. Unlike the urban legends which always say that vampires and werewolves are enemies, vampires and werewolves in real life are not at all hostile. In fact, we are an alliance. The only difference is that vampires are more sensitive to sunlight and like something twisted. The higher their rank, the more their charm will increase. Werewolves, on the other hand, are much more flexible. We really hate the dragons because of their arrogance who can outlast us. Except for my friend who I said earlier. Later you will know after meeting him. At this point, do you understand? "
“Er… yes. Maybe?"
"I’ll take it as yes. Already finished putting the ointment? Then put your prosthetic foot back on and use the shoes my friend gave me earlier. Because it's a sign so you can enter my friend's territory later. Or should I put it on for you?"
“No need! I can wear it myself,” replied Veronica, looking down, hiding her blushing expression at the thought of Stephen putting the shoes on her.
“Too bad. Even though I want to do it.”
Veronica clenched her fists, mustering up all her courage to realize what she had just imagined. "Th-then, if you don't mind ..."
The man flinched for a moment, looking shocked before he smiled softly at her. "Of course. I don't mind. Absolutely not. I'll put it on when we get to my friend's place."
The atmosphere was suddenly awkward. The man stroked the back of his neck, looking slightly flushed, not daring to look at her. Likewise with her. None of them tried to take the initiative to break the quiet atmosphere they had created themselves. Then the man cleared his throat, started the engine and drove back to leave their place.
***
Veronica could no longer hide her shock as she entered what Stephen called the home of his friend, Karl Smith. It took the. fifteen minutes to reach around the front yard of the Karl Smith residence. Since they entered this place, she saw several men in black uniforms who did not hide their dislike at the sight of Stephen. The man himself seemed to ignore their rude response, instead of whistling softly, as if not realizing it. Ah, no. To be precisely, that man was clearly aware of it. Without hesitation, Stephen crashed the car he was driving into the three men who were standing in front of the car. Stephen casually opened the window, poking his head from the window, laughing softly. "Oops. Are you okay? Sorry. I really didn't mean to do it." She did not find any regretful in his tone, so she questioned the man's sincerity when apologizing. Without waiting for the answers from the three men who were grimacin
Veronica was stunned. Let Stephen, who had just returned after his business was finished, escort her home. She was mentally shaken after he declared his interest in her which she thought was too sudden so she did not listen to Karl afterwards. Her brain went blank. Like a F4-size paper book which was still white, losing all the scribbles that had decorated the book. She could not process what she just heard from the black-haired man with an Asian face. In fact, she forgot to thank Stephen for bringing her home. "Nikki? Hello?" A heavy pat on her shoulder brought her back to her senses. She turned around, looked at Stephen who was standing behind her, laughing softly at her. "Finally you're awake. Your forehead will soon hit the door of your own apartment."
Only this time was he, Stephen Laurent, felt so nervous.Carrying a bouquet of red roses that were usually loved by all his girlfriends, Stephen continued to wait anxiously while pressing the bell button for Nikki's apartment. Yesterday, Nikki was angry with him, and he did not understand the reason why she was angry. He did not feel like he was saying anything that offended her. Instead, he carefully chooses every word he said so it would not hurt Nikki's feelings, given her special condition. Even though he still did not understand the reason behind Nikki's anger, he better initiate to apologize. Usually, this fresh, organic rose bouquet would always do the trick. He hoped so. Still no answer from Nikki. Again, he pressed the bell for his apartment. "Just a second!" Nikki's voice was heard from inside, looking in a hurry. He had heard a loud crash from inside. Was tha
After dropping her off in front of her campus building, Stephen immediately left her without saying a word. Even though the man promised to explain everything in the car. For a moment, she saw Stephen's face, who was so worried, that she tried to not mind Stephen's attitude. She took a deep breath, tidying her belongings on the table. Her smartphone which she changed to vibrate mode so as not to disturb her concentration when she was in class vibrated several times, indicating an incoming call. She paused the activity of tidying up her things, reached for her smartphone which was to her right side, pressed the green button when she saw the name on her smartphone screen. "Hello, Sis," she said, clutching her smartphone to her left shoulder while she went back to tidying up her things. "What's wrong? It's rare for you to call me at this time." “I didn't bother you, right? Still in class?" asked her older sister—Febri
Bianca's eyes glanced outwardly at Veronica, who was chatting with the man yesterday, Stephen Laurent. Not the kind of guy she could trust to look after Veronica really. But her older brother—Theodore Pedrosa, asked her to trust him. If her brother believed that man, then she must believe it too. She did not understand why Theo could easily give permission to the man without paying attention to the territory entry permit protocol as was usually emphasized on all werewolves and vampires who intend to enter Pedrosa's territory. The man asked permission five minutes before entering his family territory. Five minutes! Whereas it should have been, if a foreign party wanted to enter the Pedrosa area, the permit could only be obtained at the earliest the day before they enter.No, no. She better not think about it anymore. Her brother clearly did not mind it, which meant there was a high chance that her brot
Veronica looked at the screen of her smartphone, full of worry. It was been a week since Bianca said she would investigate the vampires who had come to her apartment, and until now she has not heard from her best friend. She repeatedly sent chats to Bianca, hoping that her best friend would reply to her messages. Unfortunately, there was no answer. Not even read her text. Likewise with Stephen. Since that day she has not heard anything from the man, making her regret not having asked for the man's LINE ID on the first day of their meeting. Now, how should she contact that guy?Urgh ...Why was she so stupid, anyway?She ruffled her hair, buried her head on the table in Karl Smith's library room where she was now. When she looked up, she found the figure of Karl Smith who was covering under his nose while laughing softly, standing leaning against the side of the table beside her."Karl!" Reflexively she jumped in surprise. "When did you come here?""Just no
Arriving at the Pedrosa family residence, where Bianca lived, she immediately got out of the car before Karl opened the door. She ran, intercepting one of the maids who stood beside the entrance to the house, asking the sad-eyed maid to lead her to Bianca's room. The maid looked doubtful when she saw it, but as soon as Karl, who had caught up with her, stood behind her, the maid finally willing to escort her to Bianca's room.The place where they were now looked magnificent, although not as large as Karl's mansion. Since she arrived at the Pedrosa residence, she saw many people walking in and out. Their condition was terrible. Her eyes caught two people holding a stretcher, carrying the body of a man who was no longer moving into the house. The man's wounds were so severe, they were bleeding profusely (she had thought that vampire blood was dark black or green, but it turned out to be normal like human blood) that she could not bear to see it. The man's body was destroyed, bur
A month has passed since she stayed at Karl's house after visiting Bianca's mother's funeral. She could not invite Erna in fear of Bianca's identity as a vampire, so she could not help but notify Erna a few days later. Of course, it did not end all right. Erna was disappointed in her as well as Bianca, cutting off contact with the two of them, making her feel guilty. She did not even greet her nor say hello at all when she was on campus. Bianca herself has not shown up. Given how shocked Bianca was at that time, she felt that Bianca did still need more time to accept her mother's death. It was a bit surprising, considering that Bianca never brought up her family at all. Only once did her best friend talk about her family, it was full of emotion and her annoyance at her parents who kept her older brother—Theodore Pedrosa, away from her when they had just graduated from high school. After that, Bianca never discussed her family again.