THROUGH Selen’s research and investigation, she figured out where Sage lives in Empire Ville. Thanks to her photographic memory. She had been there once when she biked around the whole village.
She donned her favorite pink hoody and put on a mask. Her plan is to stakeout near Sage’s house. It may sound creepy, but she just wanted to check on him. Selen was worried that something bad happened to him because of that accident. But before that, she had to make sure that her grandmas would not notice that she was not home.
Selen aligned the pillows on the bed just her size and covered it with a blanket. She also wrote a note saying Do Not Disturb and posted it on her bedroom door. Then, she picked up her phone and send a message to her friend Reinald, informing him of her plans. Selen always did that so that if she runs into trouble, there will be someone to save her.
She brushed her palms against her jeans and put on her backpack.
“Yosh!”
Selen sauntered towards the window. She petted and kissed her pet Lulu before leaving her bedroom.
SAGE filled his bathtub and soaked his body in the cold water. He groaned as he felt the relief down there. The soup accident burned his crotch area a little, but the doctor said it was not that serious. He just had to put on the ointment until the soreness disappeared.
He grabbed the bottle of wine that he brought to the bathroom and filled half of the glass.
“I miss this…” he uttered as he smelled the wine. Sage never thought that its smell could be that calming.
Since he started acting as a lead actor in a couple of dramas, Sage never had the chance to spend time for himself. And with the fame that he was experiencing right now, it made him feel like he was slowly losing his true identity. If truth be told, Sage did not kinda like that. It was the very reason why he decided to be on hiatus after his last fan meeting. Sage suddenly wanted to find himself.
He was enjoying his wine when his phone rang. His eyes rolled upon hearing that designated ringtone that he set for his manager. Sage was forced to leave the bathtub to answer the phone.
“What?” Sage asked in a cold tone.
“You said you need a housekeeper. Why the hell did you fire the one I brought there?” Marceline said as if she was rapping on the other line.
“I have the right to fire that housekeeper because this is my house.” He took a sip of the wine.
“Why? Why did you fire her?”
“Didn’t she tell you why?” Sage sat on the edge of the bathtub. His fingers played with the bubbles on the side. “Ah, of course, she made me look bad. Am I right?”
“Sage…” There was a warning in her voice.
“She took a picture in every corner of my house, outside, and even inside my bedroom. And you know what’s worst, she posted those photos in her social media accounts.” Sage drew a
breath. “Now tell me… Is it wrong to fire her?”
“You should have told me. She signed a contract with us. We can sue her—”
“Don’t bother. I already fired her, and she deleted her posts too. She has a family to feed.”
“But the photos were still circulating online.”
Sage could only heave a deep sigh. The power of screenshots.
“But don’t worry, we are doing our best to take it down,” Marceline assured her.
“Good.”
“By the way, how’s your injury?”
“Still sore.” He looked down there. “Don’t worry. As long as it still… you know…”
Marceline laughed out loud. Of course, she understood very well what he meant by that.
“Oh, my gosh, Sage… I thought our bloodline would end just like that.”
“As if I would let it happen.” The face of that girl from the restaurant flashed on his mind.
“Anyway, I will try to look for a new housekeeper.”
“I hope you could find a trusted one. You know how much I value my privacy,” Sage said in a firm tone.
“Yeah, I know. I’m hanging up now.”
“And I will resume my me time.”
Sage was about to dip himself again when he heard a noise outside his house. It was coming from the backyard. He wrapped a towel around his waist and went outside to check.
He walked on bare feet so that he would not make any sound.
SELEN hid behind the bushes. But she regrets hiding there of all places. She stepped on a colony of ants, and they attacked her. She tried crawling away, but some already got inside her pants and bit her legs.
“Damn these ants!”
She kept stomping her feet as she scratched her legs.
“Who’s that?” said the baritone voice from a distance.
Selen froze for a moment. Of course, she knew that voice.
Oh, no! Sage!
She bit her lip and tried to move as discreetly as possible. And when she was about to run off, someone pulled her bag. When she turned to her back, she saw Sage wrapped in a towel. His upper body was wet, and there was some residue of bubbles on his broad chest. Selen swallowed hard. The sight made her thirsty.
“What are you doing here?” There goes his cold voice again.
“I-I am lost…” Lost in your world, baby! “Sorry for interrupting your bath time. `Bye!”
Selen tried to run away, but Sage would not let go of her backpack. He pulled it hard, drawing her near to his body. She was tempted to let go of her bag, but she just can’t. Inside her backpack was the rope that she would use to climb back to her room when she got home. There is no way Selen would use the front door going home at midnight.
“This is trespassing,” he said.
Sage held her by the arm and tugged her to the house.
“Help!” She screamed when he pushed her inside his house.
Sage looked at her with furrowed brows.