Liars.
"People who tell lies. People who break promises. People who would either lie to protect or lie to hurt someone. Nevertheless, they still lie whatever the reason behind it."
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From the hotel to the GMC building, SENTHIE was as if with an invisible companion. Jimhuesh didn't say a word even when the silence was awkward, and neither did Senthie, she didn't dare to ask him any questions, even though she was dying to know the mystery behind what his mother said earlier. Instead, she pretended that she was just a ghost accompanying him. It was vice versa, actually. They were both invisible to each other, not until Jimhuesh broke the silence when they were in the elevator coming up to the 29th floor.
He cleared his throat and seemed to hesitate to speak, "look... I'm sorry about earlier, Ms. Senthie. I'll make sure to bring you back there to try the desserts that we missed out on."
Despite how much the air pressure of the accelerating elevator upwards bothered Senthie, she couldn't help but feel her face burn in embarrassment. "You heard that? I thought I was grunting quietly."
Jimhuesh chuckled as he folded his arms and leaned on the elevator cab. "Well, you said it out loud enough for me to hear. I almost thought you were doing it deliberately."
"No, I wasn't!" said Senthie, perfect timing as the elevator dinged and stopped, a sign that they had already reached the 29th floor. She then tapped her floor card to the infrared card reader that was beside the number buttons to open the elevator. This floor card was used before stepping in and out of the elevator. Its role was to monitor the number of a person who entered a certain floor and also to tighten security as these cards had another purpose. Anyone without a card wouldn't be able to enter above the ground floor.
"Oh, I'm sure you weren't," he responded. Senthie then stepped out immediately as she nodded her head and sang, "yeah, yeah, yeah, good night, then," to Jimhuesh. Senthie heard him chuckle and so she turned to face him again.
"By the way, I was thinking-- oh!" he jumped when the elevator was about to close if it weren't for his hands stopping it.
Senthie laughed. "What are you doing? You should've said what you've been wanting to tell me earlier! Or you can just like step out of the elevator right now."
Jimhuesh obeyed, he tapped his floor card and neared Senthie who was still laughing. The elevator door closed behind him.
"What now?" Senthie shrugged.
"Okay." He blew out air. "I was thinking of showing you something that you might like, or even love."
She narrowed her eyes. "And what is that?"
"Come with me and you'll see." He began to head to the opposite way of the elevator. It was a door that had a sign of only authorized personnel were allowed.

"Are you sure I can enter that room?" Senthie asked as she followed him. She knew that if an unauthorized person tried to enter the wrong door or floor, an alarm would set off.
He turned to face her. "Honestly, you can't. Just like the other doors leading to the stairs, you need an appropriate card to enter this room. Lucky you, you're with me. I'll authorize you to enter this room, but that only applies when you are with me. I can tap my card as many times as I'd like to without an error from the infrared card reader."
"Wow. That's awesome. I tried tapping my card twice last time but it says that I can only tap it once. So, it means, platinum floor card users are the only ones allowed to do that?"
"Exactly," Jimhuesh said and then he tapped his card twice on the infrared card scanner. Aside from its color, the card he used was a different card from the golden floor card that Senthie used to go to the 29th floor. Meaning, the highest floor she could enter was only the 29th, higher than that was forbidden. Same as the other occupants. If someone's workshop was on the 25th floor, then he/she wouldn't be able to go higher than that. GMC surely had tight security that even the stairs had a door just like the one they had entered just now.
"Try to open it," Jimhuesh inferred as he stepped to the side to make way for Senthie.
She held the handle of the door and pulled it but it didn't budge even after several times of trials. She gave up. "Why can't I open it?"
He smirked. "Because it needs my handprints."
There was a clicking sound as soon as he held the door handle. It opened and when they entered the room, it was empty--literally. It was something that no one would expect. It was like as if they were inside a box. No objects, just plain black marble wall. Jimhuesh walked straight to the left wall. Senthie wondered what was up in this room, so she waited to be sure, but Jimhuesh was still looking at the wall and was now even feeling it with his fingers.
Senthie scurried over and asked him, "why are we here? And what are you doing? Is that a magic wall like in Harry Potter where we can pass through it or is it a wall that has a secret passage to a secret place?"
Jimhuesh looked at her amusingly and laughed. "You're too funny, you remind me of Ry."
She rolled her eyes. "I'll take that as a compliment."
"You should." He smirked and then the black marble wall slid to the side and revealed ascending stairs. Senthie's eyes widened as she mouthed 'wow.'
Jimhuesh led the way and when they reached the top, there was another door. He did the same to open it and when they stepped inside, there was a hallway to the left and a door to the right.
"What are we doing here? Isn't this the 30th floor? This is the CEO's penthouse! I mean, yes, she's your mother, but why did you bring me here?"
"Just follow my lead." He then turned to the right and opened the door. Senthie followed.
The cool breeze blew as they took the stairs-- probably leading to the rooftop. A smile automatically played on Senthie's mouth as she looked up at the night sky.
"Wow," she muttered slowly and quietly, still looking at the bright full moon. "I can't believe this. Why are you so nice to me? Are you still feeling guilty towards me?"
He chuckled. "No. No. It's just that... I thought you'll love to see the moon in the best view, and this place came to my mind. So, I wanted you to see it. It's the least I can do to make up for what happened earlier."
Senthie laughed. She then finally turned her gaze to Jimhuesh who was looking more handsome because of the moonlight shining on his beautiful features. Senthie's heartbeat went faster, afraid that she'd scream how he was so freaking mesmerizing like the moon. She returned her gaze to the moon and cleared her throat before saying "thank you."
There was silence a moment later, but Jimhuesh was the one who initiated a conversation. "Aren't you curious?"
"Of what?" Senthie asked as she shrugged. She could now look directly into his eyes.
"Of what happened earlier."
"Oh, that. If I asked, would you give me an answer?"
He shrugged. "I don't know. Why don't you try and we'll see."
She smiled and then walked near the edge of the rooftop. She realized how shaky her toes were and so she placed her hands on the railings and instead focus on the beautiful view below--city lights with a bit of fog in the air. Jimhuesh followed her and did the same.
"I changed my name to live a new life," Senthie uttered. It was her strategy to make someone comfortable with her. She would open up about herself and let the other one know that she was trusting him, so that the other one would do the same, also. It was a move that had never failed her. But this time, she would just give away a little bit of her story to make Jimhuesh curious.
"A new life? Why? Do you hate your old life that much?" Jimhuesh asked with eagerness in his eyes.
"I hate my old self, that is."
His brows furrowed, eyes narrowed. "Why? Was it because of Rychie?"
Senthie laughed. "Of course, not! Why would you think that? It's because of my father."
Jimhuesh's narrowed eyes came back to normal size. His attention seemed to be all invested in everything Senthie would say. "Your father? May I ask why?"
Senthie smirked and shook her head. "No, it's your turn now. I want to know why you act that way earlier when your mother said you and Kassandra had fooled both of your parents. Your mother was kinda cool about it, so, why did you react as if it was a big deal?"
He avoided her eyes and gazed somewhere far away. "It was. I fooled my parents to get back at them."
The wind blew harder after that. Senthie felt her hands cold and sweaty as she folded her arms. "Will you tell me about it? You know you can refuse if this conversation is making you uncomfortable."
"Are you cold?"
"No, I'm not. I just like this pose. Are you trying to change the subject?"
"No, I'm not, but if your cold, I can let you borrow my--" Jimhuesh was cut off when he was about to take off his coat.
Senthie shook his head as she smiled politely. "No, thanks. I told you I'm not cold. I always mean what I say."
Jimhuesh raised his brows as he straightened his coat. "That's great, I suppose you don't lie?"
Senthie giggled and glanced at the sky. "I barely lie. I hate liars and I don't intend to be one. So, if I say, I'm not cold, I'm not really cold."
"I like that," he responded as he glanced at Senthie and then at the sky. "I really hate liars, too." He then returned his gaze to her and now they were looking at each other. "I guess, we have something in common."
"What made you hate liars?" Senthie asked, not averting her intense eyes from his. When Jimhuesh just stared at him with a smile, she continued, but this time, she turned to look at the sky as she placed her hands again on the railings. "I mean, yes, who likes liars? Why would people lie? Can't they just be honest? I would rather be hurt by the truth than be fooled by lies. Acceptance of the truth is a must."
He chuckled. "You know what, when I talk to you, it's as if I'm talking to Rychie."
She glared at him. "What does that even mean?"
He shrugged. "I dunno, maybe the way you talk, your sense of humor, or maybe how you make the conversation interesting. I like talking to both of you. I like having deep conversations."
She smirked. "In short, you don't like small talk. Me, too. But sometimes small talks are necessary. It's tiring, though, but we have to endure it. We can't just initiate a conversation like, 'hi, can you tell me something about your biggest fear?' It sure would make the other person uncomfortable and might even think we are a creep, right? But never mind that. Let's go back to our topic before, what made you hate liars?"
Jimhuesh smiled before he sighed and answered, "it was when I found out that the perfect and happy family I once thought I have...was just all a lie."
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Hello, Noomiells!
Thank you for reading this chapter. Hope you liked it. :D
What do you think of GMC's building security? (I got the idea out of nowhere, I hope it was okay.)
Do you think Rychie and Senthie have the same vibes?
What do you think is up to Senthie's father and Jimhuesh's family?
I would like to know your opinion. Please, let me know! :D