SCARLET ~Hey, sis! Where are you? It's all over the news. Mom and dad have been calling you too!~
SCARLET ~Are you safe? I called the hotel; they told me you had left when the incident happened~
SCARLET ~Hey! Jake just texted me you are with Tessa. Thank God, Ashley!~
SCARLET ~Call me as soon as you can~
'The bitch!' Ashley mouthed, reading her evil step-sister's messages. 'How she wriggles in defeat!'
The course of events in the previous rundown, which ended with Ashley's death, had been-
Tessa was grabbed from the hotel.
Ashley finished lunch at Benihana.
Jake left for his office while she was abducted on her way to meet Tessa.
Ashley's detour to meet Tessa in advance had foiled Scarlet's plans.
The young Palmer felt like calling up the little villain and giving a piece of her mind. However, from experience, she had realized it would be a stupid, fatal mistake. She needed to play along instead. Information was the key. There was no point in throwing away her only advantage until she had irrefutable evidence against Scarlet. Otherwise, the second chance of life would be in vain.
ASHLEY ~Hey, sweetie, I am as safe as a swaddled baby! There is no need to be concerned~
Her step-sister replied immediately.
SCARLET ~Can we meet up?~
'Oh, wouldn't you like another swipe at me?' Ashley thought.
ASHLEY ~ I am a little busy, you know. With the engagement and everything. See you tomorrow~
A minute passed in silence. Then Scarlet's message arrived.
SCARLET ~See you tomorrow then. I am very happy for you. Muah! (smiling emoji)~
Ashley's head throbbed. Her heart palpitated. Having a conversation with her mortal enemy was not pleasant. The image of Scarlet's ominous grin as she admitted to killing Tessa and mangling her face haunted her. 'Not this time, bitch!'
Ashley shook her head to rid herself of the anxiety.
She went over the plan again.
Talk to the lawyer. Check!
Assign a bodyguard. Check!
The next step was to hire the detective, Harry Doyle, to spy on Scarlet.
If the attorney, Elijah, agreed to represent her and Doyle dug up some dirt on Scarlet, it would be a pincer move to defeat the scheming little devil.
The plan was foolproof.
However, she felt anxious as hell.
'Perhaps I should involve dad?'
Arthur Palmer's jet would arrive early in the morning. Ashley made a mental note to speak to him privately before the engagement ceremony.
She had no proof to support her claims against Scarlet, however. It would be foolish to come out blazing with allegations with no evidence. Once Arthur left after the engagement, she could collude with Elijah to topple her step-sister.
Ashley felt a migraine coming on. She needed to unwind.
The barista arrived with the special order.
'A strong coffee would do the trick to calm my nerves,' she concluded.
"Miss Palmer," Milan said, placing the tray of tidbits on her table. "Apologies for the delay."
A copper pot brimmed with Srbija coffee. The beans belonged to a remote plantation in Serbia, where the volcanic soil produced a rare variety of coffee.
The barista served her drink in a baroque Turkish cup, which he placed over an ornate saucer. "Here is your coffee, ma'am," he said, handing her the arrangement.
Ashley received it with a 'thank you' and took in the aroma. She took a sip of the beverage.
Her anxiety seemed to disappear instantly!
It was hot, liquid peace.
Milan put out a few mini bagels from a jar and sprinkled cinnamon on them.
"Thank you," Ashley said, and picked up a piece.
Bagels were not the ideal food the day before her engagement, but she had a cleanse planned with her nutritionist early in the morning. A mini bagel was not something to be wary of.
She took a bite.
"Mmm, it's good. Leave the jar, please."
Milan nodded. "Will there be anything else, ma'am?"
"Hmm, yes! Do you have a girlfriend, Milan?"
The barista blushed, but the plastic smile never left his lips. It was certainly not the first time an American girl expressed interest in his relationship status.
"I had a girlfriend back in Serbia, ma'am," he replied in the same monotone. "Here in America, however, I have not been fortunate."
'What? No way!" Ashley exclaimed. "A hottie like you! Wait, I'll set you up with one of the Grayson studio interns."
"You are too kind, ma'am," Milan said. His dark pupils had a sadness to them. Milan left, and Ashley was left to her abstract thoughts. 'It doesn't seem I have much energy left for the day,' she told herself. 'Dark circles on my engagement day would be a nightmare. A long beauty sleep before tomorrow awaits me.'
Ashley leaned back a bit with her cup and took continuous gulps from her coffee.
'Ah, this is better. Luxury for luxury's sake.'
She left her seat and approached a library rack. A rare edition of the Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoevsky sat in a corner. It was embellished with gold-colored wavy lines on the hardcover.
'Anybody who read the book would know gold is a serious mismatch for the premise,' she scoffed.
Ashley returned to her seat with the copy.
She stifled a yawn.
'I will have to rethink spending the night with Jake. If he keeps me up all night, I'll look like a country bum in the morning.'
The book had two bookmarks placed by a previous reader. 'Perhaps, I'll come across a decent quote.'
~WHAT IS HELL? I MAINTAIN THAT IT IS THE SUFFERING OF BEING UNABLE TO LOVE~ said Dostoevsky.
'Very poignant.'
'Am I still capable of love?' Ashley wondered. 'The people closest to me have betrayed me twice over.'
She flipped the pages to where the other bookmark was.
~MAN IS SOMETIMES EXTRAORDINARILY, PASSIONATELY, IN LOVE WITH SUFFERING..."
What Jake and Scarlet put her through in the previous life, was it because of their twisted emotions for her?
Did they feel unloved and betrayed because of what she was like?
If she forgives Jake, would that mean she was merciful, or that she was in love with the suffering he put her through?
Ashley shut the book closed and stared at the ornate cover again.
Wavy gold lines.
The lines seemed to move in a surreal manner, as if to hypnotize. Ashley's eyelids drooped a bit, but she kept glancing at the cover.
'Why are the lines moving? That is weird.'
Ashley raised her head to look around her.
The entire room was shimmering.
'What the fuck?'
She blinked her eyes forcefully and shook her head. It seemed to make matters worse.
The cafe lights seemed to have dimmed.
'Why would they do that? The night is approaching. They were supposed to switch on brighter lights.
Ashley raised an arm to signal the barista, but all she managed was a shrug.
'Damn! I must be exhausted!'
Milan noticed her gesture and approached the table. However, he stood at a distance, speaking nothing. The barista had an apologetic look on his face.
'Perhaps his eyes were sad, as usual. Ashley's vision was too blurry to confirm that.'
'Sleepy. Really sleepy. Maybe I should nod off for a second. It has been a long day. I deserve the rest.'
"Sorry, Ma'am," Milan said, still keeping his distance.
"Why are you apologizing?" Ashley tried to say, but an unintelligible slur came out instead.
‘I will apologize to the manager once I wake up,’ Ashley thought. 'As an exclusive member, I think I have paid enough to take a quick nap on their divan.' She leaned back and tried to gesture to Milan to wake her up in fifteen minutes.
She heard footsteps. Voices of men speaking a foreign language in the background. Serbian. Ashley tried to recognize the words. Her Serbian was not fluent, but she could understand a few phrases.
"Gde je ona?" (Where is she?)
“U blizini biblioteke.” (Right by the library.)
One of them went to the entrance of the luksuzni and drew the entry chain closed, placing a construction sign ahead of it.
CLOSED FOR REPAIRS.
Ashley felt she was watching the scene on television far away.
One of the strangers approached Milan.
"Da li je svesna? Koliko si joj dao?" (Is she conscious? How much did you give her?)
"Pet ml. Kao sto ste mi rekli. Uverite se sami." (5 ml. Exactly like you asked me to. Take a look by yourself.)
'What is going on? They need to stop talking and let me sleep,' Ashley thought. Her eyelids were already closed.
She opened her eyes for a moment and saw a bearded face leaning over her. The man's breath was damp and pungent.
'Am I dreaming? What kind of weird nightmare is this?'
And then she shut her eyes and drifted off to a dreamless sleep.