2 Candles and Knives

As Gabriella packed up the remaining things on her table and made way towards her Lamborghini, she reminisced on all the beautiful moments she's had with her dear, darling Cyril. He was her world. One of the people that has kept her sane and grounded this past year. Their relationship was barely one year old yet he had managed to squeeze his way into all of her form.

Before Cyril, she had created a wall, a barricade, around herself to shield her from all the false promises and fake relationships that she's had since childhood. And yet, he managed to convince her to let her walls down, to give him a chance. So, she did. And she never once regretted it. He has proven to be the best there is. He never once saw her as a money-making machine like Chris did. He didn't see her as a child that needs to be taught everything like Oliver did and he definitely wasn't manipulative or toxic like Alexander.

Oh well, In her twenty two years of existence in this world, she's had her fair share of relationships and they all hit rock bottom until Cyril came along.

Now at Cyril's house which he often told her to call their home. He'd always say "my love, please don't say my house, it's yours too. Whatever is mine is yours".

Gabriella opened the door with the spare key in her hand and walked straight to the kitchen to get a bottle of water.

"He always forgets to switch off the lights, every time. What will his silly head do without me?"

So, she settled into the cream coloured sofa in the living room.

The one in which she almost had sex with him? Yeah, the same.

Gabriella has always chosen a life of chastity. She promised herself as a child that the only man that'll ever get to see her nakedness is the man she gets married to. Needless to say that all the "Chads" she dated were not comfortable with her resolution. They all tried to talk her out of it.

"We'll get married eventually, it doesn't matter if we have sex now"

But then, all the relationships ended in deadlock.

Anyways, that doesn't matter. Not anymore.

She's with the dearest man on earth and he's told her how ready he is to wait. He was going to wait no matter how long it takes. He wasn't sexually active either, just like her.

Gabriella soon stood up from the sofa, her doe-eyes scanning the rooms calculatively. Despite the fact that she already spoke to the crew on what to do with the decorations, she still wanted to add a little bit of originality. She wanted to spice up the place with bits and pieces that meant something to Cyril. That meant something to both of them.

She decided to create a wallflower. But then, she was going to need some help and the team weren't around yet. That left her with one option.

Mae.

Mae, her beloved best friend. The through thick and thin kind of friend. The kind of friend that would fly over on a workday, risking her job, just to celebrate you.

The kind of friend that would choose to not attend an event that you were both invited to, just because you're not comfortable with it.

The loyal kind of friend.

Yes, that's Mae.

And oh! How Gabriella loved her!

Gabriella had to sacrifice a fair share of her time, and money, to have a cordial relationship with Mae.

It was all peaceful though, no toxicity.

As you can already tell, Cyril and Mae were the pillars of Gabriella's young life. They kept her happy. Helped her fight loneliness. Made her feel worthy of love. They showed her the opposite of everything she experienced in her own family.

They were her true family.

Now, Gabriella needed Mae's help in making the wallflower. Apart from the fact that Mae knew how to make wallflowers in a really special way, she also lived about a stone throw from Cyril's house and that made her the perfect person to help.

Gabriella picked up her keys once again and drove the really short distance to Mae's house.

There was a shoe at the entrance, a male's shoe.

Gabriella grinned and facepalmed.

"If this isn't another one of her escapades"

You see Mae is the definition of a typical love-struck grown woman. She must have lived with Cupid in her last life because who didn't she love.

She was attracted to almost everyone. At least almost all their mutual friends.

And each time, she always ended up getting laid. She loved it too. Gabriella couldn't stop her from living like that. She tried but her efforts were futile each time.

It was always a three-day job for Mae to get most of the men she came in contact with to bulge.

No doubt she is a stunning woman but her encounter with men was another reason why Gabriella couldn't stand men.

It was no news that there were only an handful of men that were loyal to their partners. An even smaller bunch of men that are chaste. Luckily for her, Cyril is one of them.

When Gabriella stepped into Mae's poorly furnished living room, something seemed off immediately.

The air was thick with the smell of sweat and something else that she couldn't think of at the moment.

She wanted to call out to Mae but decided against it.

But then, the house seemed quiet, too quiet, it was almost unrecognizable.

Mae's house was never quiet. It was always filled with noise of booming music or the sound of chatters of her other friends.

Unlike Gabriella's house.

They had so little in common such that in an ideal universe, they could never be friends. But that is what made them match so well. It is what made them such good friends.

Gabriella took long strides towards Mae's room and realized that the house wasn't quiet after all.

She shook her head once again and was about to leave her friend to her fleeting moment of ectasy. But then, she heard a soft gasp and then an even softer moan.

She heard a voice that sounded so familiar, too familiar.

Then she heard the words pronounced ever so softly in Mae's voice, "Cyril"

She must have heard wrong right?

I mean, Cyril is at work, he can't possibly be in that room with her best friend.

So, she called out to her friend.

"Mae"

"Mae"

"Mae"

She called out while hitting the door intermittently.

Next thing she heard was "shit" in that voice. The voice she could recognize in her sleep.

"Mae, are you there?"

The swear word was followed by a muffled groan and a gasp. Then, shuffling of clothes, the sound of the metal head of a belt, the sound of two people trying to hide a mess they've just made, the sound of guilt.

Mae's head felt heavy immediately. It felt as though those walls had re-appeared. The walls Cyril managed to break. As though, the walls were rebuilt. Only this time, they didn't shield her from the world, they were closing in on her.

The front door opened and someone walked in.

Still in shock, Gabriella stood in the corridor transfixed on the spot. The culprits, probably too overwhelmed by guilt and shame, had decided to stay put in the room.

Gabriella didn't bother to check the door. But she heard footsteps and it got closer and closer.

Then, she saw the person who walked in earlier?

"Mae?", she said, a puzzled expression on her face.

"Gabby!", Mae half-yelled, walking towards Gabriella and making an attempt to fist-bump her.

"Wait…so if you're not the one in your room. Then, who is?", Gabriella said, ignoring Mae's bubbly surge of excitement and thereby, the fist bump.

Her eyebrows remained furrowed as she walked towards the door to Mae's room.

"Wait…what do you mean?", Mae suddenly spoke, as if her brain only just decided to register the question Gabriella asked earlier.

"Shhhh", was Gabriella's response as she quietly stood in front of Mae's room door.

After a few seconds, the door flung open and at the reveal of who was behind the door all this while, Gabriella's legs gave way.

"You?!!!", Mae yelled at the now-visible young lady, with spite and anger.