5 After-effects
"Huh," Kristofer mumbled for the second time.
He was left to stare at the photo that was now on the front page of every news article he could see on the web and the television screen.
A lot of people have seen it by now.
He stared at the woman beside him. Her smile seemed to hold so many mysteries.
She was, in fact, a mystery herself.
"Dang," he muttered.
She was not bluffing when she bid him good luck. So far, he had received no feedback from anyone regarding her identity, and he was left to stare at the only evidence they had ever met.
She was, by his standards, very captivating. Although her eyes seemed to be conveying something, the curve of her lips masked perfectly the emotion she was trying to hide.
Kristofer was sitting at his favorite spot in his favorite coffee house.
He took a quick sip from the steaming mug in front of him.
It was late afternoon, and he was still pondering the identity of that mysterious woman.
For some reason, he would like to believe that she had something to do with the scandal, the scandalous video that he was sure his father had taken care of already.
That would have been some juicy news for everyone to know.
If the photo did not sell, there might have been a reference to that from one of the media.
"Who are you, woman? Who on earth are you?"
"Who, indeed," Kristofer looked up and found himself eye-to-eye with Kelly, one of the regulars at the coffee house.
He smirked and watched her occupy the empty spot across from him. Kristofer had no idea why, but one day, this woman suddenly approached him, joining him for a brief coffee session.
The first time it happened, Kristofer did not mind the comfortable silence that had hung around between them. The next few ones included some chit-chats from time to time. Gradually, Kristofer could count Kelly as an acquaintance.
She was one of the few ladies who didn't pounce on him.
Kelly Constantine held Kristofer Almodiel's smirk. She did not precisely know why. One day, she simply sat with him and drank her coffee comfortably like he was an old friend from a past life.
He was extremely good-looking. There was no denying that.
However, it was not his looks that drew her in. Though the guy was rich and famous and almost had everything, he seemed lonely.
"You never fail to amaze me, Kelly. You are always up to date with my life," Kristofer stated.
Kelly chuckled, shaking her head right after.
"Half of the world knows what is going on with you, Mister A. I am a mere spectator," Kristofer could not argue with that.
She was right.
His life was no secret.
He rarely has any privacy.
He remembered when Kelly had been mistaken for his 'special' girl.
Eventually, he was able to clear that up; else, the reporters outside Kelly's house would have stayed there until she had agreed to have an interview or at least said something about the non-existent relationship between the two of them.
"Ah, my bad, Kelly. I am sincerely apologizing,"
"Apology accepted," she quickly responded, clasping her hands over the table. Kristofer was suspicious of the sudden gesture. Her eyes trained on him steadily.
"So, who is she?" Kelly asked, her eyes undeniably showing the enthusiasm that she was feeling. "Red seemed to be her color. She looked like a lovely girl."
Kristofer wanted to belt out a laugh at her comment. He hated that color. He did not like red.
Red reminded him of blood, and blood reminded him of his past.
Kristofer hid his shiver, shaking away the memories that had started to replay in his mind.
Now was not the time to dwell on something he would rather forget and never remember again.
Placing his focus back towards Kelly, Kristofer shrugged.
"Your guess is as good as mine. She's a woman of mystery."
"Ooh, she sounds interesting," Kristofer was quite sure that she sounded interesting and was a woman of interest.
The fact that she appeared out of nowhere was already puzzling enough. It also occurred to Kristofer that the woman in the red dress knew him.
Just as Kelly had claimed that his life was no secret, more than half of the people around the city must know who he was. But the way that woman looked at him conveyed that she knew him differently than everyone else.
"Too interesting," Kristofer muttered.
"Now, I'm really curious," Kelly remarked. Kristofer shook his head.
"I did not mean anything by that,"
"Hmm," Kelly responded, drawling the words out.
"You know what," Kristofer stated. "Think whatever you like, Kelly. My conscience is clean."
"Sure, whatever. But I won't be surprised if you and that woman would somehow see each other again. It's called fate."
--
"Explain yourself, woman," Nikki Emerald's voice came through the other end of the line as Anna put it on loudspeaker while preparing her dinner.
She never picked up her best friend's call until she returned to her condo. Anna was certain that Nikki was probably burning with fury for making her wait for such a long time.
But she did not even feel guilty.
It was not only Nikki's call that she had ignored but all the calls she had received. All the calls that had gone through her phone for the past few hours had been ignored. She did not want to deal with everyone's query, nor was she planning to give them any answer.
"I have nothing to explain, Nikki. The picture said it all," Anna stated as she placed the noodles into the pan, the water finally boiling.
"What the picture was saying is that you and Kristofer Almodiel are seeing each other,"
Nikki had a point. However, Anna did not really care.
There was no way that Kristofer Almodiel would ask her out, and she had no plans of dating the likes of him.
Anna was glad she had made that choice a few years back. This was the kind of situation she had avoided a few times.
However, if Kristofer Almodiel finds out who she is, she will be left impressed.
"What the picture says is not harming anyone," Anna responded. "Besides, haven't we learned to never believe in what we see alone?"
There was a pause. Anna sighed, adding more to what she had already said.
"Therefore, that picture meant nothing, Nikki. Nothing at all."
