20 Chapter 19

It was about 8 P.M. when an EZQUESADA marked truck pulled up at Charis Institute. The truck was painted gold, with a black 'EZQUESADA' logo on the sides. It looked luxurious, no doubt. But what's inside is much more precious.

"It's here!" Moniqua exclaimed, running as fast as her silver Louis Vuitton heels can carry her.

One of the workers greeted her as the rest followed behind her, less enthusiastically but excited nonetheless.

A woman stepped out of the truck, her beauty was incomparable, and it was clear when they all saw her who she was. Jasmina Quesada was considered one of the most beautiful and kind people in the world, she even won Miss Universe back in the day.

"Mom!" Moniqua lunged at her mother, hugging her tightly to which her mother did just as much.

"Oh, darling! How are you?" Her mother asked her, holding her face with affection in her eyes.

Out of everyone at Charis, Moniqua had the best relationship with her mother. Her father was never in the picture. Her mother was an independent woman, her father tried to marry her off with money but she refused, making her own business that surpassed her so-called husband-to-be.

Moniqua and her mother finished their reunition and went over to their friends, with her mom's workers following behind them with carts of dresses and tuxes.

"Fitting time!" Her mother exclaimed to them, dragging Scarlett and Caroline by their arms to get them fitted into their dresses. "Marcel, come on!" She shouted to him and Marcel complied, following her with a million-dollar smile, which is arguably the price of each of their gowns and tuxes.

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Breakfast was served. Today is the day of Kaiden's court hearing and his releasement, they can feel it.

Moniqua's mother came down to join them for breakfast, as did the detective, who will be present at court today so she would have to leave earlier, and Ms Jones, who, unfortunately, can't come to court because of her duties as a headmaster.

"Ms Quesada, we can't thank you enough for designing such glamorous dresses on such late notice," Natasha thanked politely. She was very pleased with her body-fitting dress that the woman designed for her.

"Oh, it's no worries, dear. It's the least I could do. Thank you for always being there for Moniqua, I wish I could be there for her more," She responded with a longing look. It was true, she wished for more time. She's always been caught up with work that she rarely had time to visit Moniqua at Charis. And even though she visited once per six months, which is more than the rest of the parents, she feels guilty for not being there for her teenage years.

"Ms Quesada," Leonora called as she sat down. "Do you think I could change my dress into a tux?"

Jasmina nodded, "Of course, Leo. And I'm sure you would look dazzling in either."

Moniqua came into the dining hall, dazed and confused. Her mother had said that she had something to tell her but would wait until the week is over, to keep the weight off their shoulders, and that made Moniqua wonder about what it is. It surely isn't urgent, but important if her mother decided that she had to tell her.

Sitting down, Moniqua shook her head, pushing the wandering thoughts back and followed their conversation about what they should do at court.

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Lucifer has been quiet all day, it was as if he wasn't there at all. Maybe he was there in physical form, but his mind was surely somewhere else.

And no one noticed.

It was like Jack's death affected him the most, while the rest continued with their lives. And he knew that they were sad, but they sure wasn't letting themselves grief for a moment.

He drunk so much last night, he almost didn't feel a thing. But he did, and that's how he knew he knew he didn't have enough.

But he stopped nonetheless, and continued to smoke.

So he just sat on his balcony, watching the stars, and smoking cigarettes to calm himself down.

"Lucifer!" Isaac snapped him out of his head and he noticed that he was already sitting down in the courtroom.

"Yeah?" Lucifer answered, his voice was hoarse because of not talking at all.

"The court is about to start," Scarlett said to him and he noticed that he was in the middle of Isaac and Scarlett, just like last year when they fought.

Kaiden walked in with 2 guards beside him and his lawyer following behind him. The court started and ended in a haze with Kaiden being released and the statement that the investigation is either back on or the killer of Alexandra Collins is Avery Cole.

Soon enough, they were back at the academy and the day came and gone. Turns out, the investigation was closed and everything was slowly turning back to normal. Though, he could still feel his heart becoming more and more hollow every passing minute.

His bad habits didn't decrease, it just increased. His drinking, his smoking, it was clear that it was ruining him from the inside out, but he couldn't stop. So he didn't.

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Leonora glanced at Natasha, her best friend, and the person she loved. It wasn't a shock that no one noticed, since she had always been secretive, only talking when talked to or if it was important.

Natasha was talking about her newest gadget, her "boomers" as she called it. Leonora found it cute how Natasha talked about her inventions with sparkles in her green eyes and a big smile playing on her lips.

"They're the cutest things! You just throw it at someone and yell "OK Boomer!" and it goes "Boom!"," Natasha giggled thinking about it.

"What goes "Boom"?" Leonora asked, confused. She had not been paying attention at what she has been saying, more at her green eyes, which she had noticed to have specks of brown in them.

"My "Boomers". Not only do they blow up things, but they also blow up people," She answered with wide eyes.

'So innocent,' Leonora thought.

"That sound's great, Nat," She smiled.

"I know, right? I can't wait to use it," Natasha said, smiling brightly back at her.

Natasha had always been quiet, even though she started going to Charis the same age as Isaac and Caroline, who are always quite talkative. But for some reason, Natasha opened up to Leonora as quick as she fell for her.

Leonora had a plan, she would make her move before the week was over and nothing's going to stop her. Not a murder mystery, not an evil plan, nothing could stop her from being with the one she loves.

Well, except that particular person.

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"Mom?" Moniqua knocked on the guest room door.

"Come in!" She heard her mother shout from behind.

Moniqua walks in, her heels tapping the floor as she walked. Her mom was standing in front of a mannequin, pinning fabric on.

"Is something wrong, dear?" Jasmina asked, not looking at her.

"Um, yeah. The detective said something when the investigation was still ongoing," She started, making her mother's head turn towards her. "You had an agrrement with SGE Entertainment, I just want to know..."

"Oh, that. Well, remember how I was engaged to a rich man, who's not-so-rich anymore?" Jasmina asked, sitting down on a chair.

Moniqua nodded, "Yeah?"

"He was the head of SGE," Her mother laughed, "It would've been much more successful if I married him."

"Oh!" Her eyes widened. "It was that guy!"

"Yes, dear, it was," The woman laughed again, "He was an ass."

Moniqua gasped, she had never heard her mother use such a word, "Mom!"

"Just telling the truth, dear," Jasmina giggled out.

A thought came across her mind and she went to ask her mother about it but Jasmina had already gone back to her mannequin.

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