First Kill (I)

09:00 A.M. 

Margo Monteverde's Residence. 

June 18th, the year 2018. Monday. 

Margo brushed her hair slower than usual. Her face was like a wilted flower. The petals left to dry out in the direction and burning heat of the sunlight. Her emotionless face stared back at her in her reflection. She looked at her cell phone as it rang for the tenth time now. She declined it again annoyingly. 

It was coming from Xian, her ex-boyfriend. Margo doesn't want to answer any calls from now on, even Carmela. She just wanted to be alone. 

The sun shone through the ivory and lace curtains from the balcony of her bedroom, but her face was the opposite. Her gloomy eyes said otherwise, and no surge of happiness can break it. 

Xian was calling her for the past two days now, and yet Margo didn't want to hear his useless explanation. Why would explain if he had done it already?

Xian's video pierced through her heart like daggers in air. She howled when she saw it. It's like they knew and loved each other for a while before her. She observed how Xian parted his lips continuously as they kissed passionately. It was the way he kisses her on the video, the softness, and the love underneath it. 

Margo wondered who that woman with the red hair was. 

She looked through her eyes in her reflection. She reminisced about the kiss she exchanged with several men in the showbiz industry. But she only did it for her job as an actress, not for something that can be love in aspects. 

Margo kisses Xian passionately, every day, if they have time. For Tristan, it's different. She just kissed him because she didn't know what to believe anymore. She was desperate to have someone on her side, that someone like Tristan can be a shoulder she can lean on. 

And now, what has gotten into her? She brawled with Katrina while everyone, even her fans, was watching. Margo knew her consequences will be hard to accept for something like her who is sensitive. And it made her devastated by it. 

She put the brush back on her comb rack, straightened her hair one more time, and closed her eyes. She stood up quickly from her dressing table and climbed into her queen's bed hastily. The clock ticked in every second as Margo's breath quickens. She wrapped the comforter around her as the tears trickled down from her eyes. It poured down through the pillow and she sobbed uncontrollably. 

Everything, even her career, was falling apart to pieces. A single scandal has destroyed the hard work she achieved. Until she heard a loud bang from downstairs. It's as if someone barged into the house.

Margo removed the comforter, swung her feet from the feet of the bed, and bolted outside of her bedroom. She went downstairs as fast as lightning. She thought Nanny Margarette got into an accident or something. 

She panted as she looked around the living room and into the kitchen. But she saw no sign of Nanny Margarette. 

"Nanny! Nanny!" Margo cried out, but there was no answer. She searched in the kitchen. When she was about to turn her back around, the front door creaked loudly. There came a limping Xian from the outside in his hospital gown. Margo tilted her head and widened her eyes. 

"Margo." A voice called out. He steadied himself from the wooden crutch that he was holding both close to the sides of his body. Xian was trying to support his weight even though he couldn't feel anything. He still stood up straight. He panted and pursed his lips.

Xian escaped when it was still dawn. The time when the nurses and guards were trying hard not to fall asleep on their duties. He wanted to see Margo so badly, and when he had the chance when his mother came out of his room to take a pee, he sneaked out fast. 

And fortunately, he reached Margo Monteverde's residence by riding a taxi. And he forcefully barged into the house while Nanny Margarette was getting out of the house. She will probably buy some food on the groceries that she was in a rush to lock the front gate. The almighty God must have been granting his wishes lately.

Margo stared at the cemented leg of Xian's and the cast around the right arm. Margo can't help but worry about him. She controlled the temptation to run over Xian and guide him through the sofa. He shook, and Margo glanced at his eyes. He clenched his jaw as he closed his eyes, and Margo felt he was in pain right now. 

She stared into his eyes straight before asking, "What are you doing here?" 

Xian didn't want to break his gaze while his vision became blurry from the tears. He tried to take a step, but he grunted upon moving his leg only a centimeter from the ground. The tears poured out of his eyes unnoticeably. He controlled the screech of pain from coming out of his mouth for Margo not to hear. 

Xian exhaled first and muttered, "I'm here to---" 

"Cut it. I don't want to hear any more secrets from you," Margo concluded. 

"Margo, please. I love you," Xian stammered and panted. 

Margo shook her head aggressively and shouted, "Where is Nanny?!" 

"Margo, please." 

"Where is she?! You forced in here, Xian! I can file a case for you for trespassing!" Margo yelled. 

Xian still looks straight in her eyes while responding, "Nanny got out of the house. I did nothing wrong with her. She left the gate ajar, so I sneak in." 

"The loud bang came from me. I slammed on the door earlier because I can't hold my leg steady," Xian added quietly. Margo didn't know what to say. She felt the electricity intensified between them, and she badly wanted to hug him. But she controlled the temptation. She knuckled her fists as she looked the other way. 

"Margo, it was Michie who did it," Xian unraveled, trying to save their relationship. 

"I didn't even hear of that name until now," Margo retorted. She averted her eyes to Xian. The silence erupted again around them. 

"I don't want to hear anything from you. Just leave," Margo dismissed. 

"Margo---"

"Do you know how much I love you? It makes me so hard to accept even though I want to turn my eyes as blind. I want to believe everything you say, but something in my mind said that I shouldn't," Margo rebutted. Xian looked down and didn't know what to do. 

"When someone broke my trust, I don't know how to bring that back," Margo breathed. The tears streamed down her eyes without even noticing.

Xian was not stable now from where he was standing and his leg shook. His back curved down as he felt the cast getting tighter than usual. It must have been the numbness of his right leg. His heart ached. 

"Margo---" 

"It's you. It's you I am blaming now for what I have been going through right now! If it wasn't for you, my career would still be in the limelight," Margo scoffed. She chuckled, grimacing after. She licked her lips as heavy tears falling again from her eyes. 

"Everything is falling apart, and if it weren't for you, I can blame. No one will be in a rage with me. She can rip me into pieces and leave me killed without notice!" Margo shrieked. Xian shifted his eyes and creased his forehead. What is Margo saying? 

Xian got his jaw slack and could not move from his place. He asked, "Who is she?" 

"You don't have the right to know it. Besides, I don't care about you now. So, do the same thing too," Margo grumbled. 

"Margo."

"Go. Just leave. I don't want to see your face again," Margo snorted. She turned around and dashed over up the grand staircase as Xian called her. 

He knew he couldn't do anything to persuade Margo to listen to him. He was so desperate to cling to their relationship. He moved in a haste that he fell on the ground and screamed in pain. Xian held his right leg and his breath quickened. 

Margo slammed the door shut as she wept loudly. She closed her eyes and put her hand over her mouth. As she was crouching down, she felt the vibration of her cell phone and it pinged several times. She wiped the tears first and got out her cell phone. 

She opened it and saw that it was coming from her social media. Margo opened the notifications. She saw several comments that popped out of the screen. 

The person who was watching last night posted the scandal in public. Everyone was siding with Katrina. She read it one by one until she cannot carry it anymore. She curled into a fetal position, annihilation taking over her in a matter of seconds.