A Blessing or A Curse

Castle

Katherine arrived at Shadow's underground base which was situated in Cona, Florida. After going through a series of security measures, the elevator opened and she entered the lobby of their headquarters.

There were quite a lot of agents walking around leisurely like the place was their home—it was the same for Katherine, Shadow became her home for six years now.

"There she is, my seductress Tiffany Stone." Styles draped his hand over Katherine's shoulder. "I liked that name… it sounds so… slutty." He danced his brows up and down.

Styles was a hot nerd. He wore wayfarer glasses that sat on his sharp nose and contrary to most, he knows how to dress up nicely. The button-down shirt paired with grey pants fit him perfectly.

She smiled at him and handed him a brown paper bag with cronuts inside. "Here," she said.

A huge grin appeared on his face as he excitedly took the pastry from her. "See, this is why I love you!" He smacked a kiss on her temple before he walked away, already eating the cronuts and entered the IT station, Styles' own kingdom. "Alright, nerds! Time to flex those fingers, show me what you got."

Katherine shook her head and chuckled. She loved Styles but she only saw him like a brother not a lover. Turning to her left, she hurriedly went to the next floor going down where Chris' office was located. As her handler for years, Chris became her immediate boss.

On her way, she bumped into Alicia. Katherine hated this woman. Alicia seduced everyone and anyone. Alicia looked at her from head to toe and a nasty chuckle escaped from her lips as she walked past her.

Katherine rolled her eyes, seemingly annoyed by her, as usual.

Before entering Chris's office, she quickly fixed her hair, checked her reflection on the glass wall beside her and knocked.

"Come in."

Opening the door to his office, Katherine saw Chris's side profile. He was looking over the glass window, watching the dozens of agents during their daily training.

Chris was also an agent until he got his spot in the senior officials. Tall, broad shoulders, soft blonde hair and he has clear blue eyes. The color of the suit he wore matched his eyes impeccably. She sighed when she thought that she could never have this man before her.

Noticing that the person who just entered did not move from her spot, Chris turned his head and flashed his gorgeous smile. "Why are you just standing there?" He asked as he walked over to her. "How was your mission?"

Katherine swallowed when she saw him nearing. His perfume wafted in her nose, making her heart beat a little faster than normal.

She cleared her throat and composed herself as she handed him her report. Then she briefed him about her mission that night. She was proud of her work and she knew that she did a great job.

Receiving the file, Chris scanned her face and saw the small wound on the corner of her mouth which she got from the slap that Mrs. Koh gave her earlier. He reached and gently touched her cheek, his thumb lightly grazing the area around the bruise, worried that she was hurt. "Why did you let her slap you like that?"

Katherine felt a chill down her spine when his fingers touched her. His hand was warm and she fought the urge to place her hand over his. 'No, Kath. You can't give in. This is ridiculous, he is your savior and your boss. You should not have these feelings,' she told herself.

Averting her head away and walking towards the glass window, she shrugged. "Don't worry about it. This is nothing."

Chris nodded. "You have a new mission." He was already on his chair whe he tossed a folder with the word 'Confidential' marked on the cover onto the table. Every mission she had was confidential, she already knew that.

She turned to retrieve the folder and immediately skimmed through the paper. "This isn't connected to the Money Laundering case?"

"No. You did a great job on that mission. However, Alicia is going to cover the next one related to that."

'That cunning little—! No wonder she looked at me like that!' she cursed inwardly. "So she stole my mission."

A smile appeared on Chris' face. He stood up and walked towards her, stopping just a foot away. He placed his warm hand on her shoulder and patted it lightly. "This is your new mission. I need you to do this for me. I trust no one else."

And with that, Katherine did not have any choice. After Chris told her that he would forward more details later, she excused herself to go home.

"You should get that checked. Stop by at the infirmary on your way out," Chris said, referring to the small wound on her mouth.

She gave him a sweet smile before closing the door to his office. As soon as she got out, she let out a long exhale and fanned her face with the folder in her hand.

"You, missy, are in trouble." Styles clicked his tongue, teasing Katherine as he walked closer. He knew that Katherine and Chris liked each other but it was obviously not going anywhere.

She looked at him, ready to shut him up, but she could only roll her eyes. "I'm heading home. Goodnight, Styles."

"Sleep tight," he replied before entering Chris' office.

…

Katherine's apartment...

Her place took the entire 18th floor of an apartment building. It had glass walls around the area, brightening the entire space. The place was styled with a modern minimalist vibe, which she decorated herself.

Amidst the tranquility, there's a feeling of darkness looming over the bedroom.

Beads of sweat covered Katherine's forehead. She had been dreaming the same dream for years over and over again. In her dream, she heard gunshots firing in all directions. Footsteps and screams filled the place while she was hiding in her bedroom. Her dream was about that night many years ago when she lost her parents.

She was so scared that time and she had been reliving the same scenario in her dreams—a nightmare that happened for real. She fought so hard to wake up, yet a part of her wanted to stay asleep... because that was the last night that she ever saw her parents. She wanted to see them again.

"Ahhh!" Katherine gasped for air when her teary eyes shot up open. She panted and noticed that she was clutching the thick white blanket on her, just as usual. Her hands relaxed and saw the clock beside her bed; it was three o'clock in the morning.

Reluctantly, she got out of bed and changed into a hoodie, leggings and running shoes before she headed out on the street to run. She did not like the feeling lingering within her and the only way she knew how to get rid of it was to exercise. But after running for twenty minutes, the cold air outside still did not help her at all, so she turned and went back home.

As soon as she stepped inside her apartment, her phone beeped. It was a message from Chris.

[Chris: Friday at 7pm. Formal. Crown Hotel and Casino.]

After reading, she tossed her phone on the counter and headed straight to the gym room where she beat the hell out of a punching bag—only then did she feel better. She took a shower before going back to bed.

She slept through the whole day and only woke up in the middle of the afternoon. Sighing, she strolled across her large apartment with her bare foot. Reaching the kitchen, she opened the bottom freezer of her double door refrigerator, and like usual, she took out a pint of icecream and brought it to the living room.

Katherine flopped on the comfy sofa, turned on the TV showing her favorite cartoon Spongebob, and ate her ice cream in silence.

She had been like this for as long as she could remember as she had always been alone. So most of the time, she chose to stay at home whenever she did not have any missions.

Surviving that tragic night, she did not know if it was a blessing or a curse.