Sneaking upon the truth

Giselle came running downstairs to return to the spot where she had told Lillian to wait. While descending and passing through people, all Giselle could think about was the woman waiting for her. Returning to her embrace alone would heal this old scar. And when Giselle reached the place, there was no one present.

Lillian Grey was nowhere to be found. She was not there to welcome her back. Giselle's tears tried to resurface again, but she didn't take the chance but kept exploring the distance. Giselle waited at the same spot for several minutes, only to find that Lillian was not coming back. She then ran around the place, panting as she looked out keenly. Still, there was no sign of Lillian. Giselle rushed back to the house and searched desperately. Following another failure, she forced herself to join everyone in the backyard. Giselle looked out at every corner and saw no trace of Lillian Grey at all. Her hope seemed to have shaken a little, for she repeated her sprint for the second time.

Lillian was still missing. And Giselle continued to rush to every room she could, invading the place as she owned it. Her desperation pushed her to behave out of control, and she did not feel shy to intrude. Even after another extensive search, Giselle couldn't find Lillian Grey. She began to feel anxious. This time, she knew she needed help, and there were only two people she could blindly approach and report about the missing woman.

Giselle found Jenna and asked about Lillian's whereabouts. Poor Jenna was left alone after midnight, so she had spent most of the time enjoying the band's music. Jenna admitted not seeing Lillian at any moment. Disheartened, Giselle then ran to Shane, asking for his help. Shane appeared startled at first, but he assumed Lillian must be hiding somewhere. Knowing her quirky personality, she could be planning a surprise. For a second, his words returned light to Giselle's face, but they faded soon to her reality. She admitted hunting this house down in search of Lillian and still found her missing.

Shane wondered for a while before remembering to call her. Giselle hissed from forgetting the idea, and she waited while Shane tried to contact Lillian. However, every time it rang full to reach a dead end. Soon, it became impossible to connect with her. All of his attempts ended up failing.

An hour had passed, and the time was long past one into late night. In search of Lillian, the party was slowly getting close to wind down. One by one, the guests were preparing to leave, and some actually did. Shane had no choice but to step away from Giselle to send off his guests. As more guests joined the line, Shane got occupied quickly. Meantime, Jenna noticed Giselle and accompanied her. She learned about Lillian and followed to reach out by phone several times. Every time Jenna reached the dead end.

It was almost over an hour since Giselle had last seen Lillian. Over the course of finding her, she did notice Diego's absence as well. She didn't wish to relate, but Giselle grew worried until Shane confirmed that he saw Diego leave early due to an emergency. He didn't want Giselle to worry, especially after sharing such a painful past. Thus, he has no choice but to commit to a white lie. Seeing Giselle worried and alone, Jenna stuck by her side, comforting her, saying that Lillian would have gone out on an emergency. Besides, Lillian's long absence began to bother her editor as well.

Upon returning, Shane noticed that Lillian was gone for too long and that time was running. Shane requested Jenna to take Giselle home, but the ladies protested to wait until they met Lillian. It was pointless to try and convince Giselle, but Shane reassured Jenna to listen to him. He promised her to find Lillian and let them both know. Jenna trusted in Shane to obey and managed to persuade Giselle to leave with her. It was tough since Giselle remained stubborn, and as time passed, she grew aware that she wouldn't be able to see Lillian. Disheartened, she eventually agreed. Besides, Giselle remembered her promise to Lia about returning soon. She had initially planned only to spend a little time past midnight but ended up waiting over an hour.

Shane noticed that Lillian's car was missing along the line and called a cab for the ladies separately. He sent them off with a promise to inform them about Lillian's whereabouts upon finding. It was the only hope Giselle had at that time, and she held onto it tightly. Shane signaled Jenna to keep an eye on Giselle and make sure that she reaches home safely. With that, the two left the party.

***

Somewhere out on the road, Lillian had parked her car. She had left in a hurry that she didn't even mind switching on the air condition inside. While lazy sweats formed all over her body in the absence of air, Lillian buried her face against the steering wheel, holding on to its handle tightly. Unexpectedly, she was aware of her whole body shivering out of control. Soon, panic sweats slid down from her forehead and onto the steering. Eventually, it became hard to breathe as her head throbbed. But none of it mattered as she continued to hold onto the wheel desperately.

Lillian may not see, but she could hear her phone ringing loudly at a steady pace. She didn't bother to look or guess and let it ring till the end. She knew in her heart.

Only after starting to sense the sound annoy her did Lillian ditch the steering wheel. She lifted her face, feeling her hair wet from sweating. She leaned back against the seat, sighing as she did. Still, the shaking wouldn't leave her alone. The vibration in her pant pocket strived to bother her more, and she fished out the phone and threw it to the passenger seat.

Giselle's name appeared on the screen, and she panicked instantly, almost feeling frightened. She looked away, looked out the window. The first night of the New Year was lively, with celebrations still going on.

Lillian had left the neighborhood and drove out to the main streets. She was not aware of the path she was traveling down at first and had randomly parked her car outside a busy long street with bars and restaurants. People hung out in groups. Most of their young faces captured Lillian's attention, and the more she stared at their beaming faces, the more she felt daunted. Everywhere she looked, it was merry and joy. The happiness and the love and the company of family together was the sight to witness. As if the image taunted her, Lillian looked away in guilt.

The short deviation made her forget about the buzzing noise, but not so long. The pain returned with its magnificent impact whenever Giselle's name appeared at random frequency. However, not once did Lillian feel like answering the call. She didn't have the strength or the courage.

**

Time passed slowly to searing pain. Lillian had now turned on the air condition. No longer did she suffer from panic sweats. The trembling had slowed down over time but never disappeared. Although its presence faded to Lillian's disregard, she was still looking listless.

What happened to all the love and joy she felt earlier?

Lillian could barely have the conscience to feel happy. She was stunned, shocked, and speechless. She had lost everything and couldn't feel anything. And the burden in her heart alone stayed by her side.

The ringing phone died for some time before it resumed its rotation. However, Giselle's name no longer appeared on the screen. Only Jenna and Shane kept calling her. Eventually, Jenna too disappeared, leaving Shane's stubbornness.

Lillian didn't worry herself with him intruding even though the woman involved had given up already.

Along with dozens of calls, there were messages too. Yet, Lillian continued to remain lifeless inside her car. She watched people arrive and leave, with the happiness flooding their faces.

She had relatively calmed down, but her mind was somewhere else. Somewhere sneaky for fun. Somewhere surprising. Somewhere where she shouldn't be.

Somewhere eavesdropping.

**

Giselle was taking too much time by making her wait.

Lillian was on cloud nine and couldn't hold any longer. So, to capture Giselle in surprise, Lillian left the spot and entered the house. She went past the people, signaling at the familiar faces while giving excuses for her disappearance. Lillian had searched the ground floor bathrooms and never found Giselle. She assumed to go upstairs and continued to hunt the rest to miss Giselle again. During her loiter, she entered Shane's office and caught the sight of the missing face along with the owner of this house and this party.

Shane and Giselle were standing on the balcony. She had initially sneaked into this room, hoping to discover a secret base to hang out with Giselle upon discovering her. However, Lillian did not expect to find these two to meet privately. Lillian could never suspect her friend, Shane. But since Giselle was there with him, she wondered what they were talking about. She snuck into the place and found herself a great spot, close to the balcony. Lillian planted herself next to a sturdy old bookshelf and ducked to overhear the conversation. She was hoping to hear them gossiping, but to her shock, Lillian ended up overhearing something.

Something that Giselle promised to share with her later.

Lillian had actually overheard Giselle's past. The past she never knew of. The reason why Giselle had left her alone!

What happened to her? And what made her disappear?

Moreover, what stunned Lillian the most was the person responsible for Giselle's pain.

Diego!

No words can describe the amount of shock Lillian had received at the moment. Because she was totally in their blind spot, neither Shane nor Giselle spotted her when they left.

Lillian waited late at the same spot without moving an inch. Her mind replayed Giselle's stuttering voice along with her suffering over and over again until it became unbearable to endure. The moment she came back to reality was when she lost the feeling in her legs. Tripping to a crooked fall, Lillian realized her surroundings. She stood up straight and felt a deep ache in her bones. Even taking a step hurt so much, but Lillian appeared numb to the searing pain. She left the room and returned to the same spot Giselle had told her to wait.

Lillian stayed there barely for few seconds before the thought of meeting Giselle crossed her mind. She knew Giselle would hide that horrible incident and put on a sweet smile in front of her. Nonetheless, such an image would now kill Lillian emotionally. She might even take the blame to herself. Lillian was already feeling liable for causing Giselle so much pain. Instead of waiting for Giselle, her legs naturally turned away to leave. Without anyone noticing, she took her car and left in a hurry.

More than celebrating her love, Lillian needed to cool her head. Besides, according to Giselle's story, there's someone else involved behind her back, and that was her long-time close friend, Diego.

Lillian could no longer stand still after learning what had happened to the woman she loved ardently.