WONDER PRISM STUDIO

"Jane?"

A voice called from behind the door as the hand of the owner of the voice pushed the door aside and walked out. Toro's hand suspended on his face when his gaze flew on a tan skinned woman coupled with her slightly messed up hair rolled up in a bun. The black polo and sweatpants shorts she was putting on accentuated her tiny figure just like the chocolate olive skin woman standing before him.

The second woman's eyes were filled with curiosity, giving him an assiduous look. At that moment, It dawned on him what he wanted to do in a nanosecond. He wasn't the type to feel compelled to do something or to prove himself to someone, especially to one who only accused him for one thing or the other. The second lady's gaze stayed on him for what seemed like a millisecond before pulling her eyes to the woman before her.

"Thought you already left?" The other woman interjected. "From your back view, I realized you were still here and who is he?" She directed her eyes back to Toro who stood there, hands shoved inside his pants pockets, he stared back at them.

"I was on my way leaving when he barricaded my path," Jane answered, a look of hostile glare plastered across her face.

Barricaded? Toro almost let out a chuckle. "I'm here to get my cardigan…..you told me to meet you here and also... I still maintained my grounds that I have no idea what you are talking about."

"Isn't he the same guy you bumped into that night? The one you had a feeling he had something to do with what happened to you that night?" Matilda queried, shifting her eyes to Toro, although the nose mask covered almost his face but she could see the confused, puzzled and questioning look that masked up his eyes.

"Not a feeling, not a theory anymore. He was definitely behind it all while pretending to care. He and Ashley staged it all….."

"The actress who the director gave your role to?" Matilda darted her surprised look from Toro to Jane. Her face showed interest rather than questions as a gust of wind swept across them, messing up their hairs. A chill ran down Jane's body when the cold wind came in contact with her bare skin. Prompting her to quiver a little.

"How do you know?" Matilda asked, Having a glint of skepticism twinkle in her eyes, looking from Jane to him. "You said that night, you never saw the face of the guy you had a one night stand with and you didn't know if you were drugged or not."

"I was," Jane prompted, sounding so sure. Giving every reason on why she suspected him. "I told you, even if I had too much to drink, I'd still be sane to know what and everything I was doing and you know my type, I can't lie down with a guy I bumped into that night."

"So therefore, I was spiked that night. My drink was spiked."

"How, though?" Matilda tilted her head slightly, giving Jane an inquisitive steady look. "Because I and Ivy were there at the bar counter as the bartender mixed the shots."

Jane went silent when Matilda asserted that. Dozens of questions kept her mind in a deep unrest, she wanted to believe the man standing before her was actually innocent and that she might be accusing him but she knew what she saw. He immediately hurried off on his heels up on seeing her so why was he denying everything that happened that night?

"He must have done something, he must've done something to me that night? Bumping into him wasn't a coincidence but a purposeful act. What I believe is that he is responsible for everything."

"I see, you just love pointing fingers at people and not questioning or mirroring yourself or actions these few days." Toro exhaled, getting irritated at the words that flew out of her mouth and her accusations. "What sort of actress drinks herself to stupor in public without caring for her image?"

Jane's jaw dropped. Her face looked flustered and masked with surprise when he said that. "What actress makes a fool of herself on a bar stage and turns around to blame others for her shortcomings?"

"Hah—--" She let out a disbelieving laugh, as it drifted and faded into the tall trees standing on the safe side of the roads. Her eyes gleamed with shock and disbelief as he stared at her. His eyes were soft and impassive, impossible to know what might be going on in his head but one thing was certain, his eyes weren't judging her, they were simply just detached.

"Are you saying everything is my fault and you had no partake in it?" She inquired.

He parted his lips to respond when Matilda took the words from his mouth. "How dense can you be?" She asked

"What do you mean?" Jane threw her a surprised look.

"Do you think whoever was behind everything and if he was the one who was behind it all, he'd probably not be standing here. More importantly, lending you his clothes and taking you away from the stage so you wouldn't humiliate yourself further isn't what the culprit will do."

"You must be forgetting something, your enemies might be right in front of you without you realizing it," said Jane, pulling away a strand of her hair in her eye, the wind swept across her face. She couldn't believe the words spewing from Matilda. She ought to be siding with her not with this man standing before them, hiding his face behind that nose mask.

"Yeah but we can't be sure….."

"I am sure, I saw him and Ashley in a dark alley along the bus station and heard everything they were saying...She offered him a cheque of one million dollars to keep some secret and a video to themselves without anyone finding out."

"You sure jump to conclusions, don't you?" An amused glint flickered in his eyes and the corners of his lips twitched like he was about to laugh but he didn't. "If I was that guy, why aren't I...."

His phone buzzed in his right pants pocket, he fetched it out and saw Thompson calling. He excused himself but before turning away from them to answer the call, he gave Jane a brief studying look before he whirled away. His back facing them.

"How could you accuse him? Accusing him in front of people wasn't enough, you still doing it again?"

"I'm not accusing anyone," Jane defended herself. "I'm stating a fact from what I witnessed and I feel he's the culprit."

"You feel?" Matilda shot her a puzzled look. A brow pulled up in question. "You feel?" She repeated.

●●●●●●●●●●●

Jane returned home, feeling tired and exhausted. She walked inside the house and was met with music blasting inside the sitting room and Ivy stood in front of the TV, dancing. She was following the dance choreography of four girls dancing on the TV screen.

Together with the blasting music, the splitting headache she felt on her way home tripled and Ivy was so engrossed in the dance steps she barely noticed her when she walked in. Her tiny waist wiggled and swayed in accordance with the girls' waists, doing every hand gesture they did.

She parted her lips to tell Ivy to reduce to the song volume but the splitting headache was stopping her from doing so. Jane fell on a couch with a loud thud, only then did Ivy notice her.

"When did you come back? I didn't notice you."

"Of course, you were busy swaying your waist side by side," said Jane in a faint voice, closing her eyes as her tense muscles and nerves began to calm down.

"You should keep the cardigan, I don't need it anymore." His words from an hour ago flooded back, causing her to fly her eyes open.

"I'm getting it burnt up." She had deliberately said that to know his reaction but he seemed unfazed and his next words surprised her.

"Do as you wish." Replied him and started walking away.

"Come on, join me." Ivy tried to pull her up from the couch.

"I can't Ivy, I'm really tired and need to rest and can you reduce the TV volume? It is adding to my headache....."

Jane was cut short when her phone pinged inside her handbag. Ivy did as she was told and reduced the TV volume while she reached inside her bag and fetched her phone. It was a message from Indy.

A shriek escaped Jane's lips at the message she saw the message Indy sent her. Eyes bulging out of their sockets as she read the message.

"Wonder Prism Studio contacted me and sent me this..."