She's worth it

Luca stood by the tub and looked at it for minutes. Last night, she ended her life in this same bathtub, filling her heart with the inexplicable and sour emotions of yesterday. Just hours ago, her life was crumbling down, but here she was, back to where everything had started.

Unbelievable.

"I thought you said you're in a hurry to murder a man?" Nova's sassy voice rang from behind her, but Luca didn't budge. "Don't tell me you're reminiscing about yourself last night while staring at the... crime scene?"

"I can't help it," whispered Luca, glancing back to Nova, who was sitting on the lid of the closed toilet bowl.

"You're stupid."

"I was." Luca nodded and set her eyes back in the tub before her. "I was."

She wouldn't deny how plain stupid her decision was last night, but Nova probably wouldn't understand. Being in that situation, nothing mattered to her. It was a feeling she had never felt before, and she would never forget that... nonchalance regarding the value of life.

"It was stupid and I regret it... surprisingly." A bitter smile dominated her face, staring at her forming reflection in the water. "It never occurred to me how I regret it until now. I thought I didn't, Nova. I really believed I would never regret it."

When Luca looked back at Nova, a tear rolled down her cheek. The reality slap was truly painful, especially now that she was sober. The pain she felt last night didn't disappear when she died. It was still there, deep in her heart, where it found a spot to settle.

The anger, angst, and indignation that she was trying to kill last night remained. Therefore, she regretted it. But at the same time, she learned her lesson.

"Thank you for bringing me back, Nova." Her smile didn't reach her teary eyes. "I didn't know how you did it but thank you. I'm sorry if I decided without thinking about you."

"Forgiven."

Luca studied Nova's nonchalant eyes and chuckled. "Thank you."

Luca held the hem of her shirt and took off her clothes, one by one, letting them fall to her feet. When she bent over and held the rim of the tub, she paused. Her heart thudded, making her draw a deep breath as if the steam fogging the bathroom would give her impossible courage. She exhaled carefully through her mouth, nodding at herself, and then embracing the fear that was crawling under her skin.

Nova observed silently from the toilet bowl. The side of her lips curled up proudly as if Luca just passed a test with flying colors, even though the latter simply dipped inside the tub after a moment of hesitation. That was the Luca she knew and not the woman who looked at her with regret as she took her last breath.

'Well, I guess my sacrifices to bring her back were worth it.' She mentally nodded, seeing Luca splash water on her face to stop herself from crying. 'Although... this world is... never mind. She'll be fine… hopefully. I'll just allow her to take back her words of gratitude.'

*******

Three hours later...

Jacques kept glancing in the rear mirror as she drove Luca to the Zkinfluence's headquarters where Luca would sign her contract. She couldn't see Luca with those square cat sunglasses covering half of her small face. Luca kept her hair in a neat low bun, wearing a pastel smart casual.

"You're not going to sign a contract wearing..."

"Go straight to the location, Jacques." Luca cut her off calmly, eyes on the window. "There's no need to make a stop to see the glam team."

Jacques let out a long-suffering sigh, eyes on the road. "Lu..."

"I'm not rebelling. I just don't see the reason to prepare more than necessary."

"But you have an image and they are paying for your face."

"Then, more reason for me to go bare."

"Well, make sense, but — never mind. You're already perfect, although you look more mature, like a businessperson than a celebrity." Jacque shrugged, continuing on with her sentiments until she got side-tracked. Luca let her broach just about anything Jacques could come up with, just to make this ride bearable to be in.

"Nervous?" Luca gazed down at her lap where Nova was resting. "Just a reminder, though. I can only bring you back once. ONCE! Don't make me regret my decision."

"I won't," Luca whispered and smiled, petting Nova that didn't please the cat a bit.

"Stop petting me. Gosh..." Nova slapped her hand, making Luca chuckle.

Nova was still the same. Although she could now talk, she still hated being petted for over three seconds. Luca only stopped playing with her cat when Nova pressed a claw on her arm, luckily avoiding getting a scratch.

"What a diva," she murmured, only to raise her head when Jacques raised a question.

"Why did you bring Nova?" Jacques glanced at the rear mirror to see Luca in the back seat. "You rarely bring her with you."

"She wants to come."

"You mean you want her to come? Lu, if there's something wrong, you can tell me, alright? I might scold you, but at least I won't kill you."

Luca chuckled but kept quiet, eyes on Jacques' side. "Jacques," she called after a moment of silence, receiving a lazy hum in return.

"Thank you. Thank you for being my friend," she expressed, making her manager slash her good friend's brows crease.

Jacques glanced at the rear mirror once again but was unable to look longer because she needed to focus on the road.

"Well, that's random. You're not dying, are you?" she asked, almost awkwardly, not used to this out-of-nowhere appreciation.

"I'm not." Luca fought to roll her eyes before setting them back to the window. "I just didn't realize until now that I'm surrounded by good people. And I'm thankful for that."

Silence followed Luca's remarks, but unlike the usual dull atmosphere, the inbound breeze in the car was warmer than they had expected. Luca kept her smile, appreciating the little miracles in her life she had ignored in the past. And with that, they had arrived at the Zkinfluence headquarters with Luca, prepared to face her nightmare named Xander.