Chapter 15

Home. A place considered to be a safe haven for some. To others, a living hell.

It had entirely become the latter one for Genevieve. Ever since she found out that Shadow knew of her house's location, she would dread every single minute spent in the residence. The feeling of constantly being watched would drape over her like a gloomy blanket, and sometimes she'd lie awake for hours out of the belief that someone would creep in and murder her in her slumber.

Death was another thing that didn't deter her. But right now, she had a reason to live. She had a goal in life, and she wasn't hoping to leave this world without its completion.

Eliminating Shadow.

Genevieve dreamt of waking up with the relief that he was no more. She dreamed of watching the psychopath get dragged to the gallows. However, all of this was only possible when his identity is revealed and the police manages to seize him.

She would happily surrender herself to death's sweet embrace, if it came to that.

Currently, she had a valid reason to get out of the house. There was an event waiting to be attended, and for the first time, Genevieve actually looked forward to it. It wasn't that she hated gatherings in general, it was the idea of rich and snarky people conversing with fake smiles that didn't seem the most appealing to her. But tonight, it did.

Genevieve slid into her vehicle carefully, so as to not rip her dress, and she turned the engine on to shoot off towards the venue. Her eyes wandered over to the rearview mirror and she observed her face, before she redirected her gaze back to the road ahead. A car crash was simply not needed at the moment. Or ever, in that case.

The gown that hugged her form was of a deep and rich plum shade, with a wide neckline and full sleeves. It had a slit on one side that didn't trail up too high, but it showed a decent amount of skin with every strut. Her stiletto heels were fully black, and so was the clutch that held her pistol inside. Above all, she was still a cop, so the firearm was necessary to bring along.

Genevieve's lips were painted with a tint that matched her dress, and she glanced up at the mirror again. When it came to cosmetics, she was far from an expert. Lipsticks, lip glosses, and anything that pertained to the lips is what she could manage to put on successfully. And right now, it was the only form of makeup on her face.

Her hazel-brown hair was pulled up into a messy bun, and two small hoops of gold hung from her earlobes. Overall, she thought she looked quite presentable. It had been a very long while since she last glammed up like this, so the element of excitement was also there.

As Genevieve drove towards the venue, her mind drifted off towards other places.

She still couldn't understand why Alec was persistent regarding her choice of clothes. Knowing him, there was probably some motive behind it. Perhaps he wanted to humiliate her, or embarrass her in some way.

Her train of thought came to a stop when the destination rolled into view. Truth be told, Genevieve didn't know what to expect from this soirée. Things could either go perfect or horribly wrong. That's the way it was with filthy rich people, there was no in between.

___________________

"Are you looking for someone?" The overly-enthusiastic woman chirped, and Alec just barely resisted the urge to grimace. Indeed, he was looking for someone. His restless eyes scanned the entire place in the search for an individual, and it had been that way ever since he set his foot inside. Unfortunately, he never found what he was looking for. Or rather, who he was looking for.

The hall itself was an epitome of lavishness. It held a white and golden theme, and one could tell that it probably cost a fortune to book this place. A faint melody played from the speakers to set a formal ambience, and the sounds of chitter-chatters and clinking glasses drowned it out even more.

"As a matter of fact, yes. There she is." He lied, before sauntering somewhere else. Alec didn't even even spare a second glance in her direction, he simply walked away and headed straight for the refreshment tables. Not necessarily to eat, but to isolate himself from the female who so desperately craved his attention.

So far, everyone that spoke to him believed that he was an entrepreneur of some sorts. Aside from the commissioner, Genevieve, Daron, the other guy and a few individuals in the police department, no one in this city knew of him. He planned on keeping it that way. There would be times where the other people working in the police station would wonder about who he is and what he's doing there, but none had the strength to question him.

To them, Alec was the man Genevieve arrested. And for some unknown reason, he was never jailed.

He looked around once more in search for Genevieve, but he still couldn't spot her. Part of him wondered if she'd ever show up. Another part wondered if she didn't listen to him and stuck with her uniform. The final part questioned why he was even looking for her in the first place. The last time it checked, Alec wasn't overly fond of Genevieve.

Upon reaching one of the several rectangular tables, Alec eyed the very diverse assortment of desserts that decorated the top. The tables connected with this one held other savory and mouth-watering items, but his gaze was fixated on a particular sweet.

It was a bite sized cupcake. By the looks of its rich and dark color, Alec assumed that it was a chocolate one. A flawless swirl of icing, which was flavored in the same way its cake was, sat on top. The dessert could have easily been mistaken for a brown rose, and a few edible white pearls that adorned its ridges made it too pretty to eat.

Alec had extended an arm to grab the edible flower, but the plans of shoving it into his mouth evaporated. All because he wasn't fast enough.

Another hand had shot out just in time, and it quickly snatched the sweet away before Alec could get his hands on it. For some reason, it heightened his existing levels of discontent, and he snapped his head to look at the person responsible.

"Watch it." He growled, and it's not long before all the unpleasant emotions melted off of him the very second his eyes met the person.

The earth-shattering sight before him put the cupcake to shame. Hell, it put anything of the beautiful sorts to shame. Rarely had he ever been rendered speechless, that too by someone's appearance. Alec didn't even bother to hide the way his lips parted in admiration, he continued to gape at the magnificence of the food thief.

The cupcake may not be the only thing she stole from Alec.

"Genevieve."