[I should have known better than no amount of sincerity one shows can bring about love. I forgot that love comes naturally and can't be forced]
At the stairs, Amos stumbled on his feet and almost rolled down the stairs had he not grabbed the staircase rails at the dying minute.
Back where Joanna and Raymond were still hugging each other, she pulled out of his embrace after Amos exited the rooftop.
[I know you don't deserve this kind of treatment you are getting right now... I am sorry you have to get hurt for something you don't know about... If only this damn system was something I could get rid of, I swear I would have done that even at the expense of getting hurt]
Joanna, whose mind was occupied with thoughts of the man she loves, stared up at the exact spot Amos stood before he left the rooftop.
"Miss Butterfly, what is...,"
"Let's go up and continue with our rehearsals. Don't forget you still have a lot of catching up to do," Joanna muttered and moved away before his hand could touch her hair.
Raymond watched as she floated up to the rooftop without waiting for him.
[I had wished that everything she did and said earlier were real... I knew from the beginning that it was all an act because he was watching us but why does my heart hurt so much?]
Raymond slowly guided his right hand to his aching chest as he kept his eyes fixed on the lady now standing on the rooftop.
"Ray, what are you still doing there? Come over here," Joanna ushered him with a wave of the hand.
"I will be there in a second," Raymond replied and immediately floated up to join her on the rooftop.
"So at which scene did we stop earlier?" Joanna asked jovially.
If only Raymond didn't know better her cheerful smile was fake he would have deceived him into believing that everything was fine.
Too bad, it was clear as crystal to him that she was far from being alright but he made up his mind to play along so he wouldn't ruin the mood.
"The scene where Orion says with my army I will send you all to hell," Raymond responded with his hands spread in the air.
"Did we reach that part so soon?" Joanna mumbled and scratched her hair.
"Yeah, you did so let's continue from there," Raymond mumbled as he stepped closer to her.
Meanwhile, as Joanna and Raymond continued with their rehearsals Amos who was long gone from there was seen walking aimlessly on the dark basketball field.
He walked to and fro the enormous basketball field countless times without even being aware of it.n0Velusb.c0m
Even when his cellphone rang repeatedly he didn't bother to answer the line. He kept on walking as if he had no life in him.
In an office not far away from the basketball field, a man who was working overtime at night sprang up to his feet the moment he answered his line.
"Hey, what do you mean by you can't find him? Wasn't it yours and the responsibility of your men to keep him safe at all times so what gibberish are you spewing from your mouth?" Mr Fin who hardly ever loses his temper to this extent yelled, veins popping out from his forehead.
"Mr Fin...,"
"There is no need to give useless excuses Chris. You should know better than anyone else what the consequences will be if any harm dares to come to him," Mr Fin scolded.
He wasn't ready to listen to whatever Chris had to say since he knew he was at fault for their current predicament.
"Killing a thousand of you and I won't be enough to make up for our mistake if he comes to any harm. You should have known this better so why on Earth didn't you keep an eye on him?" Mr Fin admonished.
In haste, he picked up his car keys from his desk, shut his laptop and hurried towards the door without remembering to carry his blue suit from where he hung it.
"Right now he is in a much bigger danger. I don't care what you and your men do or how you go about it but we must find him before it's morning no matter what," Mr Fin ordered sternly.
"We will get the job done right now and I assure you that we will find him even though we have to turn the Kingdom upside down," Chris gave Mr Fin his words.
"I will also do everything within my capacity to make sure he is found as soon as possible... and I will call Kyle to ask if he has any information about where he might be," Mr Fin replied. He lowered the phone from his ears and in less than a second he disappeared from where he stood in front of his office.
The anxious Mr Fin was on his way to where he always parked his car when something on the basketball field caught his attention.
"Classes were long over so who could be sneaking around in the dark?" Mr Fin grumbled as he abandoned where he was heading and descended the stairs instead.
"Hey!" Mr Fin shouted hoping to get a reply from whoever was parading the basketball field as if it were his home.
He shouted twice but he got no response. The man who was eager to wrap this up and attend to the more pressing matter was left with no other option but to descend the stairs more.
In less than two seconds the impatient Mr Fin was standing in front of the man who was pretending to be deaf.
"Kay!" Mr Fin yelled, his eyeballs almost fell out of their sockets when he got a glimpse of the face of the one walking on the field.
"I was on the phone with Chris not long ago and he announced that you went missing so what are you doing here all by yourself... Don't you know how dangerous it is to go around without your men...," Amos walked past him as if he wasn't the one he talked to.
"Kay...," The astounded Mr Fin called, hoping to see him stop but to his dismay, Amos continued to walk like someone who was under a strong spell.
