≪•◦ ❈ ◦•≫
"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come." —2 Corinthians 5:17
≪•◦ ❈ ◦•≫
SHE WAS certain that she died. She died in the hands of her psychotic job partner. Damn. How the hell did she not even notice his obsession towards her through those years? He was such a creepy bastard.
But wait, what was the ruckus her ears were slowly adapting to hear? She was already dead, right? Then, why was it so noisy in hell? Was it normal, or was she hallucinating?
"Oh, my! Thank God! Anyone, call for the duke! My lady Lantana has finally awoken!"
What? What was that girl saying? Why was she calling her code name?
Awoken? Who woke up? Was it not hell yet? Was she sent to purgatory first? But her grandmother told her that purgatory never existed in the first place, so how come?
After hearing the girl's loud voice, her ears immediately got enveloped by the sound of a man's hurried footsteps.
"My daughter, Lantana! I'm so... I'm so glad that you're awake now!" she heard a man's breaking voice said with overwhelming happiness and regret.
After hearing the man's voice, she suddenly felt as if her body was being shaken up. What the hell, man?
She slowly opened her eyes out of irritation to see who was the one shaking her body—only to be almost blinded because of the brightness of the place where she was placed.
She thought she was going to hell. What the hell was she doing in heaven?
"Oh, my! She really finally opened her eyes after four months of being asleep!" she heard the same man say, shouting in a loud voice.
After adjusting her eyesight to the surroundings, her thoughts about death suddenly subsided.
Oh, it was not in hell. It was just a place that was coated with pink all around with a large sparkly chandelier that looked as if made out of the most expensive stones.
The place she was in was packed with people wearing black uniforms, whether they were men or women. The only person wearing a different style of clothing was probably the man leaning on the bed where she was lying. The man beside her was wearing a dark blue coat with silver buttons and silver hooks.
However, although they were all different types of people, everyone had the same expressions on their faces; they all looked like they were about to cry, and yet all of them were all happy.
Happy... About what?
And... Who were they anyway, and why the heck was she with them? She was certain that her body would be crushed into pieces after letting herself fall from the rooftop of that large building, so why did everything about her body still feel intact?
Aside from the feeling that her body felt extraordinarily weak, she didn't feel anything like pain from a heavy injury or a broken bone.
"I'm so-sorry, but... Who are you?" she asked weakly as she stuttered because of the dryness of her throat that felt as if it hadn't touched water for years.
However, a few moments passed by, and she realized something.
What the… What was that? How did things turn out like this?
When did her voice become so young and girly!? The sound of her voice earlier sounded too different from how it used to be!
Her voice before was always sultry that made her targets always get so whipped—always acted like some good dogs to her—yet the voice that came out of her mouth earlier sounded so bashful and feminine. Like, what the hell just happened?
"H-Huh? What are you talking about, my dear daughter?" the man beside her asked in a bewildered tone.
The people around who were watching them gasped with widened eyes and pale faces, looking so shocked as well upon hearing what she said.
'Oh, for a moment, I forgot about your existence, man beside me. Sorry about that, but this is really bewildering.' She thought.
Anyway, who was he possibly referring to? She never had a father. She only lived with her grandmother, so whom did he possibly call his daughter?
She looked at him with confusion painted all over her face. Soon after, the man started to cry as he caged her in a warm embrace.
Huh? But why was he hugging her? It felt… Weird yet warm. Her head was leaning on some piled pillows, which was why he was able to hug her without any problems, but why was she not feeling any pain? Her body just feels really... Weak.
"It's okay! It's okay! Father is here. Although she may have forgotten things, it's alright as long as she's awake. As long as she's well, everything is fine," he said, more in the tone as if trying to console himself while patting her shoulders gently.
Then, after the man beside her started crying, everyone in the room followed suit.
But why were they all crying?
Damn it! She couldn't understand a single thing!
"Can... You give me a glass of water, please?" she asked as she had trouble speaking.
The man, which she thought the maid referred to as the duke earlier, panicked upon hearing what she said. He immediately let go of her weak body and ordered one of the people standing to get a glass of water for his daughter—which happened to become her?
Too weird! She was certain that there was no duke nor duchy existing in the country where she was living. The people there were the one who would choose their leaders who were called government officials and not a duke nor any monarchy title.
Was she dreaming?
Probably not. The stable part of her brain didn't think so. If it was a dream, then why was it so vivid? Even the duke's wrinkles and pores were so clear to her as if her eyes were the latest cellphone with a high quality megapixels.
"Your Grace, this is the water for the young lady!" a maid said in a panicked tone as she handed the duke the glass of water.
She tried to stretch out her hand to reach it, but the duke didn't let her. Aside from that, her body didn't feel right as well. The vulnerability she was feeling earlier seemed to be worse than she thought. She couldn't even lift her chubby hands to get a single glass of water that didn't even weigh a single kilogram.
"Let your father take care of you, my dear," the duke said with a genuine smile and concern in his eyes as he gently assisted her head and made her drink all the water slowly and patiently.
When she finished, she felt as though her throat was like a dried soil that got watered. Then, she remembered the hands that she saw.
Her hands were tan, fit and all of the veins were visible but the hands that she had seen earlier were both white as snow, smooth like a cotton ball and full of baby fat that were like a chubby dog's body.
"Can anyone give me a mirror and explain everything that happened to me?" she said, trying to calm the last sensible cell that she had, which was also starting to panic because of the bizarre things that she kept on seeing and experiencing.
"Lantana asked for a mirror! Get my daughter a mirror, any of you! Faster!" the duke said while panicking.
She didn't know why, but the duke seemed to be always staggering and overreacting whenever she lifted her lips to speak and ask for a request.
He kept on claiming her as "his daughter," which was only making her head ache painfully. When did she adopt a father? She didn't remember adopting one.
'Wait… Can you even adopt a parent?' She debated in her mind.
A maid that was closest to the vanity dresser that was made with purely pink color took a round mirror with a gold stand, which was on display as she swiftly walked to give it to her.
However, she didn't even manage to touch it because of her currently feeble hands, so the duke took it instead and held it in front of her, which made her see her current situation.
Soon, a soft gasp came out of her seemingly perfect lips.
Who was the beautiful chubby girl in front of the mirror that looked so innocent with whatever expression she would show?
She forced herself to raise her right hand to touch the mirror herself—that she finally did. She held the side of the mirror using her right hand while her left hand went on her left cheek.
A few moments passed by while she was trying to feel her face, and she froze as she dropped the mirror on the ground, which caused a loud shattering sound.
Her eyes widened as she was struck by a realization. Afterward, she didn't even manage to recover from the shock, yet a sudden wave of pain came rushing in her mind together with the memories that, she was certain, were not hers.
AS SOON as Brianna's mind got filled with the memories of someone else in one go, she lost her consciousness again due to the excessiveness of what she experienced, which made everyone panic once more—especially the duke who looked as if the world just fell on his shoulder.
Some of his black hairs turned gray in the past few months, and dark circles were also underneath his eyes. Though he looked presentable, no one could mistake the stress and exhaustion that his body was revealing. Due to the sudden fall of his daughter a few months ago, the duke was never able to prioritize anything aside from his daughter, even himself. His business was left to the butler while he looked after his child day and night in the hope that she might suddenly wake up. Then, after a long time of hoping and praying, it finally happened!
A few minutes passed by until Montgomery's family doctor, who was fetched by the butler, came to the mansion to check the lady's condition. With the doctor's words, he was assured that his daughter was just resting due to the shock that her body received from suddenly waking up. However, the discussion of the duke and the servants, including the doctor, did not end at that point.
With a serious look on his face, the duke faced all his people who were with him, gathering outside the room of Lantana.
"No one should know that my daughter is already awake. This good news should be kept inside the manor alone. All the people who knew about this incident should have their mouth shut, lest I cut your tongue so that you will never be able to speak again. Butler, monitor the other servants who will discover this secret in the future and make sure to have their mouth closed too. Had I discovered that this incident was known outside the Montgomery mansion, everyone would face the consequences. For now, let the people outside think that my daughter is dying to make the rat show up. Let the culprit celebrate enough until they are in my hands. Vengeance tastes better if well plotted."
Every servant who heard every word that came out of the duke's mouth lost the color of their faces as they subconsciously gulped in fear while every hair in their body stood up.
How could the young lady be like a puppy when her father was like a wolf that could devour them anytime? But sometimes, they just wished she could be a little like the duke so that she wouldn't have to tolerate words again that she didn't even have to care about. In the end, all of them responded to the duke with an eager and determined look on their faces.