Chapter 1: Should I just punch him?

Chapter 1: Should I just punch him?

The addictive blend of smoke rose in the air as she puffed a silver filter-tipped stick of a cigarette rolled in between her long, slender fingers.

A wisp of steam shrouded her curvy figure against the billowing silk of her almost see-through night dress, creating an ethereal allure. 

Ultimately, it emphasized every inch of her sultry shape that would definitely bind any man in a folly.

Akin to a celestial that graced the earth, with her beauty standing atop the highest building in the Capital City, perhaps even the clusters of stars spreading like limitless glitters in midnight's drape would shy away before her presence.

Estelle unconsciously reached out her hand to the night sky.

"Stars, huh?" she snickered and closed her eyes.

Feeling the cool autumn breeze that gently caresses her skin and softly blows off her waist-length black hair, creating what one can call a beautiful chaos that uncannily fits the girl's seemingly detached image.

But no, she wasn't an immortal or celestial goddess who had a fortunate time to leisurely watch over the city lights and the tall surrounding buildings from a skyscraper.

Regardless, if someone should ask, they would undoubtedly get a response to being closer to that. 

In fact, she was a higher being than that of a mere human.

They were more than that.

The soothing gust of wind slowly throws Estelle's mind into a state of reminiscing.

"Stellar... the one who shines brightly like the stars. It's a lovely name. I think it suits you very well... Stellar... my precious star hmm..." A gentle smile tugged his lips as he spoke promises to her ears, "You will always be my guiding star, Stellar... Forever..."

A reflection of a man's tall figure remained blurry against a dimly lit candle, leaving her with only a vivid image of his long silver hair, resembling the cosmic scheme etched into her memory under the flickering candlelight.

As she opened her eyes, Estelle looked above the distant sky and tightly clenched her hand, still hanging in the air, collecting nothing but emptiness while staring intently at the elusive stars.

A bitter smile cut across her lips like shattered glass wine, turning even the most exquisite brand of wine into a nasty brine.

"Liar. There's no such thing as forever," a self-deprecating smile crept and tugged the corners of her mouth, "People don't stay. Even memories easily fade."

His face, his voice, everything was just fading slowly from her memories.

Though it's as if a part of her wanted to remember that it kept on nagging her in her dreams. 

But a small part of her screams with raging protest to never welcome those pieces that scattered away. Stopping her from puzzling those shrinking fragments altogether. 

Estelle doesn't know why.

Perhaps it was due to this confusion and instinctive caution that she had begun to hate it all for disturbing her peace for so long.

"How can I become that guiding star? Funny how you even got lost," she uttered caustically. 

She doesn't even know who that person is to her. 

Ha! This is just so ridiculous.

Estelle took a deep breath, trying to compose herself and calming her nerves by blowing off some steam.

Shaking her head, she convinced herself.

'Nah! Beat it. There's no point in reminiscing something you can't remember. This is getting annoying. Tsk!'

She just lit up the stick on her fingers and was about to put it back on her lips, parting those twin rosy folds and revealing a sharp pair of pearly white cuspids, when an impertinent hand suddenly grabbed it away from her and to make it worse, tossed it in the bin without waiting for her to react and stop him.

"And what do you think you're doing, Lyric?"

The young woman let out a low growl, shifting her attention to the man who sneaked behind her and brazenly threw her last stick of cigarette.

The more she thought of it, the more her expression turned ugly.

Right now, they are in a penthouse of the highest hotel in the Capital City, how the hell would she be able to get a pack when this seriously bothersome man doesn't even keep a single rim on his storage despite his brimming but 'oh-so-useless' wealth?

Well, of course just by her standard that is.

"Do you want to die so badly that you're deliberately messing up with me?" she hissed fiercely.

She just wanted to calm herself after a bad dream, a daunting nightmare that kept bugging her all these years without an answer, but some rude bastard wouldn't just let her be.

Now her sullen mood just turned for the worse. Moreover, it didn't help that this guy still had the audacity to smile right in front of her, flashing his set of evenly white teeth.

'I want to punch him. Should I? But that would bruise his pretty face. Tsk!' the girl couldn't make up her mind, thinking how she could not control her punches well. 'I obviously wouldn't want him to lose a tooth. That's just so bad.' Her face twitched multiple times, unable to make up her mind. 

'Darn it!' 

In the end, she just brushed the idea. Damn, who told her to like beautiful creatures anyway?

Such a scam!

Although Lyric may have usually found it amusing to see a frown on her usually stoic face, he knew that the girl was already seething, and it wouldn't be good to cause her to be more agitated.

Certainly not good for him.

"It's because I don't want to die yet, that's why I can't tolerate my precious partner's vices, causing me to die early due to second-hand smoking. So don't be upset that I took it out," he explained, his voice still hoarse, fresh from waking up.

Lyric roused with a hint of nervousness when he found the left side of his bed empty. Void from the warmth of the girl he shared intimate moments with. 

Only when he caught a whiff of the disgusting nicotine from the balcony, was his heart put at ease.

Inside, he couldn't help but mock himself. To think that there would be a time he would appreciate that fucking stench.

How ridiculous can he get when it comes to this girl? Lyric smiled helplessly.

The man caught the loose ends of her long midnight hair, gently tucking it behind her ears. He looked at her intently, causing the girl to raise an eyebrow.

"What?" she snapped unhappily, not liking the uncomfortable feeling of how the man was looking at her so intensely, ultimately associating his gaze with that of a predator locking on his prey.

She resolved never to become anyone's prey.