Almost, Always

8. The Revelation

"Emi. What is it?" Mateo asked. I can feel the seriousness in his voice.

"Have you ever heard about Li Fei?" I replied.

"Hmmm." He stopped to think for a while.

"The artist?" he asked.

"Yes. Her." I responded.

"Yeah. I've heard about her art recently. Her artworks are currently a must-have. She's really mysterious though." Mateo said. I didn't say anything else. I was about to tell him exactly what I needed from him.

"Why?" He answered.

"Have you ever seen her?" I continued to ask while I walked out of the exit from the art exhibit.

"Where are you? What's up? And no. Her face has never been published anywhere before, just her art. So, no. I've never seen her before. Why?" Mateo continued to ask.

Odd.

When the artist is more beautiful than her art, how can it be possible that her face wasn't all over the news?

"Huh...Is that so..." I said while thinking.

"Why? What's with this new obsession? Do you want me to get her most recent piece of artwork? The most expensive one?" Mateo said.

That's it! I thought to myself.

"Mateo. I love you. You're a genius. What would Curtis and I do without you." I answered.

"Hey. Don't say that. I might say it back." He jokingly said.

"Oh, stop. You're such a flirt." I replied.

"And you're such a heartbreaker." He teasingly said.

For 4 years, Mateo has been helping me with everything. He is such a good person. He has been working for Curtis for as long as I can remember. He is only 4 years older than me. And treats me as if I'm his little sister at times. He has been a great friend and someone I know that will always have my back.

"Want me to pick you up? Where are you?" He asked.

"Don't bother. I'll come to you. Try to get more info about this Li Fei. I'll message you where to meet up. I'm hanging up. Bye."

—

The following day, I met up with Mateo at a local coffee shop. I spotted him right away. He is wearing a dove grey virgin wool sweater with a striped bottom, that has a ribbed trim and a rounded neckline, casual trousers, and polished black leather Derby shoes. Mateo shares the same height as Alyssa. He is 5'10. He has short brown wavy hair. And he loves to wear sweaters. He has tan skin and brown eyes. He is a fairly decent-looking guy. I personally think any woman would be lucky to have him. He is smart, kind, and extremely patient.

Who wouldn't fall for him? Any woman in their right mind would.

"So..tell me about Li Fei," I asked as soon as I sat down.

"No hello? Nothing? What's with this Li Fei, Emi?" He jokingly said.

"Just get to the point. What did you know about her?" I impatiently replied.

"Okay. Chill. There's nothing much about her. Not even photos, but I was able to gather this one picture of her. Particularly recent. This is her. On one of the openings of her art exhibit." He said as he handed me a photograph of Li Fei.

"What's weird about this is that it seems like everything about her is completely wiped out, if you will just do a simple search on the internet. You won't find anything at all about her personal information. All just about her art. Which is really intriguing." Mateo added.

"It's as if she doesn't want anyone to find out anything about her. Either she's an ex-con. A scammer. Running away from someone." He continued to say.

"But.. how can someone this beautiful be like that?" I asked as I continued to stare at her photo.

"That's where it gets interesting, Emi. Hear me out. I couldn't find anything about her but from this picture, I was able to find out more about her. She shares the same face with the daughter of one of the enormous conglomerates in the country. " he then leaned closer to me and said

"Her name? Elizabeth Ferri."

"Li Fei...Li from Elizabeth, Fei... from Ferri. Li Fei." I said as if I put the pieces of a puzzle together. I stared straight at Mateo.

What a revelation that was.

But why?

Why would she hide the fact that she came from a wealthy family? Isn't that an advantage for her? To already have a name in the industry?

"Right. I think Li Fei, Elizabeth, is trying to make a name for herself. Away from the power, her family has. They are one of the richest families in the country. Kudos to her for trying to hide who she truly is. But sooner or later, as she gets more famous, she won't be able to hide the fact that she's more than just an artist." Mateo said.

I took the photo and stared at her again.

What are you trying to prove Li Fei? What are you Elizabeth? Why are you such an enigma? And why am I so drawn to you?

***