madelein | ✔

five

"So, where were you?" Jennie popped out on the opening of her cubicle. She had her arms crossed over her chest and her face demanded answers.

Sian sighed and turned her chair to face her. In her mind, she was debating whether she would tell all of her whereabouts this morning with Mr. Duke Lawrence Zagaya.

Because if her friend knew who she was with, Jennie would scream her head off.

"I'm... I was running errands," she gulped, avoiding eye contact with her friend. She crossed her legs and tried to look calm and comfortable.

Jennie narrowed her eyes at the woman sitting in front of her. She wasn't bought with the excuse. How could someone run errands for almost half a day?! To add to that, on a work day!

She tapped her foot and cocked her eyebrows at Sian. "You know you can't fool me, Sian."

"I was running errands for our boss! How could I say no to that?!" Sian bursted while Jennie pouted even more. "I'm saying the truth!"

The lilac haired woman sat on Sian's desk and leaned in closer. Sian gulped and leaned back at her extent. It was getting stuffy in her cubicle but Jennie doesn't even bother.

"Our boss? Mr. Henry Zagaya?" her friend continued to ask and investigate.

"No," she answered in a tune, "It's for Mr. Duke Lawrence Zagaya."

"What?!"

In the end, she hushed her friend and dragged her to the office's canteen. It wasn't the time for breaks so there were no peole inside.

She pushed Jennie onto a chair, forcing her to sit. Still debating whether she would tell her friend everything, Sian walked back and forth in front of her friend.

Jennie followed Sian with her eyes. She was getting dizzy with her friend walking left to right in front of her. What's she doing?

She eventually stood up and held Sian, both of her hands on her shoulders. She was quite taller than the girl rumaging earlier thus she leaned in.

"Calm down," she let out a chuckle while Sian could only sigh. "What's bothering you?"

"Jennie, promise me," she was taken aback with what her friend blurted out. "That you won't tell anyone what's between Duke and I..."

All Jennie could do was nod in response to the smaller woman she was holding against her grasp. Probably, she was holding to prevent from falling to the floor.

Sian was shaking under her hold. Her knees weak as noodles and her lips turned pale.

Jennie doesn't know what's going on her friend's mind but she has a feeling that this was somewhat serious.

Duke was silently reviewing the reports submitted to him earlier. His secretary gave it to him the moment she saw her back in the office.

He was still flustered, for some unknown reason, hearing Sian say those three words. Those three words that he didn't manage to say to Madelein when he had the chance.

He then remembered the second time he saw Madelein, back in the same cafe he once saw her before.

The autumn breeze blew off and grazed Duke's body. All he could do was smile softly as he ran his fingers through his hair. It was officially autumn now.

The leaves have turned orange and were falling to the ground. Every step he takes has a crunch from those dried leaves, piled on the street.

He was back on the block of their school, specifically in front of the cafe window where he once saw the girl with a mask...