Red Princess

63. The Trolley Tragedy

Kaidon

It started right after I saw her enter the restaurant. Her long curls were tied into a loose braid on her side. Her cheekbones were flushed red, and her eyes sparkled as they reflected off the chandelier lights. A crimson-coloured off-shoulder dress perfectly hung around her curves, giving an uninterrupted view of her slender collar bones. As she closed in on me, her scent entered my brain right through my nose and squandered all my thoughts. I felt like some anaesthetic intoxicated me.

The feeling went away when I was crawling through the air vents, and I thought it was only a momentary lapse of my nervous system, but it struck me back when I went to get her out and perhaps even escalated. That moment in the elevator when my lips were almost touching hers, I nearly forgot everything. I forgot who she was and who I was and what we were there to do or the fact that she was my brother's fiancee. All I could think about was that if she had moved even an inch closer to me, I'd have unapologetically kissed her.

"Maybe it's just the face." A nonchalant voice interrupted my trail of thoughts.

"What?"

Alex stole a toast from my plate and, as he began applying jam to it, continued, "The infatuation you have with her. It could be the face."

"What the hell are you talking about?"

He turned his head and stared at me, his raised eyebrow mocking me, "Seriously? Dude, I can see the way you are gaping at her." He pointed in the direction of the kitchen where Ariel was beating the eggs in a bowl. I also noticed Griffin chopping vegetables on the other side with inhuman speed and precision. God, he was like a ghost. He rarely ever spoke to us. We sometimes even forgot that he existed in the house.

"I know it sounds crazy, and we have never properly talked about it, but do you think there could be a slight chance that it's her?"

Her? Alice?

I recalled those few strands of her hair I pulled out the other day when she hugged me. I didn't know what I intended to do with them. And now they were just lying around inside a container in my office.

"You are suggesting that Seydon betrayed us?"

"It doesn't necessarily have to be betrayal!" He looked around once and then continued, "You know what Seydon is like, right? He gets suspicious about everything! Five years ago, my sister dies, and at the exact same time, her lookalike also goes through an accident and conveniently loses her memories. The Seydon I know would have been the first one to point it out."

"Or he just decided to move on."

"Are you kidding me? I thought at least you would see reason in this!"

I wanted to. I could not tell him how desperately I wanted to believe she was alive, but I didn't want him going through that disappointment. Alex was still just a child. Alice loved him dearly, and he surely did take her death hard. If at this moment, he were to get his hopes high only for them to get crushed later, I wasn't sure if he would deal with it well. Something inside of me considered him as my responsibility now.

"I'll do something about it, okay?" I wasn't sure if it was him I was giving assurance to or myself. I had no reason to explain why I was so attracted to her, and I felt guilty towards Alice. Perhaps it really was just the face.

"Hey, hey, c'mon, we need to leave." Alex interrupted me as he picked up a toast and held it to his mouth, and hurried toward the kitchen. "C'mon, Ariel, you need to come too!"

She nodded as she handed over her bowl to Griffin, pulled off her apron and dashed towards the first floor.

"What's this about?" Griffin asked us while I checked my phone for messages. There it was, a message for an urgent mission.