Beauty and the Beast | Fillie

Mr. Unknown

➵

JANUARY

"Thank you for your purchase, have a good day." Millie smiled politely, giving the book back to the client.

She looked around: David was reordering some books in alphabetic order on the shelf, and there was literally nothing else to do in that boring afternoon of January.

Customers were still a few, and incomings were barely enough in order to survive. Sometimes, she wondered what was the problem with that store. They literally had all the books someone could ask for — from original volumes, historic essays, and so on; and despite all of that, they didn't sell a lot of items like the bookshops in the center of the city.

Maybe was it because they had the shop in the suburbs of Vancouver?

"Dad, should we do some kind of promo in order to going on with the store? Because, just looking at incomings... I don't know if we can make it this month." Millie let out with a sigh.

David shrugged, "Like a 3x2?"

She shook her head, "We should literally sell everything with at least a 50% sale."

The man stopped what he was doing and frowned. He saw how Millie's expression was sympathetic; he knew she was right but he had some principles he couldn't go against to.

"No way. No. These books are way too expensive and precious to be sold with such a low price. I'd rather no eat for a week than seeing those pieces of art sold like trash." he let out angrily.

He wasn't happy about her plan, and she knew it. But that was the only way to sell something more; otherwise, they would have closed the bookshop. There was no other solution.

"But nobody is buying them, dad! Come on, just a promo for a week or two. Uh?" Millie tried to be as sweet as possible, because her father never got angry — except for when people were being mean at her or treated his precious books badly.

"Or I could ask for another loan." David joked, making Millie frown.

"Funny." she annoyedly replied.

Like a thunder snapping in the sky, the thought of him came back to her mind; the situation was starting to get unbearable. Dark eyes, black, following her everywhere she went; black curls, black eyes, black suit; yes, his color was black and it hunted her. Making her feel things, alive, weak. He was just the most intoxicating combination ever; and she loved him, and wanted to feel him again. But she couldn't.

Because the person she loved was somebody else's.

It had been thirty days since Christmas; and she just cried for all nights, had terrible nightmares, or had dreams in which he came back to her, and, also, a sort of constant tachycardia which went on and on, leaving her paralyzed, totally out of control...

She swore she was going insane. Sometimes she found his face in the most weird places, all around her.

"Come on, Mills, I was kidding. Just smile. You can't be that affected anymore. A month had passed." David replied while disappearing in the warehouse with a countless quantity of books in his strong hands.

While tapping her fingers on the cash desk, she took a long breathe. He was right; time passed, but she couldn't forget and, especially, didn't want to. But how the hell could she forget him? How could she forget the only man who made her body tremble with just a whisper? Or a brush of lips on her neck?

"God, I hate all of this." she whispered in frustration as she checked the emails. She scrolled down with the mouse, until a mail she didn't notice before showed up.