The Murderer In My Shadow

Chapter Eight: Befriending Her

The next day, excitement filled the air as Conrad wake up as early as three in the morning. This was always the time Amberlene does her routine to jog, and he shouldn't miss it.

While everyone was waiting to wake up at the sound of the crow or roosters in the morning, Conrad prepared himself to join his master for a jog. Wearing his black old sneakers and shorts, topping up with white plain T-shirt only, he slowly went out of the quarter without anyone noticing him leave.

ON THE other hand, Amberlene woke up at the sound of her alarms annoyingly irritating her. When she finally got up, she remembered her encounter with Conrad, and she was thinking if it won't happen again, this time.

“I don't think I will bump into him again. He must have learned his lesson. I knew that yaya Dolor confronted him, and I am pretty sure that he'll stop seeing me this time?”

She paused for a while and realized what she just said on her mind. She told herself that Conrad will stop seeing her this time, when in fact, they haven't known each other yet.

“What on earth did I just said? Gosh, Amberlene, have you ever befriended each other? Have you known each other that long, and you can tell him to stop him from seeing you? Where the hell is your brain, Amberlene?”

She jumbled her hair and jumped on her bed a few times. She rolled over several times until she fell from her bed, realizing that she was creating noise on that very hour.

“Calm down, Amberlene. Breathe in. Breathe out. Okay? Relax your mind. It's just an ordinary day for you to jog. Remember that you did not finish jogging yesterday, so I guess you have to double up doing this today.”

Every time she scolded and talked to her mind, she still remembered what happened yesterday. She can't bear to see that a handsome butler saw her ugly face. And it made her lost her confidence. Then, what her Yaya Dolor said popped out in her mind.

“If you are afraid that they might bully you or gossip you, it's normal. Let them be. You are the head of this mansion. There is nothing to be afraid of. If you are lacking self-confidence, then why don't you try at least talking to Conrad face to face?”

“If I expose myself, yaya, what will happen then? What if they leave and never return, or they will start saying nasty things about me. You know our family history, and I'm afraid that it will only cause disturbance or shame to my family's business.”

“Have you ever tried? Have you ever think of praising yourself once in your life?” When did I ever tell you that you are ugly? Remember this, Amberlene, the hearts of kind ones are bigger than those of scumbags. There is no harm in trying, my darling. Just give it a try, at least to my nephew, Conrad.”

What her yaya said made sense. She never tried talking to anyone in the mansion. She never got the chance knowing what they were thinking about her. It was only her yaya Dolor that she mingled before. And she thought that it's best if she started befriending them. Or at the very least, tried talking first to Conrad.

“Fighting! I can do this!”

Raising her chin and heads up high, she faced herself in the mirror and arranged her messy hair, braiding her up like what most girls do. She put on a little make-up to cover her moon-shaped scars and a bit of lipstick. Then, she opened her closet and choose clothes.

She chose white plain shirt with black fitted shorts and lastly, wore her favorite rubber shoes.

If before she was used to tiptoed going out of her room, now she's confident that no one would have dared bothered following or sneaking around to find out what she usually does early in the morning.

After reaching the main door, she opened it and started jogging all the way into her favorite spot. This time, she was not wearing any AirPods or headsets. She wants to hear the sound of the morning crickets and feel the humid air. She was used to always watching her watch whenever she jogged, but this time, he purposely left her watch inside her bedroom. Time is gold for those who cherished it, but for her gold does not matter. She wants to use the time in spending the happiness she felt whenever she went out of her closet.

“Good morning, young master. I'm here to join you for your early morning jog.” Amberlene was surprised to hear a voice greeted her with smiling face. She almost tripped, but the person quickly grabbed her hands, making her uncomfortable.

She immediately removed her hands from holding him and raised her left eyebrows. Both stopped for a while waiting for each other's voice to be heard. The moonlight was illuminating their paths and both can see clearly the facets of her face.

Conrad was staring at Amberlenes hazel brown eyes that has moon-shaped scars on both side of her cheeks captivated him, making him smile in front of her.

Amberlene was bewildered by the smile on Conrad's face. This was his first time seeing her face to face showing her moon-shaped scars and hazel brown eyes. She wanted to turn around, but the handsomeness of the butler she was facing was unbeatable. His smile even made her heart skip a beat and fluttered her entire body.

“You're beautiful, young master.”

For the first time in her entire life, Amberlene heard from someone he only knew how beautiful she was. Yaya Dolor's words were true. Talking to someone and revealing her true self won't reduce anything from her life. And it started with Conrad, whom he just met by chance. He was the first person to talk to her and told her the beauty of her moon-shaped scars.