Kill for Love

Chapter 1- The Beginning

“Thank you so much for watching! I’ll see you again in my next video! Love you, guys!” Cytherea smiled and turned off the camera. 

This will be another busy day for her. She does all the work in making her video on ITube. Creating the content, editing, and even shooting of the scenes.  She loves doing it, so it really doesn’t bother her if she does all the work. Besides, she loves traveling, which is the main content of her video. She gets to travel anywhere she wants and shares it with her viewers. Her viewers enjoy it so much because she gives them advice or recommendations, and that includes must-try foods. And now that she’s done shooting the scenes, she can now enjoy the remaining days being in this beautiful city of New Orleans.  

“Hi, Babe. Are you done?”

She looked at the person and smiled when she recognized that it was Ares Pendleton, her longtime boyfriend. He returned her smile and immediately hugged her like they didn’t see each other for quite a long time. The truth is, it hasn’t even been five hours since the last time they’ve seen each other. 

“Yes, Sir!” she jokingly answered and made a salute. 

He laughed and kissed her deeply, not minding if someone sees them or not when in fact, they are in the middle of Jackson Square, where a lot of people are trying to get a picture of St. Louis Cathedral. All he thinks about that moment is that he is finally now with her, and they can now spend time together.

“Where do you want to eat? I found an open restaurant in the French Quarters and they play good music. I was wondering if they’re serving good food. It will be a good addition to your vlog.” He took her crossbody bag, even though it was just a medium-size, and wore it around his neck. It was a funny sight, but he doesn’t care.

“Sure, that will be awesome. It’s been a while since I experienced that,” she said, smiling. 

“Let’s just walk. It’s not too far from here besides. I know you wanted to look at those witchcraft stores. I also signed us up to get those tours they are offering tomorrow. There’s about the haunted history, and there’s one for ghosts and vampires."

"Sounds good. I can't wait for tomorrow. It really got me curious why they have tours like that, and I want to find out why. Thanks for doing that, Babe. I love you." She wrapped her arms around his waist while he put his right arms on her shoulder.

He gently pulled her closer to him so that he could give her a kiss on the forehead.

Cytherea thought that she was incredibly lucky to have Ares. He is such a gentleman, and she can feel that he loves her so much. Throughout their relationship, never once did Ares tried to force her to have s*x with him.

Cytherea is still a virgin, even at the age of 25. She couldn't be prouder of him because he respects her dispositions in life, and that includes no s*x till marriage. A man like that is so hard to find. They're becoming a rare species, an extinct one.

"Of course, anything for you, Babe."

They arrived at the open restaurant and true to his words. It was really a nice place. They have their own band playing music. It was a bit loud, but she didn't care.  She actually enjoyed it. The music is so lively. It makes her want to dance to its tunes.

They found an empty table which is just in front of the dance floor, where the band is playing.

Ares pulled a chair for her. She smiled and mouthed, 'thank you' to him. He was about to sit beside her when he felt his phone vibrating through his pocket.  He took it out, and he furrowed his forehead when he saw who's calling.

"Are you okay?!" she shouted. The music is too loud, and she had to shout for him to hear her. He looked so pissed, and that's the reason why she couldn't help herself but ask.

"Yes, I am! I have to excuse myself, Babe! I'll just take this call! You can order first!"

She gave him a thumbs-up as a response.

Not too long, the waitress arrived and gave her the menu. When she saw the gumbo and the crawfish on the menu, she knew right away what to order. It was also a good thing that they visited New Orleans in April because it's the crawfish season. Those two dishes are the must-try food in the city. She decided to order the same thing she has for Ares. 

While she was waiting for the food to be served, she looked at Ares, who was outside the restaurant's premises. He looked like he's arguing with someone over the phone. He looked furious, and Cytherea couldn't help herself worry. Ares seldom gets angry, and if he is, there must be something wrong.

Ares felt like someone was watching him, so he looked back and saw Cytherea was looking at him. He smiled and waved at her before he turned his back. He doesn't want her to see how pissed off he was with the caller.

Cytherea sighed.

She thought that Ares might take a while before he finishes the call. So, she tried to divert her attention by looking around the restaurant. It was very simple yet homey. There are no extravagant designs, but it does remind her of the Mardi Gras because of the colorful beads hanging on the open windows.

She was looking at the windows when she noticed a guy surrounded by a group of people who looked like they’re in college. They were wearing black clothes, and it looked like they were assaulting the poor guy. The guy was already on the ground and looked so helpless. 

No one seemed to notice what was happening because they were in the corner of the street, which is not visible to the passersby. She felt sorry for the guy and had the urge to help him. She took her phone, and without hesitation, she stood up and went to the guy’s rescue. 

“Hello, 911. What’s your emergency?” the person on the other line asked after she dialed the number.

“Yes, hello, someone that has been beaten. The guy is already on the ground, and they’re still kicking him.”

“Can you tell me the address?”

“I don’t know. I’m not familiar with this place, but it is not too far from the restaurant where I’m at. The restaurant’s name is Fly Open. It’s in the French Quarters. There is an alley across the street, and that’s where they are. I’m going to try and distract them so that they can leave the guy alone.”

“Ma’am, please don’t do that. You’ll put yourself in danger. I have already contacted the police, and they’re on their way. Please wait for them.”

She stopped walking. She is a black belter in taekwondo. If anything happens, she can protect herself with no problem. She also thought that it was best to wait for the police to arrive.

She stood by the pedestrian lane, thinking that it would be easier for her to see the police. Then suddenly, she heard the siren. There were two police cars coming.

“Okay, I think they’re here. I can hear the siren.” She immediately turned off the phone without waiting for the operator to respond. She ran to the police’s car even though it didn’t make a stop. She waved her arms crazily to get their attention. Good thing that the other police noticed her and made a full stop in front of her. 

“Hi, I was the one who called. You have to hurry. The guy is already on the ground, and they’re still kicking him,” she immediately informed them before they could say anything. 

“Okay, Ma’am, I need you to stay here. Don’t make any hasty decisions. We will take care of it from here.”

She nodded and pointed out the location. One police officer stayed with her, and the others hurriedly went to the alley—the people who were beating the guy immediately dispersed as soon as they saw the police. Three of them got caught, but there were two who’s on the run. 

Cytherea was able to hear the police officer who was at the scene was asking for a backup. It was quite a show, and she felt like she was watching a real-life movie. People were gathering and taking the phones out to record the chasing.

She sighed. People nowadays are more engrossed in taking videos instead of helping people. Some indeed help in these kinds of situations, only to find out that they've been videotaped, which will be later posted on all social media platforms. Then, people will be like, “Oh, you're such a good person to do that!"

She really doesn't care. It's their hustle. She just sometimes doesn't understand why.

Not too long, the ambulance arrived at the scene. The two paramedics assisted the guy in getting in at the back of the ambulance. His face was full of blood.

She felt sorry for him. Without thinking, she went to the guy and found him sitting on the floor of the ambulance. His legs were hanging outside of it. The paramedics were cleaning his cuts on the face.

It was a horrible sight. His right eye was swollen, and his face was almost covered with bruises. His lips had a big cut, and a little bit of blood was coming out from his mouth. It seemed like those guys hated his face because his face was almost unrecognizable.

"Hey, are you okay?" she worriedly asked.

The guy was so shocked when he saw her. He couldn't believe that a beautiful woman like her would be concerned for someone like him. She has the face of an angel. Her eyes were bluish silver, long lashes, and pinkish cheeks. Her lips are also naturally pinkish. He couldn't help but blush as he stared at her lips. She can be mistaken as a model for her height and hourglass body.

“I-I…” he stammered. His lips were hurting, and it was so hard for him to speak.

Cytherea noticed that, so she smiled at him. 

“It’s okay. You don’t have to answer. I’m just so glad that you’re being taken care of now. I was so worried when I saw you with those guys.”

For the first time in his life, he was able to feel genuine care from a stranger. Most people spite him because of his looks, and some who were good to him were after his money. 

“Babe! I was looking all over for you. What are you doing?”

Both of them looked in the direction of the voice. She saw Ares, who was running towards her. The moment he reached her, he immediately embraced her. He checked if there was anything on her face or if she had been hurt.

“Wait! I’m okay.” she giggled. “You’re being overly dramatic.”

“Well, I can’t help it. You’re no longer in the restaurant when I got back. I have to ask the waitress, and she told me you went here. Good thing they haven’t served our food yet. I told them to put a hold on it first.” He looked at me seriously like he was reprimanding a kid. “Don’t run off like that. You had me worried too.”

“Aww… I’m so sorry, Babe. It won't happen again. I was so worried and had the urge to help him." She looked at the guy. "You're all good, right?"

The guy just nodded. 

"I'm glad. We have to go. I'm just making sure you're okay. Be safe!" She waved at him and started walking.

The guy was just looking at them. He wished he had a girl like her, who is beautiful inside and out. That man is so lucky to have her. He wanted to call her and asked for her name. He wanted to get to know her better.

And for another first time in his life, he had the urge to own her...