A few days have passed, and now I find myself at the Nightshade Guild, reporting to the Grandmaster without Zyair's head in my possession.
"Did you kill him?" the Grandmaster asked me from across the table.
"Yes, I did," I lied to him. I couldn't tell him that it was Aleksei who killed Zyair. I went back to that place with Lucian, but according to him, Zyair's body exploded that night, and we couldn't find any remains, not even a single bone.
"But I see you never brought his head with you," he looked disappointed that I didn't follow his orders.
"He's gone. That's the most important thing, Grandmaster," I said firmly. If only he knew what really happened, I knew he wouldn't believe that someone like me was killed by Zyair. He was one of the best executioners of the Crimson organization, our nemesis.
"You are a disappointment, Miss Chu. I told you to bring me his head, but you never did," he said seriously before standing up.
I clenched my fists in frustration, "What do you want me to do?"
"Kill the remaining executioners, bring me their heads. That's your mission. Dismissed," he said as he headed to his desk.
I stood up and left the room. He wanted me to kill them, but I might end up dead at the hands of one of them. Why was he so obsessed with killing the executioners? He should have tasked me with killing our nemesis, the Grandmaster, instead of the executioners. But no one knew who the Grandmaster of the Crimson organization really was.
I couldn't afford to die because Aleksei was no longer in my world. He would never come back. He belonged in the fantasy world, and I belonged here in the real world.
As I got out of the car, I saw a police car parked nearby, and Matthew stepped out. I hadn't seen him in the past few days.
"Winter…" he called my name as he approached.
"I told you not to--"
"I know, I know. Do you have a minute? Can we talk?" he asked.
I sighed, "I can only spare a minute. Go ahead."
His gaze was fixed on me. "I'm sorry I cheated on you. I know I was wrong in what I did to you. It was selfish of me not to ask for your thoughts on marriage. I just wanted to build a family together with you."
"And I said no when you proposed to me, Matthew. We had only been in a relationship for four months then." He did propose to me back then, and I declined, but we remained in a relationship after.
"I know. I thought you were ready to marry me, so I gathered the courage to do it." I admired him for that. 
"You could have waited, but you still chose to cheat while we were together. You knew from the beginning that I didn't want you, but did you know that I was slowly falling for you back then. I was just not ready, so I said no." Tears welled up in the corner of my eyes.
He took a step closer, holding my hands. "Winter, I'm so sorry. I was hurt during those times, but I hurt you more because of what I did."
"You cheated on me just because I didn't agree to marry you. Do you know how painful what you did was?" I tried to hold back my tears, but they escaped my eyes.
"Hush now," he released my hands and wiped the tears from my cheeks.
"I thought you were different from Dad, but in the end, you did it anyway. You hurt me, you broke the trust I gave you." I took a step back, away from him, and wiped away the remaining tears.
"I'm still in love with you, Winter. I know I broke the trust you gave me, but can you give us a second chance? Please..." he tried to step closer, but I backed away further.
I gave a slight shake of my head. "You are a cheater. And a cheater always cheats. Giving us a second chance would mean I'm gullible. You'll never change, Matthew." I said and then turned my back on him, walking into the house.
"Meow~" Dreamer greeted me as I entered, and I immediately picked him up. I took a deep breath and smiled.
"Do you miss momma?" I asked, giving him a kiss on his face.
"Meow~"
I felt lighter as Dreamer gazed at me. He is my tuxedo baby and always will be. He is my comfort fur baby and so is Ichi who is obsessed with Lucian. 
I heard Lucian's approaching steps before I looked at him. He was carrying my sleeping Ichi. They were inseparable.
"How's your day?" Lucian asked.
"Meow~" Dreamer responded.
"I know. Your brother abandoned me." I gently stroked Dreamer's head and sat on the sofa, placing him on my lap.
"Meow~"
Lucian sat across from the empty sofa. "I saw the policeman leave. I don't know the whole story between you two, but it was the first time I saw you cry. Did he hurt you?" he asked with a serious expression.
I nodded slightly. My past relationship with Matthew wasn't his concern. "We just talked."
He sighed, "Are you okay?"
I nodded, "I have another mission to wrap up. I think I'll be busy in the coming days. How about your job?" I changed the topic and asked him.
"I think we both are going to be busy. Tomorrow I have to attend an auction, and I need your help," he said, petting Ichi's head as the cat rested on his thigh.
"I'm in." 
"He smiled gently, “I know, amore.”
The following day at 7 in the evening, we headed to the auction venue.
I was wearing a fitted black backless dress and red heels, with my waist-length hair flowing loosely. Lucian wore a black and white tuxedo, his red hair freshly cut. He looked dashingly handsome and impeccably neat.
Quietly, we exited the car, my arm linked with his as we entered the venue.
After a minute, we sat in the front row as the bidding commenced.
The auction was for a rare painting called ‘Les Femmes d’Alger’ by Pablo Picasso.
“A hundred and fifty dollars!” someone shouted from behind us.
“Two hundred dollars!”
“Five hundred dollars!”
“One million!”
“A hundred million dollars!”
"Two hundred million!"
I waited for Lucian to speak, but he remained silent the entire time.
"Aren't you going to raise your card number?" I whispered to him, noticing he held the card in his hand.
"What's your favorite number?" he inquired, raising my eyebrow.
"5," I replied shortly.
He glanced ahead and raised the card number he had been holding.
"Mr. Blackwood?" the auctioneer acknowledged him.
"Five hundred million dollars!" he stated confidently.
I smiled at his bid. That's why he asked me for my favorite number. But five hundred? That’s too mu–
"One billion!" Startled, I turned to see a woman behind me. She looked young and determined.
"Two billion!" I heard Lucian's voice. The bidding had escalated to unimaginable amounts.
"Three billion!" the woman said. This time, it was Lucian and the woman competing for the painting. Why were they willing to spend so much money?
"Four billion!" I looked at Lucian.
"Mrs. Spencer?" the auctioneer inquired.
"Five billion!" Mrs. Spencer said, with a hint of doubt in her voice.
"Seven billion!" Is he out of his mind?! Seven billion is an astronomical sum.
"Mrs. Spencer? Anyone?"
Mrs. Spencer fell silent from the back.
"Les Femmes d’Alger by Pablo Picasso is hereby sold to Mr. Blackwood," the auctioneer declared. Lucian immediately approached the painting when a gunshot suddenly rang out, causing chaos as people ran towards the exit.
I approached Lucian. "What's happening?"
He handed me the painting he was holding. "Hold it for me, amore. I have to deal with some intruders," he said and promptly left me with the painting in my hands.
I heard another gunshot, and three men approached me.
I quickly threw the painting far away. "I'm sorry, Pablo Picasso," I whispered and retrieved the stiletto knife hidden under my dress.
As two of the men tried to attack me, I swiftly moved away. One of them nearly struck me with a knife, but I managed to slit his throat from behind before his body collapsed. The other two came at me with precision, one landing a hard blow to my face. I bent down, stabbing his stomach up to his chest, causing him to scream, then I stabbed his head from behind before he fell, leaving me with one opponent.
“You wenc–" he didn't finish his words before dropping to the ground before me. Blood dripped from his head as I glanced behind me.
"Where's the painting?" Lucian asked as he approached me.
"I threw it," I said with a stoic expression.
"What?" Surprise was evident on his face.
"I'm sorry."
жжж
Author's note: I'm not done writing this story yet, but I'm currently working on chapter 13 of my next story. Wish me luck. 😁