For Better, For Worse: The Serpent's Contract Wife

Chapter 125: Flowers

The thunderous clap brought me back to reality, and I realized it was all over. The music had stopped, and what was left were the vibrations erupting from the collision of hands.

I eased out of my position, standing in the midst of the wild audience, all rising to their feet.

My heart pounded so heavily in my chest, and with every shuddering breath, the thunderous sounds slowly faded away until I could hear nothing.

And then, everyone disappeared, leaving me alone to stand in the spotlight like I was the only breathing being existing.

Everything spun, but I was balanced on my feet, just my mind swirling around every thought that had filled me for the last few minutes.

Memories.

How else could those flashes be explained, and the familiarity of places I have never been before? Horror swallowed me whole as an emptiness pooled in my chest.

Was a part of my life missing?

The pounding in my head got louder, my racing heartbeat joining the relentless rhythm. Questions swirled rapidly through my mind, along with the fragments of a puzzle trying to fit.

Yet the harder I tried to fit them, the more elusive they became.

I flinched when I felt a hand join with mine, and I whipped my head to Chris, grinning ear to ear.

I faced the empty seats, but they were no longer empty; they were filled with the audience applauding with all their hearts.

I mustered a strained smile that was on the verge of dropping because of how much strength I poured into it. Even though for a brief second, I allowed myself to get sucked in the praise and recognition.

We bowed to the audience, and when the curtains fell, the cast slowly made their way backstage.

"That was great, Ana!" Chris hugged me.

I was a bit startled by it, so I just stood stiff before he pulled away.

"I see you took my advice way too seriously. You didn’t push the feelings away, but they took control."

"Yeah..." I said nervously because I wasn’t just getting attention from him but the others, too, who circled me.

They all had something to say but my brain just zoned them out as much as I could and maintaining my smile was becoming a difficult task.

"Alright, alright! Let us give her some breathing space." Chris shooed them. "She will be right with you; let her breathe."

I did breathe, realizing I had focused too much on my surroundings, and had no time to let the exhaustion wind in. I am exhausted but more from my head than from the rest of my body.

"Thanks," I said when we were no longer crowded.

"No, thank you for being amazing and making us all amazing."

"You give me too much credit. We all played our parts. I just had to make sure I didn’t bolt."

My sequence was the most important, the colab with Chris was just the icing of the cake. The entire performance depended on me.

"Trust me, the credit is well deserved. So breathe in and let’s go to the others. Don’t worry, I’ll play the bodyguard for just tonight."

"Actually, I think I need to go and sit down or something, I um..." I rubbed my temples. "Feeling a little woozy and overwhelmed."

"Want me to walk you back to the room?"

"There’s no need for that. Unlike me, you probably wanna be showered with attention. So..." I patted his chest as if to motivate him. "Go get showered for both of us. I’ll catch up if I can. I just need to get my balance."

"Are you sure you’re gonna be okay, alone?" he asked, concerned.

"Why wouldn’t I be?" I placed my hands on my waist.

"You danced beautifully, Ana. But I think tonight brought up a lot for you. Let people celebrate you for a bit, yeah? Don’t get so caught up in everything you’re feeling that you forget what you accomplished."

"That’s um..." I mumbled, before I chuckled lightly. "That’s a strong way to put it... Are you... Are you by chance saying that from experience?"

"You could say that. You didn’t just dance out there; you embodied a lot of things. I’m just worried you may feel a bit too overwhelmed, and shouldn’t be alone."

"Don’t worry, I’ll be fine. I’m overwhelmed, as you said. This... This experience is something I have never felt before. I mean... being under the eyes of the audience and not being a background character. You think it comes with all the confidence because everyone is watching you, but... it just makes it easier to fall."

"But you didn’t fall. You soar."

I smiled, but this time it wasn’t forced or to cover up the fact that I wasn’t falling apart from the inside.

"I did," I replied softly.

"Chris!"

Someone called for him.

"Off you go now. Don’t wait for me."

He left but threw a look over his shoulder to make sure before facing ahead.

I lingered for a while before my smile slowly faded. I left before anyone would surround me because I didn’t know how long I could keep acting as they wanted me to.

At least for someone who had just done amazing. I couldn’t accommodate the joy because something else bothered me to the core.

I took off my ballet shoes on the way. I grabbed the doorknob and unlocked it.

I froze in my tracks as a soft gasp escaped me. Calla lilies covered every inch of my dressing room, as though someone had made a flower shop go out of business.

Except I knew this wasn’t from a flower shop. This was Zade’s doing. He came to the performance; he must have been here the whole time.

I flinched when the door opened, and Clara walked in holding a bouquet.

"Amazing..." she said. "That’s what everyone keeps saying. Along with ’Where is Ana?’ Of course, she’s here while everyone keeps asking. You never did like the attention, huh?"

She closed the door behind her, passing a slow look around. "From hubby? So sweet, even for a murderer."

"What are you doing here?" I asked bitterly.

"Is that any way to speak to your cast mate? And your friend."

"Get... out."

"I come in good faith, with Shane’s congratulatory gift. He said it’s a shame he had to miss your big performance." She stretched her hand out for me to take the bouquet, and I caught the card inside it.

"What’s in that card?"

"About the function you’d be attending to prove your loyalty."

"And you’re giving me this now? Why do I get the feeling you could’ve given it to me yesterday, without dressing it up as a congratulatory gift?"

She grinned like a mischievous devil. "Because this moment is perfect. Right when you’re overwhelmed after your big performance, just a little something to rock your world and steal the joy."

Once a bitch, always a bitch.

Clara shoved the bouquet at me before twirling on her heels to leave, but my words stopped her.

"And if I don’t?"

"Oh, Ana... you can’t just back away now. You’re in too deep. You’ve sided with your husband’s enemy." She shook her head. "You may be his wife, but a Don despises one thing above all else. Betrayal."

I clenched the bouquet tightly, and Clara’s grin broadened. Suddenly, the door opened, and Jade walked in.

"Oops!" She sneered nervously, her eyes shifting between Clara and me. "Hope I’m not interrupting."

"No," I replied. "She was just leaving."

Clara huffed, walking out the door and Jade’s eyes followed her.

"I have always thought of the word bitch, but now I have a face every time I think about it," Jade remarked. "No offense but she looks like one, with that attitude."

"None taken. You... you made it. I wasn’t sure you would when I sent the invite."

I rushed to embrace her.

"I wouldn’t have missed this for the world! And I brought flowers! Except your room is already transformed into a flower shop. Maybe I should have brought anything else but flowers."

"No need." I took the bouquet sniffing the roses. "Your flowers are special."

"Lemme guess, ’yours truly’ brought the flower shop here. I should have opted for calla lilies, they seem like your favorite."

"I think they are..." I replied softly.

Another knock came, and the door swung open. A bouquet appeared first, followed by Luca.

"Hey sis!"

"Luca, you came," I said, a bit surprised.

"Are you kidding? Of course." He came closer and gave me a big hug.

"Can’t breathe!"

"My bad!"

I pushed the strands of my hair off my face when he let me go. That was when I saw Dante just outside the door, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed.

"And he came too," Luca drawled. "Along with Elliot, but he had to leave early. So I brought his flowers."

"I only came because Luca wouldn’t shut up about it," Dante replied.

"Well, aren’t you a dose of Sunshine," I remarked.