Chapter 4 A New Side Of Her

• For almost two minutes, the two stared at each other in wonder until Nicholas stood and finally spoke to break the icy silence between them.
• "Where's the first aid kit?" he asked without looking back at her. "Your wounds need to be disinfected."
• Instead of answering his question, Laverna just stood and walked towards the stairs, acting like nothing happened.
• "No need. I can take care of myself. Just pretend that you saw nothing today," she instructed.
• Her voice was cold, and based on her actions, it seemed like she already knew why it happened.
• When she entered her room, she let out a sigh before opening the drawer next to her bed. She took out a small bottle and took a pill. She swallowed one before heading to the bathroom to clean herself up and remove her disguise, which she somehow forgot to do hours before. But it was probably for the best because if she had removed her disguise before going to sleep earlier, Nicholas would have known her true appearance.
• "Fuck," she cursed under her breath. The stinging pain felt like blades piercing through her flesh as she washed off the blood. The fact that Nicholas saw her in such a state was stressing her out.
• She wasn't embarrassed about what happened, but she was afraid it could be used against her, especially since she does not fully trust the man yet. And not to mention, she was vulnerable at that time and, who knows? He could have taken that chance to kill her if that idea ever crossed his mind.
• As she covered her relatively minor wounds with band aids, she couldn't help but scold herself for what had happened. She knew she had no control over her body whenever she was sleepwalking, but it was still her fault for ending up in that state. A few hours later, the sleeping pill she had taken started to take effect so she was able to quickly fall asleep even after that embarrassing incident.
• The next morning, Nicholas woke up early, thinking his boss was already awake. But when he went downstairs, Laverna was nowhere to be seen, not even her shadow. Shortly after, the doorbell rang, so he quickly went out to see who was visiting at such an early hour. As he opened the door, a smiling Clarrisse greeted him. She brought food and drinks, so she swiftly entered and placed everything in the living room.
• "Where's Laverna?" she asked.
• "I don't think she's awake yet," Nicholas replied while watching her prep up the living room to turn it once again into her personal theater.
• Nicholas shook his head. After some time, he saw her run upstairs towards Laverna's room, and in less than two minutes, she came back down. She headed to the kitchen to check if there was any mess, but everything was clean, so she returned to the living room.
• "Did you clean up?" she asked briefly.
• Nicholas nodded. "Last night. I found Miss Laverna sleeping but she was still eating in the kitchen."
• Clarrisse shook her head before sitting down and opening the pizza she brought. "Maybe she didn't tell you about this, but you should still watch over her even when she's asleep because she really walks and eats while sleeping, and when she wakes up, she doesn't remember anything. Her doctor said she needs to stop taking sleeping pills, but she's still pretty stubborn."
• Nicholas could only nod, and instead of joining Clarrisse in eating the pizza and fried chicken, he went to the kitchen to cook. While doing so, he couldn't get over last night's events and Clarrisse's words out of his mind. It was something he didn't expect to see in the private life of a notorious killer like Laverna. Either way, he felt the need to learn more about her situation. Who knows? It could also be something he could use against her. And one more thing bothered him: Was she wearing a disguise at that time? The face she used then was her own, as Laverna Hansley, the model known to everyone in the modeling and fashion industry.
• It was already noon when Laverna woke up. She changed her pajamas and once again put on her disguise as the famous model before leaving her room. She then found Clarrisse watching TV in the living room.
• "Where's Lance?" she asked as she descended the stairs.
• "He's at your mini-gym. He seems bored waiting for you so he is just probably training himself to be more productive," Clarrisse answered without looking at her. “Ahh… To have a man like him is definitely a chef's kiss.”
• Laverna chose to ignore her unnecessary comment and simply proceeded to the gym where she saw her bodyguard drinking water while sweating profusely, giving her the idea that he must have been working out for quite some time. Despite not wanting to stare too much, she couldn't help but admire his handsome physique, especially when he removed his shirt and showed how well the gods had sculpted his body to perfection. When their eyes met, Laverna acted as if she hadn't seen anything. She quickly grabbed the towel beside her and threw it at Nicholas.
• "Get changed," she commanded. "We are going somewhere later."
• Nicholas immediately obliged. After an hour, the two of them left and headed to Daisy's shop once again. As they entered, they were quickly greeted by the owner.
• "Is everything ready?" Laverna asked.
• "More than ready," Daisy replied with a grin. She also looked at Nicholas, and her eyes sparkled like stars. "And I'm sure my creation suits him perfectly."
• Daisy briefly left so Nicholas approached his boss.
• "You have already bought many clothes for me. I don't think we need to buy more," he commented.
• A mischievous smile formed on Laverna's face. She held Nicholas by the shoulder and adjusted his collar.
• "Don't worry, you won't need to wear this every day, and there's still space in your closet."
• The young woman pulled the unsuspecting Nicholas and led him to the dressing room. When Daisy returned, she was with two women carrying a fancy blue gown. Daisy herself carried a costume she made solely for Nicholas.
• "Ma'am, no. I cannot just wear that," Nicholas started to protest as Daisy approached him with a prince costume.
• Laverna grabbed his hand and forced him into the dressing room. She took the costume from Daisy and handed it to Nicholas, who clearly showed his reluctance to wear it. But despite his protests, he had no other choice but to follow his boss's orders, knowing that she might kill him with just a glance.
• "When I am done fitting my gown, you better be finished as well. Or else, you will sleep outside tonight," Laverna warned before closing the door.
• She took her own gown and went to the adjacent cubicle. It took her some time inside as she arranged her hair to mimic Cinderella's appearance. When she was satisfied with the result, she stepped out and immediately faced Nicholas, who couldn't hide his surprise but as Daisy said, the outfit suited him, making him look more like a prince than a bad boy.
• "What is this for?" he asked, still annoyed and wanting to take it off immediately.
• "Just relax. You'll find out soon enough," Laverna replied, shifting her attention to Daisy. She thanked her before leaving the shop. But she noticed that Nicholas was just standing at the side and didn't seem to have any intention of leaving.
• Laverna smirked. "Are you coming with me wearing that, or do you prefer to go home naked? Your choice."
• Against his will, Nicholas simply heaved a heavy sigh and started regretting his decision to become her bodyguard. He followed Laverna, and it felt like years instead of minutes as they walked towards the parking lot.
• As soon as he sat in the driver's seat, he felt Laverna's mischievous gaze. He glanced at her, and a fake smile formed on his face, mirroring hers.
• "Don't put on that long face. Just think that today, you are Prince Charming who is adored by women," Laverna said as if her words would be enough to console him.
• "Are we going to a cosplay con?" he asked, his voice cold and sounding uninterested.
• Laverna shook her head. Nicholas started the car’s engine but she still didn't answer his question. With her eyes focused on the road, she spoke.
• "Let's head to Ester Orphanage," she said.
• Nicholas remained silent, as he already knew why they were wearing those costumes. He couldn't find joy in Laverna's good deeds for orphans and the underprivileged because behind her façade, she was still a killer. For every person she helped, there were just as many that she had killed, including Nicholas's younger sister. If Laverna's acts of kindness were not connected to any illegal activities of their group, he was sure she did it to ease her guilt after taking the lives of others. In short, she was nothing but a hypocrite in his eyes.
• When they arrived at the orphanage, the children came out, clearly delighted to see Laverna.
• "Alright, kids! Who wants to be a princess and a prince today?" she asked with a smile to hype them up.
• The children raised their hands, and when Laverna signaled for them to be quiet, they immediately obeyed.
• "And because you're all good girls and boys, I have a surprise for you. But before that, let me introduce our new prince who will accompany us today." Laverna looked at Nicholas, who was still inside the car, and gave him a deadly glare.
• Nicholas felt compelled to get out and immediately silence fell as he walked towards Laverna.
• "Greet them," she whispered.
• "Hey… What’s up?" he asked in such an awkward tone of voice so it was no wonder why none of the children replied. They thought he was angry, and they didn't want to risk being scolded so they remained quiet.
• Nicholas received a pat on the back from Laverna for scaring the children unintentionally. It was obvious she was making fun of him.
• "You should have just worn an Olaf costume. You scared them," Laverna whispered before she talked to the children and explained what they would do next.
• Nicholas, on the other hand, furrowed his brow as he looked at his boss because he still couldn't grasp who this Olaf she was talking about. But since he didn't want to mingle with others, he simply stood at the side and watched what they were doing. As time went on, he couldn't help but keep his gaze on Laverna because she looked as if she wasn't the killer he knew. It was as if another soul had possessed her, allowing her to blend in with the children she was unrelated to.
• "Hey," Laverna called out to him. "Don't stare too long, or you might end up falling for me."
• Nicholas scoffed and crossed his arms.
• "In your dreams."
• The model fell silent and gazed at her bodyguard, her eyes widened for a few seconds before it turned into a deadly glare. Only then did Nicholas realize that he had spoken as Nicholas Constantine and not as Lance Martinez, who was supposed to always be polite to his boss.
• “You…” Laverna growled.