30 DAYS

"Hey Bijou... I've noticed you've been wearing that sad face lately. What happened?", Belle asked. She's been seeing her with that gloomy expression for a few days now, but she's too busy to inquire about it. What was that all about?

Lying on the floor as usual, Arianna was in a trance-like state. "I'm broken. What is there to be happy about?",she mumbled.

Belle stared at her. That was the first time Belle have seen Arianna this way. Her eyes are red and her face was pale. She looked sick and helpless.

"Well, you're alive. What do I have that you don't? My eyes? You can get your vision back! We'll find a way!" Belle coaxed her. She was lying on the bed and Arianna on the floor. It's almost eleven in the evening but she couldn't sleep seeing Arianna's lonesome look. Was she depressed? Was being confined taking a toll on her mental health? That's scary!

"Alive.... Am I really alive?", she uttered before closing her eyes. She didn't think Yago giving up on her would hurt this much. For the past few days, she's been trying to contact Yago's number but he wouldn't pick up her calls. After taking back his well deserved place, had he made up his mind to forget about his past and pursue his dreams instead? Had he given up on her? Should she give up on him too? But how? She feels like dying now... The pain and helplessness is killing her.

"Do you wanna run away?" out of nowhere, Arianna heard Belle asked. "If you wanna escape this place, then start planning your future. In about six weeks, we will be leaving this awful place." she stated before pulling her blanket and closing her eyes.

Arianna waited for Belle to say more but she kept her silence til she fell asleep. Arabella is actually thinking of leaving her father? But why? She's obviously living in luxury thanks to her father! But somehow, for the first time, she actually defeated her. Today, Belle has proven herself to be tougher than Arianna. She can't just let her trample on her pride, right? For her child, she needs to forget her own grief... her own bleeding heart.

***

"Dad, I'm going out with Bijou!" Arabella told her dad one morning.

"You're taking her out again? She's blind! She's a burden." Howard replied. "Just take one of the maids with you."

"Nope! I wanna take my pet with me. She's my trophy. Whenever I see her, I remember how much better my life is." she said before turning around. "Anyway, we're going on a date and we will probably be home late."

Arianna who was standing behind Belle was stunned. A date? With whom? Lately, Belle has been taking her out with her when she goes out. But this is the first time Belle has ever mentioned anything about a date. She then suddenly remember the date today. It's February 14! They are going on a Valentines date?

"Are you secretly meeting Roy?" Arianna probed when they reached the car. Arabella's eyes widened in shock.

"What are you talking about?" She then kept mum about her plans the rest of the journey. And it wasn't a short journey! They actually drove for several hours. She really wondered what she's up to!

"My queen, are you taking me out of the city and into the woods to murder me and bury my corpse under the bushes?" Arianna teased her.

Belle laughed as she drive. "What kind of murder plan is that?" she uttered. "We're going on a date but we're meeting the guys on a different city. We will cross the country border, meet the guys, have dinner with them, take some photos, stay in a hotel, then leave the next day!"

Arianna was flabbergasted! "My dear queen, that's whoring!" She joked, tempting her to tell her more.

"Stupid! We're not gonna sleep with the guys! Only the two of us will stay in the hotel!" she clarified.

"And.... we are doing this because....." Arianna uttered, waiting for the other woman to fill in the words.

"We will post a photo of us dating in the social media, so people can see that we're not lonely single dogs who don't have dates on Valentines day!"

Arianna blinked her empty eyes repeatedly. "You sure you're not planning to drug me and sell me off?" she continued to tease her. Arabella's words seemed like nonsense to her. If she wanted to just go on a date, why would they need to cross the border?

"You know what, shut up before I actually agree to sell you off."

When they reached their destination, just like what Belle said, they had dinner with two guys and they talked only for thirty minutes before they left the restaurant to book a room in a hotel. All through out dinner, Arianna was on alert mode suspecting that something big might crop up, but it actually turned out peaceful! Too peaceful it felt surreal!

"What just happened?", she mumbled as they both lay down on their separate beds.

"What do you mean by what happened?", she said. "We got good pictures! Tomorrow let's post it on social media. Your man would surely be enraged when he finds out you're dating someone else already!" she explained.

Stunned, Arianna sat up and asked, "My man? What are you talking about?"

"Come on! You've been sulking for two weeks! Your boyfriend dumped you, right?"

Arianna was speechless. In a way, she was right. Yago was dating someone else now, so that means she's been dumped, right? She wondered how he would react when he sees the photo of her dating. But... what does it matter now? She really needs to get over him quickly.

"Go to sleep. I need to call my dad first and inform him that we can't make it home tonight."

***

Early morning, while Arabella and Arianna are on their way home, Roy Vander was having his breakfast in a hotel suite. He's been touring the nearby cities in search of his woman. It was totally out of his expectation that he would come across Arabella's newest post in her social media out of the blue! Instantly, he found hope that he's about to find her....but that hope was shattered at once when he saw those photos. In the picture, Arabella and Arianna sat side by side at a table and in front of them were two men. Only the two girls are recognizable as the men had their back on the camera. On the second picture was a hotel room number ambiguously displayed just like that. The caption read: "We're on this together, Bijou. We will make things happen! Happy Valentine's day to us!" And she tagged Arianna Reid in it. What's the meaning of that? Who the hell is Bijou? Is that her new lover? Roy's eyes darkened at the thought.

Furious, Roy summoned one of his men to his room. "Find out where this restaurant is located." he ordered the man as he sends him a screenshot of the photo. "I want immediate result!" he roared.

***

"This is crazy, right?" Belle uttered. She just spent one whole day and is about to spend one day more just because she wanted to anger Roy!

"You only thought about it now?" Arianna told her. "I bet Roy is actually drowning in vinegar right now. Poor guy." she jested.

"What? You should side with me! I can't believe you!" she stated with a frown. "If he still likes me, then he'll find me, right? I'm giving him thirty days to find me."

Arianna raised her brows. So this is what it's all about? She's making him jealous on purpose and reminding him that if he won't have her, then someone else would?

"Well, why not just call him directly and ask him why he wasn't getting you back? What if he wasn't able to find you in a month time?" she asked out of curiosity.

Arabella sighed. "Then we won't be meeting each other anymore.... ever." she replied. Roy is the new leader of Rojo! She doesn't believe it will be too hard for him to find her! He was able to track her every move back then. Why can't he do that now? If he doesn't come for her this time, that only proves that he doesn't like her anymore...

Arianna was stupefied. 30 days... Alright. She can do that too! She will give Yago a second chance to reach out to her. If nothing happened, then it's their fate to be separated. She'll start a new life without him. Somewhere very very far away...