CHAPTER 1

"WHAT is that?" I raised an eyebrow as I asked Ailey. She was completely absorbed in whatever she was watching on her phone while lying face down on my own bed.

"Porn," she answered simply, still engrossed in her phone. My eyes widened at her direct response.

"What the hell?" I immediately blurted out in shock. Did she really not hesitate to say that?

"Elysee, we are already twenty-three years old. What's wrong with that? Are we going to grow old without knowing anything about these things? Are we always going to think about work and supporting our families?" she said, ranting while I just rolled my eyes.

"Why? Is that duty so terrible? Don't you have anything else to do besides watching that?"

"I know you're concerned, Elysee. Just let me be. It's not like watching this will harm me. And I don't want to grow old as a spinster, you know."

"It's fine if I grow old as a single and a virgin. I'll prioritize my family, Ailey," I said in return.

I saw her looking at me. She raised an eyebrow before speaking.

"What are you saying, Elysee? You already have what you wished for. A simple and happy life is already yours. Your parents have a business, so you shouldn't have to look for a job. Shouldn't I be the one asking you if there's anything else you can do? You have money, so enjoy yourself once in a while," she said again.

I sighed at her words and lay down on the bed, looking at the ceiling.

"I've been thinking about that too. I'm still looking for the right opportunity to leave the company. I also want to have fun; I'm considering it. I hope they'll allow me to leave the company," I said.

"I'll support you, sis. As long as your decision doesn't harm you, go ahead. I'm always here to help you when you need it."

"Thank you, Ailey."

"Okay then. I'll go back to my room now. It's getting late, so you should sleep too because I'll be sleeping soon," she bid goodbye.

I looked at her as she stood up, turned off her phone, and walked straight out of my room. She closed the door behind her when she left.

I looked at the ceiling again. I didn't want my parents to struggle with their business, so it would be better if I helped them. Should I be the one taking care of that business? I'll let them rest for now. Maybe I'll talk to them tomorrow.

I stood up and turned off the lights in the room. I returned to bed and immediately wrapped myself in the blanket. I closed my eyes, letting the darkness pull me into sleep.

I woke up because of a noise I heard. I yawned while still keeping my eyes closed. Was it already morning? It didn't seem like it.

"What's that noise again?" I whispered. I rubbed my eyes before standing up and leaving the bed I was lying on.

I went out of the room to see where the noise was coming from.

"Ahhh... Faster... Keep going... Ahhhh..."

My forehead furrowed upon hearing a woman moaning. Was Ailey watching porn again? I slapped my forehead because the volume seemed too loud.

I immediately headed to Ailey's room. As I approached the door, the moaning of the woman grew louder and louder—I could also hear a man's moans.

"Fuck! You're still so tight! Ahhh... Shit!" I heard a man's voice.

What time is it? It's very late at night. It seems like Ailey is getting addicted to the things she's watching. She's not doing anything good anymore. She's waking me up in the middle of sleeping; I really need to talk to her.

I'm already in front of Ailey's room door. I notice that it's open, which makes me furrow my brow. I quickly open the door and was about to speak when I saw what Ailey was doing on her bed.

My eyes widened, and I immediately closed the door back to its original position. I covered my mouth because of what I saw.

"Ahhh... Faster... C-Cedric..." I heard Ailey moan from inside her room.

C-Cedric? Her boyfriend?!

Her room was dark, so I couldn't see their faces clearly. All I saw were their naked bodies. Cedric was on top of Ailey, and they were moaning together.

I stepped back away from the room where they were and quickly went back to my room. I sat on my bed. What was that? Why did I feel something different when I saw them?

Suddenly, I felt a surge of heat. I closed my eyes and tried to erase what I had seen earlier. After a few moments, I felt a breath on the back of my neck. I remained with my eyes closed, feeling the sensation on my neck..

"Elysee..."

I immediately opened my eyes upon hearing my name. I looked behind me, but I didn't see anyone. But I felt like I had company. I composed myself to go back to sleep.

The images of what I saw in Ailey's room kept repeating in my mind, making it difficult for me to fall asleep. Nonetheless, I tried my best to sleep since I had work early in the morning. After a few minutes, drowsiness finally pulled me in.

"DO you have a problem? You seem troubled," Ailey asked.

She was lively as she prepared our breakfast this morning. We were both dressed and ready because we would be going to work soon.

"Did you hear any noise last night? I thought I heard something. I didn't check because it might be nothing," I lied.

"Noise? I didn't hear anything. Maybe it was just your imagination. Take it easy at work, sis."

She sat down beside me after finishing, and started eating.

"Oh, by the way, I'll be going home after work. I'll talk to Mom and Dad about the business. I won't be sleeping here, is that okay?" I asked.

I'll just forget about what happened and what I saw last night. I don't want to meddle in Ailey's private life; she already knows right from wrong. I'll only interfere if she gets hurt—when her boyfriend hurts her.

"That's fine. I'll just ask Cedric to come here so I'll have company," she said while taking a bite of her food.

"Don't easily trust guys, Ailey," I reminded her and started eating as well.

"Oh, come on, I'm fine. I can take care of myself. If anything, I should be the one reminding you. You haven't even had a boyfriend yet. Your parents aren't that strict," she said. I didn't say anything in response to what she said.

I don't really want to look for a guy. I want to wait for the one who's meant for me to come.

"WE'LL create comics for next month, November. A series of short different comics that will appeal to everyone. We'll make it horror-themed since it will be released next month. I've already looked for different horror creatures that we can give stories to. We have vampires, werewolves, cursed mermaids, ghosts, succubus, and incubus," said sir Kyle. He's the one who plans everything whenever the company makes comics.

The company where Ailey and I work creates comics. Comics are still popular in various countries, so the company earns a lot of money.

"Okay. We will think of some plots for that. We'll present them tomorrow, sir," Ailey said. The others who create plots agreed as well. She's one of the content creators for the comics, while I'm one of the artists who create the animated pictures that will be printed. The content will be added, and it will become a comic.

"That's good. This meeting is dismissed. Ailey and Elysee, stay behind," sir Kyle said. The others left the meeting room. The three of us, sir Kyle, Ailey, and I, were left in the meeting room.

"I received your resignation letter earlier, Elysee. I'll approve it once the comic assigned to Ailey is finished. Both of you work on it together because I gave Ailey a unique horror creature. If you finish it quickly, I will let you go, Elysee," sir Kyle said.

"Don't worry, sir. We will finish it as soon as we can," Ailey assured. sir looked at me.

"We will not disappoint you, sir," I replied. sir Kyle nodded. He excused himself and left because he had other things to do. Once sir Kyle left, I faced Ailey.

"What's the horror creature assigned to you?" I asked her.

She pouted before answering.

"Incubus..."