Chapter 22: Chapter 22

Peppermint slowly opened her eyes. She noticed how old the building was. She wanted to move to stretch her arms but gradually noticed how she’s tied from her feet to her hands. Her heart suddenly started thumping hard. Who would do such a thing to her? She doesn’t remember making enemies with anyone. The only thing she remembered before she lost consciousness earlier was a familiar figure of a man.

Tears welled up from her eyes. She was overthinking things; scared that something bad might happen to her. Her hands started to shiver. She was filled with anxiety with every minute passing by until hours to pass. She noticed how the light slowly turned dark, it was already close to evening she thought to herself. In her thoughts, it would have probably been seven o’ clock in the evening now. Her thoughts were nowhere sinking as who would do such a thing. Her stomach started growling and there were no people aside from herself.

Whoever kidnapped her would have been wrong to do so. She wouldn’t give them money nor anything they wanted even if she dies from struggling. People may call her selfish and materialistic but those were something she worked hard on. The business and her success she had were something she wouldn’t have achieved if it weren’t for the support of her parents. It had all the sentimental values for her.

A few minutes had passed and her heart thumped more than ever. A shiver ran down her spine as she heard footsteps approaching her. She heard the door opening and so she closed her eyes pretending to be asleep. She heard them coming close by only to feel something as if they threw something on the ground. The man started hit her gently on the cheeks but she remained pretending to sleep.

“Stop pretending to be asleep and wake up,” the person said with an authoritative voice. His voice sounded familiar. She slowly opened her eyes and to her surprised, the man standing in front of her was none other than Vincent with a devilish smile on his face.

“You?” She couldn’t contain herself. Blood rushed through her head, she was mad.

“Yes, it’s me darling. Did I surprise you?” he asked while smirking.

“You’re the one who asked to kidnapped me?” Peppermint couldn’t believe it.

“Isn’t that obvious? Yes, I’m the one who asked to kidnap you and wow! It actually feels nice.” He laughed before tossing something on the ground.

“Why did you kidnap me? What did I do wrong?”

“You didn’t do anything, Peppermint but Brenan has,” he meaningfully said. “Be quiet or I also might get mad at you as well.” He clenched his fist and sat in a chair in front of her.

“Vincent I know you’re a good person that can’t do this so please release me.”

“That was before Peppermint. Before that Brenan came in your life.” She creased her forehead, confused with what he was saying.

“What are you talking about? I don’t understand you at all. What does this all have to do with Brenan?” She just met Brenan a few weeks ago so she didn’t know what to think of it. There were too many jigsaw puzzles scrambled all over the place to tell that it’s solved.

“Do you really want to know why you’re here?” he asked.

“Yes because I don’t know what’s going on! Why you’re doing this! But I do know you’re a good person,” she said. Vincent put down his cigarette and grabbed an ashtray. He approached her and kneeled in front of her.

“I want to kill Brenan and by using you, I’ll be able to get rid of him for good.” Her eyes widened in shock. She doesn’t know why he’s acting this way. This was not how she met Vincent at all.

“W…w-why are you doing this?” she asked baffled with his confession. “If you’re mad at me or him, we could just talk it out—“

“Talk? I’ll doubt he’ll follow through. Brenan is a fucking liar, Peppermint!” He raised his voice showing how much anger he holds for the man. “I’ll kill him and this time, I’ll get rid of him for sure! I won’t just plant several bombs this time; I’ll make sure every bullet hits his body this time!” his eyes were filled with hate, anger fueling his emotions. Peppermint couldn’t help but be scared.

“Why do you even want to kill Brenan? What did he even do to you?” She couldn’t contain her feelings anymore. She still doesn’t get why he’s acting this way.

“From the start Brenan was a hurdle on our lives, Peppermint! The moment he started showing his face, he stole your attention away from me! I’m just doing my best to remove him from our path of being together,” Vincent confessed while she on the other hand didn’t know how to process it all.

So he’s doing this because of her?

“Vincent.” Her eyes were filled with sadness. She didn’t know what to tell him. She didn’t know he had this kind of feelings bottled up inside of him.

“That’s why this time I’ll make sure to kill him. I’ll make sure that I’ll be able to get rid of his lies and finally…” Vincent looked at her straight in the eye; it was filled longing, “I can finally have you.” He strokes her cheek saying those words.

“Vincent, You know that I only see you as a friend right?” she said. She didn’t want him to hope anymore. It looked like she hurt him so much for this to happen. “I frankly said this to you before—“

“That was when you were still moving on from Kael! Now that he’s gone, I could have gotten the chance if it weren’t for that man Brenan!” he said cutting her words. “That wacko who looked like Kael, he’s only lying to you!” He clenched his fist and gritted his teeth. “I can’t let him have you! You’re only for me!”

“Vincent please… I told you I don’t like you. It’s still Kael that I loved.” She smiled at him bitterly but the man only shook his head, more angered than ever. He cussed.

“Damn it!” Peppermint didn’t expect him to do that. He stood up and kicked the chair. “Even until death you still love him? That man whom I killed so I could finally have you?”

Peppermint’s eyes widened in shock as she heard those words come out from his mouth. Her mouth trembled. It felt like all of the fuse in her body was lit. “What did you just say?” At first, her voice was only a whisper.

“I killed Kael to have you, Peppermint! I plotted his death and made his copter explode!” Her eyes were finally filled with rage. Her eyes started watering again and her chest filled with this unbearable feeling inside.

“You son of a bitch! Vincent why did you do that? You fooled me and made me believed that everything was just an accident!” Her voice echoed throughout the old building.

“But don’t worry, Peppermint. Kael isn’t dead yet.” As soon as he said those words, Peppermint stopped. What did he mean by that? “Don’t worry, I’ll soon kill him and this time I’ll make sure he’s dead,” he added.

“What do you mean Kael isn’t dead yet?” He swiftly turned his back at her. “Tell me! What did you mean by your words?” she raised her voice.

“You’re really innocent, Peppermint,” he laughed saying those words at her. It felt like he was mocking her. “That man you kept calling Brenan? He’s no other than Kael; the man who stole everything from me,” he explained.

As soon as he said those words, she was frozen in her feet. She couldn’t process it all. She thought Kael was dead. She saw it on with her own two eyes. How come he was still alive? What’s more shocking is that Brenan and Kael is just one person.

“Peppermint, you still don’t know even one fourth of the things about this so-called Brenan. Now that it’s clear for you, you probably stopped wondering why I wanted to kill him. I want him out of our picture.” He grabbed something from his pocket and pulled out a gun, selling the trigger.

“You’re a bastard Vincent! An evil bastard!” she shouted. Her tears kept rolling down her eyes. She didn’t know he was this sort of man. She was fooled all along.

“Yes Peppermint, this is me. For you, I’ll be able to lay any bodies and kill anyone for you just so I can have you all for myself. The first step in achieving that magnificent dream is to kill that wretched man Kael trying to hide his identity along Brenan!” His laugh echoed throughout the room. Peppermint felt a chill down her spine. “My darling, you should be obedient and listen to me closely or else, I might harm you as well,” he added before pointing at her using his index finger.

“You won’t succeed Vincent,” she whispered.

“Well who knows? If I don’t succeed I might as well bring you along with me,” he warned and smiled devilish in front of her. Peppermint gulped. The man started unbuttoning some of his clothes and what he revealed to her was none other than bombs strapped along his body. “He should try me, Peppermint. He’ll probably hesitate knowing that I’ll bring you along with me. If I don’t have you then I might as well just drag you along. That’s how much I love you, Peppermint!”

She only sobbed hearing every bit of words coming out of his mouth. She knows he was going crazy. She was scared for her own safety but most likely for Brenan’s.

So that was the reason why he keeps rejecting her despite having the same feelings as her. He just wanted to protect her all along. All along, she was right that Brenan was none other than Kael. He never changed. He was still the same beloved partner she had always had.

And now that everything is clear, she needs to somehow escape this place and warn Brenan about Vincent’s plan!

Peppermint waited for the right time, she didn’t let the chance slip when Vincent left the room. She quickly thought of an idea how to make the rope loose. She purposely let her body stumbled upon with her chair. She rolled down on the floor and tried to grab a sharp weapon on the nearest table and slowly cut it out.

Buds of sweat formed on her forehead while her chest was pounding hard. She endured the pain even if her feet were hurting like hell. She promptly removed the rope as she finally unwrap it. As she did so, she sneakily went out of the old building.

Peppermint needs to go to Brenan and warn him!

After a few minutes, she snuck out towards the dark forest. She’s frightened by the thought that she was inside the forest but right now, she had no choice. She has to be brave.

She didn’t know how long was she running, all she knows that she needs to get away. When her eyes finally saw light coming from the other end of the forest, she directly went there. It was the direction of the highway!

She tried to stop some vehicles on their way but no one seemed to care about her. She had no choice but to keep on hiding while trying to find a way to get out of there. Vincent might find her soon.

She continued walking, trying to find a kind vendor who would help her call someone.

While she was there roaming around for another few minutes, she finally saw a sari-sari store. It was a good thing that they had a telephone there and so quickly leaped in hopes that she’ll be rescued.

Peppermint dialed his phone number, hoping that Brenan will answer. She had her eyes glued on the phone waiting for him until someone decided to pick it up. Her voice quickly cracked, she mumbled the words out.

“Hey calm down, Peppermint. Calm down.” It was Brenan’s voice.

“Brenan listen to me carefully,” she warned. “Stay away from Vincent! Do you understand me? Stay away from him! He’s plotting something against you!”

“Wait a minute Peppermint, what’s going on? Why does it feel like you’re out of breath? Where are you?”

“I… I don’t know where I am.” Peppermint roamed her eyes around the place. It was quiet and dark. She could tell that it was away from the city. As her eyes continued to observe the place, she read something on the houses. “I’m in Taytay, Rizal, Brenan. Please help me,” her voice was now weakened.

“Okay, just wait for me,” Brenan reassured her. “I won’t let that guy get a way this time.” She heard him whisper between the call.

“Brenan, you should be careful. You don’t know what he’s thinking.”

“Did he hurt you? Tell me Peppermint, did Vincent hurt you?” he asked in a panicked manner. She didn’t answer. She didn’t want to tell him that Vincent slapped because she knows what’s coming next. “Just wait for me Pepperint. I’ll finally end this mare with Vincent,” he quoted.

“Please be careful and…” she paused for a minute, “I love you—“ Before Peppermint can even finish her line, someone already took the phone away from her. It was none other than Vincent. He was in front of her feeling a little exhausted from the cat and mouse chase.

“Did you really think you can finally escape me?” he asked with a hoarse voice. He was still panting heavily. “You’ll be forever with me, Peppermint!” He grabbed her harshly on the wrist and dragged her out of the store. Vincent picked her up while she was there struggling with all her might, asking for help. He shoved her inside a black pick-up truck.

“Don’t you dare escape from me again, nothing will changed,” he added.

“Bastard! You fooled me! I trusted you!” She started punching him on his chest and when the man lose his patience, she received a slap on her face. She held her cheek as soon as pain radiated from there. She was shocked that he slapped. “Y-you’re not going to succeed, Vincent! Brenan’s coming!” she mentioned. “You’re going to jail!”

“That would be better.” Vincent didn’t look like he was bothered by the threat at all, instead he even laughed amusingly. “It would be better for him to come since I’ll be able to easily kill him. Thank you, my love,” he smirked at her.

“You bastard!” Peppermint’s voice was now turning hoarse and cracked. She couldn’t feel her hands anymore while trying to hit him with all her might.

“Start crying for him my darling because this time I won’t let him stomp on the ground alive again. I’ll bury him.” He pulled out a caliber inside the drawer of the pick-up truck. “My bullets can’t wait to fire,” he said smirking. He then puts a blindfold on her eyes despite resisting several times.

After a few minutes, she noticed the vehicle stopped. She assumes that they’re back to the same old building again. When Vincent finally removed it, his devilish smile was the first thing he saw.

“Goodbye Brenan.” The sound of the gun echoed throughout the room. She closed her eyes, frightened about what was going to happen. Maybe this is the end of her life. She started praying in hopes that nothing happens to him. She still wanted to greet him welcome back. With those thoughts alone, her tears rolled down her eyes again. There’s only one wish she have and that’s to be together with her beloved, Kael Del Carmen.