The next day came by much quicker than Lucas had expected. He wasn’t sure whether it was because he had woken up a bit earlier due to his constant nightmares or the fact that he couldn’t sleep again from the sheer excitement of the impending proposal.

He got up from his bed as soon as the sun’s rays filtered in through his windows, put his long hair in a ponytail, and went to his mother’s room. Normally, she was the one who woke Lucas up even before his alarm did but today was a special day. He didn’t have time to waste. He rapped his knuckles on her door to try and wake her up.

“What?” Her voice echoed through the door, giving him the permission to go in.

Lucas turned the handle and opened the door before poking his head through the gap and smiling at what he saw. His mother, although fifty years of age, was the epitome of beauty. Long brown locks paired with honey-colored eyes and a petite face. She yawned as she sat up straight, her hair a bird’s nest.

“Why are you waking me up? Isn’t it normally the other way around?” she asked in disbelief as she rubbed her eyes and glanced at the alarm clock.

“We need to start working so that we can prepare for tonight.”

“Prep? For what?” she questioned Lucas, taking the sheets off her legs.

“The dinner, ma. Remember? Nicole’s coming over with her family. For us to meet them,” he reminded her, raising an eyebrow at how she forgot.

“Oh. That dinner,” she said with a small smile. She stood up and stretched.

“All right. Give me ten minutes to wash up.”

“Be quick,” Lucas told her as he walked out and shut the door behind him.

“I will. Get out,” he heard her shout with a laugh.

Lucas chuckled and made his way to the back of the house which overlooked the large farmhouses and ranches they had. The land they had managed to get a few years back stretched out as far as the eye could see, filled with various crops. It wasn’t a corporate job but it did the job of feeding Lucas and his mother, especially when they lived in such a remote place. Both of them were practically the farmers for the town.

Lucas rolled up his sleeves, prepared to work a bit before he would have his bath, and then joined his mother inside for the rest of the household chores. Lucas headed over to the ranch first to feed the cows, horses, and chickens. The cacophony of caws, neighs, and moos he got from the animals filled his ears, making him smile.

He headed over to one of the horses and touched it. She brayed and moved under him, making him pat her. It was something she only did when she needed water.

“I know you’re thirsty,” Lucas said before he stretched his hand towards the feeding rack. His hand glowed an iridescent blue hue before water flowed out from nothing and went into the trough. The horse made a beeline for it, leaving him alone. He flexed his hand and watched her.

That’s right. Not only did he have the gift of flames, but he also had the gift of water among other things. He had five gifts in total. Lucas never really knew how he got more than three gifts since his father had a fire gift and his mother a water one but it was unheard of especially when he had shown no signs of them during the ceremony on his fifth birthday.

Normally, someone without any gifts was said to be giftless. They were the lowest of the low. Some of them were even beggars on the road or people trying to make ends meet.

The people with one gift were the common folk. They were everyday people just going around with their business like store clerks or even hairdressers.

People with two gifts were the people who had their whole lives set out. They were the middle and upper-class citizens just like businessmen with a company or so.

People with three gifts were the cream of the crop. They were the elite of the country. Royals, billionaires, hell, and even mafia lords with that many gifts were considered functional parts of society. All because they had been blessed.

Lucas, on the other hand, had just woken up one night and had somehow set a large part of his room on fire. His mother had put it out and was happy that he had gotten his gift but even after that, he kept on discovering that he had more than he needed.

Even though Lucas knew that he would have been respected or even revered for his gifts since what he possessed was only a thing of legend, he still kept them to himself. He never even told his own mother. It was better to keep them hidden. Who knew what would happen if the world found out about what he could do? The fame might be nice but there was no shortage of people who wanted to bring someone down when they reached the top.

With that in mind, he went on with his work, using his gifts as sparingly as he could to avoid anyone finding out. Soon enough, a few hours had gone by and he was finally done with work.

Lucas’s body was covered in dirt and the smell that he whiffed coming from himself showed that he needed a shower immediately. He walked back to the house just to see his mother in their modest kitchen cooking up a storm. The aroma of the food wafted into his nostrils but by the time he got close to a plate of food, a wooden spatula slapped him on the wrist.

“Take a bath first, Lucas and when will you cut that hair? If I don't like it, I'm sure Nicole’s parents won't either. You need to look like a respectable man, not a ruffian.” his mother warned him with those three words and a look.

Lucas raised his burly hands up in surrender and backed up, knowing that under this roof, his mother’s word was law. He smiled and caved to what she wanted.

“Fine. I'll cut it after dinner ma.” Lucas replied before he headed back to his room and had a shower, feeling the water wash the grime and sweat off his body and bring back his excitement.

•••••

After hours of cooking elaborate but modest dishes, arranging the table, and setting up the dining table to give off a homely but satisfying effect, Lucas was finally ready.

He wore his best clothes and even slicked his hair back to make himself look more presentable. He fingered the small black velvet box in his hands once he was done dressing up, then flipped it open to reveal a ring. It wasn’t big by any means but the pink rock that sat prettily in the middle was worth a fortune. Lucas knew that because he did his research and tried his damnedest to create it with his earthly gifts.

He heard a knock at the door and quickly shut the box, putting it into his back pocket before leaving his room and going over to the front door. He looked out of the peephole and saw Nicole standing with her bag in hand and a nervous look on her face. Then he opened the door.

“Lucas,” she said before she came in and gave him a hug. Her strawberry blonde hair smelled like coconuts and her small frame fit his perfectly. She pulled away and smiled.

“New choice of hair?” She poked at him, always used to seeing him with scattered shoulder length hair.

“Where are your parents?” Lucas asked her when he saw no one coming in after her, disregarding her question completely.

“Sorry. My parents had to check up on something. Business related as usual. I don’t think they’ll make it,” Nicole explained with an apologetic look.

Lucas closed the door behind his girlfriend and shook his head. He had only seen Nicole’s parents just once and when they found out that he didn’t have a mansion with twelve different cars, they flipped out. They didn’t necessarily show their disgust towards him but it was evident.

“It’s fine. Maybe next time.”

“All right,” she replied just as Lucas’s mother walked towards them with her arms outstretched to greet Nicole.

“It smells great here, Ms. Cole,” Nicole complimented.

“Thank you, dear, and it’s just Marrisa. You’ve been with my son for some time now, so it’s all right to call me by my name. I insist,” she said then added, “Lucas helped out.” Marrisa gestured to her son after speaking to Nicole.

“I doubt that,” Nicole said with a laugh.

“Come on. Give it here,” Lucas told Nicole as she removed her jacket, then she handed him a bottle of wine and followed his mother into the house and towards the kitchen.

He could hear their giggles and part of their conversation as he hung the coat on the coat rack and found his way to them.

“Her parents aren’t coming, ma,” Lucas told his mother from the dining area as he placed the bottle in the middle of the already set table.

His mother frowned but wiped the disappointment off her face immediately. “It doesn’t matter. We’ll be fine,” she said as she rubbed Nicole’s back. “Now, let’s eat before the food gets cold.”

They all gathered around the dining table and took their seats, with Lucas at the head and his mother and Nicole by his side. Although they were incomplete, they ate as a family, sharing stories and laughing. It was a nice night and Lucas was determined to make it a memorable one.

When the table went quiet, he cleared his throat and turned to Nicole. “I have something to say.”

His mother and Nicole both turned, their focus settling on him.

“Um,” Lucas began as he shifted in his seat and went on one knee.

Nicole, who was taking a sip of water, choked and dropped her cup, wiping her mouth afterward due to the shock she was feeling.

“I have known you for the past three years now and I have loved you for the last two. You have been such a light in my life and after very little consideration, I’m sure that I want you to be by my side forever. You’re the girl of my dreams and now that I’ve found you, I don’t want to ever let you go,” Lucas said, stopping to catch his breath and also to bring out the velvet box from his pocket.

He turned it towards a gasping Nicole and opened it, revealing the engagement ring within.

“I want to share my future with you. So, here goes nothing. Nicole Anderson, will you marry me?” he asked, his breath hitching in his throat after the question left his mouth.

Nicole grinned from ear to ear and bobbed her head in a yes.

“Yes?” Lucas asked her, smiling.

“Yes. Yes, I’ll marry you, Lucas,” Nicole answered without hesitation as she brought her hand for him to place the ring on. He picked up the ring and put it on her before she leaped from her seat and hugged him tightly. He was the happiest man on earth.

Marrisa clapped from the sidelines, tears welling up in her eyes at the sight of them.

Nicole pulled away and ogled the ring, a gleam in her eye before grabbing the bottle on the table and popping it open. She grabbed their glasses and poured the red wine before setting them back down and raising her own glass.

“A toast,” she started. Marrisa and Lucas raised their glasses, joining her.

“A toast to one of the best nights of our lives. A toast to a long and loving family.” They clinked their glasses and took a sip of their drinks.

Lucas sighed and took his seat, the nervousness in his chest dissipating since Nicole had said yes, but to his surprise, something unexpected suddenly happened. His chest felt tight like someone was sitting on it and his eyes felt heavy. He blinked a bit, his vision swimming and a sharp pain resonating in his head.

“Lucas, are you okay?” his mother asked as she dropped her glass and looked at him with worry.

“I’m fine. I just have a headache, I think,” he replied, not really sure what was going on with him either. The pain increased by ten folds making him wince and groan as his hand shot up to his temple.

“I’ll get you some Tylenol,” Nicole said before getting up from her seat and disappearing into the house.

His mother came to him and placed her hand on his shoulders, slowly rubbing them in circles.

“Don’t worry, it’ll be fine,” she whispered to Lucas before it all went to hell.

“Nicole, who are these people?” Lucas could hear his mother ask as she looked in the direction of the door. He turned as fast as he could, and was met with a strange sight.

Four men all dressed in black with the same oni mask, stood behind Nicole whose face was no longer as caring and delicate as it had been a second ago.

“Get away from her,” Lucas managed to say through gritted teeth, trying to protect his woman. He stood up and stumbled, ready to fight through the pain to save Nicole but her next words stopped him cold in his tracks.

“Sit back down and die, worm.”

“Sit back down and die, worm.”

Nicole’s words echoed in Lucas’s head.

“What?” he managed to ask through the splitting pain in his head.

“You heard me,” she said, her face devoid of any emotion.

Lucas furrowed his brows, confused as to what was going on. The woman whom he had just proposed to, the woman whom he had promised the rest of his life to, had just told him to die.

No, this can’t be right, Lucas thought to himself.

Another sharp pain ran through his body and he screamed out in agony. His mother’s hands gripped his body in a bid to soothe his pain.

“Nicole, what’s the meaning of this?” Marrisa asked.

“Oh, shut up, hag. I’ve never liked you and tonight is the night I get rid of you and your sickly sweet son,” Nicole replied, her eyes menacing but true to her words.

“Stop this, please,” Lucas heard his mother beg. She was probably confused but seeing the same changes he saw in his fiancee.

“Restrain her,” Nicole ordered the men behind her who wasted no time in doing what they were told.

They crossed the distance between them and grabbed Marrisa, pulling her away from Lucas as she screamed. One of the men held her by her hands while the other held her by her hair, preventing her from moving an inch.

“Stop,” Lucas shouted at the men but Nicole snapped his attention back to her.

“Eyes on me, Lucas. That’s not a request,” she demanded.

Lucas bit his tongue and did as she asked. Never had he seen Nicole act in such a vile and vicious way but there was a first time for everything. A very shocking first time.

“What did you do to me?” he questioned his conniving fiancee. His skull felt like it was being split open with a sledgehammer. He fell to the ground gritting his teeth, his legs unable to carry his weight.

“Nothing much. Just a bit of strychnine in your drink. Well, enough of it to kill a frickin elephant,” Nicole mused as she walked towards Lucas and took a seat next to his aching body.

She took a glass in her hands and swirled the contents, smirking at him as she did. Lucas tried to use his gifts to get out of this situation, any of his gifts to fight this, but unfortunately, he couldn’t do anything.

“Don’t bother. You won’t be able to use your gift once the poison is in your system.”

He glanced at his hands just in time to see his veins beginning to turn black as the poison spread.

“Why?” he asked as confusion and disbelief clearly showed on his face.

“Why not? I got offered more money than I could count just to get rid of nobody like you. Granted, I was a bit hesitant since I got a bit attached to you while we played house but when you think about it, who wouldn’t want the money?” Nicole replied with a gleam in her eye.

She was different now. A far cry from the woman Lucas once knew. She was cold.

“Who paid you to kill me?”

“Now, why would I tell you that?” she asked him mockingly.

“I’m about to die. I deserve to know that, at least.”

“Hmm. I suppose that wouldn’t hurt. A blonde woman. Blue eyes, stiff jaw. I have no idea who she is and I have no idea why she was interested in someone like you or how you incurred her wrath but she really wanted you dead. She was pretty adamant about it.”

Blonde hair and blue eyes. There were a lot of women who had those features but none of them hated him as much as the mistress his father brought back on that fateful night. It was definitely Emilia Lockhart. It had to be.

Lucas hadn’t been in contact with his old family for more than ten years now. Hell, he didn’t even want to. Emilia had already taken his mother’s place in the household and chased him out of his rightful home, so what would she gain from doing this?

“Any last words then?” Nicole asked Lucas, dropping the glass back onto the table and leaning towards him.

“Just let my mother go. She doesn’t need to be involved in this.”

“Sorry, but even though the deal was to get rid of just you, I prefer not to have witnesses,” Nicole said without any hesitation.

He looked up at her, his hands holding onto her leg. “No. Just leave her. You have me. Let her go and kill me instead. Please.”

“I don’t think…” she began but Lucas cut her off.

“Nicole, please. If what we shared was even remotely real, don’t hurt her. Please, just let her go. I’m begging you,” he pleaded with her, his eyes watering up as he heard his mother crying.

Nicole kicked his hands off her and stood up, looking at him in disgust.

“Don’t you dare touch me again. Real? Our whole relationship was a sham. Why would you think that I would ever fall for a nobody like you?”

“Nicole, please,” Lucas begged her again, even though his heart had just been shattered by her revelation.

Nicole just ignored him and turned to the men before giving them a nod.

He turned his attention to his mother and spoke to her, feeling that something bad was about to happen.

“It’s fine, mom. Everything will be fine,” Lucas said as he watched the man who gripped her hair from behind bring out a dagger from nowhere and place it on her throat.

“No! Please, don’t do this,” he begged the man directly, not knowing what else to do.

“Please, don’t kill her. I’ll give you anything you want, just please let her go,” he cried out, feeling helpless.

Lucas couldn’t help but think of all the times she had saved him from his abusive father. All the times she had fed him or even clothed him. All the times she had protected him from the vultures when she was accused of an affair and he was the bastard child.

His mother had always kept him safe and now that it was his turn, he couldn’t even do the same for her. Lucas blinked, tears welling up in his eyes as he felt an imaginary noose tighten around his neck.

“Lucas, it’s going to be okay. I’ll always love…” His mother’s words got cut off as the blade was sliced across her neck leaving a river of red in its wake. She gargled for a moment, her hands going up to her neck before she went limp and fell to the ground, her eyes dead.

“No! Mom!” he screamed, his mind in disbelief at what had just happened.

It seemed like the world wanted both of them dead because once those words left his mouth, a blinding pain went through Lucas, causing him to cough up blood.

“Well, I guess this is it. Sorry, but this is how it’s got to be,” Nicole said to him with a stoic face, not fazed at all that she had killed an innocent woman in cold blood and was about to kill another person.

With one last look at his mother, dark spots began to encroach Lucas’s vision. His world dimmed and his breathing lessened. Was this how he was going to die? Killed by the love of his life? His mother’s throat slashed open by his fiance and at the behest of his father’s greedy mistress?

His mind questioned it all in some moments but he guessed it didn’t matter because in the space of seconds, his body went limp and darkness took over him.

•••••

Lucas opened his eyes to blinding lights and the smell of disinfectant. He tried to sit up but a slight pain ran up his arm causing him to lie back down immediately. He glanced at his arm and saw an IV.

Wait, am I in the hospital? Lucas asked himself.

He blinked, wondering what was going on. Just as he began to question his surroundings, the door to the room opened and a nurse walked in with a clipboard in her hands. She walked over to Lucas with her nose stuck in her work until her eyes landed on him properly. She froze, dropped the clipboard, and rushed to his side.

“Mr. Cole, you’re awake!” she exclaimed as she began to fiddle with the machines attached to his arm.

“What’s going on?” Lucas asked her, his memory still foggy.

The nurse ignored him and picked up a receiver by the head of his bed, then dialed a number. In some seconds she spoke into it, probably informing a doctor of his condition. When she was done, she dropped the phone and turned her attention to him.

“Nurse.”

“How are you feeling, sir? Any headaches? Soreness? Pain?” she questioned him without stopping.

Lucas shook his head.

“Not really. I just feel a little dizzy.”

“That’s probably from the cocktail of drugs we gave you. Don’t worry, as soon as you're able to eat solid food, you’ll be back to normal,” she tried to assure him.

“Why am I here?” he asked her again, determined to get to the bottom of this. Her face went pale and then she took a step back as if she was guilty of something.

“The doctor would have the answers to that sir,” she replied, her eyes not even looking in his direction.

Lucas was about to speak again when the door opened once more and a doctor walked in.

“Ah, you’re awake. That’s good to see.”

Lucas turned to the doctor and repeated himself, not liking how this situation was turning out.

“Why am I here?”

The doctor paused and glanced between Lucas and the nurse for a moment before the smile on his face was wiped away and he began speaking.

“Mr. Cole, I have some bad news. You were brought here by some of your neighbors a few days ago. We had to do a lot of extensive work to get the poison out of your system. We still don’t understand now how you managed to survive all of that. Luckily, you did, but your mother on the other hand didn’t. She was presumed dead on arrival. To save you we had to…”

As the man droned on, Lucas’s mind went back to that night. The dinner. The men. Nicole’s betrayal. His mother’s death. His mind replayed the scene all over again, reminding him of how he had lost the most important person in his life and had almost died himself.

“Where is she?” he asked, cutting the man off from his long explanation.

“Your mother is in the morgue. We kept her there so that you could see her when you came to and possibly make preparations for a burial,” the man said with a morose face.

Lucas forced himself to sit up in bed, wincing with every movement he made.

“I want to see her,” he said as he ripped the IV and other tubes in his body out.

“Sir!” the nurse exclaimed as she tried to stop Lucas but he wouldn’t have it.

He glared at her, daring her to put her hands on him before he turned to the man in charge.

“I want to see my mother.”