On the opposite side of the city, in a dilapidated neighborhood:
Midnight settled in a lazy, glowing haze, but Regina was starving.
She had just come back from a month-long religious retreat and was suddenly craving instant noodles.
Standing in front of her fridge for a full minute, she sighed. Everything was spoiled.
"Of course," she muttered.
Cleaning this fridge was another mess she needed to take care of, but her grumbling belly was the priority.
Draping a long coat over her night slip, her eyes narrowed at her sandals. Her hand hovered over her trainers before she backtracked, picking the red-bottom six-inch heels and smiling mischievously to herself.
"Smoking hot."
She posed in front of her floor-length mirror.
The road was eerily empty when she reached the small convenience store nearby. She quickly grabbed vegetables, a few drinks, and bags of noodles when her phone rang.
Paying, she slipped her wallet into the grocery bag, picking up the call without looking.
"Who is it?"
"It's Vivi!"
"Vivi?" Regina smirked. "Who's that? I don't know any rabbit that goes by the name Vivi."
She heard a huff from the other side, "Really? Since you don't care about how I'm doing—"
"Look who's talking," Regina snorted, slowly walking along the pavement. "Vixen of the year who bagged a hot-bodied bachelor."
"He is an asshole!"
"Does he have abs?"
"...Yeah." Valerie thought back to when she felt the rigid muscles through his shirt.
"Then approved!"
Valerie laughed at her forever-single friend's nonsense.
"When did you get back?"
"Now you care, bitch?" Regina scoffed, glancing at the red light before stepping onto the empty road. "I came back yesterday but had to help the church with some accounting stuff, so I only got home just now—"
'VROOOM....!'
Her head jerked around at the roar of an engine that tore through the empty road. The sports car was coming so fast she barely had time to look.
"...God damn yo— Ah!"
'SKREEE—!'
She fell backward hard.
Bracing herself, she let out a strained breath.
"...I'm fine," she muttered in disbelief.
That's when she realized her long coat had slid up to her thigh with the motion, giving a spectacle of her panties to the man behind the windshield.
Quickly holding the bumper, she tried to pull herself up when the engine purred, making her fall backward in shock.
Desperately, she tried to crawl away when she heard a chuckle and stilled.
That wretch was toying with her!
She looked up at an annoyingly amused handsome guy.
Regina blinked before a slow, offended smile crawled onto her face. "You blind bloody bastard!"
She yanked off one of her heels and hurled it straight at the windshield.
"THUNK!"
Glass from the windshield went flying.
"You bitch—!" the man shouted, slamming the steering wheel.
Regina grabbed her phone, took off the other heel, threw it at him while running.
"I rebuke you and your sorry ass to hell, damn rat!"
She ran as fast as she could, disappearing into her apartment block.
—
On the other end of the call, Valerie was already heading for the door.
"Regina? Regina!" she called out in panic. "Regina, what happened—"
She heard frantic breaths before her friend's breathless voice came through.
"City life. A driver almost rammed into me." Regina's voice returned breathlessly, fee..ling the stings in her hands and knees as she walked. "Just some scratches and bruises."
Valerie exhaled sharply.
"Are you sure? I can drop by if—"
"No, thanks, Mama Bear. I'm fine," Regina said, inspecting the nasty scratches on her hands. Valerie's caring voice left a sweet pang in her chest. "I'll get a checkup tomorrow just in case."
Valerie rubbed her forehead.
"Okay... let's go tomorrow, and while we're at it, let's report that bastard too."
Remembering the sports car model, Regina snorted. There was no way reporting a guy like that would end peacefully.
"Forget it. I wasn't hit. It's a shame my groceries were left on the road. I'll have to order some takeout."
Regina saw the occupied lift and walked toward the stairs.
"Tell me about you. I was just gone for a month. How did you get yourself a six-year-old marriage?"
"Ah... Long story. I'll tell you about it when I see you." Valerie was still worried. "Should I ask Victor to drop by just in case?"
"Spare me, girl. I'm too tired to deal with that worrywart..." Regina said, rummaging through her coat pockets. "Damn it! Where are my keys...?"
Valerie straightened instantly.
"Did you drop your keys?"
"That's not the issue. I have spare keys." Regina dug through one of the flowerpots to take out a key. "My wallet. It was in the grocery bag. It had my ID, cash, and cards."
"...Are you serious right now?"
Regina felt her head bursting. "I'll go back for it."
"No, you can't! We'll just have your cards and ID reissued tomorrow," Valerie said immediately. "It's past midnight, who knows what kind of weirdos are out there?"
It was already stupid to go out alone late at night, and who knew if that nutcase was still outside?
After some thought, Regina sighed.
"...Okay."
But unlike what she thought, it wasn't that easy to get rid of this particular nutcase.
Several blocks away, his damaged black sports car sat idling beneath the glow of a streetlamp.
Inside the car, Mikhail leaned back lazily in the driver's seat, one hand resting against the wheel while turning her ID over in his other hand, looking at the red-bottom heel now lodged neatly in his side mirror.
Regina Vale.