The masked ball continued its enchanting rhythm, but beneath the façade of elegance, a clandestine drama unfolded. Ash, with his charming demeanour, led Alice through the dance of masks and intrigue. Little did she know, the shadows he embraced concealed a deeper, more treacherous game. The tune of shameless was now also change with that of 'Smells like teen spirit.'

Upon reaching the party hall Alice excused herself from the Ash company and went to the other corner of road and making her comfortable on the chair near bar and ordering a White Wine Spritzer using a light and crisp white wine with some sparkling water to ease her mind and stay clear headed after her and Ash brief shaking encounter. And maybe she need it even more cause a biggest hurricane very silent yet dangerous was about to strike in her life.

On the other hand Ash saw Alice with his proud smirk once again being disappeared in the shadow and getting merge with other mask putting people. Ash was clearly aware of the effect he started to held on Alice after their encounter, and nevertheless was loving it.

When Ash was busy being drown in Alice, he felt that someone was down there holding his leg and shaking his leg trying to grab his attention, upon looking down he saw there a unknown little kid dressed in a formal attire, upon seeing the kid he bend down and asked, "Hey, Lil champ, are you by any chance lost in the party?", the unknown kid vigorously shake his head from left to right, saying no, and just handover Ash, a note and ran away.

Ash, once confusion stricken face was now turn into a biggest sly smirk, as he read the note, happiness was clearly evident on his face, the note goes like, "Well done, money is on the way. Thanks for everything you did, now make sure things don't go south." Reading this, he put the note in his pocket, and take a sigh of relief while cracking his neck and went towards his group.

Across the masquerade, Alice, who was quietly and peacefully enjoying her drink while looking at others enjoying and dancing, she saw two people kissing each other passionately and this was enough to bring back her memories of "THEM", and maybe the cruel air who was the witness of that clandestine union of this moon and sun was also want to have some fun by already mentally disappear Alice, for whom time more likely to stop at their union. For her, there was no past or future just the present of them being together with her being like a fish with no water under Ash touch. And this cruel air was also leaving no chance of taking her back to that shadow room. Their union was sealed in the envelope of the shadow room while the moment being a letter with air being their only postman, letter which passed through everyone but can be only read by those two.

Alice who like every now and then was taken to that moment to that room, came back to the room and her sense after her phone started to ring, she put her glass of wine away and pick the call and put on her ear and said, "Hello, Alice speaking, who's there?", only to be totally numb by the voice coming from other side, her heart skipped a beat when she heard that deep, velvety voice, she heard that voice for first time in all these years, "Hola Jenna or should I say Alice." Alice was by this time totally panic and afraid, fear engulf her totally, her breathing became abnormal, she was sweating badly, her body shaking continuously just like a kid who saw a nightmare.

And as the song goes "

It's fun to lose and to pretend

She's over bored and self-assured

Oh, no, I know a dirty word

Hello, hello, hello, how low?

Hello, hello, hello, how low?

In the intricate tale of Alice's life, just when she believed a new chapter with Ash was beginning, a haunting page from her past turned, reopening a chapter she thought she had learned from. The shadows of deception loomed larger, and the echoes of a whispered deceit threatened to rewrite the story she had hoped to leave behind.....

To Be Continued.....