As I wait for Mel at her house, I can't help but be overcome by fear. We were supposed to meet at 9. It was already twelve. I had called her several times, but she hadn't answered. After my fifth try, it had been switched off. I was tempted to go and check on her in person but decided against it at the last moment.

What if my worries turn out to be baseless? What if me going to check on her makes David suspicious?

I am brought back to the present when I hear the door open. It had to be Mel. I want to run to her, but I hold myself back. On an off chance that David was following her, or worse, accompanying her, it would hurt the plan if I were to see me here.

I remain in the upstairs bedroom and wait for her to come and find me. And she does. She enters without knocking, and a moment later, lights come on. "Alex!" She exclaims and joins me on the bed.

Her face is pale. She looks distressed. It worries me immensely. "Mel, did something happen?" I ask, wiping her brow. She nods and averts her gaze.

"Mel, did he do something?" I demand; tilting her chin up, I catch her eyes. "Mel, talk to me."

She closes her eyes; her brows knit. "Alex, I lost time. I remember going to talk to David in the study, but I can't recall leaving it."

"Mel," I take her hands in mine. They are cold and clammy. "What do you mean?"

She leans away, putting distance between us. "After you left, David came to find me. He wanted to have a talk with me. He," She stops abruptly and buries her face in her hands.

"Mel, if you don't tell me, I won't be able to help you." I take her in my arms. Unexpectedly, she pushes me away. It hurts more than I want to admit.

She wipes her tears. "David accused us of being in a relationship, Alex."

I try and voice my thoughts but her palm lands on my mouth. "Don't say anything. Just listen, I want to get it out of my system."

I nod, and she tells me everything that David had done. Anger builds inside me as I sit listening to the accusations he had made, but I don't interrupt Mel again till she falls silent.

"Mel?"

"Alex, I know what David says doesn't matter. In any case, that's the least of our worries." She gawks at her lower lip.

"There's more?"

Mel nods. "When David asked me to join him in the study, I switched on the voice recorder. I was hoping he would say something we could use against him." She falls silent again. She looks lost and scared. "Alex, he said something about Janice being..." Mel trails off. Her eyes roll back in her head.

"Mel!" I call and move closer in case she faints. She doesn't. She closes her eyes for a second, and when she opens them, my Mel is gone.

"Doctor." Janice smiles. It's the polite, restrained one I had seen her direct at me often.

"Janice?" I ask tentatively, and she smirks. Yes, it was definitely Janice.

"Doctor, you are good!" She chirps and leans in till our faces are barely centimeters apart. "Doctor...Alexander, I am sorry to barge in unannounced like this, but Mrs. Drew left me no choice."

"How did..."

"How did I enter my own body?" She tucks her golden strands behind her ear seductively; I nod.

"You didn't really think I would allow you free reign over my body without making sure you won't dupe me, did you?"

Her words scare me. We needed Janice on our side if we were to succeed. "Janice, I would never..." Her palm lands on my mouth.

"Don't say anything, Doctor Reed. Just listen."

 I nod.

"What I do with David is none of your business. Tell your precious princess to stop poking her nose where it doesn't belong, ya?"

I blink, and she continues. "Her body is weak. It drains me. I don't want to have to waste more of my gifts on trying to stop her from finding out things she doesn't need to." She takes her hand away. "If I see her acting smart again, I will have no choice but to end our deal."

"I will-"

Janice shakes her head. "I am not done talking, Doctor Reed." She pinches the bridge of her nose. "Tell her that she doesn't need to bother about what David wants me to do. That's between him and me. From now on, I will take over whenever I feel like it."

"But that's not-"

Janice interrupts me again. "Doctor, you are not in any position to argue with me. I don't have anything to lose, but you do. I am not asking you. I am telling you."

"What she do if he approaches her again? He seems to have something on you. Is he threatening you?" I ask, and she shrugs. "You don't need to worry about it. It's between him and me. And if he brings it up again, I will take the reigns. She just needs to be prepared and not freak out the way she did earlier. She needs to accept me anytime I demand entrance. Doctor, do you understand?"

I nod. "Rest assured, Janice. I will explain it to her." I reply sincerely, and she seems to believe me. A smile replaces her smirk. Her eyes move over my face and come to rest on my lips. I try my best not to cringe.

"Doctor, you know how I feel about you, yet, you are so cruel to me. You promised that I could have an hour a day with you, but you never once called for me on your own. She shifts closer; our knees bump. She takes my hand and guides it to her cheek. "Look at me the way you look at her, Doctor."

I feel my cheeks heat up. "I don't know what you are talking about, Janice." I try to keep my voice steady. It was more difficult than I had expected.

"Stop playing hard to get, Doctor. I am not asking for much...at least, not now. Have you forgotten what you promised me and exchange for lending you my body, hm?"

I take a deep breath. "I haven't forgotten, Janice." I think of Mel's soft curls, her freckled face, and kind smile. My heart swells. I imagine that the person beside me now was the one I always wanted, the one I loved: my soulmate, my Mel.

Janice's now-familiar electric blue eyes linger on my lips. "Beautiful. How can such beauty exist?" She wonders aloud, and the next moment, her fingers are parting my lips. "Alexander. Oh, Alexander, I hope you will keep your promise." She closes the distance, and her cold lips make contact with my cheek. I hold my breath.

"Am I so unappealing to you, Doctor?" She asks. The sly smirk is back. It makes her look like the second female lead who pretends to be the lead's best friend but is actually plotting her demise. The way she had been behaving since the day we had made the deal had made me feel like I did not know her at all.

It elevates my worries. "You are a beautiful woman, Janice. And I will never forget what you have done for me. Please, trust me, I will not go back on my promise."

Her brows knit in concentration. "Prove it. Kiss me."

Why was she acting this way? Was she testing me? More importantly, could I deliver what I had promised?

My heart aches; it feels like I am being ripped in two. I cup Janice's cheek and close the distance. She scoots closer as well; her eyes glimmer before her lips land on mine. 

I close my eyes. If this was the price for Mel's life, I would pay it.

Janice snakes her arms around my neck as our lips slide against each other. She, however, doesn't seem to be in a hurry to take more than what I was offering.

Sooner than I had expected, she breaks the contact. I can see sadness and pain in her bright orbs. "Alex." She whispers and closes her eyes. Her body sways and slumps forward.

"Janice!" She had lost consciousness.

"Janice," I call again, and when she doesn't respond, I put her down on the bed. I am still contemplating what to do next when her eyes flutter open. "I need to go back." She states matter-of-factly and sits up.

"Wait." I join her on the bed again. I try to read her eyes. "Mel?" I ask, hesitating a little. She nods but doesn't meet my eyes.

"Listen, forget what David said. You know you can't believe anything he says." I take her hands in mine. They are warm. "Hey, what's wrong? Look at me, will you?"

She nods and gives me a resigned smile.

"Mel, next time you feel that you are losing control, don't fight it, don't resist it. Give in to it, alright?" I suggest.

"Alright." She agrees. "If I am to look for evidence of foul play, I need him out of the house." Her cell phone beeps. She sighs. "I need to leave."

I nod. "Alright."

"I don't think he is planning to go anywhere for the next few days. I saw him with my will in the study. I think he is trying to find a way around it."

"It's ironclad. Whatever David is planning, it won't work." I tell her confidently.

She purses her lips; she knows that I am just trying to put her mind at ease. "I will take your word for it then." She mutters and walks out. "I will see you tomorrow." She calls back, without so much as sparing me a glance.

Since she had come to, I had noticed that she was avoiding me. "Mel?"

She stops and but doesn't turn around.

"Is something else bothering you?"

"No. Why?"

We have always had a very open relationship. Sharing our ideas and our hearts has always come naturally to us. We knew everything about each other....almost.

"It feels like you are hiding something from me." I blurt out, and she finally makes eye contact. "Are you crazy?" She smiles. It seems forced. "Why would I do that, you silly man?" She asks, punching my arm playfully.

Knowing a person your whole life has its perks. For instance, I can tell that though Mel was pretending to be alright, she wasn't. What hurts worse is that she was alienating me now, when I wanted to be next to her the most.

"Hey." She calls, waving her arms in front of my face, and I realize that I hadn't heard a word that she had said. "Mn?"

"I am fine. We are fine." She reassures and wraps her arms around me, but before I can reciprocate, she steps away, and then she is gone.