When I got to the car, Tom just sat there staring ahead, tapping his finger on the steering wheel. I frowned slightly as I knocked on the passenger car window. As a driver getting paid with my money he needs to be doing his job properly. That means getting out of the car and opening the door for me. This is what he gets paid to do.

“Yes, Miss?” Tom had rolled the window down and, in an aggravated tone, questioned me.

Tom’s face contorted. He slammed the car door open and got out. “You break it you buy it. I will have my father take it out of your pay until it is fully paid off.” 

“Bitch!” Tom muttered under his breath as he forced a smile. I do not think a normal person could have heard him but I heard him loud and clear.

I watched as Tom’s face began to grow red with anger. While I know he wanted to slam the door he still closed it normally as I got myself seated. When he got back in the front seat, I made sure to praise him. “Good boy. Now let’s go to the shopping district.”

Tom snorted and started the car. Was we made our way down the street, I looked out the window at the buildings passing by. In the novels, the villainess always ends up with a bad ending. There was always that one heroine who would bring the villainess down. Or a male lead character who would do all the dirty work. 

To be honest, relying on your lover for everything is never good. If I ever get into a relationship again, it will be on my terms. I will be the alpha while they will be my omega. Since I have the strength, I can make it happen.

“Miss, we are here.” Tom parked on the side of the road. I nodded and waited for him to do his job. Sure enough, without a word from me, he actually got out of the car and opened the door for me. 

“Just wait here. If you need to go to the bathroom or whatever, just go; I will be about an hour.” I gave my instructions with a grunt for confirmation from Tom. I walked down the street toward the store I wanted to go to.

There were many shops on this street. It was mainly for those who had money but there were some hidden gems spotted here and there. They had clothes that were cheap but also very stylish. I was heading to one of those hidden gems now.

From what I can remember, it was the store my good-for-nothing father had taken me to when I went to college, and to be honest, the lady who owned the place was very kind. She kept asking if I was alright since I seemed to be malnourished, which was true.

I turned a corner to a side alley where more shops could be seen. There was a set of stairs that led down that I slowly descend to a basement studio.

When I opened the door, the bell rang, and a young woman in her mid-twenties walked over to me. “Can I help you?”

I smiled at the woman as I began explaining what I was looking for. “Yes, I would like to get some clothes that is stylish but covers my skin. A pair of gloves and a few stylish wide brim hats.” 

“Hmm…” The woman looked me up and down, even walking around me to, I guess, get a good look at my build. “Why are you so beautiful?”

“Hmm?” I was slightly taken aback by how forward the woman was. I couldn’t help but blush slightly.

“I was just saying the silver hair with the red eyes is just to captivating.” The woman’s words confused me even more. I had not noticed the color of my eyes all day. When I looked over at the mirror, sure enough, my eyes were now fully red. My lips parted as I looked at myself making me realize my canines seemed to have grown a bit longer as well.

I can’t help but feel like I look like a seductive vampire. Even I was mesmerized by my own looks. I am not sure if this is a good thing or a bad thing. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath before turning back to the woman and smiling. “I have a rare affliction.”

“Well I think your eyes look beautiful. Like rubies.” The woman smiled at me before taking my hand. “Come sit. I will get styles for you to pick from. I am sure you will love them.”

This woman was truly professional. Even though I looked quite strange, she did not push the subject and went into business mode. I am glad I came here and not someplace else.

 “How are these? I thought that having a few cardigans would work well to pair with some other dresses this way you are not directly exposed but if you do wish to take it off you can.” The young woman brought over many different styles of clothing, all of which looked very comfortable.

Jeans with long-sleeved shirts that puffed out at the wrists that would make the gloves not stand out so much. T-shirts with cardigans. Even the hats she brought over matched well with everything. “They look great. Miss…”

“Carly, Carly Snow.” Carly smiled at me as she pointed to the logo on her clothes. The big C with a small s in side it. It was simplistic and to the point. 

“Miss Snow, your choices are perfect. I think I will be coming more often. You can wrap these up. I will take these here and will wear them now. If you got more in this color combination, that would be great.” I smiled as I picked up the black jeans with a white cardigan and a red T-shirt. There were many color combinations but I felt this was just right.

“Of course, I have a few more of these in that color. As for the other colors?” Carly looked at her selection. Her clothes were only a few hundred bucks, which was quite cheap for the quality.

“You can add those too. A splash of color every now and then is not bad.” I replied with a smile, which, for some reason, made Carly stare at me in a daze. It reminded me of when I was talking to Miss Hill. Was my smile really that enchanting? I glanced in the mirror, but I did not see it. I will say it was quite a nice smile, but other than that, I did not think it was enough to enchant anyone like this.

“Ahem… I will wrap them up then.” Carly finally snapped out of it while I went to go get changed.

After changing I folded my clothes up and looked at myself in the mirror. My white cardigan stood out against my red T-shirt, which was like a sea of blood. I really liked it. I do not know why, but ever since I woke up, the color red was very pleasing to the eye.

“I will be back. I might put in a special order if you do not mind the next time I stop in.” I wanted more black, white and red clothes. I like Carly’s design so I do hope I can buy more of her clothes.

“There will be a small fee but I am all for it. Thank you for shopping here.” Carly looked quite happy to have a customer who would be returning. I am sure it must be hard to keep a small studio open when it’s just you. When I came here before in my past life it was the same. She was the person who waited on me then as well.

“I will be sure to tell many people about you. Your clothes are soft and well made. Not to mention stylish. I wish you good fortune.” I took my bags and smiled before walking out of the store. Good people deserve a chance and I do plan to keep my word. In fact I will try to sponsor her later on. But first, I need to make some money.

I took a deep breath as I looked around. The light that shinned down into the ally did not seem to be affecting me. To test things, I put my bags down and took off one of my gloves. When the sun fell onto my bare skin, I felt slightly weak. I couldn’t help but frown. This was really annoying. 

I put my glove back on and immediately felt my weakness disappear before heading to the store across the street for some suntan lotion. 

I walked into the store with bags in hand. The first thing that caught my eye was some sunglasses. I was actually surprised that even a convenience store would have such expensive sunglasses. But when I thought about it, this was a high-end business district where many high-end brands were located.

“Look what we have here.” I had just picked up a pair of sunglasses when a very annoying voice came from behind me. I turned to see Rachel, something or another. I forgot her last name. Beside her was another girl whose name I do not remember. I  only know that they are Maria’s flunkies.

I just looked at her and gave her a mocking smile before turning and walking off. I know there is nothing more angering for girls like this than ignoring them. 

“You! Stop right there!” As I said, it really angers them. I could hear her stomping after me.

I turned and stepped to the side, dodging the hand that was coming after me before sticking my foot out and tripping the girl who was already off balance from missing her target. She fell in a glorious fashion. Her skirt was now flipped up, showing her black panties to everyone who was willing to take a peek. 

“Rachel or what ever your name is. If you wanted to show off your new underwear there is a time and place for these things. Now if you excuse me.” I looked at her friend, who was still standing there in shock. I guess she never expected such a thing to happen. I chuckled and went to find suntan lotion.

“Noelle Alastor! You bitch!” Rachel struggled to stand up but still had enough spunk in her to yell my name.

“Rachel Black Panty! You shouldn’t call people names. It makes you look lowly. You are like one of those Karens who run around screaming at people just because. If this is how your family brought you up I wonder how they keep their company up and running. You should watch out or you may just end up being the reason your family falls.” // 

“Noelle Alastor!” Rachel really seems to like calling my name for some reason.

“Rachel, no matter how many times you yell my name, I will never like you. So please stop hanging on to me. I am not like that. While you are cute, you’re not my type. Hell you are not even the correct sex! So please stop, you are only embarrassing yourself.” I looked at Rachel, whose face was bright red with either anger or embarrassment, maybe both, and smiled before walking away. I actually feel so good. Mainly because Rachel and her no-name friend there, were always the main aggressors when it came to bullying me in my past life. As such, it felt really good making her make a fool of herself.

After getting my suntan lotion and putting some on my neck and ear, I put my new sunglasses on and walked out of the store, heading to my final stop.

I needed a cellphone. Without one, I can not do as much as I want. Communication was key when starting a business, and a cellphone was very important.

When I walked in, I was greeted by a young man who smiled at me. “Is there anything I can help you find miss?”

“Yes, give me your best phone and service plan. Pay for a year’s worth of service. Also I want my phone to be red.” I replied with a small smile as I looked around. 

“I will get our best model right away.” The young man hurried to get my phone. I was in a Samsung store. But this store was different from others. While they sold phones, they also were able to set you up with many of the different phone carries as well. But they only made deals with the best services. Which made it easier than having to run around since you can only get what you want directly from the main retailer instead of dealing with the limited stock phone carrier stores would have.

My eyes perked up when I saw something very interesting. It was a pen, yet not a pen. It was a recording pen. I did not think I would find something like this here. This would come in very handy. I looked at the different designs. While there were no red ones, there were some solid black ones that would work out perfectly.

“Here is the phone you asked for. After you sign the paperwork we can set it up.” I turned and looked at the phone he was showing me. I nodded and then pointed at the pen. “I want this too.”

“Of course.” I could see the smile broadening on the young man’s face. It seemed he would be getting a decent commission for this.

I went through the normal procedures of buying the phone and was told how to set up the pen. I did not keep it in its package and directly slipped the pen into my pocket so the button was within reach. I wanted to record the lovely conversation I know I will be having later with my amazing family of gremlins.

As I walked down the street, I stopped when I heard the sounds of alarms going off. I looked at the back across the street from me to see a man wearing a motorcycle helmet rushing out of the bank with a duffel bag in his arms. He quickly strapped it to the back of his motorcycle before hopping on it and taking off. I frowned slightly and walked over to the trash barrel near a light pole where a metal pipe was leaning.

I did not wish to draw too much attention, so as I walked by it, I quickly kicked it up with my foot before sending it flying towards the bike that was escaping. It flew through the air and landed right in between the spokes of the bike’s wheels causing the motorcycle to flip and its rider to go flying into the back of a box truck.

I actually did not think I would do it so smoothly, but once again, what I can only say is my natural instincts took over, allowing everything to go the way I wished. It was kind of amazing and scary at the same time. Like early, I instinctively knew that Rachel was reaching out to grab me, allowing me to sidestep her.

I continued towards where Tom was waiting for me, trying my best to pretend I saw nothing and did nothing.

- - -

As Noelle walked away, a young man in his early twenties walked out of the business where Noelle had just kicked the pipe from and looked at the girl walking away. His black hair was thick and groomed neatly, and his build showed that he worked out, making him look quite good in his black business suit. The way he looked at Noelle was one of confusion and interest.

He was trying to understand what he had just witnessed. And at the same time wondered just who the girl was that could accomplish such a feat. “Mike, get the cctv of the surrounding buildings.”

“Sir?” Mike, who was holding a few folders in his hand, looked at his boss in confusion.

“I want all the footage from the last five minutes. I also want those five minutes deleted completely.” The young man replied as he drew his gaze away from Noelle. He was not so much interested in the girl for her looks since he knew the girl was young but he really wanted to know what she had just done. It was as if she had just pulled off a superhuman feat. It had caught his interest.

Mike was still confused, but since he was asked, he still went to do as he was told. “I will get it now.”

- - -

In a basement at an unknown location, a girl around seventeen years of age, with braided pigtails and thick-rimmed glasses, walked down a dimly lit hallway that led to a single room. The hall was narrow and had pipes running along the edge of the ceiling. There were small drips that fell to the cement floor below, creating small puddles here and there. The fluorescent lights on the ceiling flickered constantly, making it go completely dark every few seconds.

But this did not stop the young girl, who continued walking forward with a small skip in her step, causing her navy blue dress to flutter with each step, with her petite frame that looked as if it would break with the slightest touch. She really stood out amongst the horror movie backdrop this place gave off. In fact, she had a small smile on her lips as she remembered the events that had happened during the day. She really could not wait to meet her silver-haired heroine once more. 

Behind here were three men, two around six feet tall and another almost seven feet tall, who had to hunch over just to walk down the hallway. They wore black suits with silver cuff-links with a tiger imprint in each. Their sharp gazes mixed with various wounds on their faces and heads gave off a sense of people one did not wish to mess with. Yet the girl in front walked without a care as if she was used to such people.

 “All three of them are here?” The young girl asked as she pushed open the door to the room at the end of the hall, revealing a barren room with only three chairs. Each chair had a person sitting in it with black sacks over their heads.

“Young Miss, we captured all of them. They were at the hospital when we found them. It seems two of them had their man parts broken.” The tallest of the three men stepped forward adjusting the cuffs of his sleeves as he spoke with the utmost respect towards the young girl. He had a deep scar running from the top of his head to the side of his chin. The eye the scar passed through was clouded over as if it had been lost when he received the scar.

The other two also had scars as well. One over the bridge of his nose while the other had one across his throat making one wonder if he was even able to speak. The way they carried themselves was unlike a normal bodyguard. Each step they had taken was light and quiet. It proved each of these men had gone through years of training.

“Hmm… I guess they couldn’t handle my new best friend’s strength.” The girl replied with a bright smile. Just thinking of the silver haired girl who gallantly swooped in and saved her was just amazing! If the silver haired girl was a man, she would have signed herself up to marry her.

“Young miss?” The girl was brought back to her senses when one of the men called out to her. Her eyes narrowed as she turned her attention back to the three people in the chairs. The innocence that was once there had disappeared and replaced with a murderous look that would scare most people. The muffled cries of the three men in the chairs did not even enter her ears as if she was used to such a scene.

She clicked her tongue as she turned and walked towards the door, confusing the three men. She stopped as she rested her hand on the door frame and turned to look back at them. She pulled her glasses off, exposing the sharp glint in her deep blue eyes. “Cut their dicks off and feed it to them before sending them back to their families. Make sure their families know not to say a word about this or else they can forget waking up ever again.”

The young girl did not wait for an answer as she turned and walked down the hall. She slowly pulled out her braids, allowing her brown hair to slowly fall down her back. She pulled out her phone, turned it on, and looked at the image of a silver-haired girl who was now her phone's wallpaper. “With this they will not be causing trouble for my new friend.”

A soft smile formed on her lips once more as she poked the phone before turning it off and began skipping her way back out of the basement.

- - -

“Ahh! Choo!” A sneeze came out of nowhere, followed by a slight chill running down my spine. I knew I was not sick, so I guess someone was talking about me. Probably that bastard family of mine.

I rested my arm on the edge of the window as I watched the scenery pass by. The lights of the street. The cars that passed by. The people who were still out and about doing their shopping. I felt kind of jealous, in a way. I do not know how these people’s lives were, but I wondered if they had to deal with the things I had to deal with. 

I am sure many of them live carefree lives without a worry in the world, like the group of teens who probably would not have to worry about anything but being grounded for being drunk or staying out too late. Going out and spending time with friends was something I could only dream about in my past life. 

I have no idea how many times I had watched Maria going out with friends while I was stuck at home doing chores like a little maid. I never even got a chance to make friends until college, which allowed me to see the light, but even then, I was so busy trying to do everything I could to learn about running a business that I still never got to go out. If only I did not believe that bastard of a father of mine until the very end. I really can’t wait to see his face when I have the entire company signed over to me. I will also make sure to have a will done up so that if I do die, that bastard and his family will never get anything. I would rather sell the company than allow him to take what belongs to me and my mother.//

A tall cedar wood gate stood in front of the black Mercedes I was riding in. It was connected to a rock and mortar wall that had a cedar plaque with the name Alastor burnt into it. Night had already consumed the sky, so the moon was now giving off dim light that barely illuminated the dark winding path as we drove down the drive way that took about two minutes to reach the house.

When we stopped in front of the house, Tom seemed quite happy to see me go. He had not made a fuss at all since I got into the car. Even now, he was doing his job properly and opening the door for me. I am sure he already complained about me to Linda. Not that I care. I really want to see them yell at me. My new pen was sitting nice and snug in my new pair of jeans pocket. I stepped out of the car and grabbed my bags before walking to the white double doors of the brick mansion of the Alastor family, the place that was supposed to be mine completely but currently had squatters living inside it.

I went to open the door, turning the brass knob, only to find that it was locked. I did not have keys because this door should never be locked in the first place unless it was past ten at night. There were maids who worked until that time, so there was no need to lock it before then. So, to have the door locked now meant that these bastards dared to lock me out of my own home. 

“Since you wish to lock me out how about I make a grand entrance?” I narrowed my eyes as I lifted my foot, the bags in my left hand shifting ever so slightly. I then kicked out with all the strength I could muster, although I kind of wish I didn’t since a loud boom echoed through the air as the doors and part of the wall exploded and shot inward.

“Ahh!” A cry was heard as I stood there, feeling slightly dumbfounded at my own strength. It seemed that Margret was standing on the other side of the door and was caught up in the blast as well since she was sent flying. 

“What is going on!?” Linda was the first to arrive. She looked at the mess around me and then at me before her eyes landed on Margret. And prim and proper face showed a sign of shock and also hatred. “Noelle! How could you do this!?” 

It really blew my mind. She acted like the door had not exploded and then blamed me instantly for her maid’s injuries. While it was true that it was my fault, she should not think a skinny girl like me could do such a thing. Although, I am a little regretful. One of the vases that stood at the double grand staircase at the main entry was destroyed in the process. Margret had destroyed it with her butt, it seems. The vase was quite pretty with its pearly white color with blue paintings of horses and warriors on it. Even the poor red plus rug that stood out on the black tile of the front entrance now had shards of debris in it.

“Do what? Do I look like I have some means to do this? The maid you are cradling was probably the cause. I mean, first off why the hell was the door locked? It is not even ten at night yet. The rules of the house have been passed down since my mother was here. The house is not to be locked before ten at night and unlocked at five in the morning. So tell me what the hell is going on? Why am I locked out of my own house?” Since I knew a fight would be starting, there was no need to hold back with my questioning.

“What are you talking about? The doors are always locked at six at…” I quickly cut her off.

“Do you think I am stupid? Linda I think you need to choose your lies carefully. You people forced your way into my home when I was young, not even a year after my mother’s death and even made me move into a maid’s room to live for the past almost ten years. So tell me one more lie.” If I could, I would just slap this woman silly, but I had to hold back until the time was right. Word battles are okay, but physical violence was another story unless they try to hit me first. It had to wait.

“Bitch you dare talk to my mother like that!?” I knew he would show up sooner or later. Ryan walked right over to me and raised his hand to hit me. His face was marred with hate. He was still wearing his school uniform which made him look less of a man and more of a boy who was throwing a tantrum. But this was what I was hoping he would do in school. I had hoped he would try to hit me in school. Sadly, he had more self-restraint than I had thought. At least, it seems I will still get to floor him today. It must be a happy day. I will egg him on more.

“Going to hit me? Fine let’s see if you can do it.” I smiled mockingly at him, which seemed to make him even more angry.

“You dared to talk back so much today lets see just how much you talk back when I am through with you!” And here it comes! I was a little excited to see that hand falling to my face. But just before it could make contact, a hand came from behind me and grabbed Ryan’s wrist.

“I already said not to call me that. Only my mother can call me that.” I stepped back, avoiding his outstretched hand. I did not wish for him to touch me. I turned toward Linda, who was still holding Marget, keeping her mouth shut, and snorted. “That maid locked the door and has abused me for many years. I want her fired here and now. I do not want to see her in my house ever again. And Ryan, lift your hand to me one more time and you will follow her.” 

“El-Noelle, relax. I do not know what is going on but kicking your brother out and firing…” I turned and glared at the good-for-nothing.

“Weston Thatcher, I think you need to remember who owns this house. I am trying to be nice to you on account that you raised me but for the past almost ten years you have turned a blind eye to my plight. I will not allow it to go on any further. Enough is enough. Do as I say and kick that woman out or else.”