Miles sniffed the scent of the flower. She really likes it's unique fragrance. Imprinting. It's difficult to forget. She stepped back to stare at the flower. It is such a waste that only one budd blossomed. Who successfully bred the blue rose? And who's the owner of the flower?

Miles jerked her body when her foot hit something on the floor behind her. She stopped and looked around to check it out. Her eyes glued on the carpeted floor. There's a coffin on the floor. A black wooden coffin.

Oh, it's just a coffin. My heart almost stopped. The shape is trapezoid, and the flat lid has a golden cross painted on it.

Miles exhaled in relief with her hand on her chest. But later on, she gasped in shock and she almost fell from stepping back to get away.

A coffin?! Oh my god! Why the heck is there a coffin here? The event should be a wedding, right? Not a freaking funeral!

Miles got so scared just thinking that there was a corpse inside the coffin. Her hand rapidly made a sign of the cross, and she uttered a prayer. Then she suddenly stopped when she calmed herself down.

Maybe the casket is empty and the owner of that mansion had just a strange hobby. The coffin might be for the owner, who's still alive and just bought it for preparation. That's what the wealthy and people with fetishes do in the movies. There's a funeral package along with the life insurance.

Or maybe the owner was a coffin collector. The coffin isn't ordinary. The shape is trapezoid, and the flat lid has a golden cross painted on it. It's like an antique casket that was used as props in the movie Count Dracula. Maybe the owner was an avid fan of those fiction novels.

"Right, don't think about it too much, Miles. You're just being paranoid." She got up in a hurry to leave the room. But to her utter dismay, before she managed to get out, someone blocked her way to the door. She was caught off guard. 

"This area is off limits to outsiders," a deep voice echoed throughout the whole room.

Miles stiffened and couldn't react for a few seconds to the person who startled her at the door. She was suppressing her breath because she felt she would faint any minute in nervousness.

"Didn't you hear what I just said? You can't just barge in here, lady."

"I-I'm sorry!" That's what she said first. She slightly bowed her head because she didn't want to see the criticism and suspicion in the eyes of any person. The man probably thinks that she has a motive for sneaking around.

"Who are you?" he asked.

"I'm from the flower delivery service. I'm one of those florists the bride rented service for."

"I forgot to bar the entrance on this floor, but I strictly informed the organizer and the wedding coordinator not to let anyone step on this floor. So, why the hell are you here, lady?"

Miles shut her eyes tightly. She didn't know that they were not allowed to go there. The wedding coordinator didn't say a word about it. But she can't deny that they were only instructed to arrange flowers up to the second floor. Maybe the wedding coordinator just forgot to remind her because she's too busy.

"Hey, I'm asking you, so please respond. If you think you can randomly snoop around and take stuff here without getting caught, then you better think again, lady. I got the best security for this occasion. You can't get away."

"I'm not a thief!" she denied angrily. Gathering her courage to look straight at the person in front of her, but she wasn't prepared for the face that welcomed her. The light reflected on the face of the man made Miles speechless.

Yes, she couldn't use any adjective to describe the face of the man. No, it's not just about his face. His whole existence owned the word "beauty" like it was solely made for him. The way he stood, however, looked more superior to any god. He's tall and lean. Fluid yet firm. Those azure eyes are so distinct yet so clear. Those shut red lips, almost the color of blood, are so still and mysterious. His skin is fair but not pale. It was fair but sleek, with a faint luminosity like alabaster.

Miles never saw anything more beautiful than this creature in front of her. She was so dazed that she almost forgot to breathe.  What the hell is with this man's appearance? Is he even real?

"If you're not a thief, then what are you? What are you doing here?"

Miles broke away from her daze when the man flicked his finger in front of her face. She blushed when she was caught in the act of being mesmerized. It's the first time she's been stupefied by a man's physical appearance. She swallowed before she answered. "The scent of the blue rose. I followed the scent of the blue rose." She even pointed at the windowsill where the pot of flower was placed.

The man didn't say anything for a while. With his hand inside the pockets of his expensive pants, he just stared at her like she was some kind of strange species. While he's scrutinizing her, his face is blank. Miles, on the other hand, feels so awkward and tries to avoid her gaze. She's so intimidated by this man's presence. She had the urge to run away, but she suppressed herself.  

"So, what are you? A dog?"

Her forehead creased from what the man said.

"You want me to believe that lame excuse? No normal human can smell a single flower from down there up to here. The scent of this flower isn't even strong. And how the heck did you know that it's a smell of a flower?"

"I'm a florist. I'm very familiar with the smell of flowers, although I admit that it's the first time that I smelled this blue rose. I have no bad intentions, so my conscience is clear. I was just curious about the distinct fragrance of this flower."

"Okay, I get it." The man shrugged off his shoulders. "But I still don't want you here, lady. Leave before I call the security." He stepped out of the open door to make way for her.

Miles hesitantly leaves the room.

The man closed the door and then locked it from the outside. "What are you waiting for? Leave this floor," he said casually when he saw her still standing in the hallway.

"I'm not a thief," she repeated those
words because it's obvious that the man didn't believe that she was innocent.

"I said I get it."

Miles shook her head. "No, you don't. You just want to end this conversation to push me away, be done with this whole thing, and avoid being disturbed."

- to be continued -