Some part of Lorenzo had expected to see blonde nuisance again the following morning, but she was nowhere to be found.
Perhaps she'd finally taken his advice and sought the help she needed.
Good for her. . . and him as well.
To be frank, he was glad to have one less headache to deal with.
He had a lot going on with his love life and work life already. The last thing he needed was to be bothered by the ranting and ravings of some lunatic.
The day ended quicker than he'd expected.
With how tight his schedule was, he'd barely had any breathing space the entire day at work. He was stretched so thin that his life's bar was barely hanging on by five percent.
He'd initially considered pulling an all-nighter. But when he reached home, he soon realized that any more tasks would lead to his untimely death.
His legs moved on autopilot, taking him to his bedroom. He didn't bother with dinner. He barely even had enough energy to wash himself. His mind was set on one thing alone— the softness of his bed.
As soon as his head met the plush surface of his pillow, he began to drift deep into the oblivion of slumberland. . .
CRAAAAAAAAASH!!!
Lorenzo's lashes fluttered open, but he remained in the same position. Too sleepy to move.
He tried to make out what was shattering in the distant even though his head was still fogged by sleep.
A glass cup? A ceramic plate?
"What the hell is going on?" Lorenzo grumbled under his breath, pulling the duvet closely to his body as if that would stop the noise.
Before his body fully gave in to sleep once more, a second crash— a louder and more ferocious one— exploded like a cannon.
And then. . . a high-pitched scream followed suit.
Lorenzo sat up abruptly. "What the fuck!" He flung the duvet off his body before swinging his legs over the side of the bed. "Who's the idiot messing around in the kitchen at this time of the night?"
He'd lived for over a year in his penthouse apartment. At this point, he could tell where any sound was coming from.
"DO YOU HAVE A FUCKING DEATH WISH?!"
Anger fueled by sleep deprivation danced across Lorenzo's face as he sprang to his feet and dashed out the door.
His heavy footsteps echoed down the corridor as he made his way to the kitchen. When he got there, he found his live-in maids huddled at a corner near the entrance.
They looked pale and a bit shaken up as if they'd just seen a ghost or something.
"What's going on here?" He demanded sternly.
The maids flinched. Their faces grew even more pale when they realized he'd been standing behind them.
They stared back at him, anxiety rendering them silent until one of them found the guts to speak.
"Something strange is happening in the kitchen, sir," she whimpered, her trembling finger pointing towards the kitchen doorway. "The drawers keep opening and shutting on their own. The plates. . . the pans. . . are floating in the air."
Lorenzo's eyebrows furrowed. For a short moment, he just stared at the woman like she'd lost her mind.
Was she kidding him right now? Is this some kind of sick joke?
Without a word, he strode past them into the kitchen to put an end to this madness.
But then. . . he froze when he realized who was causing the commotion in his house. Sitting atop the kitchen counter, was the sleazy, blonde lunatic, Xanthe from PervTown.
What was she doing in his house again? And who the fuck kept letting her in?
"Hello, there!" Xanthe chimed sweetly, right before letting the kitchenwares she was holding drop to the ground. INTENTIONALLY.
"Are you out of your mind? What is wrong with you?" He exclaimed, heat rushing to his face. "Why are you in my house again? Did I not make myself clear the last time—"
"AAAAAAHHH!"
He suddenly got cut off by the screams of his maids who were peeking from the doorway.
"GHOST! GHOST!" They continued shouting as they scrambled away in fear.
Lorenzo's gaze shifted to the retreating maids. Ghost? He repeated inwardly before returning his eyes to Xanthe who was now wearing a smug smile just for him.
This Blonde Sleazeball was clearly human. AN INCREDIBLY ANNOYING HUMAN! What drugs were those women on?
Suddenly, his eyes widened as the recollection hit him.
On their first encounter, the security guards had also been unable to see Xanthe. Could it be. . .
He inhaled sharply. HE WAS REALLY THE ONLY ONE WHO COULD SEE HER?
"For some inexplicable reason. . ." Xanthe mumbled, casually sinking her teeth into an apple she'd snagged from a nearby fruit basket. "You're the only one who can see me despite the Invisibility Spell."
His hand flew to his mouth. COULD SHE ALSO READ HIS MIND?!
"No, I can't read your mind," she said flippantly, taking another bite of the apple. "I do not possess the ability to delve into your thoughts. At least, not yet! However, I can tell what you're thinking by your facial expression."
Lorenzo staggered backward. For the first time since he met this woman, he allowed himself to believe she was more than just a lunatic.
"What. . . what the heck are you?"
Xanthe beamed at him. "I told you. . ." She hopped off the kitchen counter all the while holding his gaze. "I'M A WITCH!"
Before he could marinate that, the smile left her face and pure rage took over. He saw her jade eyes glow brighter than the lights in the room as she chanted an incantation under her breath. Soon, a miniature whirlwind tore through the ground under her feet, catching every movable object in the room until they began to whirl around her in a chaotic tornado of kitchenware.
The windows began to rattle. The walls groaned. The lights flickered violently, bursting one after the other.
Lorenzo held his forearm over his face, shielding himself from flying cutlery and shattering glasses. And just when the last light exploded, turning the kitchen pitch dark, he knew it was time to run.
He bolted as fast as he could, but what was the use? Xanthe was already gliding towards him at a close range, laughing devilishly and lashing his poor behind with magical whips.
Lorenzo battled with fear and pain at the same time as he scrambled into his living room.
His ass burned like hell. The last time he'd felt this much pain in his ass was when he'd "mistakenly" bedded a sexy psycho with a weird kink for biting butts. She'd sung her teeth in and never let go.
He'd fled for his life just like he was fleeing now. The only difference was that she never chased after him.
But Xanthe was relentless, thrashing his butt mercilessly.
"Wait! Stop! Stop it!" Lorenzo pulled up a trembling hand. "I. . . I can have you arrested for trespassing and vandalism, you know that right?!"
Unfazed, Xanthe tilted her head to the side. "Hm! And how did that work out the last time?"
"What do you want, for fuck's sake?!"
"You know what I want? Hand me my journal!"
"I don't have your journal!
"LIAR!" Her voice came through distorted and LOUD, so loud that the walls literally shook.
The crystal chandelier right above Lorenzo groaned under its weight, and with a sharp snap, it came crashing down to the floor. Luckily, he managed to slip away just in time.
"Are you insane?!" Lorenzo's chest rose and fell rapidly. "You could have killed me."
"When you go through half of what I've been through, sanity becomes a distant dream," Xanthe fired back. "Give me what I want or you and your household will know no peace."
She yelled out another spell, turning the living room into a maelstrom of swirling furniture and electronics.
Lorenzo could only watch in horror, from behind a couch, as the forces of her power destroyed everything in its path.
* * * *
[THE NEXT DAY...]
Lorenzo looked like death. Nothing short of a Zombie.
His lips were pale, so was his visible skin, and his eyes were surrounded by the hugest dark circle there was.
He could literally feel his life slipping away from him as he dragged his weary body down to his office.
From his peripheral vision, he noticed his subordinates gawking at him from the cubicles while they whispered amongst themselves. He could tell they were curious, but they were the least of his worries. He had more pressing issues to resolve.
Last night had been an unending nightmare. That demonic woman from hell had tortured him all through the night, leaving him not even the slightest chance to sleep.
The worst part was that he couldn't get the authorities involved. How was he supposed to explain to them that a woman they couldn't see was torturing him in his own home? Wouldn't they think he was insane?
Having Walton question his sanity was enough burn for his ego.
And like that wasn't enough, he still had to work despite his need for a bed.
WHAT A GREAT LIFE YOU HAVE, LORENZO!
Luckily, the day melted into a hazy blur of paperwork and forced smiles, and as Lorenzo finally returned home, his house was once again in order, almost as if the chaos of last night never happened.
Thanks to Walton who had gotten the cleaning and repair crew to restore his home to its former glory.
That man was just too loyal. He should consider giving him a raise with the next paycheck.
Speaking of loyalty. . . or the lack of it? His incompetent domestic staff seemed to have fled for their lives, because the moment he stepped through the front door, there was no one fussing around him.
THOSE TRAITORS!
He couldn't blame them, though. He would've run as well, but this was his home and he wasn't about to let some low-budget student of Hogwarts make him leave.
When she returned tonight, he would be ready!