When Gloria knocked on the door, it was opened by a girl with blonde hair. Her hair was in a mess, as if someone had run their fingers through her curls, and her lipstick was smudged. She appeared younger than Gloria, and the ambiguous marks on her neck didn't escape Gloria's eyes.

The girl smirked at Gloria and opened the door wide for her to enter. Gloria frowned in response as she stepped inside, only to find her boyfriend seated on the sofa, shirtless and smoking.

Upon seeing Gloria, Zach rolled his eyes. Ignoring her, he turned to the blonde girl and said to her, "Leave."

The girl glared at Gloria before picking up her handbag and exiting the door, adjusting her dress and hair as she went. Gloria fixed her eyes on the back of the girl until she vanished behind the closed door.

"Why are you here?" Zach questioned, leisurely leaning on the couch and dragging on his smoke before releasing it through his mouth.

Gloria snapped out of her reverie and turned to face Zach. Nervously, she moved towards the couch and took the seat beside him, gently holding his hand.

"Zach, let's elope somewhere," she said, her voice filled with urgency.

Zach frowned at her and withdrew his hand from her grasp, turning to extinguish his cigar in the ashtray.

"Why should we?" he questioned, not understanding her sudden suggestion to elope.

"My father is sick, and he is planning to arrange an engagement between me and one of his juniors," Gloria confessed, tears welling up in her eyes.

Zach scoffed in response, replying nonchalantly, "Then marry him. Don't bother me. Didn't I say I'm not interested in you anymore?" .

With that, he stood up from the couch and headed to the kitchen to fetch a bottle of water from the refrigerator.

Tears streamed down Gloria's cheeks as she followed Zach into the kitchen. "Don't say it like that, Zach. I know you love me," she pleaded.

Hearing her words, Zach choked on the water he was drinking. After wiping the traces of water from his lips, he chuckled at her.

"Don't be delusional, Glory," Zach said, closing the distance between them and lifting her chin to meet his gaze. "You were a good fling, nothing more than that," he stated firmly before turning to leave the kitchen.

However, Gloria couldn't let him go that easily. She grabbed his arm, stopping him in his tracks. Zach sighed, turning to meet her tear-filled eyes. He does feel sorry for her but he didn’t love her, above all her father already warned him to stay away from her if he didn't wish to end up behind the bars.

"Obey your father and marry who he says. I am going abroad next month, so there will be nothing between us," Zach stated as he turned his back to her.

However, Gloria couldn't hold back any longer and said in a trembling voice, "Zach, I... I am pregnant with your child”.

Zach stiffened, his eyes narrowing as he processed her words. He knew that recently he hadn't used protection during their sex. With Gloria's unwavering love for him, he couldn't think of her being with anyone else. Undoubtedly, the child in her belly must be his. 

But he didn't want the child, not now, not ever.

"Abort it," Zach spat the words in a cold, emotionless voice.

Gloria felt as if the world had stopped before her. Clenching her teeth, she stood before him, grabbing his collar. "How could you say that? It's our child, the evidence of our love," she exclaimed, her voice quivering with emotion.

Zach scoffed, pushing her aside, "Love? I didn't love you," 

Anger flared in Gloria's eyes as she stared at the man before her. How could he say he didn't love her? She could see it in his eyes. He loves her. He... LOVES me, she thought, her eyes turning red as she looked at his back.

"Zach..." she called out to him, but he didn't turn to face her.

"Zach" 

Receiving no response, she sighed heavily, wiping away her tears. In a hoarse voice, she said, "Okay. I will abort it."

Zachary smiled upon hearing her response and turned to face her. "I know you are a—"

But before he could finish his sentence, Gloria grabbed the kitchen knife nearby and stabbed it right into his chest. Zachary was stunned by the sudden action, freezing for a moment as he slowly looked down.

The knife was buried deep inside his chest, leaving only the wooden handle protruding from his body. Soon, pain spread across his chest as his vision darkened. With a loud thud, he fell to the floor.

Gloria looked at the man lying on the floor. Kneeling beside him, she placed her ears on his chest, hearing the steady heartbeat. A smile played on her lips as she caressed his face with insatiable obsession.

"You say you didn't love me, but see, your heart beats faster when I am near," she murmured to herself, her eyes filled with madness.

Seated in the middle of the blood pool, she continued to whisper coaxing words to the man who was long dead.

As the days passed her engagement with Craig Hutson nears and her dad’s condition grew worse. Finally two weeks before his father’s passing she was married to Craig who was much older than her.

After the wedding ceremony, Gloria was escorted to her room to change into a new dress for her wedding night. Surrounded by bridesmaids who teased her endlessly about the upcoming night, Gloria remained seated at the vanity chair, ignoring their chatter as she stared blankly at the lengthy mirror mounted on the wall before her.

“Go out, everyone,” Gloria told her friends in a flat tone.

Assuming she might be feeling shy and in need of some time alone, women silently exited the room, leaving Gloria to herself.

Once the room grew silent, Gloria stood up from the chair and gently caressed the mirror with her fingertips.

"Now you will stay with us forever, Zach," she smiled serenely, placing her hand protectively over her stomach.

"I want a son just like you, Zach... my dear master," she whispered, her voice filled with longing.

Afterward, Gloria changed out of her wedding dress into modest nightwear and retrieved a small bottle from inside a drawer. With one last look at the mirror she exited the room and walked towards the master bedroom where Craig was.

Craig was an innocent man who believed everything she said, and Gloria lived her life smoothly until she met Carlos Oswald during one of the cases she attended with her husband for a trial.

Carlos sat among the trainees in the courtroom, intently listening to the defending attorney. Gloria was entranced by his looks, which resembled Zachary, her late lover. A wave of shock passed through her nerves when Carlos turned to look in her direction.

She could feel the love for her in his eyes.

After the trial, she met him outside the court and offered him a job at her husband's law firm. Carlos, young and seeking a chance to advance his career, didn't hesitate to accept the offer, unaware that he was unwittingly stepping into the depths of hell.

Soon, the ambiguous affair between them began.

Carlos, who had initially believed he was using Gloria for his own benefit, remained oblivious to the fact that he was gradually being manipulated by her to serve her own interests, or rather, to mold him into the person she desired him to be.

On that day, Gloria was just pretending to sleep when Carlos entered her closet. She wanted him to see the person behind the mirror. Knowing Carlos's personality, she was aware that he would likely pretend to be like Zach in order to gain favours from her. But that was exactly what Gloria wanted.

The more Carlos pretended to be like Zach, he would eventually become him. 

Her beloved Zach, her true love.