She was the one person he loved more than anything and, even though he knew it would happen, he still dared to love her. He still dared to hope that perhaps he would not lose to Lee-leng Huang. But, it had happened and he was forced to admit he was now consumed by the anguish caused by his unconditional love being rejected. Three years had passed since the marriage of his love; yet the pain in his chest clenched his heart as tightly as ever.

Eugene shook his platinum blonde hair lightly, in order to pull himself out of his thoughts. He was in London tonight to attend a social gathering hosted by one of his father's many friends. The meeting was going to be held at eight o'clock, which seemed quite late to him and although it was only nearing six o'clock, the sky was already a fairly dark shade of blue. A light breeze blew through the darkened sky, rustling Eugene's long hair that had been tied back in a ponytail. A sigh escaped his lips, as he subconsciously looked up at the sky. A few stars could already be seen; London was interesting in a sense, he mused, while his gaze travelled back to earth to land on the impressive building standing before him. Metallic silver and white and turquoise glass were the colours the building consisted of. The structure itself was cylindrical and therefore an intriguing sight to behold to any passer-by. What also made it ideal was that it was right by river Thames. He could smell the scent of the river as it reached his nostrils; it put him at ease, which was why this place was one of his most favoured places in the world.

He made his way inside to the lobby section, where he was greeted by the receptionist who sat behind a curved wooden desk. The walls of the lobby were stark white with plants placed neatly around the place, on top of clean black tiles, and the fresh scent of lemons and other citrus fruits wafted throughout the space. Four evenly spaced metal lifts stood proudly at the far end of the room and displayed the number of the floor each lift was stationed in bold red lights. The receptionist was a tall and slim woman, with her straight auburn hair strictly straightened, so no hair was out of line. Her light blue eyes twinkled with mischief, causing her to look far younger than her age. She wore a modest, yet expensive black dress and her nails tapped lightly on the shiny, wooden desk. Upon seeing Eugene, her small, thin lips parted to display gleaming white teeth.

"Eugene! It's great to see you again! You really don't visit enough; it's been a year since you were last here," she spoke, her voice was slightly high-pitched and resonating like a large church bell.

Eugene closed his eyes and forced a smile.

"Sorry, I've just been very busy," he replied, his French origins being hinted at when he spoke. A light blush dusted the receptionist's cheeks, as she laughed lightly.

"Just promise me you'll come more often, okay?" She asked, smiling widely. Eugene flashed another dazzling smile her way and nodded.

"Of course," he said simply, "well, I'll be going now."

He bid the receptionist farewell and pressed a button for one of the four lifts to appear, sensing the unwavering gaze of the receptionist glaring into his back. He sighed quietly, patiently waiting; he was in no mood to flirt.

A sharp "ding" broke through the silence of the lobby, indicating a lift had arrived. Eugene stepped into it and pressed the number eleven, then waited again, as the doors of the lift closed and he was taken up to his floor. Once the lift doors opened at her floor, Eugene stepped out onto the gleaming black tiles, the clacking of his Italian leather shoes piercing the quietness of the hallway. He reached his front door to find that was already unlocked. Becoming wary, he opened the door slowly and peered inside. He saw a person clad in black and white a couple feet away from the door with their back to it, enough for him to reach out and grab them.

Eugene counted to three, then flung the door open and immediately grabbed the intruder's arms and used his weight to throw the intruder onto the floor by slamming his body against the person, causing the person to gasp, then groan. He pinned their waist down, immobilising their legs and pinned their arms above their head, the pressed his upper body against the person's back, completely immobilising them. The intruder didn't struggle at all, out of surprise, or fear, he wasn't sure.

"Could you get off me, babe. I don't know who you are, but I really need to finish cleaning this place," a female voice asked monotonously. Eugene's eyes widened, noticing the black and white uniform the female cleaners had to wear. He immediately got off her and the small woman got up after him and turned around.

What struck him first was the way in which the girl's blue eyes lacked everything. Nothing was present in them at all. No light, no darkness, no emotions. The second thing was the way in which she rubbed her right arm, where he'd grabbed earlier; it was as if he'd seriously injured her, even though he didn't think he'd held so tightly as to hurt her immensely. It seemed as if no light reached her black hair, which deemed to be what gave it its colour; her sand coloured skin gave her an exotic aura and made clear to him she was Asian; she only reached slightly below his chin. She didn't look at him, but through him and didn't seem to be attracted to him in any sense. It chilled him to know that someone could look so...so...

"What are you doing here?" She questioned. Her voice held a strange depth and was slightly lower than the average female's voice, he noted. Yet, it lacked one fundamental element that made a voice human. And he could place what it was.

"Are you hurt?" He asked, ignoring her question. The woman shrugged, then nodded, not letting go of the arm she had been rubbing.

"I guess so," she replied, completely unfazed he hadn't answered her question.

"Why are you holding your arm, then?" He tried again. The woman sighed.

"Why do you ask? So you can kiss it better?" She asked sarcastically. However, it was said in such a way, that if Eugene hadn't known better, he would've completely missed the sarcasm laced beneath the words. A smirk played on his lips.

"Exactly," he replied smoothly. It seemed at that moment that the woman first noticed him. She scrutinised him, with no indication as to what she felt, or thought.

"I don't like people touching me," was all she said after what seemed like a long time, "now, if you'll get out, I need to continue my job."

"Ma chère, this is my apartment," he said, amusement evident in his voice.

"...oh," she replied, still as unfazed as ever.

"You've been holding onto that arm for a while," he mused, "do you truly want me to kiss it better, if it hurts that much?"

"If all French men are like you, I promise you now that I will never in my life set foot in France," she said immediately, then murmured something quietly under her breath, something that Eugene completely missed.