Eternity Doll

Oh God. Oh God. Oh God.

Thank goodness, he still remembers what he learned from his high school health class about first-aid! He remembered how embarrassing it was CPR-ing that stupid life-size doll as if it was a real person--

Wait a minute.

He paused, staring at the woman in front of him.

Her eyes were empty, not because she was dead. She wasn't alive in the first place. She was inanimate. She wasn't a corpse—No, wait a minute. It's not even right to call it a 'she.' This was a life-size toy

A doll, to be precise.

***

Today was like any other day for Evanescence 'Evan' Holz.

This time, he shouted at a female intern for making his coffee black.

"Don't you people learn?!" He roared, throwing the coffee mug down to the floor. The sound of glass shattering echoed throughout the busy office. Once a bustling working area, the place became as silent as the dead of the night. "I told you to put five cubes of sugar on my coffee! Are you that stupid that you can't comprehend such a simple thing?"

"B-but, Sir…" The intern, who he assumed had the name Jane—oh wait, that was the other intern who quit yesterday—whimpered. "I just got here today, so I don't know your coffee pre--"

"Then why didn't you ask your co-workers?" Evan said, clearly not amused.

She gasped softly as if that idea never occurred to her. She looked at the ground, awkwardly avoiding his gaze. Evan sighed, returning to his work.

"Sir…?" The intern said weakly.

"Get out."

She blinked blankly.

"Oh, you mean out of the room…?"

"No, you dimwit." Evan rubbed his temples, annoyed. "Out of this company."

Her eyes widened. "You mean—"

"You're fired." He said in a tone as if he was talking about the weather. "Now get out of my sight, and never show yourself again."

"But, sir—"

"Get. Out."

And so she did. She ran out of the room, crying. Whispers followed her as she did; her former co-workers looked at her in pity.

"There goes another one." They murmured.

"Poor child." A woman who's been working here for years thought. "Thank goodness I was never assigned to bring him coffee."

"But wasn't he a little too harsh…? It's just coffee, after all."

"Shh!" Their voices became softer, but he could still hear them from his office. "He might hear you!"

"Goodness, gracious." Evan slumped on his office chair, making his voice loud so they'd know he heard them. "You educate them, and then they forget the most essential thing you expect from them: making food."

He heard whispers from various people saying 'sexist,' but he didn't care. He was just saying the truth.

He sat straight and returned to his laptop, typing this month's marketing reports and production. And then he heard someone knock on his door.

Evan opened his mouth and was about to shout not to bother him, but it swerved open without waiting for his permission. He clicked his tongue, not even bothering to look up.

"If you think you can cry your way into getting your job just because you're a woman, I'll have you know that it doesn't—" He looked up and saw the trespasser. "Oh, it's just you."

"What's with that voice of distaste, brother?" A tall blond man was casually leaning on his wall, looking as carefree as usual. "Are you not glad to see me? After all, I've been out of the country for three mo--"

"No." And his eyes went back to his laptop.

The blond man grabbed his chest, feigning hurt.

This man was the son of the company head, Blau Royall. His name was Freiheit Royall. He was 30 years old, just two years older than his adoptive brother. Unlike his father, a business tycoon, he had no business talents.

Even though they were opposites, they got along unexpectedly well.

"Aren't you going to ask me how my trip was?" Freiheit entered the office before jumping on the black and white sofa like an ignorant child.

"Let me guess," Evan said. The sound of pressing keys was both soothing as well as irritating. "You met some girl. You had sex with her. You found the most magnificent--" He even emphasized the word because he knows how his brother loves it "--scenery. You painted it. You dined at the most expensive restaurant in the country. You took a picture of your food before eating it."

The blondie was silent for a few seconds.

"Wow! Evanescence, are you a mind-reader or something? You summed it up quite well!"

He bowed mockingly but noticed something.

"What did you just call me?"

Freiheit hummed, feigning ignorance.

"I said," Evan gritted his teeth, annoyed at his brother for calling him the name that shouldn't be uttered. "What did you just call me?"

"Evanescence?" He said casually as if he didn't know the history of that name.

"Don't. You. Ever—" Before he could finish his sentence, the blond rose from the sofa and sat on Evan's office table.

"Yes, yes." He sighed. "That name reminds you of that woman, so you don't want anyone calling you that."

Evan continued glaring at him as if he was the reason there was no such thing as world peace.

"Speaking of women," Freiheit cleared his throat. "I saw one crying before I arrived here. Don't tell me you fired another one today?"

Evan looked away, biting the inside of his cheeks.

"And I assume because of the broken coffee mug and the stain on your carpet, she made a mistake with your coffee. Let's see, she made it black, didn't she?"

He remained silent.

The Freiheit knew it was a bull's eye.

"It can't be helped, Evan." He shook his head, laughing. "I bet no one would expect you to be such a sissy with your coffee. Men like their coffee black. You're the only intimidating man I know who likes his stupidly sweet coffee."

Ignoring his brother's insult, he answered.

"She's stupid. All the interns are stupid. All the population of women in this world are stupid."

Once again, the artist sighed, clearly unconcerned with his brother's thinking.

"I don't understand why you hate every woman in this world just because a single one wronged you."

"You don't understand." He said in a low voice; you wouldn't have heard it without listening carefully. "You don't understand how it feels to be betrayed by the first woman you loved."

Freiheit frowned.

He knew what his brother was discussing but struggled to understand his reasoning. Finding it suffocating that they were talking about such a deep subject, he thought of changing the topic to something lighter.

"Speaking of women," He started again, but with a light grin on his lips. "I brought you a souvenir!"

The solemn look on Evan's face was wiped out completely. Blue eyes dilated in horror, eyebrows furrowed in a way you can't describe. He opened and then closed his mouth and opened and closed once again.

The cycle continued again and again, and he looked just like a dumb goldfish. Once he gathered his bearings, he spoke.

"Please don't tell me you brought a foreign prostitute back home."

Freiheit decided to let his other statement go and started grinning once more.

"Oh," He smirked, eyes widening for emphasis. "Even better!"

The businessman slammed his face against his table, asking the Lord why he associated with this fool in the first place.

"Evan, my brother! Don't be so negative!" Freiheitlaughed wholeheartedly. "I know you'll love her!"

He rolled his eyes. "I doubt it."

The blond acted as if he didn't hear anything and continued.

"I left her in your condominium, by the way."

"In…?"

"Yeah, I said 'in'." Freiheit tilted his head to the side, thinking. "Did I speak incorrectly? Goodness, I learned too many languages. I forgot how to speak using my mother tongue!"

"How did you get inside my apartment?" He said, a look of pure disbelief painted on his face.

"Easy." The blond said in a 'duh'-tone. "I talked to the building owner."

"They just can't give my key card to random people!" Evan shouted. "Especially you, you bastard!"

"My brother, I know you know the skill called 'charming your way'." He winked teasingly. "After all, you also do it during work."

This is why Evan hated women! That stupid old hag! How dared she allow herself to be fooled by his brother's looks?! When he returns to his condo, he'll immediately go to her office and tell her to get her lawyer ready because he will sue her for her incapability to do her work correctly.

"If that woman turns out to be a thief," The troubled brunet covered his face with the palm of his hand. "Forget you ever had a brother."

"You're welcome." Freiheit patted him on the back.

He rolled his eyes. "I'll send her back to you once I get home."

"And what if you liked her?"

"I doubt that."