Long story short, she got engaged to me.
I thought she wouldn't agree about it, but as soon as I saw her getting down on their grand staircase, I immediately felt the sudden rush in my body. I don't know what's happening to me, but I'm getting so excited as she walks slowly towards me. But as I placed my hand on her bare back, I could clearly see how she disliked it, and she even flinched about it.
When I saw her on their balcony, I tried to approach her in a very harmless way, but I've got nothing to do with the way she views all of this. I know she felt betrayed by how her mother just threw her away like that to me, and it just felt even more wrong as I'm the one who messed with her life. Without me, she'll just be a regular student studying peacefully at a university, but I ruin all of it.
As my apology to her, I revealed myself just to be honest with her for the first time.
Even though, after that, she already sees me as an enemy, I just thought that at least I have some honesty to show her.
Also, the night of our engagement party, she tried to attack me. I let her do it, but when she tried to bite me by the neck, I stopped her. I knew I wouldn't handle it, and just by holding her that night, I could feel how strong she was. That night, I also witnessed how she struggled again with the serum she needed to take. I can't help her with that, but her grip on my arms feels like she's really in pain every time they do that.
As soon as we got engaged, her family became even easier to negotiate with. They have already given me permission to let her stay at my place. Well, I also moved to that tower that same day. It's where my company is located, and I do have a penthouse on the top floor, but I don't want to use it as I felt so lonely in the big living space. But just by knowing she's there, I suddenly have this feeling that I should go home as much as I can every night after long hours of working, studying, and investigating what's happened before.
I'll sometimes go in front of her door, and when I'm about to knock, I'll eventually stop myself and just lock myself in my room.
It seems so good to have her here, but then there's always something that will make me feel that she doesn't feel safe with me.
One night, I got into a transition again. It's a full moon, and I should have known that I'd be going away this time, but I forgot the day, so I changed in our penthouse. I tried to stop it, and I felt so much pain. As soon as it stopped, I felt her hand gently touching me to calm me down and get me inside, but I didn't want to move yet, so we stayed on the balcony for hours, I think.
She didn't leave that night.
I told her to stay, and so she did.
I felt so ashamed that she had to see me in that state. I can see in her eyes how worried she was, and even though she hates me to the bone, she could easily let it go and go to save me. That's one of the things I admire about her. She's considerate among others, and the moment you become one of the people in her life, she'll protect you no matter what.
That night, I wouldn't consider myself one of her people, but I could feel that she cared for me.
"She's going to be your weakness," Argus said when I spoke to him three days after what they did to me. I know they're just angry at me for going through my decision-making process for this thing, but they went too far by blocking us, so I had to attack him or else they'd attack us first.
"She's not," I said with finality in my voice.
"You can say that for now," he said as he stood up. "But you just can't control what's about to come next."
And maybe he's right to say that.
We've had our hot and cold relationship, even though we're not married yet. One day, she'll act like a good baby, but the next thing you know, she's acting like a mad one. She has these mood swings in her daily routine, and I'm getting used to them already.
"Do you think you can handle her?" Shaina asked me over the phone the night before my wedding.
She couldn't come because of what happened between them. I've been poisoned by someone in the crew who's apparently a spy from the North Group. That night, we went home, and Adi insisted on saying that just because she didn't want other people to know about my identity by that time. Apparently, while I was being treated, Shaina and her met, and they made a big commotion just because Shaina blamed her for what happened to me, and she just let her attack her face-to-face.
"I can," I said shortly.
"But married life is such a bad step to take," she complained to me.
"I'll handle her the best way I can," I said, trying to stop her from thinking so badly about Adi.
"You shouldn't have done this," she said as I heard her sobbing.
"This is what I want too, so..."
I got interrupted by Shaina when she asked a question I didn't expect.
"Do you like her already?"
I paused for a moment before I could even process her question, and I answered the silliest thing I could say.
"I think it's more than that."
After our call, I didn't hear anything from Shaina the next day. She's supposed to text me, but she didn't, and I think I know exactly why. People in our village have been saying that she likes me for years now, and I tried to stop imagining things since she's my best friend and I know I couldn't like her. And so I'll just distance myself now.
Our wedding came, and it felt surreal. I couldn't believe that I'm already married, and when I saw the venue of our reception, I smiled. I've been hearing her say that she'll destroy the wedding we'll have, but I can't believe she did all of this even though the time they allotted for the preparation was only a few days.
And the kiss—it felt amazing. I thought she wouldn't like the thought of it, but she just continued to kiss me in front of other people, staring at us like we were a cute real couple.
But my happiness just disappeared when we were attacked that same day. I looked for her as soon as I heard the gunshot and called my men to cover the whole place and make sure that all of our guests were safe. I kept looking for her until I saw her standing with a woman whom I don't know, and it just felt so fast that I just saw her about to fall with a gunshot in her arms. Her dress is already ruined, and she's about to pass out.
I got her first, and so her mother immediately got her too, and by the way she looked at me, she looked like she needed my help.
"We'll go to a safer place," I assured her, so they treated her first, and I told them to get her on my private plane right away.
It's a good thing some of my men caught three people who came with their leader. I don't really know what the cause is, but I think it's about Theo, the one that I killed because of my anger after I found out what she did to Adi. That guy deserves to die in the first place; I just help them get where he's intended to go in the afterlife.
We tried to ask them where they came from, but they didn't answer; they just kept on chanting some ritual stuff, and just before they died, I heard their final words.
"From the north."
Now I wonder what's really happening in there.
Our stay in the Maldives went smoothly, but during our first few days, I got worried sick, as it's been days and yet she still hasn't woken up. I monitored the effect of serum in her body, just as Luke told me before we got here, and as soon as it fell down to 20%, I expected her to open her eyes, but she didn't. It took another day before she woke up, and I felt a sense of relief just by looking at her getting up from the bed.
The remaining days we have there feel so calm and relaxing. I don't even mind what's going to happen next, and all I want is for her to live her life here freely. I never saw her as carefree as before we got here. I can probably now understand why my grandfather talked to me outside that night when we went to their place just around here.
"Are you feeling safe around her?" He asked so seriously.
Without even thinking, I answered.
"I felt the safest with her by my side."
"Then fight for her," he said with a smile on his face.
He knows for a fact that Adi is a vampire, but my grandfather also believes in love.
Before we came home, I couldn't sleep. Because the moment we get back, everything will go back to the usual setup, and she'll be distant again. Just by thinking of that, I felt a sudden pain right in my chest. I don't know what's going on, and so I just faced her side of the bed. She's already sleeping peacefully, and just by looking at her, I suddenly know something for sure.
"Shit."
I love her.