For the next couple of months, Ophelia was donned with wearing the most luxurious and seductive clothing that was sent to her home. After one meeting with President Snow, it became clear to her that the Capitol did not care about the haunting nightmares she had each and every night, she was to keep up the act that nothing bothered her and that she was the face of beauty to Panem.
Pretty face. That's all she was. Painted with a flirtatious personality, it was no wonder the Capitol demanded her to be seen with another victor, Finnick Odair. Stylists coming from the Capitol just to look at her for inspiration, to touch her sharp cheekbones, marvel at her gorgeous lips and fawn over the beauty of her body. Surely, she was beautiful enough to be carved into stone . . .
. . . but how can you carve the beauty without recognizing the pain that was hidden underneath? This was not the life she wanted.
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UNLIKE PEOPLE THAT WERE ABLE TO FALL― in love and remain in the happiest of memories, Gale Hawthorne was not one of them. All this time he was convinced that he and Katniss had something more than the mornings they spent together hunting. But it was all onesided. Her feelings for him were as tiny as the grains of sand on a beach . . .
. . . compared to the capacity of galaxies in his heart. The Hunger Games had made it clear when she had volunteered for her younger sister. Forced to watch in the sidelines, having his heart shattered into a million pieces as he watched the screen, seeing Katniss and Peeta's lips touching together.
And yet, her cries called out to him like a compass. Katniss was his true north, maybe that was why Gale was so stubborn to help her out. Her heartache was his call for affection and vice versa. He would follow her to the end of the line, but how far would she go? Not far at all.
Watching her being reaped for the Third Quarter Quell brought back every ounce of anguish from when Katniss first volunteered as tribute. Now, Gale prayed that she wouldn't die once more. Only as his eyes scanned the screens every day, another face was his central vision. And it wasn't Katniss. One that he hadn't seen since the 73rd Hunger Games.
Her beauty radiated beyond any other woman he had seen, she shined like a thousand stars, her countenance was brighter than the sun. Yet, Gale knew that underneath the diamond smile, was a soul that was screaming in agony from the pain she had faced in her first games and now at the Quarter Quell . . .
. . . maybe that's why he held her in his arms during his mission to go and save Peeta Mellark and the other. Maybe that's why he stayed by her side as she writhed and screamed in agony after being injected with tracker jacker venom. There was something about Ophelia Starkov that made Gale want her.
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YOU NEVER KNOW THAT BEING A REBELLION COULD― bring you one step closer to your soulmate. But for Gale and Ophelia, maybe those words sprang some truth . . .
. . . and the love they've always wanted.
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just because you're hot and handsome doesn't mean anything!
you're just listing reasons why i'm great!
━━━━ author's note. this story wouldn't be here thanks to my amazing friend spaxcemilq that listened & helped me with this plot!!
