I wake up, teary-eyed. I can sense that she's still sleeping next to me in the bed.
What a blissful feeling.
Though I still am a little pissed at Luna for feeling my breast while 'asleep'.
I start to get out of bed, but Luna's warm arm slinks around my waist and drags me to her.
"Mmm... don't leave." She mumbles into the covers.
"Are you awake?" I look back at her.
Her eyes are peacefully closed. "Half..."
I turn, and our foreheads are touching. The covers are pulled over me, and I'm engulfed in warmth.
"Sunshine..." She burrows her face into the crook of my neck.
I drift back to sleep this way, entangled in her more than the covers.
———
I open my eyes again, yawning.
Luna is standing in front of me, wearing a crimson red T-Shirt. I snuggle into the covers and admire how sexily her outfit brings out her colors.
She clears her throat. "Your mother... wanted to speak with you down at the lobby. In private."
"My mother?"
"Ms. Montague." She avoids my gaze.
Oh, her.
"Alright." I pause, before having a fun idea.
"...Hey Moonshine, could you pick out an outfit for me to wear today?"
She shrugs, seeming bored. "Alright."
She saunters back into her closet and I hear lots of rummaging.
Then a gasp.
Then a burst of laughter.
Soon, Luna steps out with a thin, blue dress, her eyes shimmering.
"I've finally found it! It was in the back of my closet the whole time— thank goodness!" She gleefully laughs.
"What is... ?"
"Oh— " She looks at me, withdrawn. Her smile has vanished. "...This thing is my only, yet favorite dress. I snuck it from my mom as a kid, and I... secretly wore it when my spirits were down."
Luna looks at the dress happily, then at me. She pauses, and bites her lip.
"...If you wear this, you have to be very careful."
"No, it's okay—"
"Wear it, you'd look cute in it. It looks cute on every girl, including me." She does a twirl while hugging it tight to her chest.
"I bet it does." I smile as I gaze at her happy self.
She scowls at me again. Strange.
"Go try it on." She ushers me into the bathroom.
I slip it on, then take it off immediately.
The fabric is much, much too thin, showing what's underneath. Wonder why her mom wore that... *cough*
"Sorry, Luna." I say as I slide the closet door opens. "It's not for me."
She shrugs. "Ok."
I squeeze her arm. "It just doesn't work on me. I-I do like the top you're wearing, though..."
"Thanks." She smiles coldly.
She really does look amazing in that top, though. Then again, do I have the right to check her out like that?
She is my future wife.
However, she isn't mine.
But... she loves me?
"H-Hey, Luna?" I take my hand off her arm.
"Yes?"
"I really want to know. How do you feel about this marriage... now?"
I hold my breath.
"Sunshine, you kidding?"
"No."
She dryly laughs. "Well, it hasn't changed."
"At all?"
"I still hate it. I never want to marry you."
"I'm trying to say, you would rather marry me than someone random, right? I-I would."
"I don't give a damn who it is."
"B-But you love me...?" Doubt weaves through my sentence.
"It was forced. It's all forced."
I understand that, but I long for her to say something more. Maybe I'm getting greedy, but all I feel is a vile mix of rejection and aggression.
Luna looks at me, trying to understand my expression.
"Why are you bringing up this fake shit now?"
"I thought it wasn't that fake!" I shout, hands shaking.
She remains silent.
"...Right?" I desperately whisper.
I knew I shouldn't have brought up this question, because the unsettling aura in the room told me what I needed to know. I knew I'd fucked up. My coveting for love had skewed my vision.
"...Really?" She says nothing, yet looks at me with unsympathetic eyes.
"Y-Yeah. Breakfast, bye."
"Breakfast won't change anything, y'know."
Prick.
I turn around and exit through the double doors.
"...Whatever." I hear Luna mutter and sigh as I shut the doors behind me.
Hot tears stream down my contorted face, but I keep walking. I enter the elevator, luckily alone.
Why did I have to ask that now, and get myself all upset?
Well, because she said she loved me.
"It was forced."
Was that confession... forced?
It kind of makes sense now. Her father ordered her to kiss me the first day we met, after all.
What else did he tell her to do?
Bing.
The elevator doors open on the first floor, where everyone is eating.
I'm in my pajamas, but I'm not sure I care much anymore.
I sit down at a random seat, since the floor seems relatively empty today.
Enrico rolls by with a cart full of waffles.
"Would you like a waffle?" He monotones.
"Five." I grumble.
"Pardon?"
"Five waffles, please."
He cringes before hesitantly loading five waffles onto my plate.
I'm ticked at him for being too harsh on me last night with his words:
"No one wants you here. Not even Luna."
His words sting even more than before.
After all, it's true. It might seem like overreacting, but the flat out way Luna said those things was a slap on the face. That slaps you again when you think about it.
In fact,—
"Ms. Montague?"
I snap my attention back to Enrico. "Hm?"
"As I said before, would you like maple syrup on your waffles?"
"Yes, please."
"You're gonna get fat, y'know." He smirks.
"Maybe it'll get me out of this goddamn marriage," I complain.
"There's literally no way that's going to happen, so stop bitching about it so much." He mutters. "Things won't turn out the way you want them to. Deal with it."
"Thanks?" It's hard to keep my middle finger down around this guy.
He shakes his head."You're too spoiled. You won't understand."
"Ok, good day."
He rolls on with his cart, unaffected.
I dive into my scrumptious waffles, also unaffected.
At least, by Enrico.
I need to go back upstairs to properly get dressed. Dread enters my bloodstream.
I'll do it. If Luna wants to act cold towards me, that's fine.
Everything was forced after all, was it? I think as I shove half a waffle into my already full mouth.
These waffles are delicious, though. I scarf them down, my angst temporarily numbed.
———
The dimly lit elevator carries me upward to our room again; this time I'm not going to get emotional. In and out.
The silent hallway down to the room seems longer than it usually is.
Probably because my brain refuses to accept that I'm going back.
I place my hand on the cold handle, and take a deep breath.
I turn the handle and enter Luna's room.
Luna is sitting on the bed, staring at the cabinet in her blue dress.
She jumps when she notices me. Her sharp blue eyes send a chill up my spine when they're widened like that.
I then remember how thin that dress fabric was.
I quickly cover my face and turn away.
I saw the outline of everything.
"You refuse to look at me because... ?"
"Never mind, Lucifer." Placing my hand on the wall, I feel my way to the bathroom.
I hear her click her tongue softly.
Don't get worked up, I caution myself as I open my eyes in the closet and find something to slip on.
I settle on a simple pair of jeans and the hoodie Luna caught me snuffing some time ago.
I can feel a reminiscent smile creep on my face.
As soon as my outfit is on, I step out of the closet and twiddle my fingers.
She looks down at her hoodie, then looks up at me coldly. "What do you want? Your mother needs you."
"Luna... I was just hoping for something else. I apologize."
"What, a compliment?"
She shifts her gaze down, while I shift mine away from her translucent dress.
She purses her lips. "I didn't mean you were nothing to me. I don't think you understood that. Thing is, I don't want to marry you."
I, for some reason, had a hard time liking that.
She gazes back up at me. "Thought we agreed on that."
All our feelings now feel suspended and lifeless.
"I understand." I shoot her a knowing smile.
"Good." She smiles back, eyes lacking amusement.
This wasn't really a fight, but we 'made up'. So why does the vibe feel so unwelcome?
"Farewell," I add.
"I have a feeling you'll be back." She sighs and shuts the door behind me.
Everything was going so fine last night... what happened?
———
I go down to the lobby and easily spot Ms. Montague.
Ms. Montague is wearing all black, down to the heel, and is missing her Rolex today. That's not exactly like her. At least the Rolex part.
She's waiting there at the end of the stairs, irritated as usual. I walk up to her.
"Outside." She turns and exits the building.
I follow her, and as soon as I step out the door, I get a rough slap on the face.
So hard that I stumbled back a little with the after-sting.
In my eyes, I've gotten two today.
"That was for last week. I will do it again if needed." She glares at me, wrinkles forming in between her eyebrows.
My loathing for her starts to reactivate, but I push the feeling down quickly.
"Alright miss. Where are we going?"
"The same café you ran away to yesterday."
I freeze. "How'd you find out?"
She looks at me like I spoke in German (which I think she understands, but you get the point) and then replies, "I keep tabs on you, idiot. No one trusts you."
No one wants me here, no one trusts me— what else do I have to be told?
A limo has pulled up next to us, and I have a feeling that it's for us.
She points to the limo door. "Open it."
I abide, and she steps in, her black coat nearly snagging on the inside handle.
I get in and close the door. It smells like mold in in here. What a nauseating odor.
I shrivel my nose all the way to the café. How long it seemed.
———
Ms. Montague places her hands on the table.
"No coffee?" I grumble.
"Shut it. We didn't come here for coffee."
"Why then, may I ask?"
"They actually can't chart this place, as I observed yesterday. What we are about to do shouldn't be of notice to Mr. Roselyn—yet, at least. It should be a secret for now."
"O-Oh." What is she going to tell me?
...
She pulls a black audio recorder out from her clutch purse. "You will use this to record them. Since I suspect that jacket is their property, you will return it."
"What do you mean—"
"Listen. After you do that, we'll leave and get the counter contracts, then set off. Where we'd go next is for me to debate myself. If you do as I say, you'll get the outcome you'd like."
"What outcome?"
"I'll be rich— and you'll be single. If you help me out."
She clears her throat.
"You're no longer getting married."
~~~~~~~~~❦~~~~~~~~~~
A/N:WhHaAaA?! T-This doesn't look good!
A (minor) falling out between Luna and Summer, and now this?! IN ONE CHAPTER?!?! (ʘ言ʘ╬)
Sorry! 人'∀｀) At least we're finally reaching the climax *wink wonk* of the story .
P.S. I'm just wondering, which character do you like MOST/LEAST in the story so far? Let me know in the comments, please!! (✪‿✪)ノ