C H A P T E R O N E
S E V E N Y E A R S L A T E R
*|| Kaine's POV ||*
My phone rings and I answer.
"Hello?" But the caller hangs up. I finish applying my makeup when my phone rings again.
"Hello?" I answer but, once again, the caller hangs up.
And once again, my phone rings,"who is this?"
But they hang up.
Who is it, I wonder.
I finish curling my hair when a knock on the door is heard. My phone rings but I just turn it off. Turning away from the mirror, I see his tall stature walks through the door. His jet black hair is nicely done and smiles at the sight of me.
"You look beautiful."He compliments me.
"You're not suppose to see bride before the ceremony." I tell him. I get up from my chair with my dress swiftly shifts at my movements,"It's bad luck."
"You ready?" He ignores my statement.
"Always."
"You sure?"
"Don't back out on me now, Mori." I coo. Wedding bells begin to ring.
"It's time." He cues me to take his arm.
"Lets go then."
We walk down the hall stopping in front of the chapel doors but he doesn't go in.
"Mori get in there. You're suppose to be down the isle already." I try to shove him but he doesn't move. He turns and hovers over me.
"You sure you want to do this?" He asks me.
"Yes. It's all part of the plan." I answer him trying to shove him again.
"Kaine." He says my name.
"What?" I ask him getting irritated.
"You don't want to do this." He states.
"What are you talking about? Yes, I do. I wouldn't be standing here if I didn't." He just stares at me." I wouldn't be in this this dress. I wouldn't be wearing this ring you gave me." I raise my hand to show him the beautiful ring he put on my finger.
"I gave you that ring because you and I both know we are doing this to strengthen our families alliance." He reminds me.
"I'm fully aware of that but you gave me the ring nonetheless. You proposed to me like any other normal proposal. You're my best friend, Mori. Business or not, I'm glad I'm marrying my best friend rather than a stranger. I want this because I made a deal. We made a deal and now we need to fulfill it." I tell him honestly.
"What about Kyoya?" He asks me and grow still. His lips twitch a bit knowing he got me. I avert contact.
Kyoya. I haven't heard or said his name in a long time.
"That-that's in the past." I try to control my stutter. He places his hand under my chin, forcing me to look at him. I don't fight him. I meet his eyes and begin to tremble.
"No it's not. " he simply says. I hallucinate the scent of smoky pine with a hint of mint. My heart is racing. My chest feels heavy.
"I don't even know what he looks like." I mumble. Mori pulls me into a hug.
"Are you sure you want to do this?" He ask me once again. I pull away from him to give him an answer. I take off my veil.
"We're postponing the wedding. But we will get married Mori... just not right now." I tell him. He smiles before nodding in agreement.
———————
— Earlier —
*|| Kyoya's POV ||*
We arrived to Venice yesterday but it feels like a week with Tamaki around. We walk around enjoying the nice weather. I pay little attention to the twins antics as I write notes in my journal.
"Where's Mori sempai and Honey sempai?" Haruhi asks.
"They has to go to a family friend's wedding or something like that." Hikaru answers her question. Her phone then chirps.
"No way..." I hear Haruhi say, rather shocked. She's looking down her phone.
"Haruhi, What is it?" I ask her a bit interested. Kaoru and Hikaru hover over her to see what she's reading.
"Oh my god." They say in unison.
"What is it? Haruhi!!" Tamaki whines while the twins block his way. They all turn to me.
"What is it?" I exasperate.
"It's a picture of... Kaine." Tamaki hesitates to say. My blood runs cold but I don't let my expression change.
"So?" I ask, continuing my notes.
"So? Is that all you have to say after we tell you that Someone sent a photo of Kaine?" Hikaru asks in disbelief.
"What about her?" I play it off uninterested.
"What-what about her? Are you serious Kyoya sempai?" Kaoru asks follows his brother.
"Kyoya... do you want to take a minute? Maybe you haven't processed what this means." Tamaki chuckles nervously.
"Please, I process thing faster than all of you combined. I know what you said. I know what you have. I know who you're talking about and I'm simply asking: what about her?" I clarify.
"Are you serious? You sure we're talking about the same Kaine here? Because you seem to act like you never loved her." Kaoru says rather upset.
Hikaru takes Haruhi's phone from her hand before placing it close to my face.
She looks so different.
"Does She she not mean anything to you anymore? After all that crap you guys went through?!" Hikaru continues.
"Hikaru calm down." Kaoru hold him back. I, on the other hand, am unfazed.
"Can we go eat now?" I ask ignoring Hikaru's words.
"Alright, then..." Tamaki says softly before pulling out his phone." I'll call around and see what's available."
We begin to walk again. Haruhi, though, takes my own pen from my hand before writing a phone number on my journal.
"Just in case you decide to drop the facade you're wearing." She smiles before intertwining her arm with Tamaki's.
Facade.
I smirk at the mere thought of the word.
Kaine had many.
We arrive at a local cafe for Haruhi's satisfaction. While everyone goes up to order, I lag behind staring at the numbers Haruhi scribbled in my journal.
Phone now in hand, I dial the numbers. I hesitate to press the call button.
It's buzzing.
"Hello?" She answers. Her voice.
In a panic, I hang up. I stare down at my phone seeing the 4 second count of the call. I take a deep breath and call again.
"Hello?" She answers again. She sounds fine. I really missed her voice. Not knowing what to say, I hang up again.
Say something, damn it!
I dial once more.
"Who is this?" She asks. She's losing her patience. About to say something, someone runs into me and I accidentally hang up. Shit.
Gripping my phone right, I begin to make my way through the cafe entrance giving up. Seeing my friends at a table, I take a moment to think.
Someone's missing.
Almost immediately after, I realize that I was thinking about Kaine. Before making my to our table, I pull out my phone to call her one last time. To my disappointment, it buzzed for only a second before hanging up.
I guess there's no point now. Time to move on.