"Luna."
Light floods through the windowpane, dousing her in the morning sun.
I hear the soft sound of her breath against the pillow and find myself grinning.
"Luna, wake up."
She rolls over in the bedsheets, grumbling drowsily.
"...Sunshine?"
Eyes of the morning sky gaze upon me, a lazy smile on her face as she runs her hand through my auburn hair.
"Deep sleep, huh?" I tease her.
She ignores me and mumbles happily, pressing warm kisses on my neck. "Good morning, sunshine."
I trace her collarbone, my fingers lingering just a second more.
Her eyes flicker responsively, the sunlight highlighting her dimples.
Surprisingly, I feel something rough... like there's something under her shirt.
?
I gently pull her shirt aside, and Luna winces in pain.
Revealing old bandages that barely shield her bruised skin. Once porcelain, now tainted with dried blood.
A bullet wound that was meant for me.
How... could I have forgotten?
Tangling ourselves in the sheets has distracted us from the reality of everything.
My vision grows blurry with tears.
Hasn't it?
A hand wipes them away.
Her arms wrap tightly around me as she coos, "It's alright, I'm fine..."
Vanilla embraces me second, and suddenly memories are flooding through my vision.
Where she wept silently in my arms until we fell asleep. Into the fitting room where I nervously slipped on my wedding gown, hoping to impress her; to the rooftop where she kissed me and I felt like I had melted under the stars; the same place where a bullet pierced her skin instead of mine.
And it hits me at this moment.
I want to stay with her for the rest of my life.
Forever.
"I... love you."
I clench the fabric of her nightgown as the words tremble from my mouth.
Offering a weak smile, though she isn't aware of the revelation I just had, or what I really long to say.
"I love you too," she whispers, caressing the side of my face as if I meant everything in the world.
And we stay like this.
For a long time.
———
I scrunch my nose.
"This dressing room is quite... elaborate."
Luna slides the curtain shut, raising a brow. "Is that a bad thing for you?"
"Why do I have to try on these dresses, anyway? They aren't worth the price."
"Don't be so frugal. They're ten grand, at most."
"It's just a dress!"
"Exactly— it's just a dress. Now try it on."
She shoves the hanger at me and taps her foot impatiently.
Luna's eyes remain on me as my own dress slips past my shoulders, then my hips, and onto the floor. My cheeks blossom with heat.
"T-The... the dress..."
"I'll help you." I shiver as she fastens the metallic zipper, her breath hot against my neck.
She leans in from behind and kisses my cheek, prickling my skin.
"The mirror's going to take your breath away."
Hesitantly, my eyes lift from the floor to the rubies that sparkled elegantly on my chest, to the scarlet hugging my hips, to the hands on my waist.
And for a moment I rest my weight on my fiancée, shocked that for once in my life, I appear classy, or at least beautiful.
No... she's not my fiancée anymore, I remind myself, jerking suddenly before unclipping the jewels around my neck.
She stops me before I can. "You look absolutely poured into that dress, Summer." Something about the way her voice breaks up sends a lick of fire in between my legs.
"Luna..." I warn breathily as she slides her hand up my thigh. I can sense her devilish smile even from behind me.
"See?" She teases quietly, drawing her hand in dangerously close. "It's satin, can't you feel it?"
My legs buckle as I make eye contact with her in the mirror, the intensity burning within her eyes deepened with desire, and a hint of something darker.
Suddenly, the curtain is wrung aside and I shoot back from Luna as if the flames in her stare could actually sear me. "AH!"
The young man who lifted the curtain looks as startled as I do, his eyes flitting on the dress before meeting my eyes. "Deepest apologies, I--"
Luna smiles coldly, her expression neutralizing. "We'll take the dress, thank you."
"If you're paying with credit, the cashier's right outside," he gushes, a hand through his tawny hair.
"I can pay with cash." She casually begins to flip out a few hundreds. "How much?"
This bitch.
"N-No, credit's fine!" he assures nervously.
Luna hands me my old clothes and nods dismissively before heading through the curtain.
I almost faint whilst putting my clothes back on, struggling to maintain my balance. Whew, that was hot. The lighting's so dim I can barely see.
As I go to pass the curtain, I brush against a broad chest.
I look up to see the guy Luna was talking to a moment ago, his caramel eyes pouring into mine.
Huh?
I tilt my head, intimidated by the lack of distance. He looks like he needs something. "Y-Yes?"
"Look..." He leans in toward me. "I-I... I don't know you. I don't why I'm doing this, but..." his gaze softens.
I laugh awkwardly. Um...
"If you're in this relationship for the money, you should consider me instead."
"...What?"
He scratches the back of his neck. "I'm aware that I'm not incredibly rich like whom you are with now, but I'm captivated by you, and..."
This time, he doesn't look away, outstretching a calloused hand. "...I want to get to know you."
I stare at him, shocked.
This guy... thinks I'm some kind of gold-digger?
I catch a hint of his cologne, and it smells dark and familiar. Why?
He licks his lips and I snap out of it.
"I'm sorry, but uh... I'm not a sugar baby, I'm in love."
I shrug sympathetically and slip past the curtain, leaving him and those caramel eyes alone inside the dressing room.
-----
"Ready to go?" Luna asks.
I nod assuredly, and link our arms together.
"Did something happen? You look startled." She brushes a hand over the top of my head.
"No... it's nothing." I squeeze her arm and take a glance over my shoulder to check. Thank god he's not there.
We leave the store with the dress and seven thousand less dollars in the bank than before, though statistically it's not much for Luna.
Alas, this is the rich life Ms.Montague wanted for me, I counter blankly.
Still, a month after my mother died, the image of her falling to her death still replays in my head all too often.
I absently get into the limo without much fuss, remembering how much I detested them before. I don't resist now.
Luna climbs in after me and shuts the door, spewing words to the driver that I don't pay attention to.
A thought sparks my mind: What would I have done after my mom's death, if Luna hadn't been there for me?
I look from the trees passing by to the soft highlights on Luna's face. Her hair unruly because of my hands.
She catches my eye and slips her hand into mine. My cheeks red because of her hands.
And no, not those cheeks. You creep.
Her arms slinks around me, which would normally make me tease her away, but this time I don't.
I look her into the eyes and place a kiss on her lips, without the intent of anything sexual, but instead the message of thank you. For never leaving my side, even though most would have a thousand times over.
Her expression flickers, her eyes softening like melted ice. Almost... sad. Her hand reaches out to caress the side of my face, her touch so gentle one would think I was made of glass.
"Oh Summer," she breathes, "What did I do to deserve such a look from you?"
I break eye contact and look down to the floor. "I wasn't meaning to..."
She lifts my jaw up to her level, something simmering in her eyes. "Please don't show anyone else that expression. It's mine."
"Why shouldn't I-I?" I stumble over my words quietly.
She draws in closer, her tone dark. "Because anyone who sees will fall in love with you."
The limo stops as I am run speechless of anything to say, my breath shallow like a fangirl. How has this all happened to me?!
To my surprise, my car door of the limo is opened by the last person I would expect to see.
Chloe. She stands in front of me impatiently with pink glitter pasted to her eyelids.
Why is she here?
Luna does not look in the least surprised, bending past me and waving casually. "Hey Chloe."
"We meet again, bestie." Chloe offers a discrete wink.
Oh right, she's Luna's "best friend".
She flips her silky raven hair to the side, looking quite annoyed with me.
"You failed, Summer."
I raise an eyebrow, oblivious. Cold sweat prickles my skin. "I... I failed? Failed what?"
"We put you under a test, and you failed."
~~~~~~~~~❦~~~~~~~~~~
A/N: I'M SO SORRYYYYY!!!!! ●﹏●
I know it's been two months since an update, but if you're still here, I owe you a biiiig hug. I missed you!
💓🙏 ＼(★^∀^★)／ 🙏💓
I've been trying to recover from an ED, but it's honestly so exhausting to fight myself. I'm still not giving up the battle, though.
Also, I had originally crammed in too much plot for this chapter, so I had gotten too intimidated. I've split the original plot into two chapters now.
I would appreciate a vote or comment or anything to get my story going again. The next chapter is probably one of the most important chapters in the entire book, so... all the pressure's on me. 😅hehe.
🍂Happy late Thanksgiving and I will see y'all soon!! 🍁