Aaliyah was falling for him. Hard.
She hated it.
She hated how much stronger their bond had grown over two weeks. She hated how now she would look forward to seeing his face every day. They had progressed to the point where he was the first thing she woke up to in the morning to the last thing she would see at night. She hated how comfortable she was towards him. How now, she couldn't imagine her life without him. How she almost didn't want to kill him anymore.
Almost.
Taehyung stirred beside her, his arms pulling her closer to his chest. She obliged, keeping him wrapped in the sense of security she had carefully woven around him. He didn't suspect anything. All she needed was the right time to do it. Fortunately for her, she had been given the perfect opportunity by Taehyung. She only had to make sure they didn't finish the Perfect Match bond. If they did, she would lose everything.
It almost pained her that she was going to hurt him. Despite what he had done before, Taehyung was trying his best to be the match he was supposed to be to her. Of course, he was doing it in a way that involved her kidnapping and her developing Stockholm Syndrome as those in the twenty-first century liked to call it.
"Morning," Taehyung mumbled, smiling at her before giving her a quick kiss."Today's the day."
"I know." Aaliyah smiled, running her fingers over his hair."I don't know how to feel though."
"They loved you before," he whispered, brushing his lips against her knuckles."They'll love you now."
Taehyung stood up, his chest showcasing his mark, which glowed dimly. It still had edges of black on it, especially near the end parts. But now, it looked almost completely normal. Like how it was supposed to look like. Aaliyah mustered a smile before getting out of the bed herself. She hadn't been in this house for a long time. This was her old home, the home that she, Jungkook, and her parents grew up in. It was so long ago, but she could still remember the twists and turns her and Jungkook would play around when they were kids.
"Get ready. In about twenty minutes we'll present you." he smiled at her once more."I have to go get ready. Your clothes are already set for you."
"Taehyung." she swallowed. He stopped, raising his eyebrow at her expectantly."I love you."
She waited for the guilt to begin in her insides, reminding her that she was lying to Taehyung. She found none, only gaining relief upon saying it, a weight lifting off of her shoulders.
Taehyung's gaze warmed at the remark, his smile dazzling enough to light a thousand rooms."I've always loved you, Liyah. Now get ready."
Once he left, she sunk back into the bed, feeling tears well up in her eyes. Everything was going right. This isn't what she wanted. This isn't what she planned. This wasn't how everything was supposed to go. She wasn't supposed to be feeling anything for Taehyung. Nothing except hatred and the want for vengeance. She looked at the outfit laid out for her, attempting to suppress the want to not do anything. Today was the day she finally got her vengeance. She wouldn't let anything get in her way.
Not even her obvious feelings for Taehyung.
⌛
Aaliyah went into Namjoon's old room, satisfied with finding a gun stashed neatly in one of his drawers. She made sure it was loaded before putting it in her belt. She paused, contemplating on whether or not sending a message to Namjoon, before rummaging through his things once more. There, she successfully found a communicator, one that she and he would use to communicate. She turned it on, sending the signal that she and he would use to recognize each other. At it, Namjoon immediately popped up, his gaze of relief and concern.
"Ruby!"
Aaliyah felt herself wince at the name. She had almost forgotten about her name. Taehyung had not called her that once and she had gotten used to being called by her actual name. Pushing that thought aside, she smiled at Namjoon.
"Hi Namjoon." she greeted."I don't have a lot of time. Taehyung is planning on using me. We're currently at the mansion. I just wanted to let you know."
"Did he take your bracelet?" Namjoon asked."We've been trying to locate you for over a month now."
Her eyes widened. It had been that long since everything had happened? She knew that time had passed by, but she didn't know that she had been taken away for that long. That means that now it was almost December, which made sense because she had witnessed the first snow with Taehyung a few days prior.
"I didn't know I've been gone that long." she whispered."How's Jungkook? Is he okay? Where is he?"
"He's okay. Thriving. Currently, he's taking care of the twins," Namjoon responded."Hoseok was advanced straight to Alpha A and with Yoongi still out, Jungkook and Jimin volunteered to take care of them. Hoseok's training was a brief one. Seokjin suggested a week ago to test Hoseok for Alpha A traits, which he ended up having. We placed him in training for it, not as extreme and as long as Yoongi's because he's had training prior. He's scheduled to come back today."
"He's always liked kids." she muttered, half smiling at Namjoon."Any progress on Yoongi?"
"We've already implemented all the changes in him, two days ago to be exact. He's not frozen anymore but we are maintaining his body in homeostasis as much as we can. If his body goes slightly out of temperature, it could mess up everything we've done for him. He's going to be fine, Ruby. His body is reacting positively to the changes and he's been healing himself very quickly." Namjoon paused."Wait, how did you know about Yoongi?"
"Taehyung told me." she responded, "I asked him to continue giving me updates."
"But how does he know?"
Aaliyah cursed silently at the sound of footsteps. "Shoot. I have to go. Hey, tell Jungkook I love him and that I'll see him soon okay? Once this nightmare blows over. Taehyung's going to introduce me today. He's already making the speech. Watch it."
"Of course, but Ruby, what are you planning on doing?" Namjoon inquired. She smiled at him once more, mimicking a gun with her fingers.
"If anything happens to me, you know what to give Jungkook." she said."I think everything will be fine though."
"Ruby, maybe you shouldn't do anything. Are you sure?" Namjoon frowned.
"I have him wrapped around my fingers, Namjoon." she smirked."I'll be fine. I have to go now. Taehyung's going to interrupt all broadcasts, so be prepared. Thank you for everything you've done. I'll see you soon."
With one small wave, she shut off the communicator, walking to the front of the mansion with purpose. Taehyung was already giving the speech, she could see that much, the countless reporters surrounding him.
She pushed past the guards that were warning her to stay inside and wait for her call. She burst open the front door, an action that did not go unnoticed. Reporters turned towards her, questioning before recognizing her.
Murmurs broke out among the crowd as they all asked the same question: Is that Jeon Aaliyah?
Taehyung looked at her questioningly."Liyah, what are you doing?"
She hoisted the gun, holding it up to Taehyung's chest."My name is Ruby."
Before he could say anything, she quickly took the gun off safety mode and fired at him. His eyes widened, stumbling at the impact before falling onto the steps of the porch. Immediately, guards disarmed her, grabbing her arms and pushing her to the floor.
Reporters stared agape at the scene before them. Taehyung lay unmoving while Ruby looked at him in disdain, tears unconsciously streaming down her cheek. She looked down at her mark, her heart dropping.
It was still glowing.
Groaning, Taehyung pushed himself off, his face masked with hurt, anger, and disappointment, Ruby's eyes widened.
"I didn't think I would need to wear a bulletproof vest." Taehyung kneeled in front of Ruby."Good thing I ended up wearing one, huh?"
Ruby said nothing, staring at Taehyung's expression. He sighed, running his fingers through his hair.
"You know, I had full trust in you. I thought we had gotten past everything." his voice dropped lower."I thought we could be happy together."
"You don't deserve to live." her voice broke."No matter how much our emotions were for each other, it doesn't erase all the wrongs you've done. You deserve to pay."
"Well, at least you're honest with me." Taheyung pressed his lips against hers, relishing the taste of her soft lips. He smiled at her softly, running his fingers through her hair before standing. "I love you." He walked up to the reporters, his demeanor changing completely.
Taehyung cleared his throat, before continuing, "Jeon Aaliyah ran away from her duties of the government, purposefully leaving Korea to fend for itself. She didn't come back, not even when her parents passed away. After, I learned that she was alive and she was involved with the kidnapping of the President."
Ruby scoffed, groaning in pain as the grip on her tightened.
"Enemies of the Republic have no place in the Republic." Taehyung stated firmly."I tried to get her on the right path. As you can tell, she is a rebel. A traitor. She has no place in this Republic."
The guards brought her forward, forcing her to kneel in front of the crowd, who had gone silent. One of them grabbed the gun that Ruby had initially used, looking at Taehyung questioningly. He gave them a subtle nod.
Everyone is seeing this.
Ruby kept her eyes trained on the crowd, breathing out slowly as the gun pressed against her temple. Gasps could be heard from the crowd, knowing exactly what was going to happen.
"This is what happens to traitors of the Republic." he seethed, his eyes flashing with pain."Goodbye, my love."
A loud resonating bang was the last thing Ruby heard before everything went black.
a/n: i did tell you someone would die. she lost herself momentarily, living as aaliyah and not as ruby. she left as ruby. i was very close to letting her live though but..nah. this ain't the only death, just putting that out there <3