2. THE BEST FRIEND

LUNA | ONE WEEK BEFORE THE ENGAGEMENT PARTY

“The rumours got worse.” I heard my father’s underboss, Jacob, say. I pressed my ear closer to the door, trying to hear what my father was saying.

“Damaged goods. That’s what they have been calling her. Mila heard her cousin’s daughter gossiping about Luna, about how she ran away from home, slept with a stranger in a bar and got pregnant. That’s why Elio’s son rejected her.”

Sweat formed on my forehead. The rumours are really getting worse. My father was still silent. Even though it was highly impossible, there was a small hope, hanging by a thread that he would defend me, defend my honour.

All heard is a snicker, “Women. They are such a hassle.”

I am sure he looked at the photo of my mother hanging on the wall when he muttered, “The bitch can’t give birth to a man.”

As much as I wanted to storm inside and educate him on how it’s his chromosomes that decide the gender, I stayed silent.

“We need to act swiftly.” He continued. “I would rather have her become a widow than have people call her a whore.”

I didn’t quite understand why he would say that. And no, it wasn’t about my honour anymore. It was about his reputation.

It was never about me. Now, I regret daring to go clubbing on my nineteenth birthday.

There is a pause. Complete silence. Then—

“Maxson was looking for a bride.” The underboss said.

No.

No.

No.

Maxson is almost fifty years old. Every time I met him, he made no mistake about getting his hands on me. He creeps me out. No. I can't marry him. He has some of the finest, strongest men guarding him. There's no escaping if I become his.

I heard footsteps approaching. I was seconds away from getting caught. My brain was already scrambling for excuses—I was passing by, I was lost, I was—shit! This is my home.

That’s when a strong hand pulled me away from the door, snaking around my waist. Another hand closed my mouth before I could scream.

Blue eyes. Blonde hair. Remi.

“Hush,” he whispered. “Step on me.”

I looked at my feet. I removed my shoes before coming here. My socks are still there.

“Hurry,” he urges.

And I did. I am standing on his feet.

“Damn, you are huge,” he whispered.

The door opened, and Remi started talking loudly.

“See. I told you. I can carry you like this. I won the bet. Total twenty steps.” He winked at me.

I looked around, and I realised there was nowhere I could hide when the door was open. My father’s office was the only room on this floor.

“What the fuck are you both doing?” Jacob, Remi’s father, yelled. “You are not kids anymore.”

My father came from behind, a cigar in his mouth. Looked at both of us for a moment.

“I am leaving,” I whispered and kept as much distance as possible between Remi and me.

“Loser,” Remi said out loud. Though he is acting, I felt my cheeks flush.

It was nothing, I'm not feeling right now.

A loser.

"Stop hanging out with her. She's of marriageable age. Stop being an idiot, Remi. You can't be friends with her anymore." Jacob kept saying.

But my father remained silent, looking at both of us.

“How do you feel if you were to marry her, Remi?” He asked my friend.

Everyone froze for a second.

Remi looked at me as if seeking permission. But I couldn’t even shake my head.

“Okay, I guess.” He finally answered.

“Remi.” His father tried to warn. “He is still young.” He was telling my father.

“I don’t see it as a problem since Luna is old enough to get married. Remi is older than her.”

Jacob laughed awkwardly. “He is just twenty-one. He didn’t know any better.” He probably doesn’t want a girl rumoured to be a whore as his daughter-in-law.

Damaged goods. That’s what I am in their eyes.

My father shot him a glare. “Are you saying no to me?”

One question. Five words. Two persons.

Their lives were decided.

At least, Remi was given a choice. I wasn’t.

No one asked me if I wanted to get married.

“Your father was ready to sell you off to the first person he could think of. I am just trying to save you, idiot. I swear I don’t abuse women. You should have known that by now.”

That was Remi’s reasoning.

I wish he hadn’t taken that step to save me. I wish he had said no. I wish he had not been so nice to me just for him to die.

*

That was one week ago.

I thought agreeing to marry Remi had saved us both.

I couldn't have been more wrong.

If only it were Maxson who stood beside me as my fiancé, he would have been the one to die.

But fate has to make it Remi. The only person who has seen me as a human being, the only person who was nice to me, the only person who ever talked to me without expecting anything in return.

Now, he is dead. Lying in the pool of his own blood.

I couldn’t do anything but stare at his motionless body while whoever attacked us dragged me away from my best friend.

“Stop!” I wanted to scream.

“It’s not fair.” I wanted to say.

“Help! Someone help him. Someone call the doctor. Help. Remi is bleeding. He is not moving. Help! Help!”

But none of the words came out of my mouth.

Then—it’s pitch black. Everything ceased to exist.

My world became one darkest night.

*

My head is pounding. I can’t move. I tried. But I failed. I don’t know where I am. I don’t know who took me or why they took me.

All I know is that I am still breathing. Suddenly, the image of Remi lying in the pool of blood flashed in my eyes.

No, it can’t be.

He can’t be dead.

I should get out. Why can’t I move? Why can’t I feel anything?

Then I remembered the sharp pain in the side of my arm. Someone injected me with something. I felt it then before I passed out.

I looked at my surroundings. But I can’t see anything. It’s too dark here. Is it a day or night? I don’t know.

For how long have I been unconscious?

For how long—

I heard the distant footsteps.

Slow. Steady. Deliberate.

The kind that don't hurry because they know exactly where they're going. The kind that belongs to someone who has never had to run from anything in his life.

They stopped right outside the door.

My heart slammed against my ribs.

The door creaked open.

Light flooded in harsh, blinding, golden. I squinted, my eyes burning after so long in darkness. I couldn't see anything except the silhouette of a man.

Tall. Broad shoulders. A frame that filled the entire doorway.

He stepped inside.

The light caught his face.

And I saw his eyes.

Amber.

Not brown. Not gold. Amber—the kind that burned in sunlight, the kind that belonged to something wild, something untamed, something that had never been caged.

He looked down at me.

“Hmm.”