• ° • ° • °

“You think she is dangerous?” I asked Victor, trying to keep my composure.

“Dance,” he said under his breath, grabbing my waist and hand, spinning me around with his strength. I felt weightless.

“She was Lucas’s ex-fiancée. And she loves him. More than anything. She could kill to have him,” he murmured.

I tried to ignore the implication. “And?”

Victor’s eyebrows furrowed. “What do you mean by that?”

“So what? So what if she is his ex and she loves him? What has that got anything to do with me?” I shrugged.

“You... don’t care that he has a past?” he asked incredulously.

I shrugged again. “He doesn’t care about mine. I should be understanding in the same way.”

He just stared at me, dumbfounded.

“Just... what are you even—” I interrupted by stomping on his foot, reminding him the song had ended.

“Please. Don’t bother me,” I said and walked away.

Brian’s voice broke the silence. “Lost?”

I turned to see him grinning. “Where is your friend?” I asked desperately.

“Wanna get out of here?”

I nodded frantically.

Brian chuckled lightly and grabbed my wrist, leading me through the crowd. We moved outside into a dimly lit area, a small forest of lights and wildflowers. I quickly sat on a bench, realizing my dress was too short.

Brian offered me his blazer, leaving him in a black T-shirt. “Are you a psychic? I mean, how do you read minds?” I asked.

“I know the way to a woman’s heart, that’s all,” he smiled.

“Are you... flirting with me?” I asked incredulously.

“What if I am?” he smirked.

“Nothing. Never mind. It was my fault for trying to understand an extraordinary creature like you,” I rolled my eyes.

We sat in silence, the stars beautiful against the dark sky. Brian sighed.

“I don’t understand what happened. I mean, why?” he murmured.

“I don’t know if you’re talking to me, but I hope everything goes well with... whatever you’re struggling with,” I said.

“I don’t understand why Lucas is deciding on you. I mean, he was pretty indifferent this whole time and didn’t care about who the person was. That was until a very resourceful person came along. After that, he didn’t even care. But all of a sudden, he is declaring marriage to a woman he has never seen before. I don’t understand what you could give him to make him fixated on you,” he sighed again.

“That reminds me. You said you expected someone else to be his fiancée. What did you mean by that?” I asked.

“Scarlet met you, didn’t she? Given her personality, she would’ve given you a personal visit to your home to warn you off. It’s because she can never win against Lucas. He already announced the whole thing to the media. She can’t manipulate that way anymore. I am sure that’s not the end, though,” Brian frowned. “You should be more careful around her to have some dignity. Peace will evade you as long as you’re tied to the Walkers. The family has more drama than my hair,” he chuckled.

“How long have you known him?” I asked, noticing his deeper connection.

“We are childhood friends: Scarlet, him, and I. We studied together. There won’t be a single time when we were separated. We attended the same school and university and now do business in the same city,” he said, his tone serious.

I looked at the sky again, the silence between us comfortable. As I relaxed, I drifted into a deep slumber.

• ° • ° • °