"She has no choice, you know. She will come back to me no matter what. She loves me--she must still love me. How could she not? We're meant to be. We're supposed to be together and nothing--and no one--will stand in the way of destiny."

I looked around the table at my friends as we sat in a restaurant for our usual Sunday brunch.

My younger cousin Kim Taehyung gave me a tight-lipped smile and nodded. Min Yoongi and Jung Hoseok simply glanced at each other. It was quite a lukewarm reaction and not at all what I expected. The youngest member of our group, Jeon Jungkook, looked at me with a wide, toothy smile.

"I agree," he said cheerily. "You two belong together."

"Thank you, JK," I replied warmly before my eyes turned to Kim Namjoon, my best friend.

He didn't even fake a smile. Instead, his brows furrowed together as if he had been thinking heavily on the matter. I knew that he would have his say before he agreed to anything. I also knew that he did not agree with what I'd said.

"Yes, Joon?" I asked, anticipating his questions. "Is there something wrong?" This guy was too smart for his own good.

"No, I understand your sentiment, bro," he began. "You just said that you believe you and she belong together forever. Yet last month at the graduation party, you said it was over between you two and that you had no choice but to move on, that it had all been a mistake." He looked me in the eye. "You did say that, didn't you?"

I felt everyone's eyes turn to me, and I fidgeted slightly.

"You said that quite emphatically, if I recall," he continued. "Something along the lines of how relationships were all bullshit and something about not needing the aggravation in your life and how you should be enjoying yourself rather than crying and moping and--"

"Yes, well, I might have said something like that," I interrupted, "but it was in the heat of the moment. I was very upset, and I probably just spoke out of my ass instead of thinking things through." I smiled to myself wondering if they would appreciate my impromptu alliteration.

"And," Namjoon emphasized, "you left with a girl--what was her name? Sarah--and you made a beeline out of the club and to your...her...some bedroom, everyone supposed because we all know that's how you move on merrily from your mistakes."

Of course he'd be the one to catch my attempt at clever word play and throw it back at me. He was a writer, after all. He also cared about Bella, maybe too much.

I cleared my throat. "I didn't take her home with me."

"Ah! You did it in your car," Yoongi drawled. "Wouldn't be the first time."

"No!" I exclaimed. "I didn't do it in my car! Nothing happened with that girl."

Hoseok took a quick sip of his drink. "Well, what is your definition of nothing happened, Seokjin? Are we talking 'convent nothing' or 'Oval Office nothing'?" I heard some of them chuckle.

I exhaled impatiently. "I mean nothing as in no event or action transpired. Look, we did walk out of the VIP room. I danced with her for a few minutes, then we headed out. But on the way to my car, I realized that I did not want to have sex with her. I felt nothing at all. Zero interest. I drove her home with a vague promise of calling her later, and that was it."

"That's not what everyone's saying," Namjoon continued. "It's only been a month, and girls are talking about scheduling appointments with you."

"Which you know is completely ridiculous," I snapped.

"Well, Bella hears all that shit, too," he added.

I slumped back in my seat. Fuck! If she believed even an iota of the nonsense being spread by these crazy girls, she would never come back to me. I needed a plan.

"That's why I need your help," I said suddenly. All of them stared at me curiously. Except for Namjoon. He sat back and crossed his arms over his chest. His eyes narrowed.

"What? Why? Are we going to be an army of wingmen or what?" Hoseok asked.

"Aaah, more like ambassadors of goodwill," I said. "I need you to put in good words for me, you know. Keep her mind on me whenever you can. If she thinks about me, then she'll think about how much she misses me. Then she'll remember how much she loves me, and then we'll get back together."

"Just like that?" Yoongi asked with amusement.

"Yeah, just like that. Besides I'm sure she'll remember all the other incredible, earth-shattering moments between us, you know," I said with a smile. "How can she resist? I'm Kim Seokjin!"

Yoongi frowned. "So, you just want to get your rocks off. Doesn't have to be Bella."

"No! I don't just want sex! I love her! I need her in my life because she's the only woman who can make me happy. I plan on giving her everything her heart desires." I picked up my drink and held it up. "Here's to love and destiny."

There was only a slight hesitation before they all tapped their glasses with mine. I kept my glass raised, looking pointedly at Namjoon. I knew why he wasn't on board with this. Even a blind man would have noticed his crush on Bella. Everyone at this table knew, but no one talked about it because he himself had never mentioned or even hinted at it.

"Joon?" I asked.

His lips were pinched so tightly I thought they might break.

"Namjoon," Hoseok whispered as he hit him with an elbow.

He glared at me. "If you hurt her, Seokjin," he began in a low growl, "if you do anything to cause her more pain, I swear I will make you regret it."

"Relax," I said placatingly. "I have no intention of hurting her. I love her. You know I do." I finally lowered my glass. "All I have to do is let her know that I'm willing to do anything to get her back. I'll do anything and give anything. That's my plan." I paused a beat. "And, yes, if I hurt her again, you can feel free to kick my ass."

"Deal," he said quickly. There was a tense pause.

"But not my face," I added. The tension dissipated as everyone laughed. We finished our meal in relatively good cheer.

So here's a recap of what happened a month ago.

I had tried to speak with Bella--that's Isabella Domani, my dearest love--at the graduation party for Namjoon, Hoseok, and Yoongi. After the whole arranged marriage fiasco that my father had tried to force me into to save his company, Bella lost faith in me and thought I had only been using her until I made my big society match.

Of course, that was not true at all. I had no intention of going through with that marriage until my father threatened Bella and her parents with financial ruin. Then I had to pretend to go along with it while I figured out a way to cancel it.

Then my so-called fiancée Fiona Gettis claimed to be pregnant with my child--a complete fabrication--and my opportunity for getting out of that arrangement seemed more unlikely. I knew the baby wasn't mine and had every intention of demanding a paternity test.

Until I found out that Fiona's father Fred Gettis had threatened to kill her boyfriend-slash-baby daddy if she did not marry me. His motive was to get control of my family's business Kim Worldwide Incorporated by any means necessary.

But the news of the baby had upset Bella so much that she refused to speak to me. Eventually, Fiona herself handed me the means with which to stop her father and cancel the wedding, but the damage to my relationship with Bella was too deep. I apologized and explained and waited for her forgiveness, but it was in vain.

And last month at the graduation party, she and I officially parted ways. I hadn't wanted to, but I didn't want to hurt her any more. I wanted her to be happy. But I have been miserable every second since then because I loved her. I figured she was probably miserable without me, too.

You see, what we had was beyond incredible. It was transcendent. It made me believe that true love and true happiness were possible and did exist in this messed-up world. And love like that doesn't disappear. It is eternal. It is life.

That's why I have to get her back.