Jealousy At The Party
Pixie stepped forward in annoyance, the small crowd of photographers and business men making way for her as she finally stood in front of the Shengs. To her surprise, her father was already greeting them with his sweet talk but she noticed that Aldric wasn't present.
"Good to see you both here! But what about Aldric!? He promised to be right on time!" Gerald scanned around the Sheng duo.
Ryu gave a glance at Lyra who seemed equally confused while Darah glued herself to his arms feeling uncomfortable in this expensive atmosphere. She felt like she'd have to pay to breathe the same air as them.
"He won't be able to make it. It was something about a headache. He wasn't feeling well." Ryu replied, trying to appear as concerned as possible.
"And you didn't tell me!?" Lyra bickered at him, but well, she couldn't blame Ryu for his sickness could she? He hid his smirk well, not bothering to explain.
"I'm extremely saddened to hear that." The dominant voice of a woman caught the attention of every single person surrounding them. She approached them with gentle, gazelle-like steps which enhanced the beauty of her already long, flawless legs peeking through the high slit in her dress. But she still saw how most of these men were barely looking at her, their gazes locked at the unseen beauty beside Ryu Sheng. Noticing the unwanted gazes, Ryu consciously pulled Darah behind him with his hand.
"But at least, you both are here. That's enough for us. Isn't it, dad?" Pixie smiled sincerely, looking at Ryu and then at her father who nodded back at her. But as far as Ryu knew, her smile was never real to begin with. It was all an act. Now that Aldric wasn't here, he knew she'd be boiling from the inside. She was always bothering Mr. Sheng with the idea of getting herself set up with Ryu, from their teen years onwards.
"And you are?" Pixie's soft gaze darkened as it met the confused, doe-eyed brunette standing next to Ryu. It bothered her how he still hadn't let go of her hand.
"I'm Darah Chen. Pleasure to meet you." Darah bowed slightly with a polite smile even though she was anxious from the inside. All the men of the Yang family, seniors included bowed down, equally pleased at the young lady's sweetness. It irritated Pixie but she wasn't even interested in looking at her. Instead she was staring at the deep admiration in Ryu's eyes as he saw Darah introduce herself. Her teeth grit in anger.
"Yes, and who are you? I've never seen you around before." Pixie continued again in a demanding voice, making Darah nervous. The fact that Darah was awfully beautiful too was mildly distracting.
"She's a close friend of us Shengs, Pixie. You'll probably get to see her more in the future." Lyra passed a very detectable fake smile at Pixie as Zeke observed with a smirk. It was very much obvious that Lyra had hated Pixie from when they were young. She had a very peculiar eye to differentiate between the real and the pretenders.
"Oh." Pixie smiled bitterly, holding back her anger. It wasn't that she disliked Lyra but she didn't love her either. She'd tried her best to impress her as Ryu's big sister, but it never worked out. Lyra hated people who kissed up to her…
"Come inside. Make yourselves comfortable." Pixie smiled, making way for them. The group entered but Darah still couldn't let go of Ryu's hands in fear.
"They won't eat you." He whispered close to her ears, making Darah jump suddenly.
"You scared me!" She left a deep breath and continued.
"Look, I'm new to this. I don't know what to do-" Ryu smiled at her wide, puppy eyes and kept a hand to her cheek which immediately made her go silent as she gazed at him lovingly. It didn't last for long as he felt someone dragging at his arm, pulling him away. Pixie… Gerald was right beside them, making Ryu unable to draw back.
"Come meet my friends Ryu! It's been a long time since we had a good talk!" He froze, being dragged around by Pixie like she found a new doll to play with. The space between his eyebrows furrowed and twitched in irritation but he couldn't do much. He looked behind to see Darah, her smile beaming at him as Lyra joined her. For the first time, he hoped someone wouldn't be disappointed in him. Even though she was smiling, Darah couldn't lie that she felt a bit left out.
They're friends, so it would be selfish of me to tell him to stay beside me all the time, Darah thought.
"Look at how he ditched us so quickly!" Lyra squinted her eyes at Pixie dragging Ryu around but later broke into a giggle.
"You know, he's always hated Pixie. I don't know why but he hated girls in general and only tolerated me. Maybe because he knew they were always after his father's money."
Darah was confused at her words. But Pixie was just as rich as the Shengs. Maybe not as much but she was still an elite.
"But isn't Pixie from a prestigious family too?"
"Darah, just look at him. What kind of girl do you think will suit him the best? A loud, chatty annoying one? Or the one that can actually see through him and trust him? Money isn't the only thing that matters. Pixie has everything but everything Ryu doesn't want." Lyra sighed, looking at him.
Darah was left frowning at herself. See through him? Maybe he had seen through me. But since when did I ever see through him, or trust him? Or did it just happen naturally and I never realised?
"One thing I know for sure is that he deserves a girl who won't put up with his bullshit. Someone he can grow with." Lyra looked hopefully at Darah. She didn't know what to say, simply nodding to her words with a smile.
"By the way, it's quite surprising that he brought you with him. He usually hates parties but he didn't protest this time… Wonder why. Also, where did you get that beautiful dress from? It fits you so well."
"Oh it's…" Darah hesitated and stopped for a moment, meeting gazes with Ryu who seemed trapped to say the least. He arduously tore his gaze away from her contagious beauty and continued conversing with Pixie's associates.
Lyra watched horrified, looking back and forth at both of them.
"Oh no no no, Darah please don't tell me-" Lyra took Darah by her hand and pulled her to a side, ignoring all the leering gazes the men at the party were throwing at the duo.
"What's going on between you two! I saw it! The secret eye talk!" Lyra gasped at what she just saw. Darah on the other hand felt cornered from all sides. Being his sister, she couldn't possibly lie to her face. Darah lowered her head with a sigh.
"This dress. He gave it to me. And we're sort of… A thing."
Darah didn't know why she expected disappointment from Lyra's part but instead when she looked at her, all she saw were black orbs sparkling with love.
"Oh. My. God. Is this true!? What am I even hearing!" She squealed, engulfing Darah in a tight hug which she received with a huge grin.
"That cold brat has never bought me a dress in these entire years! Ah, when I say men change for the ones they love…" Lyra shook her head, feeling overwhelmed. She never in a lifetime expected Ryu to be responsible about a lady. But then again Darah wasn't convinced of whether to be happy about her current situation. Would Lyra understand?
" I don't know if I should be happy or not. Because… I don't know what I am to him." Darah fidgeted with her fingers quite awkwardly. Lyra understood the feeling very well so she took her hand within her's and softly pressed on it.
"I know exactly how you feel. I'm currently in a situation quite similar to yours. I guess time will tell where we stand. Everything takes time after all…" Lyra sighed, dropping her shoulders in defeat thinking about Allen. She still wasn't sure if he felt the same way about her.
Darah watched in daze as Ryu stood out in the crowd of men, a prideful gaze in his eyes as he engaged in their conversations.
'I really hope time tells me, that what you feel for me isn't just a false dream.'