On the Night that Marked their Beginning

Aria Marguerite was one they would call a total pushover.

Abandoned by her family at a young age, forced to work early to sustain her needs, seen as an outcast due to her social anxiety, and failed every single audition she applied in – it shouldn't be hard to figure out why she'd turned the way she was.

Aria was alone and unwanted for so long.

Once she reached the legal age, she had to leave the orphanage and make a living on her own. As it turned out, no one had ever tried to adopt her even after eighteen long years. If some did show interest, they decided not to push forward for some reason.

The one and only thing that kept Aria going all this time was her love for singing.

She wanted to sing for everyone in the world, so badly that she firmly refused to wallow in self-pity. Most people would say it's impossible, especially considering her problematic stage fright, but she refused to give up on her dream. She decided to do all that she could to solve this abnormal fear, and that led her to stumble upon a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

"If you can't stand performing in front of people, why not try singing backstage for now?"

Georgine was one perfect definition of a curse dressed like a blessing.

She met Aria when she was still a waitress at one of the restaurants that her family owned. How she discovered her talent was purely by coincidence. Georgine was on her way home when she heard her singing alone inside the storage room.

Georgine was deeply awestruck by Aria's magnificent voice.

From there, she introduced herself as the daughter of her boss who graduated from a prestigious music school, flaunted her accomplishments as a performer, and then brought up a deal that would bind her to what she did not realize then to be a predatory contract.

"I'll help you achieve your dream of being a singer," Georgine had said. "In exchange, I just need your help with a little something."

Without completely knowing what it was, Aria accepted the offer.

At first, Georgine had been magnanimous enough to provide her some financial assistance, a studio to practice in, and a voice teacher. Nobody had done that much for her before, so of course, she fell for her altruistic act in no time at all. And then, Georgine had started asking for the unreasonable on top of demanding things, such as making her clean her room like a maid, forcing her to train for hours without breaks, and using her voice for her own credit.

Now that a serious health issue had come up, Aria decided to request a leave of absence for once.

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU'VE GOT TO TAKE A BREAK?! I'M STILL IN THE MIDDLE OF A TOUR, DUMBASS! WHO'S GONNA BE MY VOICE IF YOU DON'T SING?!"

Not only did Georgine turn down her request, but it ended up angering her as well. It turned out she wanted to maintain the momentum of her success. Knowing her for some time now, Aria had seen her refusal coming. But what she didn't expect was that she would get physical out of nowhere.

All she was asking was a bit of rest, and yet, this was what she would get.

By that point, Aria thought it didn't matter anymore. If she hadn't asked, she could damage her vocal cord forever, which would then be the same as losing her sole reason to live. Either way, Aria would suffer.

So, getting hurt then and there was fine. This won't be the first time, anyway.

"USELESS PIECE OF TRASH!"

Seeing the knife-like edge of the flower vase that Georgine had smashed on the now fractured vanity mirror in the midst of her outburst, Aria immediately lowered her head and braced herself for the impact that was sure to lead to a concussion.

But it never came.

The sound of something shattering did. But not the feeling of being hit.

Aria looked up with a start to find Kai Soleste taking the blow from Georgine.

The sight caused her heart to stop for a few good seconds. She then felt her body leave her soul as the realization that he got hurt in her place sunk in. It all happened so fast that her everything went dead still.

"You… What the hell were you trying to do just now?"

"W-What you say? I w-wasn't doing anything! W-We were just talking-"

"I don't think singers talk that loud, or any normal person for that matter."

For some reason, Kai had started defending Aria, who still had no idea what to do.

While she's more than grateful for being saved, she couldn't help but be flummoxed. 'I mean, he has no reason to go this far.' Before she could ponder on this any further, though, she shifted her focus to his injury.

Aria tried to prioritize tending to his wound first. But as usual, Georgine wouldn't allow herself to get pushed aside just like that. She carried on with her outburst until Kai spoke up again.

"The singing goddess, was it? I don't think she would have a foul mouth like yours. You have everybody fooled, it seemed."

And when Kai smiled as he said that, albeit with so much venom, Aria felt her heart pound with a newfound beat.