13. Blonde in a bar.

So Silver's Shine?" he asks again, one hand on the wheel, and the other still stroking her hair. She just nods her head, "Okay. Let's go!" He takes his hand off her head, but then she instantly grabs onto him, placing his palm back on her head, gazing deep into his brilliant blue eyes; they'd lost their shine, but they were still mesmerizing to her. She sat there hoping he would see through her, hoping he would read beneath her gaze, hoping he would see her heart and see how much she loved him. But to him…

"Are you alright? Why are you holding my hand? You don't want to go again?" Just like always. Disappointment filled her heart, her eyes, and reached up to her hand that held him, and slowly, slowly she brought his palm down from her head. He had not taken her feelings for him seriously back then, he just felt like she was just being a crybaby.

Then he met Dan-a, and she lost her chance. And now, even though she felt like she was being selfish, and that she was the bad person here, she still hoped he'd look at her the way he looked at Dan-a, even though just once. Just once and realize how much she loved him and she wanted him to love her back. Even though it would not be as much as she loved him, but…

"Since you touched my hair, you're going to have to pay when we get there." she breathes the words out, and he scoffs, shaking his head as he vroomed off.

Within a space of minutes, they had reached Silver's Shine, and as usual, wherever he was all eyes fell on him. Mouths fell wide open with the awesome wonder of a man, but as usual, his gaze didn't wander. All his focus was on the little lady he was supposed to be guarding, he couldn't care less for the buzzing of the flies around them, such attention was not new to him. For him, his all too perfect aesthetics were mostly a gift which he enjoyed, but sometimes, just sometimes it could feel like a curse too.

Sitting alone in a corner in the salon, he could still see most of the ladies staring at him from the corner of his eyes, as he patiently watched his Piccola make her hair. He could see her telling the lady what to do, and he watched closely as the lady's hand landed on her head, and he was suddenly reminded of the two of them sitting in the car just some minutes ago.

He brought his left hand in front of his face, "why did she do that?" he asked himself, looking at her figure from between his fingers, "it's been years already, does she still…" He wondered, the way she looked at him, her dark glowing eyes looking deep into his equally dark soul, he felt it, he felt her demanding gaze, her heart-aching clench, he heard her silent pleas, but he had blocked his ears from listening, and hardened his heart from feeling it, and blinded his eyes from seeing it, He had pretended not to know what she desired of him. Because he could never give her what she wanted.

So he hoped and prayed that all this was just a trick of his mind, and that she had lost all feelings for him years ago, and that he was just reading what was not there. He prayed that he was wrong and that she wasn't expecting anything from him. He hoped that she'd stop liking him, because that was the only way he could keep her by his side, as his little sister and nothing more. There was and will only be one woman for him, Dan-a, and if Luna still liked him, it would only mean she was still hurting, and keeping her by his side will only hurt her more. So he prayed she didn't, because if she did, then no matter what Edoardo said, he could not live with her. He'd have to send her back. That was the only way to protect her heart from him.

...

Walking into a bar, in search of a perfect woman for his boss and friend, Marco majestically strode in, and headed for the counter. There was always a willing woman around, somewhere. She had to be blonde, and beautiful. And there were a lot of blonde and beautiful women, just like this one who was approaching him right now.

"Hey there, you're all alone, in this bar?" she was dressed in a flashy powder blue gown that scarcely covered either parts of her body, her legs, long and fine, her lips as red and hot as fire, there was a cut there, like she was hit there. His gaze shifted to her neck, her blonde hair that rested on her shoulders did well in covering it up, but he still saw the bruise there, like she was strangled. Her cheeks were sunken, she looked like she hadn't eaten in two days.

But she was beautiful, and she was fine.

"From what I see, you're also here alone" he states, offering her the seat that was next to him, and she climbs atop it, and he signals the bartender to pour her something. "I'm always alone, I've been alone for as long as I can remember." She collects the drink from the bartender, and smiles a thank you. "But you don't look like a guy who is ever alone. I mean with these looks and body features, you should have women crawling all over you." She compliments, and he raises a brow in acknowledgment, she was damn right, there were lots and lots of women dying to have him, but…

"I could say the same for you too, you say you've always been alone, but I find that hard to believe. You strike me as someone who has men around her, like bees around honey." He raises his glass to her and takes a sip of his drink. A tugging smile played on her lips as he said those words.

"Honey is sweet. I thought you were gonna use an expression like, ``flies around a pig sty." Her facial expression darkened, like she recalled something she didn't want to. "That's what most of them say." she whispers underneath her breath, but he heard it, and it made him wonder what kind of life she lived.

"You miserable puttana,!!! " A voice sounded from behind her, and in the blink of an eye, she was viciously yanked from the stool, and hauled harshly to the ground, followed by a vicious kick in the stomach. "I told you to go get me my money, and instead, you sit down here having a good drink, and chatting away during working hours?" Ahhh!! She yelped in pain as another kick landed on her stomach, causing her to curl up, her hands wrapped around her stomach in pain.