Chapter 41

I had never called Rai before, so I decided to give that a try. He answered after the third ring and said:

"What do you want?"

I cleared my throat and took a deep breath to avoid getting offended.

"That girl from the party you hooked up with—Sarai... you remember her, right?"

"...Which party?"

What the freak kind of lives are these boys living when I'm not around?!

"The one we were both at!" I shouted to remind him.

"Yeah."Okay, at least he remembers.

"Whatever happened between you two?"

RJ was quiet for some time, then finally said,

"I want to know why you care, first."

I groaned.

"So... she was upset that you ghosted her and ended up sleeping with Valin as a result. I was just hoping you'd tell me why you did that."

After I explained, RJ groaned and said:

"Nope."

Then he hung up the phone!

The nerve!

I just want a complete story before I talk to Lisa. As if she knew I was thinking about her, Lisa called me.

"Hey, can you come over for a bit? You can say no. I just want someone around in case things get out of hand."

Lisa sounded sad, so I asked her to clarify. She said:

"I'm asking Sarai to come over too. I just want to talk to her and give her some closure, if I can. She seemed abnormal when I talked to her last, and if things get outta hand, I'd rather have a girlfriend nearby."

Friend! I'm her friend!

"Of course! I'll head over now!"

Maybe this meeting will help answer some of the questions I have as well.

Lisa told me to arrive a half hour before Sarai and to hide in the pantry once she showed up—with the door closed. It was vented, so I had no trouble hearing the conversation.

"Hey girl, thanks for inviting me over," Sarai said.

"Yeah, no problemo," Lisa replied, a bit of awkwardness in her voice. I heard some movement.

"Wow, you look so cute today," Sarai commented.

"Don't try to change the subject... Why did you show up drunk and harass me and my man in a public gym?"

Wow. Lisa doesn't beat around the bush.

"I... I'm sorry," Sarai replied.

"I don't want an apology. I want answers. According to Valin, you came onto him trying to get info about his brother. When he didn't tell you anything, you invited him to your house—and ended up sleeping with him instead."

Oh wow...

"...It wasn't the plan... With Jey, it was an instant attraction, but... he wouldn't reply to my messages. I thought sleeping with his brother would get his attention. But after being with Valin, it's hard to imagine doing it with anyone else. Believe me, I tried—and it was awful. You told me you were seeing him and I drank because I knew I screwed up. All I talked about when I was with him was his brother... so I know he didn't realize that I'm completely over Jey... and into him now. He won't even give me a chance to explain..."

"I see..." Lisa began."You do realize that none of that matters now. He's not fawning over you or holding a grudge. He's with me."

I heard someone sniffle—must have been Sarai.

"I know, but I just need to have a one-on-one chat with him." Sarai pleaded.

"No." Lisa stated firmly.

"If you really consider me your friend, you'll let me talk to him this once!"

"It's not up to me... If he wants to talk to you, fine. We just started dating, so it'd be weird—but I won't stop him."

"I'm not going to try to steal him from you, I promise."

Lisa scoffed.

"You can't steal him from me. He's his own person. It's completely up to him what he decides to do."

Sarai replied that she understood, and Lisa reluctantly gave her Valin's number.

After that, Sarai left and I was released from the pantry.

"So... what do you think? Did I handle that well?" Lisa asked.

"Um... I think you were too lax on her, and more violence was necessary. Also, you shouldn't have given her his number."

It seemed like all of my criticisms struck her hard.

"You think... there might be more between them than I realized?" she asked, her eyes close to tears.

"Definitely not," I replied, shaking my head.

"It's just... if you ever thought of her as a friend, you wouldn't want her to suffer as much as she's about to."

I folded my arms and thought.

Valin can be very considerate when he likes someone—and only then. He's completely inconsiderate to 99.9999% of the world. I don't even like Sarai, and I'm worried about her.

Later, when Sarai called Valin, he fussed at her about having his number without permission. He called her out for sleeping with him just to get back at his brother. He also said she was an annoying b**ch and boring in bed, then hung up—and immediately blocked her number.

I know because I was sitting at his house with Zai when she called. He didn't even bother to leave the room. After he hung up, he went right back to work as if nothing happened.

From then on, she kept her distance. I'm not sure if she was completely over Valin, but I guess it doesn't really matter.

The day arrived for my photoshoot. The album was mostly finished, with just a few songs being edited with final touches. I'm so excited. Soon, my first album will be released! We're so close now.

After all the pictures were taken, a new person entered the area.

"Oh, Gianna—you're early," Samuel, the photographer, said.

She gracefully pushed her golden hair behind her ear and smiled.

"Yeah, I was looking around the area and knew the appointment was soon, so I stopped by. Hope I'm not interrupting anything."

Her hair was the color of gold, she had lime green eyes, a light complexion, and plump pink lips. Judging from the conversation, she's clearly a celebrity of some kind.

"We were just wrapping up. You can go ahead to our stylist—her team will get you ready for the shoot," Samuel said.

Gianna smiled and bowed her head politely, then turned to leave—but paused a few moments later. Her mouth gaped open, and she screamed with a wide grin on her face:

"It's you!"

The person she was looking at was Zai, standing in the corner near the concession stand with a confused look on his face.

She ran up to him perkily and asked,

"What are you doing here?!"

He frowned.

"Who are you?"

His question seemed to ruin her mood, so I approached and held his hand.

"How do you know my husband?" I asked.

She gasped, looked at me, then at him, and said:

"You're married?! ...Is that what you were buying all those flowers for?"

She looked crestfallen for a second, then gave me a sad smile.

"I see... your wife is very beautiful."

At least she said something nice. Then she introduced herself:

"I'm Gianna, a model that works for Poise."

I've seen Poise magazines and advertisements since my return, so I know it's a big fashion agency.

"I met your husband while he was out shopping... must've been for your wedding."

My face got hot. I looked up at Zai, who was tapping his chin, then he said:

"Oh! I remember! You're the stalker."

She frowned.

"I followed you around for one afternoon! That doesn't make me a stalker!"

"It does make you creepy and annoying," Zai clarified, smiling. She pouted—and her reaction started to genuinely amuse him.

Why do I feel territorial all of a sudden?

"So, what's your name?" she asked, finally paying attention to me.

"I'm Snowe," I replied.

She stared at me hard, then said:

"Have you ever considered modeling? You should audition to work at Poise! I can give you a recommendation!"

"No, thank you..."

Why is she being so nice? It's suspicious. I already have limited free time between music, wedding planning, and spending time with Zai. I really don't need a new job.

"Well—"

Before she could finish, someone shouted her name. She looked toward the voice and said:

"I gotta go. But Snowe, we should become friends!"

Her energy tires me out—so I don't see that working. Plus... it's hard to tell if she's really given up on Zai.

When we got home, Zai handed me a letter in a golden envelope.

People still send paper letters?

It was from IIC. I unsealed the envelope—and inside was an invitation to a wedding.

Between Crown Prince Serco Shion and Akina Lofton...

Why was I invited?!

I barely know Serco. Sure, he's Smoke's brother—but that's our only connection. And Smoke and I haven't been in contact since I time-traveled. I looked up at Zai.

Plus... do I even want to go to another planet without him?

"I got invited to the royal wedding," I informed him.

He sat down beside me, laying his head on my shoulder to skim the letter in my hand.

"Let's go..."

I gasped.

"You can't go to Infaniya!"

That's way too dangerous.

He smirked at me, then stood and revealed large white wings. Tilting his head, he asked:

"Why not?"

...

The heck?! Since when did he have those?!