🍀 Alisa 🍀
I woke up feeling suspiciously happy.
Which was honestly concerning.
Usually waking up in Mr Gorgeous' house felt like surviving a horror movie, but today?
Today my heart was dancing like it won a lottery.
And it was all because of one thing.
Mr Gorgeous almost kissed me.
EEEEEEEEEEK!
I buried my face into my pillow and kicked my legs excitedly.
Then suddenly froze.
Wait.
What if he regretted it?
What if he avoided me today?
What if he pretended nothing happened?
What if he kissed another girl instead?!
I gasped dramatically.
No.
Absolutely not.
Violence would occur.
I jumped out of bed immediately and rushed to the bathroom. If I was going to see him today, I needed to look extra beautiful.
Not for him though.
Definitely not for him.
…Maybe a little.
Forty minutes later, I skipped downstairs wearing a soft yellow oversized sweater tucked into white shorts. My curls bounced around my shoulders while I hummed happily.
The smell of pancakes greeted me halfway down the stairs.
Food.
My true soulmate.
I rushed into the dining room excitedly—
And stopped dead.
A woman sat beside Damien.
No.
Not just any woman.
A stunning woman.
The kind of beautiful that made normal people reconsider life choices.
Long black hair.
Perfect skin.
Elegant posture.
Designer dress.
And worst of all?
Her hand rested comfortably on Damien's arm.
My smile disappeared instantly.
The woman turned toward me slowly.
"Well," she said smoothly, eyes scanning me from head to toe. "So this is the girl."
Girl?
Excuse me?
I frowned suspiciously.
Damien looked irritated already.
"You came early," he said coldly.
"I missed you too." She smiled before kissing his cheek.
Something unpleasant twisted inside my chest.
Oh.
Oh no.
I knew this feeling.
Jealousy.
Disgusting.
Terrible.
Horrible.
I hated it immediately.
"Sea Girl," Damien called, noticing my silence. "Come sit."
I walked over slowly and sat as far from the woman as humanly possible.
She laughed softly.
"How cute."
I blinked.
Cute?
Was she insulting me politely?
"I'm Vanessa," she introduced smoothly. "Damien's ex-fiancée."
The fork fell from my hand loudly.
His what?!
I slowly turned toward Damien.
He looked deeply unimpressed with life.
"You were engaged?" I asked weakly.
"Fake engagement," he replied flatly.
Vanessa smiled knowingly. "Not entirely fake."
Excuse me again?
My appetite disappeared immediately.
Interesting.
Very interesting.
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🌿 Damien 🌿
This day was already exhausting.
And it had barely started.
Vanessa showing up unannounced was bad enough.
But Alisa looking hurt because of it?
Unacceptable.
Sea Girl sat quietly poking her pancakes while avoiding my eyes completely.
I hated it instantly.
Vanessa noticed too because of course she did.
"So," she smiled sweetly toward Alisa, "how exactly did Damien convince you to play fiancée?"
"She owes me money," I answered before Alisa could speak.
Vanessa arched a brow slowly.
"You're blackmailing her?"
"I'm helping her family financially."
"With threats," Alisa muttered under her breath.
Traitor.
Vanessa laughed softly again.
"Still charming as ever, Damien."
I ignored her.
My attention stayed fixed on Alisa instead.
She wasn't eating properly.
She looked upset.
Why did that bother me so much?
"Sea Girl."
She glanced up briefly.
"Eat."
"I'm not hungry."
Lie.
A terrible lie.
Patrick suddenly entered the dining room dramatically while chewing toast.
"Good morning, emotionally unstable rich people—" He froze instantly upon seeing Vanessa. "Oh."
Vanessa smiled beautifully. "Hello Patrick."
He blinked twice before slowly turning toward me.
"You didn't tell me Medusa was here."
Vanessa gasped in mock offense. "That's rude."
"You traumatized my childhood."
"I made you fashionable."
"You made me depressed."
Alisa snorted unexpectedly beside me.
My eyes instantly moved toward her.
She quickly looked away again.
Why was she avoiding me?
Patrick finally noticed the weird atmosphere.
His eyes bounced between Alisa and Vanessa before realization suddenly hit him.
Oh no.
That smile.
That evil smile.
"I see," he said dramatically. "Someone's jealous."
"I'm not jealous," Alisa denied immediately.
Too quickly.
Patrick's grin widened dangerously.
"Really?"
"Yes."
"Then why do you look like you want to poison Vanessa's pancakes?"
Alisa gasped loudly. "I would never!"
Pause.
"Maybe a little."
Vanessa burst into laughter.
And to my complete shock—
So did I.
The entire table went silent.
Because Damien Petersen laughing was apparently a historical event.
Alisa stared at me wide-eyed.
Patrick dropped his toast.
Vanessa looked mildly terrified.
I immediately stopped smiling.
Disgusting behavior.
"Did you just laugh?" Patrick whispered emotionally. "Oh my God…"
"I hate all of you."
"You're in love," Patrick sang happily.
Vanessa's gaze snapped sharply toward me.
Then toward Alisa.
And suddenly…
Her smile disappeared.
Interesting.
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🍀 Alisa 🍀
I officially hated Vanessa.
Respectfully.
Everything about her irritated me.
The way she talked to Damien comfortably.
The way she touched his arm.
The way she looked at me like I was some random stray cat Damien accidentally adopted.
Rude.
Very rude.
"So," Vanessa smiled while sipping coffee elegantly, "how long exactly will this fake engagement last?"
"None of your business," Damien answered coldly.
She ignored him completely.
"Careful, sweetheart," she told me sweetly. "Damien has a habit of destroying people emotionally."
The room suddenly became quiet.
Very quiet.
Damien's expression darkened instantly.
"Vanessa."
But she continued smiling at me.
"I'm just warning her."
Patrick looked uncomfortable now.
I frowned slightly.
Destroyed people emotionally?
What exactly did she mean by that?
Before I could ask, Vanessa stood up gracefully and grabbed her purse.
"Well, this has been interesting."
Then she walked over toward me slowly.
Too slowly.
She leaned closer until only I could hear her voice.
"You seem sweet, Alisa."
Something about her tone made my stomach twist nervously.
"But trust me…"
Her eyes flickered briefly toward Damien.
"He will ruin you."
Then she smiled again and walked away.
Silence filled the dining room after the door closed.
I slowly looked toward Damien.
His jaw was clenched tightly.
Too tightly.
Patrick looked worried now.
And suddenly…
The happy feeling I woke up with disappeared completely.