19 seeing him with another girl

Raige

"Raigeeeee! So it’s real? You’re back. Are you not going somewhere, are you?"

I cursed under my breath. It was Xenon, the one girl who never stopped bothering me since we were kids aside from Hilda of course. She was the only one who knew about my friendship with Sierra. As annoying as she was, I couldn’t just ignore her.

“Xenon, hi,” I said, trying to sound polite.

Xenon pouted, her lips forming a perfect little frown. “Is that all you can say? Hi? Come on, Raige, we’ve been friends ever since.”

Tsk. She was the only one thinking about that.

“Since when?” I asked, my voice flat, utterly devoid of interest.

“You’re not changing. You’re still the most arrogant person on Earth that I know,” she said, her voice laced with amusement.

I grinned. “Thank you.”

“You meant it? So, are you inviting me to your party? Your bitch fiance didn’t invite me. Can you imagine that? I’m your only girl friend, I mean minus Sierra, of course, yet Hilda doesn’t want me to come to your party,” she said, her voice laced with a hint of indignation.

I sighed, my shoulders slumping in defeat.

“It’s not like I was the one who threw that party, Xenon. I didn’t care who Hilda invited,” I said, my voice even.

“But Raige, I want to come! It’s not every day that the next king of our clan comes back and isn’t planning to go again. You’ll invite me whether you like it or not,” she said, her voice firm, her eyes gleaming with determination.

I could see in Xenon’s eyes that no one could block her way. Even if I didn’t invite her, she would definitely crash the party.

“Whatever you want, Xenon, invite or not you can come. just leave me alone,” I said, trying to sound dismissive. She would happily leave, but I bet she was already recording my voice to send to Hilda.

Even now, she still remembered Sierra. But I wondered if she still remembered Sierra’s face.

What I was scared of was what if she recognized Sierra? I mean, Aliyah. Should I not invite her? Maybe I was just being paranoid. Even Hilda, her sister, hadn’t recognized Aliyah, and it had been hundred years since they’d last seen each other, right?

******
Aliyah

Aria didn't want to go to the party, yet here she was, her hand gripping my arm tightly as we walked. I sighed, pushing open the school doors.

The school looked different than I remembered. It was all modern, sleek design, and the students were dressed to the nines.

"Being here is no good, Aliyah," Aria grumbled, her tone laced with annoyance as we walked inside.

“I know, but don’t you think our boring life needs a break for once?” I said, trying to sound upbeat.


I lied, of course I didn’t want to be here either. But how could I solve my sister’s murder case if I just let a party like this slip away? Besides, it wasn’t every day that I got invited to a rich party like this.

“Okay, fine. But you should be careful. We both know that now that you are with Raige, those people around him will definitely come after you,” Aria said, her voice laced with concern.

I shrugged, trying to appear nonchalant. “Well, at least I have you, my witch best friend,” I teased.

She didn’t seem to appreciate the joke, though.

“Aliyah is not funny. My family… let’s not talk about it,” Aria said, her voice tight, her shoulders slumping as if carrying the weight of the world. I sighed, knowing there was no point in pushing.

Who would want to mock their family, calling them names? Although, she always told me that her ancestors were some kind of witches. But we both knew that magic was just a fairy tale. Maybe they were just known as “witches” by the locals. Whatever it was, we were still best friends.

“Look, right there, isn’t that Raige?” Aria asked, her voice hushed, her eyes wide as she pointed across the room.

I followed her gaze and found him, standing in the center of a group of people, his gaze fixed on me. He was wearing a gray suit, perfectly matching my dress. The whole circular, backless gown was his choice. He had forced me to wear it, and now I was stuck with it.

He’s the epitome of gorgeous, so beautiful. But why does he look so happy while talking to the girl beside him? Who is she, anyway?” Aria whispered, her voice laced with curiosity.

“I don’t know,” I muttered, my voice barely a whisper.

I didn’t know why, but a sudden sharp pain lanced through my chest. Seeing him with another woman sparked a wave of frustration within me.

“Oh, you came! I thought you might ignore me,” Hilda said, her smile wide and welcoming as she approached us.

I smiled back politely. “Thank you for inviting me.”

Hilda was too good to be true, What if, out of the blue, Hilda's horn grew? and the fear inside me grew. I had bravely come here because I thought Raige would be my backup, as he promised me. But now, seeing him…

“I’ve been waiting for you for too long. I’m sorry I didn’t pick you up. I sent you a message that something came up, and I’d wait for you here,” Raige said, his voice a low rumble that sent shivers down my spine.

I was still looking at Hilda when, all of a sudden, Raige was in front of me. Since when had he walked toward me? I hadn’t noticed. He was just standing there, maybe three meters away, before my gaze shifted from Hilda and her minions.

My mind suddenly went blank, focusing solely on him.

“Aliyah, where the hell did your mind fly off to?” Aria whispered into my ear, her voice laced with concern.

“So, like I said, thank you for coming, Aliyah. Enjoy the night,” Hilda said, her smile still warm, her voice friendly. But before she left, she glanced at Raige, her hand fluttering to her chest. “You look so dashing, my soon-to-be husband. Enjoy your night, as well.”

I wallowed in my misery, wondering how I had ended up in this situation. I felt like a mistress, a nuisance in a relationship that wasn’t mine.

I fought against it, but as the days passed, I found myself starting to like it. I mean, I was getting used to it. Somehow, I felt like the day wasn’t complete without him.