All Men Do is Lie

I made my way to the dining room to join the others for breakfast. All my cousins, aunties and uncles and even Grandpa were there. I went ahead and sat next to Val and Grandpa.

"Good morning everyone." I said as soon as I sat down.

"Good morning little one" they all answered in unison. Well I am the youngest in the family anyways.

"Little wolf, after breakfast I need you to come along with me. I need to introduce you to your new attendant." Grandpa told me.

"Okay Grandpa." I answered. my face was pretty stoic, but boy am I excited since I already who's that new bodyguard is. I can't let Grandpa know this though.

After meal, Grandpa and I went to the backyard where a lot of Grandpa's men were either training or hanging out. I saw in one corner of the field, Aaron and Jami were sparring. Jami noticed me and got distracted and that earned him one punch across his face. He fell on his back and looked at Aaron blankly while having one hand on his cheek where he got punched at. Aaron told him something and helped him to get up. When he noticed Grandpa and I, he and Jami made their way towards us.

Grandpa introduced us and told me that he'll be my attendent from now onwards. I don't know why but we ended up greeting each other like it was the first time we met each other. Aaron seemed oblivious to our treatment with each other. Either way, this was the beginning of our official meeting with each other under Grandpa's introduction. I don't think he would take it easy if he knew Jami and I has got spark for each other.

According to Grandpa, Aaron needs to go to overseas to seal a deal of some kind. That's why he got Jami to look after me in Aaron's absence. I was slightly bummed that it was not permanent for Jami to be my attendent but oh well. That was the beginning of our cute little adventures together anyway.

We went for many dates under the guise of him accompanying me for security reasons. It was challenging since we have to hide our "status". For young adults like us, it was fun and thrilling. There were many instances where we almost got caught by others. Grandpa's men were almost everywhere. We couldn't even do something as simple as holding hands without risking someone spotting us.

We tried regardless. Jami was livelier and honest then. His butler-like demeanor was still there but he was still cute. However, as they all said, all good things must come to an end.

We somehow got caught up in a gang fight. Someone from another clan attempted to end me. Usually, it's to revenge my Grandpa. It happened so many times but I can never get used to it. I mean, logically speaking, who could ever get used to their life being ripped away from them right?

Jami immediately covered me when he heard a gunshot. I can tell it wasn't his first time in this kind of situation. He immediately brought us to hide under a car nearby. Grandpa's other men immediately came to cover us and started firing towards my failed reaper. Unfortunately, he did not come alone. One of Grandpa's men signalled Jami something. He turned to me.

"Listen. We have to move away from here. It's too dangerous."

"Okay, but let's be careful." I answered.

"Hey, don't worry. I'm here alright." he said while giving me an assurance pat and a little squeeze on my shoulder.

"I'm not. I'm used to it." I said, trying to comfort him in return.

He looked at me pitifully and caressed my cheek. After looking out for a bit, we made a mad dash to the nearby alley in the middle of the gunfight. I closed my eyes during the entire run. Holding Jami's hand, I just ran with him guiding me. Just as we stopped running, I felt something wet on my hand that was holding Jami's. I opened my eyes and saw blood trickling down from under Jami's sleeve.

Jami sat down and leaned against the wall while holding his right arm. I took out my handkerchief and wrapped it around his arm. Tears started to escape from my eyes and splashed on his bloody, limp hand. It was too much for me. I usually don't cry because of being a target of revenge from another clan but seeing someone else getting hurt because of me was too much. Jami noticed and caressed my hair.

"Hey, don't cry. It's nothing. This is nothing." he said trying to comfort me.

"Don't be stupid. You're bleeding. How is any of this is nothing" I answered angrily. "Sometimes I hate being born into this family. Either I become a target for kidnapping or murder or someone else I love is getting in harm's way somehow. Why is this happening to me?"

Jami pulled me into a hug. He patted my back quietly. He released me once I calmed down a little. He cupped my face and we gazed into each other.

"Don't worry Arte, I will always be here to protect you." he said.

Slowly we started getting close, both of us leaned and we kissed. It was a gentle and calming kiss. Suddenly, we heard someone clearing his throat. It was another one of Grandpa's men.

"Coast is clear. We'll bring you home." the guy said with a straight face.

We got up and I got into the car. Jami stayed back to update the other guys about what happened. After I reached home, I saw Val and Grandpa was already waiting for me. I got out from the car and Val immediately hugged me. Grandpa said nothing, but patted my head and went to talk to the guys who brought me home. Val quietly brought me back to my room and told me to clean up. I did and went straight to bed and fell asleep.

The next day, I got down of the living room and started to look for Jami. As I was on my way to the backyard, I saw Jami walking towards there too. I called out to him. He stopped and turned around.

"How are you now, Ms. Arte?" he asked, smiling.

"Ms. Arte? Ms.? What's up with that? There's no one around." I asked him.

" It's only right to call the granddaughter of my master as such." he answered. Still smiling. I dismissed it, thinking it was a joke.

"How's your arm?" I asked, extending my hand to touch his bandaged arm. He moved back swiftly, not allowing me to touch him.

"It's fine, Ms. Arte."

What the hell?

"Jami. Is something wrong?"

"What do you mean Ms. Arte?"

"You're avoiding me, aren't you?"

"Not at all. I am talking to you right now."

"Come on. Calling me Ms. as if we are around someone, avoiding my touch. You are avoiding me. What's wrong?"

He suddenly dropped his smile and became serious.

"Ms. Arte. I think we can stop playing around with playing date. It's time that I take my work seriously and you need to focus on your future too."

"What nonsense are you spouting? You think I was just fooling around with you? Do I look delusional to you? I'm very sure we were serious. Tell me. What really happened?" I prodded. I don't believe Jami can sway like that. Something must have happened or someone must have said something for him to shift his character like that.

"Nothing at all Ms. Arte. You are not delusional but we really should stop pretending like we are dating. It's bad for your reputation and if you are bored you should looked for someone more suitable for your status." he answered while smiling.

I couldn't take it. Before I could control myself, my fist landed on his cheek and he fell. He just sat there looking at me shocked. I was fuming at this point but I didn't say anything. What could I possibly say? Was our kiss back then meant nothing to him? I know I'm young but I'm not stupid.

"What happened here?"

It was Grandpa. I was so angry that I didn't care that he saw me being the abuser. I turned around and looked at my Grandpa, smiling.

"Nothing much. I was just practicing self-defense."

"Hahaha... little wolf, I was worried that you were bullying your new attendant. Self-defense was it. Do you want to continue learning it?"

"Sure, that'll be great!" I answered. I glared at Jami and went to hug Grandpa and left the place. I went back to my room and sat down on my bed.

What the hell Jami. You just did a 180 from yesterday. What happened to your promises? Then after a few more hours of contemplating about what changed Jami, I finally concluded.

All men do is lie.