Only to Catch a Bomb

That was surprisingly effective. 

The whole room quieted down, afraid of destroying the atmosphere. Even I felt like controlling my breathing.

As if the possibility had never occurred to her, Alexa hesitantly asked, "You have someone else you like?" Frankly, I understand, for even I did not entertain the possibility. 

"Is this true, Eliana?" Seemingly stumped, I slowly nodded back at Grandpa.

"Before anybody gets the wrong idea, it hasn't gone anywhere yet, so there's nothing concrete to show." I instantly added, leaving myself a way out of this.

"You should introduce him soon. Maybe it'll help assure Alexa." Goaded Aunt Ingrid. Why is it my job to fix her trust issues?

"Sure, if something actually materializes." Sporting a half-hearted smile, I managed to escape, only to start mentally listing believable candidates.

——

"I think I screwed up?" Legs slumped over the exercise mat, partially regretting today's outburst.

"You don't say." Rina pushed out while in the middle of a plank.

"Hey! Cut me some slack. Today was hectic as hell." I puffed out at her.

With her nose crinkling, she pointed out, "Before, you only needed clones for your hectic life; now you even need a crush."

"I don't know what came over me that made me say that."

"I told you many times to stop playing nice. Now look at that: the Devil's got you doing community service."

"I'm not even nice." I snorted at her.

"You wish. With the number of things you want to accomplish, you can't die early. But you've been too nice. And nice people get taken first." Rina warned. She's long taken this philosophy to heart.

I ignored her lectures, choosing to roll on the mat instead. "We need to find someone for this. I'm sure she's going to look."

"Technically, you do, but since we've sworn a blood oath, I will have to help you." She swung her ponytail at me.

I sneered at her and proceeded to slap her ass. So much for ride-or-die.

Leaning back, I couldn't help but remember how this all started.

I haven't had a peaceful family life since I was seven, but I have gotten used to my cousin and her mom's gradual yet manageable machinations.

But if I were to figure out the actual start of this particular crisis arc, it would be around three and a half years ago.

As a Thornhill, I've long expected the probability of an arranged marriage for economic benefits. So I didn't pay too much attention to it when I had been arranged with Jasper Orwell.

The elders decided and dealt with everything, so I just needed to perform my duties as I was told. In exchange, I'd be able to continue doing whatever else I wanted to do, and that, to me, was more important.

Maybe I was too idealistic, probably even naive. I did my part in maintaining the relationship, kept a clean bill, and even tried conforming to his preferences. 

I treated him like a legitimate partner, even helping with his scores. That bastard graduated with grades he could only dream of, so he managed to crawl into the same school for his Master's Degree.

He was difficult to deal with, so I had to exert a lot of effort. Only to end up being cheated on? Bullshit. For the love of all that is holy, I even fixed his investment portfolio!

Looking back, I should've taken precautions. But who would've guessed that Alexa would go this far? And what's more surprising is how the elders took it. She cried favoritism, and all of a sudden, cheating with the fiancé of your cousin wasn't as scandalous.

"Have you figured something out? You look like you've eaten something bad." Rina pokes me on the shoulder.

"No, but I did end up thinking about Jasper and Alexa." I shrugged at her.

"No wonder."

"Ri, I need someone reliable for this," I complained.

"Reliable is much easier than believable. Your problem is much bigger than that. Where do we find someone who's good enough for you to admire?" With a look that said, "You're the problem here," I sighed in agreement. 

"Everyone and their dogs know that you'd rather swallow poison than enter into another relationship, heck, even just a partnership." Rina threw up her hands like she's had enough of it. 

"Can you blame me?" Scrunching up my face to ask for confirmation.

"No, if even that cretin can cheat with a face like that, I'm not surprised that you hate the idea." She looks at me while browsing on her phone, probably checking on candidates for consideration. 

"What about Richard?" I asked Rina.

"I could've agreed if your face didn't look half as dejected as it does now. You look like your stop-loss order got messed up," she grumbled back at my suggestion.

It wasn't a productive afternoon. If anything, we've only realized that we may need to import candidates.

"My standards aren't even that high," I complained, procrastinating instead of completing today's workout timely.

"Exactly where the problem lies, you realize that no one will believe that you're just going for character. And if we do find that golden Buddha, he may end up cracking under Alexa and Cruella if he's got potholes for other aspects."

"I'll check tomorrow, maybe actually look around. If my guess is right, Alexa wouldn't let me buy time."

____

Summit University was as crowded as usual, with students shuffling toward their classes just as the bell rang. Normally, I would dart straight into the classroom, but I'm here literally scouting for a lifeline.

Operations Management went by like a breeze, but I wasn't any closer to getting anywhere in my scouting operation.

"Hey, did you hear? Jasper's fiancée got into an accident the other day?" Whispered a student near the door I was supposed to exit from.

"Yeah! I heard it was because she found evidence of Jasper and his ex meeting up." another girl chimed in.

"But isn't the ex our class rep for Internal Auditing?"

Any longer and the story would be even more absurd. So, as I pulled the door open, nearly startling the souls of the students outside, I regretfully came into view of a rather proud-looking frog..

The girls crowding the door gladly separated, probably hoping that I'd ignore their earlier conversation, and I really would have if not for Jasper blocking the way.

Objectively speaking, the guy in front of me wasn't ugly by modern beauty standards, but that didn't mean that he was anything special. Maybe it'll help if he eased on the hair gel and the insoles. He could barely walk properly, after all.

I cocked an eyebrow at him, waiting to hear what he had to say about all this.

"Hey Eli, sorry for getting you into hot water. I didn't think that they'd take your approach to heart." With a hand in his trouser pocket, Jasper tried to play it cool, or so he thought.

Wow. The audacity.

"Are you talking about the time I asked for your late paper? Sorry, I didn't mean for everyone to know about your noncompliance." I looked at him regretfully, preventing my eyes from rolling as he scowled.

"I heard the good news from Alexa. It seems like you've finally moved on. Who's the lucky guy?" he said through gritted teeth.

No wonder you're doing this outside.

As I spun around to look at Jasper, I bumped into something solid, and for a moment, I wondered if my nose had been broken. I winced at the pain only to realize that I was facing someone's chest. I looked up, then I wish I hadn't, for in front of me was a disaster waiting to happen.

Tall, infuriatingly handsome, with hair carelessly styled and clear eyes that are now partially irritated. 

Maybe it's not him, I prayed. 

He looked down, angling his head to the side, a slow smirk creeping in.

I closed my eyes because any more and they would bulge out. Maybe if I can't see anything, he won't be there. Denial.

My feet felt wobbly, staggering at how bad my luck must be to encounter two disasters simultaneously. How is this even possible?! Anger.

Behind the towering wall came a familiar voice. Normally, I would have loved to hear this, but this time, it just solidified my curse.

"Eli! I had been looking for you!." Rina, my normally lovely best friend, chirped. I looked at her, eyes welling up, wanting to ask why she'd do something like this.

She smiled in understanding but chose violence today by abandoning me. Maybe this is my karma for lying about liking someone. I'll be good. Please just cancel all of this out. Bargaining.

"Still need me to steady you?" Slight mirth noticeable in his tone, he asked with a hand steadying my waist.

It wasn't even long, a couple of seconds at best, but if not for his exaggerated throat clearing, I would have forgotten the existence of Jasper.

"Rina, long time no see!" Jasper hollered at Rina, clearly unaware that he had probably died several times in her head. To which she graced him with an eye twitch and the fakest possible smile.

I would have been okay with any of this had they happened separately. But with Jasper's mouth and this guy's selective hearing, I might as well crucify myself. What's the point of preserving my dignity when it's about to be trampled like this? Despair.

"Maybe you could enlighten us? Eli's being too tight-lipped." Flicking his head back as if his heavily gelled hair would respond, he tried goading Rina.

"Enlighten you on what?" asked Rina nonchalantly, playing with her fingertips as if she had no idea where he was going with this.

"Oh, you know, she told everyone she's got someone else. As her family, of course, I'd be curious." How is he not choking on his own saliva right now?

Unable to help it, I glanced over at Rina who was partially blocked by broad shoulders. She's never liked Jasper, and she's never had much patience with such fake conversations.

"And?"

"Don't tell me, you don't know? Aren't you her best friend? Or maybe…it's because it's not true?" A perfect fit for Alexa, Jasper truly lives up to his identity as a scum.

Rina is uncharacteristically calm after being dragged around like this, which made me even more worried about the situation.

"Sorry to break your bubble, but he's very real." Hands-on her waist, like she's not making shit up, Rina looked confident.

"Oh?" On a very rare occasion, I even had the same reaction as Jasper. We didn't get anywhere the last time we looked.

Similarly curious, I tilted my head closer to Rina, and that's when I saw her face. Shit.

Time stood still, and I felt like everything was in slow motion. I could feel every muscle as I almost clambered over to Rina to stop her, only to be held off by strong arms.

Just like thunder, Rina pointed beside her, effectively selling me out.

Seemingly aware that something nefarious was about to go down, the temporary prison cell looked at Rina and then at me. He kept silent. But his eyes seemed to mock me.   

Gasps could be heard around us. But what's that compared to the feeling of my heart suddenly stopping? My head felt very rusty, and opening my mouth required all the effort I could muster.

I pinched his waist before looking up at him, trying to convey as much in my glare that probably looked like someone intensely constipated.

"Who?!" Jasper sounded astounded.

Powering through the pain, I finally managed a response. "Lucian."

Lucian fucking Sinclair.

Acceptance.