"Luna!" Corinne gripped Luna's arm and gave her a shake. Her wide eyes stared at Luna's as she tried to see if she was joking or not.
Did she just say she married their President Li?! What the hell was happening to her friend?! How the hell did she associate herself with their aloof and reserved boss!
"You aren't joking, right? For fuck's sake, you just broke up with that idiot, Jasper!" Corinne threw her arms in the air in frustration before turning her back to Luna. It all made sense now: why Luna wasn't trying to get back with Jasper and had let that bitch, Aiko, take away her boyfriend. Her eyes landed at her young daughter who was giggling as she played with Luna's dog.
"Please, Luna. Tell me what's happening to you?" Corinne begged.
They had known each other for years and been with each other through the up and downs of their lives. When she first met Aiko who was trying to get close to Luna, she already had a hunch that the woman had malicious intent against Luna, but Luna had claimed that Aiko deserved a chance to prove herself.
Luna took a deep sigh. She felt compelled to explain everything to Corinne. After all, she was the only one who helped her without asking for anything in exchange. She took her friend's hand and lead her back to the kitchen where they could talk privately and out of Mia's hearing.
Corinne served her a cup of tea as they sat at the dining table. Her eyes wandered at Luna's face and figure, she could tell that Luna hadn't been sleeping well lately. The exhaustion and darkening of her eyes were obvious. She looked fragile and frail that one gust of wind would blow her over.
"Remember that celebration party at the bar last month?" Luna started. Her problems all started on that fateful night when Aiko tricked her and slept with Hero in his hotel room.
"Yes, I remember. I remember you leaving the bar with Aiko, but she came back alone. She told us you asked her to call a cab for you and already went home so we shouldn't worry about your safety."
Luna gritted her teeth. That Aiko! Such a big fat liar that she was!
"No, she didn't help me call a cab. She tricked me to sleep with another man!" she hissed.
"Wait. What?!" Corinne's eyes were wide as saucers. Aiko was lying to them all along?
"She told me that Jasper was checked in at the hotel and had given me an access card to his room." Luna chewed her lower lip. She should have known better when Aiko persistently convinced her to sleep and spend the night with Jasper, only to find out that she had shared the bed with Hero instead.
"I really thought it was Jasper … but how wrong I was when I woke up the next morning."
"What does President Li have to do with this?" Corinne was baffled as to why President Li ended up married to her friend. It then dawned to her. Her jaws dropped upon realization. She gaped at Luna, her forefinger pointing at her.
"You mean—"
"Yes," Luna confirmed Corinne's unspoken question. "I woke up in President Li's bed and not Jasper's. I don't know how and why Aiko set me up with him. Minutes after, I realized my mistake. She came outside the door and knocked loudly, calling out my name as if she was confident that she could convince Jasper that I was cheating on him."
"That's so despicable. How was she able to get President Li's access card in the first place? Did she pay someone to steal it?"
Luna shrugged her shoulders and rubbed her temples. She was getting dizzy again, and it wouldn't be nice to pass out on her friend's kitchen.
"I'm not sure about the details, but I was certain she was the one responsible for this predicament. If it wasn't for her, Jasper wouldn't leave me, and President Li wouldn't have to pursue after me."
"He likes you?"
Luna wasn't sure what Hero wanted from her. Maybe it was her body, or he was attracted to her, but she didn't care anymore. It wouldn't change anything. She was already married to him, and just like what he said earlier, she belonged to him.
"President Li do whatever he wishes. Now, that I married him, I know that I'm also trapped in this marriage. The only things good about this are that his daughter accepted me already and Julian's life is now out of danger."
Corinne didn't like what Luna was implying. She dearly hoped her friend didn't sell herself to President Li to save her little brother, but Corinne knew. She knew what Luna did and sacrificed for her brother's sake.
"Can you divorce him? Did he give you a certain period as to how long you two should stay married to each other? There's no love between the two of you. If the day comes when he loses his interest in you, it will be easier for him to give your freedom."
Luna shook her head. With the way that was going on with her life, she didn't think Hero would release her from this forced marriage anytime soon. Not when she was carrying his child.
"I'm afraid not. I'm pregnant with his child."