The days were quickly passing by, like the warm evening breeze during winter. Hina's fame had skyrocketed around the estates, especially after she bought and shared some desserts with some maids and even a few guards. She had visited the cafe a few more times after the first visit and had steadily become a favourite customer at the cafe. Hina had also had an encounter with the cafe owner, a beautiful French lady in her early twenties called Rebecca Laurent.
Rebecca Laurent was the only daughter of Sir Laurent, who had recently moved to the growing city centre for some business opportunities. Her father had gifted her with the cafe as a birthday gift some months ago to keep her busy. Rebecca had taken a liking to Hina during their first encounter. It was one of those sunny days when Hina found herself craving a chocolate dessert she had eaten at the cafe. She had mistakenly bumped into Rebecca who had suddenly requested of her to become a model for their cafe, more like an ambassador. Hina had strictly rejected the offer at first but later agreed after Rebecca's constant plea. Despite their few encounters, Rebecca treated Hina with a lot of sincerity and insisted that Hina call her "elder sister". She always went on about how Hina was the cutest person in the world and insisted on pairing Hina with her younger brother, but Hina declined. Hina never mentioned much about herself to Rebecca, like how she was already married or anything about her family because it would only lead to more questions. The two had only recently met and despite Rebecca's warm and lovely aura, Hina found it hard to be around her, especially since she was quite familiar with the original Rebecca Laurent from the novel.
Rebecca was a small side character that was briefly mentioned in the novel. Beautiful tanned skin, dark brown hair and brown eyes. She was the owner of the most popular cafe in the city. The original Hina had tried to buy Rebecca's cafe later on after she inherited her husband's hotel. However, Rebecca never agreed to sell to Hina. She also often belittled Hina's background, calling her "the empire's whore" and was a stan of Sakura, which made things even more difficult between the two. Rebecca was one of those people who enjoyed spreading gossips about Hina and had been very pleased with her death.
Although the original novel still had about three years to officially start, Hina couldn't bring herself to truly like Rebecca or return her friendly demeanour. She always just pretended to be happy whenever she was around her.
"My adorable Hina! Come visit soon, okay?" Rebecca waved from the front door of the cafe as Hina plastered a wide smile on her face as she got into the carriage.
Hina had visited the cafe mainly for business purposes. Several of her photos were taken by Rebecca as she ate a dessert or sipped on a milkshake. It was becoming such a bothersome task and she reminded herself that she needed to find a reason to quit soon and look for other places to visit apart from the cafe. Hina did not enjoy the extra stares people gave her nor the sight of her face plastered all over the walls of the cafe. She regretted the deal for the hundredth time, as the only thing it brought was more attention. Her initial plan was to survive and live quietly, so why was she suddenly becoming the face of the cafe?
"I must have lost my darn mind at that moment" she whispered to herself again. She had also gotten a letter from the merchant that stated that he would be back in a few days, which was a bit earlier than she was expecting. The head maid had given her the letter during breakfast with a huge smile on her face as if to taunt Hina to let her know that the good days were over.
[What is up with this family, showing up whenever they please? Also, what if he gets angry that I took up this job without asking for his permission first?] The idea of him suddenly lashing out scared her as it was originally how his behaviour was meant to be.
[I'll have to think of a way to pacify him, in case]
As her head was aching from worrying too much, she closed her eyes for a while, trying to empty her thoughts for a brief moment before she arrived at the estates.
_____
The full moon was out and the night was chilly. Suki placed Hina's golden-brown hair in a loose braid down her back, wrapped a huge fur coat over Hina's shoulders and handed her a warm cup of milk tea.
"My lady, you have to sleep warmly tonight. The weather is slowly changing and it is becoming colder. Please sleep covered with the duvet as we cannot let my lady catch a cold. You also must not open the windows, my lady" Suki was just a few years older than Hina Kudo but she nagged more than a grandmother, yet it was warm and refreshing.
"Yes yes, Suki. I hear you. I'll be sure to stay warm and keep the windows closed" she gently smiled at the ever worried Suki.
"Go to bed too, Suki. Sleep warmly"
"My lady, you're too kind. Goodnight" Suki looked so touched as if Hina had solved all her problems in the world. It was so funny how easily pleased they all were with Hina but this reaction was much preferred than the original version. Despite the heaviness of her eyes, Hina could not sleep.
[This is becoming a habit]
She was stressed out again. The merchant's arrival could be any day from now and she didn't know what to expect from his behaviour. She barely got away on their wedding night and luckily for her, rumour had somehow spread that the two shared the night. Hina was almost certain that it was the head maid's doing, under the Merchant's order, probably to prevent Hina from being ill-treated. If people had found out otherwise, they might look down on her, so it was the only explanation that somewhat made sense to Hina. But there was a big issue at hand. One she could not avoid once the merchant returned. The fact that the old geezer would want to truly consummate his marriage to Hina! She cooked up ideas in her head but none seemed plausible. There was truly no escaping it now.
[Even if I was truly able to come up with an idea for now, what about next week? What about next month, next year and the year after? I wouldn't be able to escape from him forever!]
In the novel, Hina's husband dies just after she turns seventeen, which meant that there was still about three years left. That three years sounded like an eternity to Hina. Also, what happens if he doesn't die? What happens if the story changes and he lives longer than that? Oh, she hoped that wouldn't be the case! He should just disappear!
[What am I thinking?]
For the first time in a long time, she felt like a truly terrible person, as thoughts and hopes of an early death for the merchant filled her head. As much as she truly hated the sight of the man, she shouldn't wish death upon him. As she laid there on the bed, forced to listen to the sounds of the crickets outside her windows, she silently wished she could just return to her old life before all this began.
She soon heard a knock on the balcony glass door. She quickly switched on the lamp beside her bed and approached the door.
[Who could it be?] With the heavy security in the estates, it was almost impossible for an intruder to easily make their way to the main house without being noticed. She didn't want to believe it, but she could swear that she already knew who her intruder was tonight. The same one who had smoothly slid into her chambers before while the night sky acted as his camouflage. The Merchant's only son- Kai.
As she reached the balcony door, she immediately recognised Kai standing at the other end of the glass with a smile on his face. She hated to admit it but he was utterly beautiful. His silky silver hair, his eyes and down to his feet, everything about his physical appearance was a blessing to the eyes. She still didn't understand how such a character was not the male lead nor even a love interest for the female lead.
[His shitty behaviour is probably the reason]
Recalling their first encounter, Hina was unsure whether or not to open the door for her intruder. Was he here to spill rubbish again? Or to force himself on her since the merchant's return was near? Hina had not caught even a glimpse of Kai since that night and was happy with things remaining that way, so why was he at her balcony so late at night again?
After a brief pause, she unlocked the door and let him in.
"I hope this doesn't become a habit" she warned him
"I hope so too"
"What?"
"I'm joking, I'm joking!" He chuckled as he made his way into the room to sit down comfortably as if it were his.
"Why are you here?"
"I haven't had the time to properly play with my new stepmother, so I decided to just stop by and say hi. Is that such a bad thing?" He was pouting like a child, trying to be cute. Hina noticed that he seemed much calmer and very playful tonight.
"Yes, it is. Coming this late at night is rude. Besides, we've already said "hi" to each other before, am I right?"
Kai stood up from where he was sitting and approached Hina, moving too quickly for her to notice. He was already in front of her, towering over her with his huge build as he looked down to make eye contact with her.
"I must have made a mistake that night. Let's try to get along, for now, Hina Kudo" his tone sounded apologetic but that wasn't good enough for Hina.
[What? "I must have made a mistake?" Of course you did!] That was what she wanted to say but Kai quickly placed a small box in her hands and was gone in a flash.
"What the heck just happened? Did he just vanish after only saying what he wanted without listening to me?"
She sighed and locked the door back, tired and cold. The chilly air was seeping in and the room suddenly felt colder. She remembered Suki's warning to sleep warmly.
[Suki will throw a fit if she found out]
As she wrapped her small body in the duvet once again, she curiously opened the small purple box to unveil its contents. Inside the box was a thin gold bracelet with tiny pieces of rubies in the shape of a flower stuck to both ends. The shiny little jewellery was so beautiful and eye-catching.
"It's so pretty," she thought out loud.
She tried it on and to her surprise, it fit like a glove.
"Wow! Did he measure the size of my hand? How is it so perfect?"
After she was done admiring it, she placed it back into the box and put it under the pillow, as she was too lazy to stand up again to properly keep it in a jewellery box.
"Just because it's pretty doesn't mean I've forgiven him"
_____