Chapter One

"She watched in terror as the demon's claws came flying towards her, black nails ripping through the air at an unbelievable speed. She shielded her face but knew that her thin arms wouldn't be any sort of protection. She closed her eyes, bracing herself for the inescapable pain.

The air rang with the sound of scraping against metal. At first, Ryia believed that she was in too much shock to feel the pain. She slowly opened her eyes, looking down at her body, expecting to see a mangled mess. There was nothing.

Her eyes shot up to see what had happened to the monster that was moments away from reaching her. Instead of a bubbling, black mass, she saw the figure of a man.

"Are you okay Ryia? Nothing hit you, right?" the guy called out in a voice she immediately recognized. He began to turn around, but as soon as he moved, his body crumpled. Ryia caught him in her arms before he hit the ground. At first, she thought it was just fatigue, but as she tried to lift him back up, she felt a warm liquid trickling down her arms. Why was he bleeding so profusely?

"Lawrence! What happened?"

Ryia peaked over his shoulder, her eyes falling on the body of a monster that had a sword piercing its chest. But that wasn't all. Its claws were covered in ruby-colored blood. So that was the noise. Lawrence had killed the monster, but not in time to spare himself from the scythe-like fingers.

"Lawrence!" she wondered what she could do, tears beginning to drip.

"Hey, don't worry about me, it's just a little scratch," he smiled, trying not to let the pain show on his face. He didn't want Ryia to cry over him.

"Why would you protect me like that?"

"I'd do anything to protect the person I love, even if it meant giving up my life."

Ryia choked on her tears at his confession. Of course, she loved him as a friend. They had been each other's best friends for as long as she could remember, but as she looked into his eyes, she could see that he didn't mean it in that way.

No, her loved her with all his heart.

Her tears fell faster. If he loved her, then how could he leave her alone in a world like this.

"Don't be sad. If you're sad, then me protecting you will have done nothing. So please, just be happy. I'll always be okay as long as you live with a smile on your face."

At that moment, she felt her heart shatter. In the back of her brain, never before seen emotions gnawed at her conscious. He was who she should've spent her life with. He would've loved her and cared for her in a way no one else could. Maybe, in another life, things would've been different, she could've fallen in love with him too. Maybe, in another life, they could've been happy. But pondering it was useless. It wouldn't change the present.

"Okay, I'll try my best to be happy for you," she gave him a weak smile. Through shallow breaths, he managed to give a small laugh.

"Thank you."

"No, thank you..."

She hugged him tight as the life in his eyes slowly drifted away. "

"What the hell is this?" I screamed at my phone, "that is how the author got rid of the love triangle? By killing the second male lead right after he confessed his love to her?!?"

I closed the app and swiped through my notifications when I saw the clock.

The time 4:23 am flashed up at me.

If I don't go to be soon, I'm going to sleep through my first day of work.

I closed my phone and tossed it onto my bedstand. I plopped onto my bed and curled up under the covers, still pissed at what I had just read.

Besides, I don't want to read the rest of it anyways. What a stupid way to fix the love triangle. Ugh, I couldn't stand the male lead, there is no way I'm reading the story now that I know that they end up together. Screw the author and their cheap writing.

The noises of the city blared in the background as I lay in bed, trying to fall asleep. The scene kept replaying in my mind. How could someone be so willing to give their life up for another person? Maybe it was because I'd never been in love myself, but I just couldn't imagine what would drive someone to do that. It made no sense.

The next morning, I woke up to the sound of a car revving outside my window. Sitting up, I rubbed my eyes. Before I was even fully awake, my mind was already back on that damned book. I yawned, remembering how late I had stayed up reading it. I thought I'd be more tired because of it, and that the only thing that would wake me up was my blaring alarm.

Now that I think of it, why am I awake before my alarm?

I turned over and grabbed my phone, turning it on to see what time it was. 9:37 am. Shit, work starts at ten. There was no way I was going to be late for my first day at my new job. I practically flew out of bed and ran around my apartment.

Shirt, skirt, socks, shoes, jacket, purse, wait where are my keys?

I saw them laying on the counter next to my bus pass, snatched them up, and went speeding down the flight of stairs that lead out to the busy street. I followed the sidewalk, trying my best not to bump into anyone as I went by

In the distance, I saw the bright royal blue shine of the bus as it waited at a stoplight. The bus stop was still three blocks away, but if I hurried, I could make it on time. I picked up the pace.

Just one block to go, I thought as I crossed the street. God, my feet hurt already. What was I thinking when I decided to put on heels? The light turned green, and the bus started to approach. As far as I could see, there was only one person at the stop, so the bus probably wouldn't wait long once it arrived. Especially not if it was that one crabby lady, but she usually only worked on Fridays. At that point, I was starting to get nervous. I saw the bus crawl closer and closer. I started jogging.

"Excuse me, Excuse me," I said as I pushed my way through the people around me.

"Excuse m-"

My apology was cut short as I tripped on the curb trying to pass the person in front of me. My ankle rolled, and I felt myself tumble. I fell face-first onto the asphalt, scraping my chin and knees. I picked myself up and started dusting off my skirt, which was most definitely ruined by my fall. Great, there was probably no way I would be able to get the tar stains out at all, and there was definitely no way to get them out before I needed to be at the office. Maybe if I turned around and hurried back to change, but then I'd miss the bus and would have to walk.

I was so engulfed in my clothes that I didn't hear the shouts from the people around me. I looked up and noticed where I was. I sat in the middle of the road, a truck barreling towards me at full speed.

"Well, shit..." I murmured as the headlights, and I came face to face.

Hey everyone! Thank you for reading the first chapter of my novel! I am posting this story as I write it, so there might be some wait time between chapters, but I'll do my best to update frequently! I hope you enjoyed this chapter and stick around for more in the future!