"What are you two doing?"
I had expected this kind of situation at some point, but definitely not this soon. If Mira broke down, it would be a complete disaster.
Compared to me, Feyra recovered her composure much faster. She cupped my face in her hands, turning me to meet her gaze.
"Nothing," she said softly, "just spending quality time with the person I love."
Her words struck like lightning, leaving both Mira and me frozen in shock. What happened next was even more startling – Feyra leaned in and left a hickey on my neck.
I expected Mira to break down and flee, but she did quite the opposite. With a fury I'd never witnessed before, she lunged forward and grabbed Feyra's hair, her voice trembling with rage.
"YOU SLUT! HOW DARE YOU GO AFTER MY MAN?"
"WHO SAID HE'S YOUR MAN? YOU TWO-FACED BITCH!" Feyra snarled back, retaliating by yanking Mira's hair.
I seized the opportunity to retreat to a safer distance, watching in disbelief as the scene unfolded.
"I'm going to tear that filthy mouth of yours for marking my Eddie!" Mira threatened, her grip tightening.
"When did Eddie become yours" Feyra shot back. "He's mine! And if anyone's mouth needs ripping, it's yours – you're the one who stole his first kiss!"
They were like alley cats locked in combat, and I couldn't believe Mira had this much aggression in her. Minutes passed, and their battle showed no signs of ending. I took a deep breath, trying to stop them.
"Stop, you two."
They ignored me, too wrapped up in their brawl.
"Stop fighting!"
Still nothing.
Frustrated, I tried one last tactic.
"Fine, I'm leaving. You two can keep fighting if you want."
That did the trick. The cursing stopped, though their hands remained tangled in each other's hair.
"Let go of each other's hair and sit down," I ordered.
"But—" Mira began.
"Now."
They reluctantly let go and sat down, both glaring daggers at each other. I sighed and retrieved some herbal cream from behind the counter. Sitting on the table, I started applying it to the scratches on their faces and necks.
"Ouch!" Mira yelped.
"Ahh!" Feyra winced.
"Stop complaining. If it hurts, you shouldn't have started fighting in the first place."
"If you weren't kissing her, this wouldn't have happened," Mira muttered.
I couldn't argue with that.
"For that... I have no excuse. I'm sorry."
After finishing with the cream, I set it aside and looked at both of them seriously.
"You already knew about each other's feelings, didn't you?"
They exchanged a look, then nodded reluctantly.
"Yeah," they muttered in unison.
"Hey, don't copy me!" Mira snapped.
"Same to you!" Feyra shot back.
"You—"
"Enough!" I cut in "You need to learn to get along. Otherwise, I won't marry either of you."
Their eyes widened in shock.
"Are you planning to marry both of us?" Feyra asked, astounded.
"That's right."
"Are you kidding?" Mira frowned.
"Nope. If you know each other's feelings, you must also understand mine."
"You… like both of us?" Mira asked, stunned.
I nodded.
"Unbelievable!"
Mira crossed her arms, still fuming. "You want me to live with this slut?"
"Same here. I'm not interested in sharing Eddie," Feyra added.
I sighed heavily.
"Then it looks like no one's getting married this Spring Festival."
Their faces fell.
Our village held a centuries-old tradition: a week-long spring festival, and marriage was a big event. Every year, those over the age of eighteen, including widows, widowers, and divorcees, would participate in a grand marriage ceremony.
Last year, Mira and I had just missed the age requirement. Feyra, being two years older than us, had already been of age.
Come to think of it, around this time single villagers usually sought their future partners.
"Are you really serious about this?" they asked.
"Everyone in the village, even the kids, expects us three to marry this year,"
Mira blinked in surprise. "The whole village?"
"Yes," Feyra said,
"You know about it?" Mira asked
"Yeah, because I'm not as dumb as a certain bitch,"
Before they could start arguing again, I intervened.
"Why do you think Feyra haven't received any proposals in the last two years?"
Mira crossed her arms again, huffing.
"No one wants to marry a slut,"
"You two-faced—"
"First stop the insults," I interrupted firmly.
"Because they known the result of the proposal."
After I spoke, silence fell over the room. They both avoided looking directly at each other, but the hostile air between them had eased somewhat.
Feyra broke the silence.
"It's not going to be easy, but… I'm willing to try. I cannot give up on you, now, as this is too hard and I expect this to happen."
Mira sighed, her arms crossed but her face less rigid. "Same. I'll try."
I smiled,
"That's all I ask. We'll figure this out as we go. No more insults, no more fighting. Just… trying."
They both nodded, though their expressions showed they knew this was far from over.
Feyra shifted slightly, glancing at me with a smirk. "But just so you know, I'm not giving up my spot as the favorite."
Mira huffed, "We'll see about that."
I couldn't help but chuckle, even though I knew I had a long road ahead trying to keep the peace between them. But at least they were willing to try.
For now, that was enough.