Chapter 16 A SPONSOR.
\~~~SERENA.
"What is your plan for the rest of the day? You were in so much hurry to return here,” Damien asked, looking around the premises as the car pulled in front of my house.
“My friend is…” I stopped talking as the gate opened and Maya walked out.
She had a spare key to my apartment and it seemed she had arrived for a while as she was wearing shorts and a polo that belonged to me.
“Around,” I completed.
Damien glanced at her and then at me again, “And tomorrow?”
“I have a presentation tomorrow. I can’t believe I missed class today, in fact,” I hissed.
Damien hummed softly, more to himself than to me, as if my academic panic was a minor inconvenience. “You will be fine,” he said calmly. “You’re brilliant. One missed day won’t erase that.”
Maya had reached the car by then, her eyes bouncing between the two of us with open curiosity. She leaned down slightly, resting her hands on her knees to peer in through the window.
“Well,” she drawled, “this is… unexpected.”
“Maya,” I said, unbuckling my seatbelt and pushing the door open. “You are early.”
“I figured I’d like for you to spill the tea sooner,” she replied with a shrug. “I got worried and bored.”
Damien stepped out of the car as well, straightening his jacket as his gaze swept over her assessing, polite, and unreadable. “I am Damien," he said, extending his hand. “Serena’s fiancé.”
Fiancé.
The word still sounded unreal, like it didn’t belong to me.
Maya’s brows shot up, and for a split second, she forgot to take his hand. Then she laughed awkwardly and shook it. “Wow. That escalated quickly.”
“You could say that,” I muttered.
Damien glanced at his watch. “I have a meeting to attend,” he said smoothly. “I will leave you to your evening.” His eyes returned to mine. “Rest up, moonlight.”
Before I could respond, he leaned down and pressed a brief, firm kiss to my forehead possessively , and deliberately, then stepped back.
“I will see you tomorrow, Serena.”
And just like that, he was gone, the car pulling away and leaving a thick silence behind.
Maya turned to me slowly, her mouth hanging open.
“Moonlight,” she said carefully, “What the hell did I just witness?”
I exhaled, rubbing my temples.
“I will kill you if you call me that one more time,”
“Call you what?” She grinned wickedly. “Moonlight?”
I scoffed, but the laugh burst out of me anyway, sharp and sudden. She took off toward the door and I chased after her, still laughing despite myself.
Inside, the door slammed shut behind us and Maya spun around dramatically, planting her hands on her hips.
“Okay,” she said. “Sit, now. Because there is no universe where you don’t explain all of that to me.”
I dropped my bag on the couch and collapsed beside it. “Where do I even start?”
_____
“SHUT UP, THERE IS NO FUCKING WAY!”
I closed my eyes for a few seconds as Maya’s scream encircled the whole room.
I had just explained my predicament to her. All of it, without leaving out a single detail.
I feel bad enough for lying to my mother, I don’t want to feel the same with Maya.
She was so down to earth and this lady had shared even the worst with me.
I’d be a monster if I can’t tell her my first ever interesting, and twisted story.
“He has a whole child, and a wife?!”
“I am telling you. Legally, at that.”
She shot up from the bed, raised her arms, and then dropped her hands on her waist.
“I am going to kill him. I swear, I will drain every single blood out of him and I don’t care going to jail for that. Stand up, and lead me to him.”
“Please, settle down, empress.”
“Fuck, how are you so cool-headed! I’m sorry, but I’d have committed murder! Four years, are you shitting me?”
“Maya, calm down.”
She breathed out and then palmed her forehead. “I am calm,” she settled again.
“So, you approached his uncle yourself? Girl, are we in a drama!” She squealed, slapping my back in excitement.
“Hey!” I moved away from her.
“What sort of revenge is this? Have you seen too many dramas?”
“It is crazy, I know.”
“You know what is crazier?” she asked, returning to settle in front of me, her eyes glittering with amusement, “The part where your mother suddenly agrees to you marrying a walking red flag who calls you moonlight like he owns the damn sky!”
I groaned and covered my face with my hands. “I don’t know what spell he cast on her. One minute she was interrogating him like a criminal, the next she was blessing the union like she personally arranged it with God.”
“And you?” Maya leaned forward. “How do you feel?”
I hesitated.
That was the problem. I didn’t have a neat answer. Everything felt too fast, and too heavy like I had stepped onto a moving train without knowing the destination.
“I feel,” I said slowly, “like my life just took a sharp turn and I didn’t get a chance to vote on it.”
Maya softened, shifting closer. “Are you scared?”
“Yes,” I admitted. “But also… weirdly calm. Like I am already in too deep to panic properly.”
She studied me for a moment, then sighed. “Serena, promise me one thing.”
“What?”
“No matter how intense he is, no matter how charming, rich, or terrifying, don’t disappear into him. You cannot make him hurt you, too.”
I swallowed. “I won’t.”
She bumped her shoulder against mine. “Good. Because if you do, I will personally haunt him.”
“I trust that you will,” I smiled softly.
“And you?” I asked, arching a brow. “How do you feel about all of this?”
“Well…” Maya pressed her lips together thoughtfully and folded her arms across her chest. “He is ridiculously hot. And rich. I’d honestly be worried for you if he wasn’t at least up to Ryan’s standard.”
I scoffed. “You literally warned me five minutes ago not to disappear into him or lose myself.”
“Well, I never said you shouldn’t use the situation wisely,” she shot back. “This is our final year, Serena. Bills are choking from every direction, and congratulations, you just bagged yourself a sponsor.”
“Damien is not my sponsor,” I corrected firmly.
She stared at me for a long second, then shook her head and clicked her tongue.
“Slow girl,” she muttered.