Unexpected Romance

I looked up. My stomach twisted in horror when I saw who was standing next to me.

"Wah. Wow. Looks like you skipped school for a romantic lunch date."

I swallowed. The last thing I wanted right now was to be caught alone with Sergey by my classmates.

Standing next to me was the popular queen of the school and the drama queen who loved to bully people. The bullying I experienced today was nothing compared to what Gwen was doing to the whole school.

The name of this crazy bully is Gwen Simpson. Her profile is perfect. She's a real-life Barbie.

Slim. Tall. Blonde. Blue eyes. Big chest. Small waist. And an insignificant amount of fat on her body.

That's Gwen. The girl who likes to change boyfriends, but dislikes me the most, because she thinks I always get the attention of the boys at school.

"Ops, sorry to interrupt your date."

I said nothing. Of course, Gwen's apology was far from sincere. I knew that.

Since the second day of school, after half a dozen popular boys who saw me in the cafeteria suddenly moved closer to me, Gwen immediately crowned Lei as her nemesis.

"I'm not dating." I refuted slowly.

I saw Gwen's eyebrows raised. What the hell. My life is not about satisfying her curiosity.

"In that case, do you mind if I join you?"

Gwen suddenly asked the waiter to give her a seat. I gaped. My eyes blinked in confusion.

Instead of feeling angry, I was curious about Sergey's reaction. This 'friend' of mine would probably slaughter Gwen with his caustic mouth or his extremely cold demeanor.

Ah, if only I could fall in love with Sergey. I would have been happy with my boyfriend's loyalty and protective attitude towards me.

Unfortunately, my heart is still heavy with love for Sergey. All the greatness he possessed could not bring me to my knees before him.

"So who is he, Lei?"

Gwen tilted her head. She asked me, but her eyes were fixed on Sergey. I wanted to laugh out loud.

"His name is Sergey. He's-"

"Who told you to sit here?"

Sergey abruptly cut me off. I was stunned. Next to me, Gwen made a wry face.

"Lei let me sit here." Gwen answered boldly after a long silence.

Sergey turned to me. "Is that so, Lei? I didn't hear you give her permission to sit here."

I nearly choked on my own saliva. It was so typical of Sergey. I wanted to burst out laughing at his question to me.

Meanwhile, the back of my eye was watching Gwen's increasingly sour face. I couldn't understand what she was thinking. She's a real person who can act very well. It's hard for me to penetrate her hard skull and read what's on her mind.

"I'm having lunch with someone special, Gwen. Maybe you can join me next time." I decided to remove Gwen from the table as soon as possible.

I didn't want any more drama. Sergey was already in a bad mood because he suspected Sol. I didn't want a fight between us because Gwen had suddenly appeared and ruined our lunch.

"Ah, handsome. Do you want me to leave too?"

Seriously. Gwen seemed determined to ignore me. I just shrugged indifferently and decided to concentrate on the steak on my plate.

Gwen was Sergey's business now. Period.

"Yes. I want you out of here." Sergey knew no mercy.

I desperately stifled a laugh. Gwen's face was already like a cat that had swallowed a sock.

"All right, handsome. I was just dropping off my best friend's bag."

I was tempted to punch Gwen in the head. Given the almost one hundred percent hostile background of our relationship, recognizing me as a best friend would have made Gwen sick to her stomach.

Miraculously, Gwen wasn't joking when she handed me a bag. It was a very small bag made of cheap plastic. It looked more like a child's toy bag than a school bag.

And the girl's lies were obvious. I didn't bother giving in to her either. I deliberately lifted my backpack and showed it to Gwen.

"I think you've got the wrong person. This is my bag. It's heavy and full of books. I think this bag looks like yours. It only has enough for lipstick and powder."

And a little brain.

I wanted to add those words to my last sentence. Gwen's little brain was definitely enough to fit into that little plastic bag.

But I'm still a pacifist. I'd had enough confrontations with Gwen. It was time to concentrate on convincing Sergey to leave as soon as possible.

"Not really. This is indeed your bag. You've completely forgotten the gift I gave you."

My smile faded. Gwen and her cunning brain must have found a thousand ways to humiliate me.

The girl placed the bag she was carrying on the table, right next to my half-finished plate of steak. Then, in a super flirtatious manner, Gwen rubbed Sergey's shoulder before walking away.

I waited until Gwen was completely gone. Then I tried to open the bag Gwen had given me.

Sure enough. That girl would never let me rest. Inside the bag was a little note mocking me for being a coward.

"Who is she?"

Sergey seemed to notice the change in my face. I shoved the plastic bag under the table and focused on the man in front of me.

"My friend from school. He likes to bully me."

"Because you're pretty?"

I gaped. My grip on the fork and knife stopped reflexively.

Oh God, please give me just a little love for Sergey. This whole attitude of his was so sweet to me. But my heart remained unmoved to love him back.

"No-not really." I was a little nervous.

Being praised as beautiful while in super ugly mode like now was very annoying. I felt insulted.

I had already spent a whole section drawing freckles on my face. The thick glasses with the old-fashioned handles that I'd worn to accentuate my ugly look.

Not to mention my two braids, which already resembled an Annabelle doll. Only a fool would think I was still pretty.

But how dare I call Sergey a fool. I'd break my neck if I took offense.

"Who dares to say that my fiancée isn't beautiful?"

Gwen!

I wanted to shout her name. But I had to control myself.

"Sergey, it doesn't matter who says I'm ugly. It's better to focus on us. Okay?"

"My guess is that the girl from before will bring you bad things."

I nodded in agreement. Gwen was indeed the embodiment of negative human nature.

Don't let her get bitten by a werewolf. My people didn't need another poisonous creature like her.

"Don't go near her."

"It's my pleasure, Sergey." I put on a sweet smile. "Now, can you tell me about your meeting with the officials? I'd love to hear it."

My distraction worked. Sergey loves it when his activities become the topic of conversation. Soon our conversation turned to various types of security aircraft with the same durability as military aircraft.

Fortunately, Sergey decided not to come back to my house. He had to go immediately to Alabama to take care of a business contract with one of the millionaires there. Fortunately, Sergey didn't ask me to drive him to the airport. That meant he would have to go into werewolf mode to get to the Los Angeles airport.

And I was finally free of Sergey!

I watched his mysterious departure. Just walking and mingling with the crowds of pedestrians on the Malibu sidewalk. Within seconds, Sergey was out of my sight.

That night my house was in an uproar. Dad was furious that I'd missed my chance to invite Sergey home.

"Dad, Sergey had important business in Alabama. That's why he can't come to our house." I tried to answer, but my patience was wearing thin.

My parents had an unreasonable obsession with my match with Sergey. As members of the Moon Clan, it was indeed an honor to have their daughter as the clan leader's mate.

However, I felt more like my parents were selling me to Sergey. They didn't care about my feelings at all.

"As his fiancée, you should persuade him to have dinner here."

I closed my eyes. It was exhausting to deal with Dad, who adored Sergey so much.

"I'll go first, Dad."

"Where are you going, Lei? Our conversation isn't over yet!"

I didn't care. I slammed the front door loudly, giving voice to my emotions that were already spilling over.

It was always like this.

Whenever we talked about Sergey, my parents and I always argued. Their expectations of me were too high. I didn't share their enthusiasm for Sergey as a husband.

My steps were directed around the block. I didn't realize how far I had walked. The next thing I knew, I was walking back to my house, but not from the front.

Then I saw them.

Sol and Gwen.

My steps stopped instantly. My mouth suddenly felt dry. My eyes widened as I saw them hugging and almost kissing.

"Shit! Are they on a date? So soon?" I reflexively looked away, not wanting to see Sol and Gwen being so intimate.