For every minute you are angry you lose sixty seconds of happiness.

– Ralph Waldo Emerson

The more things are forbidden, the more popular they become.

– Mark Twain

Sometimes people don't want to hear the truth because they don't want their illusions destroyed.

– Friedrich Nietzsche

Chapter 12

"Do explain how you're not freezing right now." Sarah was looking at my dress with a shocked expression. Not long after Mateo left, the rebellious side of me won the battle in my mind so I refused to do what I was told. I hadn't change nor had I put on tights like I previously intended. I had already given him too much control over my life and we were only in the first stages of our relationship. I realized that he would, eventually, get used to the whole idea and I would never be free again. I had to put an end to that, no matter the cost.

„Beauty hurts." To be honest, I didn't agree with that statement. Beauty shouldn't hurt and girls should be pressured to do things just so society would classify them as beautiful and attractive. However, I couldn't think of a better excuse at the moment, because she was right. I was cold and I was slowly fading into the phase of despair and hypothermia. Nonetheless, I didn't give up, I had to go to the very end.

"That's the stupidest sentence you've ever said, and you've had your fair share of those," I rolled my eyes. I was aware of what her opinion on the subject was so I expected that kind of response.

"S, do you always have to be so grumpy when we go shopping?" Emma asked her, after Lena and she joined us by the changing rooms.

"Would you be happy if I made you play video games with me?" Sarah countered.

"Of course not," Emma rolled her eyes.

"Do I usually do that?" She asked her. Almost immediately Emma's expression changed. She looked beyond annoyed and she started biting her lips, which was a trait she did when she was frustrated.

"No, but that's not the same. Shopping is for girls. Playing games and other stupid stuff isn't." Surprised, I looked at Lena who casually barged in on the conversation since Emma refused to respond. I was aware that the two of them weren't exactly in a good place right now, but she went too far this time.

"Am I a girl?" Sarah said through gritted teeth. She was trying way too hard to keep herself together, even the veins on her neck started to pop out.

"I guess," she said rudely. I had a sudden urge to slap her across her face, however, I stopped myself before doing so. I was against all kinds of violence so that action would counter my beliefs.

"Do I play video games?" Sarah carried on with her interrogation, looking at her with such intensity, like she was doing it for the very first time.

"Sure, and?"

"Then I would say that playing video games is a girl thing?" She smiled in satisfaction and raised her eyebrow, daring her to deny it. A few times Lena opened and closed her mouth, trying to come up with some sort of a comeback, but it was all in vain. It was clear that Sarah won in that discussion. Eventually, she arrogantly flipped her hair and started walking towards some other part of the store. I didn't miss the smug look on Sarah's face and a smirk forming on her lips and I just had to do the same.

-

"Finally!" Sarah let out an exasperated sigh the moment we came out of the last store. I laughed and intertwined our arms, it seemed like she was going to faint at some point.

"Girls?" Emma called us. I looked in her direction and noticed that she was typing away on her phone. I raised my head giving her the sign so she could continue. "Guys would like to join us and have lunch with us, what do you say?" She asked, a bit nervous.

"So, Victor and you are on good terms now?" I couldn't help myself, I had to tease her at least a little bit. She pointed her middle finger at me, but besides that, she ignored my insinuation.

"Sure, why not-" Even before Sarah was able to finish the sentence, Emma was back again, typing away on her phone, presumably sending them the location where we were going.

After a couple of minutes, we made an appearance in our favorite restaurant that was located not so far away from the mall. Luke, Victor, and Stephan were already seated at the biggest table and also brought other chairs so there would be seats for everyone. Immediately after we noticed them, we started walking in their direction.

Right before I was supposed to sit down, I slipped and almost fell on the wet floor. The restaurant policy was that whenever one group of guests left the place, they had to clean and disinfect the area they occupied. I suppose that that was the reason for my not-so-gracious half-fall. Fortunately, strong, male arms wrapped around my waist, stopping me from making a total fool out of myself and kissing a floor. Embarrassed, I raised my head and I was instantly met with a pair of beautiful, sky-blue eyes. No matter how much he was usually annoying me, I couldn't deny the fact that Luke was unbelievably attractive.

"I thought the kneeling was supposed to be a men thing," he said jokingly, with a cute smile plastered on his face.

"I'm all in for equality," I winked which made both of us laugh.

As a real gentleman, he undoubtedly was, he moved the chair so I could sit down. I gave him a grateful look and finally made myself comfortable between Sarah and him. I believed that was the first time both of us acted friendly with each other. Furthermore, I couldn't shake the feeling that the little fact was entirely my fault. Luke was, essentially, a good person, but something in his behavior didn't sit well with me. He was a player and women were drawn to him like he was the only man in the world. That wasn't even that strange, considering his timeless beauty. It wasn't like he was using them, they always knew where they stood with him, yet most of the girls hoped that they would be the ones to change his ways, so that was one of the main reasons why they carried on with the flings, and he was aware of it. That was mistake number one. You can't change a person. You can only try to control her for a little while, but that wouldn't be a change of character. A person could only change if he/she was the one who wanted it in the first place, everything else is pointless because eventually, everything will go back to how it originally was.

"Earth to Tara!" I was brought out of my thoughts by Sarah's voice and her hand she currently used to waive in front of my face, trying to catch my attention. I didn't even notice when I went to dreamland, but I guess that was the whole point.

"Sorry guys, I was just lost in my thoughts," I noticed that they had already ordered for me seeing as there was a plate of Caesar salad right in front of me, which was probably my favorite dish in this place.

"I hope you don't mind, we ordered before you girls arrived, and I know that you liked it so..." Stephan trailed off with a slight nervousness in his voice. I smiled reassuring him that everything was alright. Satisfied with himself, he nodded his head.

"I don't get it," Emma commented after some time.

"I'm shocked," Victor murmured which earned him a slap across his forehead, however weird it sounded.

"How is it possible that you guys made it work for so long?" I looked in her direction, feeling utterly confused. I had no idea where those thoughts came from. "I mean, look at Mateo, your current boyfriend. They are so different you couldn't find one trait both Stephan and him share. It's crazy."

"Should I take that in an offensive why or?" Stephan asked unsure of himself.

"Well, I mean, not really, I was just sayin'. Even Sarah is scared of him, how does he manage to do that?" She threw her hands in disbelief.

"I regret the moment I made that confession," Sarah mumbled which earned her a silent laugh from me.

"Bro, the guy seemed like he was about to strangle someone," Victor jumped in on the conversation, remembering the night we went out.

"Honestly, I'm so glad he wasn't aware of the fact that I was your ex, I'm not sure how I would get out of that place alive, otherwise," I rolled my eyes after Stephan said that. They are exaggerating. It was clear that Mateo was a hard person to deal with, a bit problematic, but those statements were too much.

"Why are you even in a relationship with that guy anyway?" Victor asked me, however, before I even had a chance to respond, Emma did it for mi.

"'Cuz the guy is hot as hell, duh."

"Not everything is in physical appearance," he countered.

"When you look that good, it is."

After a while, I just turned their voices off in my head. I was annoyed by the whole situation. They were talking about him like I, his girlfriend, wasn't there with them. They showed me disrespect in a way. I was very much aware that they didn't do that on purpose, but sometimes I wished my life wasn't a subject to every day's gossips.

I let out a frustrated sigh and turned my head on the other side in an attempt to ignore their conversation. I was a bit taken aback when I noticed the way Luke's blue eyes were fixated on me. They held such intensity, I almost fell out of my chair. His lips were pressed in a firm line and he wore what seemed to be a permanent scowl. He looked rather serious.

"What?" I mouthed, suddenly annoyed with him. It seemed as our friendliness came to an abrupt end.

"Something's off with that guy," he said lightly, but the tone of his voice made it obvious that he spent a lot of time thinking about that. However, I could just scowl and glare at him, I was done with them giving me lectures and irrelevant opinions.

"It's none of your business, you know!" I told him, sounding like a rude child that wasn't aware that manners were a thing. Furthermore, it really wasn't his business to deal with. I hated when people gave themselves the right to interfere and comment on other people's life. I wanted them to stay away from it as I did with theirs.

"I've never taken you as a stupid and naïve person, although I'm starting to change that opinion." I looked at him with a surprised expression. He had never before insulted me in that way and my ego was more than just hurt.

"What are you talking about?" I raised my voice a bit. Fortunately, no one paid us attention, though I was sure that that was going to change considering our almost screaming match.

"I've seen the guy only once in my lifetime and it was enough for me to realize that he isn't a good person, Tara. You may think that his aggressive and dangerous behavior is thrilling right now, but it's only a matter of time before he starts acting that way towards you." His words hit me like a truck. I literally felt the air leaving my lungs. I refused to believe his claims. Mateo was someone who liked to control things, but he would never physically harm me. I was sure of that at the time.

"That's bullshit! You don't even know him." Was the only thing I said, though. I had no strength for anything else. I tried way too hard to ignore the little doubt he plastered in my mind.

"And are you sure that you do?" He raised his eyebrow, provoking me. I wanted to say something at that moment, to defend myself, but I couldn't. He was right. He brought me a few hours back in the past when I was the one thinking the same thing. I didn't know him and it was hypocritical of me to accuse other people of it. Yet, they could never compare to me in that department. I was his girlfriend, either way, I usually spent my days with that guy. I didn't know a lot about him, but it was enough for me to hate when they constantly talk bad things about him.

Right, when I was about to inform my dear friend of my thoughts I was rudely interrupted by the voice of a person that made an appearance on my blacklist in a record time.

"Tara, mon Cheri, where have you been?" I really tried to control myself, but Emma and Victor couldn't take it any longer. Paul wasn't able to even finish the sentence before they burst out into hysterical laughter. Was it due to his terrible accent, the fact that he used a French phrase even though he had no connections with the said country whatsoever, or his whole demeanor was hilarious, I wouldn't know. Still, I could bet on the combination of the three.

No matter how much he was entertaining my friends, I didn't have a slight intention to talk with the person in question. I wasn't even sure why he thought otherwise, he didn't deserve a second of my time.

"Tara? I wish to talk to you," he said after a few moments of silence. My back was facing him, obviously trying to make him realize that I was ignoring him. I was very much aware of the fact that I had the full attention of my friends, even Victor and Emma stopped what they were doing and were glancing at me every now and then, yet, I carried on eating, successfully playing the part of an arrogant and conceited person.

"Tara!" He raised his voice a bit. Usually, I would probably flinch, however, Mateo was my boyfriend and he was a billion times scarier than this guy, so his attempt wasn't really effective.

Even though I wasn't the slightest bit shaken by his actions, someone was furious because of what he did. I had to put my hands on my ears when I heard the squeaky sound of a chair being dragged across the floor. Luke got up from his seat and almost immediately invaded Paul's personal face.

"You really can't take a hint, can you?" He asked mockingly.

"I wasn't talking to you pretty boy," Paul countered.

"Please stop embarrassing yourself and get the hell out of here."

"Who are you to tell me what to do?"

If I hit him right now, would that be considered a violation of my codes?

"Her friend, now go," I snorted. I would hardly call us friends, but he was trying to help so I will shut up on this one.

"And I'm her business partner and future-" He didn't have a chance to complete the sentence before I turned around so fast I almost fainted.

"You have ten seconds to get the hell away from me," I said calmly, yet, my eyes were everything but. They were so murderous, Luke had to grab my forearm just in case so I wouldn't attack the idiot like a crazy bull.

"But, Tara-" Once again I didn't let him finish.

"One, two..." I didn't even get to three and he was already at the exit. It looked like I could be scary when I wanted to, I should definitely start using that tactic more.

"I think I've just peed in my pants," Victor said after a few moments of silence making everyone burst out into laughter in the process.

-

"And now he's convinced that we're going to get married or something," I rolled my eyes after I finished telling them about the events that took place in my parents' home. Luke was looking at me in a skeptical why which made me realize that he was very much aware that there was more to the story. However, I had no intention whatsoever to even mention the kind of treatment I received from my father, I was way too embarrassed to do so.

"In which century does he think we live?" Stephan commented, annoyance clear in his voice.

"That's what I said," Sarah agreed.

"I ship!" I said with a sweet smile and dreamy eyes, although I wasn't sure if Stephan and Sarah felt the same, seeing as he was horrified and her face held a disgusted expression.

"I'll hit you with a wig," she threatened.

"You don't have a wig," I shrugged my shoulders

"Emma will lend me hers," she said in a serious voice, however, it wasn't long before we both started laughing.

"That was one time! One!" Emma threw her hands in frustration, looking like a little child that didn't get what it wanted.

"Who in his right mind thinks that a wig made of iron is a smart idea?" I asked her in disbelief. That thing is still a mystery to us.

"Well, met gala had a theme like that."

"Yes, the difference is though, celebrities had dresses made of iron, not wigs. Also, your version of met gala considered of Victor and you going to the cinema," Sarah commented, teasing her.

"To be fair, you can't deny the fact that they have a red carpet there," I added, seemingly in a serious voice too. However, when Emma let out a frustrated scream, I couldn't take it anymore and Sarah and I started crying out of laughter. We high fived each other and eventually, everyone else joined us, even Emma, who had to accept the fact that she was going to be a subject to our teasing for a long time.

Unfortunately, the good atmosphere didn't last. Not long after, I heard a familiar voice calling my name. Confused, I turned around and came face to face with a person who had beautiful brown eyes.

"Is this for real?" Luke mumbled when he realized who the person was.

"Hi?" I greeted, although it sounded more like a question. Leon smiled nervously and nodded his head, returning the greeting. Only after I took my gaze from his tall posture did I noticed that he wasn't alone. Next to him, with their hands intertwined, stood a beautiful girl with black braided hair and darker skin. She wasn't very tall, in fact, you could say that she was actually short, however, she was very attractive with curves in the right places. The most enchanting thing about her was her eyes that were in total contrast with the rest of her assets. Their light green color made her look divine. Even though I didn't really know the girl, I instantly liked her. Some people screamed goodness and positivity, and she was one of them. Or it was love at first sight between us, I wouldn't know.

"I'm sorry for interrupting your time with your friends, Tary, but I have to take you home." He scratched his head, obviously feeling uncomfortable with the whole situation. Still, he also seemed determined and like he was in a hurry to get away from here.

I had a couple of problems with the said sentence. First of all, the nickname he used. He had met me once before and he was already using it and I was also annoyed by the fact that it made me feel like I was some child that needed to be told what to do and needed to listen to Its parents. Secondly, when he said home I was sure he meant Mateo's penthouse, and that wasn't my home. And thirdly, his I have made me lose it so much so that my previous bad mood returned. I was absolutely sure that Mateo was the one to make him do that, there wasn't really any other option.

"I don't think so, I'll stay with my friends," I said a bit harshly, even though that wasn't my intention. I didn't really think ill of Leon, I was just annoyed with Mateo and that whole situation.

"Tara, I'm serious." He grabbed my wrist in a firm and a bit painful hold and pulled me closer to him. Despite his actions, there was something in his voice that made me stop and think this whole thing through. He sounded desperate. I was sure that he would take me to Mateo even if he had to use force. I raised my eyebrows confused and nervous. What if something had happened?

"You heard her, she'll stay here," Luke barged in on the conversation and stood in front of me, successfully shielding me from Leon. Mateo's friend seemed dangerous, but I didn't think that he would do something bad to me, although Luke didn't know that. No matter how much I was annoyed with him only minutes ago, It warmed my heart the fact that now I knew that he would be by my side, protecting me, no matter the cost, even for the wrong reasons.

"Listen to me boy," Leon started saying, invading Luke's personal space. "Get out of my sight before I make you." That was a clear threat. It was rather obvious who would win in a fight between the two. Luke was very attractive, he had enough muscles to become the kind of a player he was. However, on the other hand, Leon seemed like he was living in a gym. His body was so built up he could totally fight Dwayne Johnson. However, knowing Luke, he wasn't the kind of person who would back down and act like a coward. I had never understood the way male mind works. In my opinion, it was smarter to back down from a fight you already know you're going to lose.

"Bring it on." Exactly, stupid boy. Right before he was about to start anything, I grabbed his arm and pulled him back. There was no chance I would let them beat each other here because of me.

I was about to scold both of them, however, before I did so, I heard a strong, feminine voice. I turned my head in the direction of the girl who I saw for the first time minutes earlier.

"Hi Tara, I'm Hannah, Leon's girlfriend. I'm sorry, but you really have to come with us, the matter is serious," she told me in an authoritative voice which made me nod my head almost instantly, not even thinking about it beforehand.

Later that night I realized that that was the smartest thing I could do. The moment I entered Mateo's penthouse, I saw him stretched out on the sofa in the living room, covered in bruises and blood I really hoped was dried. I run to his side and, at first, I hesitated, but after the initial shock, I started caressing his cheek and hair, checking him out to see if he was okay and conscious. The moment my hand touched his skin, he opened one eye. The other one was closed and swollen. He didn't wait for long, he immediately mumbled in a deep, breathy voice. The pain was so noticeable, even I could feel it.

"You haven't changed."

You gotta be fucking kidding me!

~

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