Saira SwitzJefferson:

I watch myself in the mirror,head tilted slightly to scrutinise my outfit to see if it lacks anything.

Knee length Louboutin black boots that can hide two knives on the sole?

-Check.

Fingerless lace gloves that go up to your elbows and match your matte black nails?

-Check.

A black velvet underwire bustier skatier dress with your red hair down and lips a luscious red?

-Check.

Suffice it to say that I am smugly satisfied with the way I look.

The clicking of keys disrupt me checking myself out in the mirror and I turn my back to it,quite reluctantly as my eyes wait for my best friend Zoe McDazzle to enter with all her magic.

Oh,how do I know it's her?

Because she's the only one in the Underworld who has access to the keys and the passcode to my quarter.

Not even Xandere has it but he doesn't need it,seeing how much he travels and never stays in one place that much.

Except now.
All because of her.
My best friend.

She finally manages to unlock the door and sashays in.
Without further ado,Zoe twirls in front of me,showing off her outfit for the Mate Gala.

As expected,she is wearing luxury at it's best.
Donning a long sleeved burgundy colored gown with a long V neck that is sure to make men stop dead in their tracks and ogle at her,with a slit on the side,one long tanned leg out.
The color of her gown looks so beautifully royal and rich,along with her wavy hair down like mine but swept on one side.

Gorgeous.
She is gorgeous.

Zoe breaks out in a grin as she finishes surveying my wear,
'So you are going for the chic but sexy look,hmm?'

'I am going for the flaming hot but can also kill you with her bare hands look.'

'Well,there is no argument there.'

'Where's your knife?',I ask her,wondering where she hid it in that gown.

Zoe only turns to the door,grinning,the glitter in her brown hair catching the light and looking extravagant,

'A magician never tells.'

_____________________________________________

We enter the huge ballroom and the first thing I does is look up.
To the ceiling.

Every year,the Mate Gala has a customised chandelier,designed as a certain symbol of the Underworld.

This year beats the rest.

Because the multiple chandeliers that are hanging over the thousand heads of masked men and women right now have black diamonds glittering fron the chandeliers.

Bombs.
They are all shaped as bombs.
Black and white bomb chandeliers with studded stones that shine.

Beautiful.
It's perfect.

Now you might think,dear ladies and gentlemen,that don't Zoe and I look weird side by side?

One is donning a luxury gown while the other(me) looks like she's in to go to the bar and ready to pick a fight with any lad who looks at her the wrong way.

Of course,we would come as absurd as a pair,if not for the crowd milling about in front of them,with their masks and diverse clothes.

That's right.

For the Mate Gala,there has always been two rules.
Wear a mask.
Find a mate.

And you are good to go.

There wasn't any theme of clothing that you have to maintain,no.

I also notice the other girlies in my gang on the side where a mini bar was propped up,some wearing gowns as gorgeous them while some wore close to nothing.

They all have their masks on but I know them well.
Their posture,body expressions give their identity away.

A saying flashed in my mind.

"You either become sharp enough to kill the demon or you dig your own grave by handing the knife to the demon."

It was true.

Now,looking at the wave of people in disguises and capes,I start to look for Ethan.

My aggresive scanning gets interrupted by Zoe sharply pinching my side.

'What?',I snap.

'Switzie,I am gonna find a drink before I murder Xandere for being late,okay?'

Saying that,she sashays away,her white mask standing out,the blue in her eyes sparkling like the ocean in a good day.

She looks queenly.

Oh and yes.
Xandere asked Miss Zoe,my clueless best friend out.
And she agreed.
She said she only agreed because Xandere agreed to leave her alone after being her mate for the Gala but honestly,knowing him,he will weasel his way into my best friend's life again.

But they would be gorgeous together.

I said what I said.

'Miss?'

Rolling my eyes,I turn to the side,ready to roll off the insult from my tongue only to stare at Mr.Ethan Desmond Moretz,the trillionaire.

'What?No words?',he smirks,his eyes filled with mirth.

And it doesn't even poke at me that his black mask is similar to mine,encrusted with stones,no.

I muster as much of disinterest as I could and say,
'Did someone steal the top from you?'

He only lets out a breath of laughter,shaking his head in amusement.

What's funny about a man,a trillionaire coming to the Mate Gala with no shirt on,his toned chest,abs full out and wearing tight black leather pants with matching patent leather shoes?

And why is it bothering me so much?

I am sure there are other boys who came here half naked,let me just do a quick scan of the entire ballroon,hmm nope!

Not a single one.

Okay,stop Saira.

This isn't like you.

You wouldn't even think twice about it if you saw someone else come to the ballroom like that.

No,it's because Ethan,his highness,is a jerk who I have been spending a lot of time with,that's it.

I clear my throat,keeping my eyes trained on his face,his blonde hair swept backwards,a single strand coming to stay on his forehead and his eyes.

The contrast of the black mask only highlights the electric blue of his eyes.

Begrudgingly,I admit it.

He looks princely.A novelty.

I open my mouth to say something but he beats me to it.
'You look badass.Really,you're stunning.'

Smirking,I reply,
'I can't say the same to you.'

'As expected,but my bruised ego will be satisfied once I get to dance with you.'

I narrow my eyes,
'Don't forget our deal,Ethan.'

He blinks twice,acting nonchalant,
'What deal again?'

Restraining myself from slapping his stupid face,I remark sweetly,
'You will not get one single dance from me if you do not keep your part.'

He sighs,
'Fine fine.Business first then?'

I grin now,a predator's smile,
'Always.'

_____________________________________________

I lead Ethan away from the crowd to one side of the gigantic ballroom,where there is more room for movement and not so many clustered drunk dancers.

It's refreshing.

But that is not where we stop.

The wall on the right side of mine is filled with portraits of the notorious Underground   Criminals who paved the way.

But my attention is snatched by the portrait in the middle.
I step closer to it,like it's a magnetic pull towards it and touch the golden frame softly.
Because the portrait's subject is my mother.
Helena Van Dern.
A crown over her red hair.
A queen with a nasty smile.
She was everything and more.

Dad used to look on,shaking his head with amusement as his wife pulled pranks and played with me all day,splashing water and making it an aqua run,painting the wall.

Dad was the logical one.
The kind one too.
Mom,on the other hand was always ready for a fight and was so aggressive with the rivals.
He was her soothing concoction,always there to calm her down.

Gone too soon.

Tearing my eyes from Mom's beautiful smile knowing she would just tell me to "Hurry the fuck up,this ain't a movie kid.",I tap at the bottom of the portrait exactly three times and a mechanical hole opens in front of me.

Glancing around to see everybody's busy with their mates,I realize Zoe is nowhere to be seen.
She will be fine.
Xandere will be here taking care of her.

So I look at my mate and tell him with a downward tip of my head,
"Come on then."

We make our way through the hole swiftly,first climbing the ladder and opening the first door in sight to see the private library.

I have always loved books.
And libraries.
It was my safe haven in childhood.
Now I am too busy busting people's ass and stealing back stolen property to give myself time to come in this magical place.

But now's not the time for nostalgia,is it?

The red couch is still there,enveloped with book shelves on the side.
I go straight there,plop on it and gesture for Ethan to sit in front of me in the arm chair.

It takes effort.
For me to not go to the shelves and divulge into the rich worlds that only books cam bring.

But they don't call me a professional for nothing.

Still focusing my eyes on him,doing my best not to look downwards,I undo the mask and start speaking,
'Begin.I want to hear everything.How you are connected with the Underworld.What's your agenda?And why did you inject me that day and drag me to one of  your biggest enemy's lair?'

But you also rescued me.

Of course,I don't tell him that.
I don't want him to spout even more nonsensical Romeo things than he usually does.

Now he also takes off his mask,his face coming into view and I try not to think about the kiss or that he looks like royalty itself.

No,definitely not.

But it's when he starts talking,that I start paying attention closely.

(Trigger Warning)

"I grew up,as you know,as everybody knows,as a Moretz.That means I would be raised and trained to be the heir of the Moretz line.But when I was a teenager,an angry one who had several issues with his toxic drunk brother,there were lines that were crossed,dirty names called and fights broken down.
Naturally,being angry and frustrated,I also regularly picked fights with kids in high school,didn’t do classes properly and got really into drugs.
It was a pretty bad stage and I was slowly becoming an addict,skipping school was becoming an habbit,waking up with a migraine was a routine by the time.

But then came a miracle in the form of Big Dawn.I had gotten into a tight shell with this gang in the town.Big Dawn was the new leader.For some reason,he took one look at me and didn’t beat me black and blue.
He listened.That was a first.He took me under,broke my curse of addiction,helped me be human again.
He was a great leader.'

Now the trillionaire sighs,his eyes taking a distant look,as if he is reliving it,once again.

'I started working with him.I got close to him,really close.He was twenty years older than me but I considered him my best friend,my pal.So we were in our warehouse,just chilling with our cigarettes when Big Dawn got a call.He ended it and began talking about this gigantic place called the Underworld which was like a maze that spread throughout the world,different branches growing everywhere,every minute.
He told me everything.
There was bad blood with a guy named Rudy in the Underworld and now he was itching for another fight.

He told me they settled for a duel.
If Rudy won,he would take whatever he wishes from Big Dawn and the same vice versa.
I went with him that night.To the arena.
Thousands of people shouting.
For death to come.
It was-messy and bloody.
A bloody mess if you would like,Saira.

To keep it short,Rudy cheated.
Big Dawn was about to win when Rudy did the only thing that was banned from the game.
He called in his second.
It was a sham,a complete red card.
But everyone turned a blind eye to it.
Because Rudy happened to be one of the biggest hardened criminals forged in the Underworld.
No one dared to cross him.
I was too late.
The two of them beat him to death.
Merciless.
They were merciless with him.

I came running at the last moment,before that,the two motherfucker guards were holding me from fighting alongside my leader.
But they let go once his body hit the ground.
I ran to him,knelt and shook his arms.
I was scared and so angry.

He told me,Big Dawn's last words were,
'Don't let them-don't don't let them get away with these mur-murders anymore.Don't,Eths.'

I promised I won't,just pleaded for him not to go.
Then he said it,his final words with a pained smile on his face,
'You know why I took you in when no one else would?Because I was once you.
And you-you will be better, Ethan,my boy.
You will show them.'

So that's it,one man started it all.

I have kept his promise from then to till now and will keep it forever.'

He finishes,his eyes downwards,telling the story clearly pains him still.

This time,I push myself infront of him,my eyes showing I understood,
'Tell me what you did next.'

'I started searching.And searching.The entrance to the Underworld is pretty tight and an outsider barely knows.It took some time to find a loophole in the system but when I did,it shook the leaders.
Martha and James noticed me,my eagerness for vengeance.
And in those years,I was growing to be an icon,a business leader of sorts.I held on to that image.
Rudy would never suspect an aspiring young Ceo to be an Underworld Spy and Killer.
Because that's what I am,Saira.

Years have passed since Big Dawn died.
I have kept doing my part,playing the role of a trillionaire while passing secrets to the King and Queen of Underworld.'

'And how does injecting me and landing my poor ass to a prison helps your role?'

Finally the trillionaire smirks,
'I had to show that particular rival that I wasn’t against them anymore,that I was with the bad side.
And everyone is well aware of how much the bad side hates you Saira.
So taking you as leverage did the trick.'

I open my mouth to speak,puzzled but he intervenes,
'Oh I know.But I also rescued you.
Your knight in shining armour,if you may please.
Because I had gotten the information I needed for them.It was a vital piece of the puzzle that needed to be solved and I did what I had to do.'

I sit there,trying not to let my anger get the best of me,being treated as a pawn doesn’t bode well with me,seeing how I am the one used to controlling the players.

'So,'I say sarcastically,'What's the vital piece?'

His eyes drop a shade darker now and his whole face seems grim,
'Rudy is Lavinco Ruth's right hand man.He ordered his death and I found out he is going to start a war.The man's not right in the head.He wants to dominate the whole Underworld.A dictator.'

Taking it all in,my mind is thinking.
Thinking.
Ethan is cleared for now.
His story makes sense.
I know what it feels now,how it feels to have a loved one murdered in cold blood.

And the fact that he hasn’t stopped chasing the bad guys,has probably saved millions of Big Dawns creates a newfound respect for him.
He kept his words.
Still keeping it.

So I stand up and reach a hand towards him,
'I feel like I am seeing a new Ethan tonight so let's start again.
Hi,I am Saira.'

His eyes are still dark,retelling the story has drained him a little but it has also sizzled the anger back in.

Good.

We will be needing it for the coming war.

He stands up and I look at him as he reaches his own hand out,clasps mine firmly and gives a small smile as he says,

'Hi,I am Ethan and I am your mate.This also might be a good time to say you owe me at least three dances.'

I huff out a laugh and the trillionaire's eyes crack,the darkness in it,the sadness starts to melt a little so I laugh louder and his eyes start shining once again.

Like stars on a clear night.

*****************************************
A/N:
Here you go yall.
I hope you enjoy.
*cowers behind my desk*
Please don't throw a shoe at me i know i haven’t updated for forever but motivation God its so fleeting but Don't you worry i am back and I Won't leave till I finish the damn book.

For now,enjoy.

*waves a white flag over the desk like Tom and Jerry*

Oh anddd how did you like Ethan's side of the story?
Convincing or nah?

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