Kora

I let out an exhale, trying so hard to take my eyes away from the stage. I'd have felt better if I didn't look. If I didn't see how perfect they were, Jeremiah and Oma. I wanted to not look so badly, but I couldn't help myself. I took a handful of my dress and squeezed it, cornering my attention on my hands, and shutting my eyes for a second.

"They are so perfect." The ladies on our table wouldn't stop talking about how perfect they were, standing close to each other and holding hands. It was their engagement party after all, and everyone seemed to be so interested in whatever it was Jeremiah's father was saying on the microphone. Not like I was concentrating on his long speech that was probably about how close both families were, and how he couldn't wait for the merge. I raised my head back to the stage, to where Jeremiah was standing.

His frown made me remember, remember how much he hated this engagement. He looked so exhausted. Like he didn't want to be on that stage, but had no choice. He looked a bit miserable, and I couldn't help but feel sad for him. Oma on the other hand, she wasn't even trying to hide her excitement. Anyone could see she wanted the engagement more than him. She held on tightly to his hand, and tried to exchange glances and smiles with him. She was so happy. Everyone was right, they looked so perfect together. Everyone loved them together, including the press that occupied a quarter portion of the hall, taking pictures and covering the entire event. I mean who would not want to cover the news of Jeremiah and Oma's engagement? The great merge between two of the most powerful families in the continent.

I took a deep breath.

For some reason I didn't know of, there was this sadness I felt in my heart. More like an emptiness, and it somehow tripled anytime I looked at that stage. What was I thinking? What was wrong with me? Why was I feeling this way?

I felt my mum's warm hands slowly engulf mine, I lowered my gaze to our hands. Somehow, I felt a little bit relieved when she started to rub mine. She could sense it. She could see exactly how sad I was. I sniffed, and then managed to look up.

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Jeremiah

My heart was racing. All that crowd had given Oma and me all their attention, showing us as much support as they could, but still, I was far from being happy. At that moment, I started to remember how much I hated myself. How much I hated my life, and I wanted everything and everyone in it to disappear. I was upset. Too upset to even think. Not only did I not want this engagement to happen, I wanted everyone gone. I wanted to leave so badly.

I scanned the room.

Among all those smiling faces and all those cameras, I found her, sitting in the crowd, and at that point I could feel my heart throb. I didn't know what it was, anger or just fear. She slowly raised her head to mine, and my heart began to race even faster, as I stared into her eyes for an extra five seconds, they were so bright.

You can't trust her, Jeremiah, she's just like everyone else, a liar, just like everyone else.

Those words kept playing in my head. I looked away immediately. I didn't want to look any longer. God, I was so upset. The crowd was laughing now at whatever it was my father had said. Oma was laughing too, and at that moment, I saw myself having flashbacks of every event that had happened in my life.

How my life had turned upside down the moment I had stepped foot into the mansion, the moment I had met that family, I looked at them one after the other, they were all on the VIP table in front of the stage. Susan, Nicholas, Christian, Natalie and Kodi. In that order, all seated like we were all one happy family. Even Christian had to show up for the press. The hypocrisy.

How could he be okay with this? How could he sit there and pretend like his heart wasn't tearing into pieces, watching me 'be happy'? My engagement with Oma was a disadvantage to him. How much did he have to live with, just to protect his inheritance? How much did he have to take? That family, learning that I was a part of that family ruined my life. I hated it. The more I thought of how happy I used to be, when it was just my mum and I, even though we didn't have much, even though we could barely afford three square meals, even though I used to attend a public school, and had just one pair of shoes, I was happy. I missed how happy I used to be.

I shut my eyes.

I was feeling so suffocated. Really suffocated, like I couldn't breathe. I wanted everything to just end. I'd have given anything to wake up and realize that everything was a dream. I turned to my father, I was so upset. I was upset, because he was the reason my life had changed so much. Him. The man responsible for destroying all our lives, my mother's, Christian's and mine. How could he just stand there and act like the best father in the world? How could he fool everyone like that with a smile? If only everyone knew, I wanted them all to. I wanted to hurt him so badly, just as much as I was hurting. The thought that he always did what he could to make sure I was all alone in the end, messed with my head. He got rid of everyone I ever knew, everyone I loved and needed. I was only eight when he sent my mother away, and he did it again.

Where was she? What did he do to her? Where did he send her? Did he hurt her? The fact that I wanted to ask him all those questions, but couldn't, even upset me the more. The fact that I wanted to hurt him, to make him feel the exact same hurt and anger I felt, but didn't know how to, upset me most. I wanted them all to feel it, feel how it was like to be in my shoes. I clenched my fists watching all of them smile the way they were. How could they smile? How could he smile after ruining my life, and now, was trying to force me into a marriage with someone I had no feelings for? I turned to Oma, narrowing my gaze to our joined hands. She had her engagement ring on. And then it dawned on me-

"Jerry." Oma tugged my hand. I raised my head to hers slowly. "Your speech." She whispered to me. For the first time, I noticed the silence in the room. All I could hear was the flickering sound of the cameras. I could see how everyone had their eyes glued to me. What was it?

"Forgive my son." My father's voice echoed around the hall. "He's just too excited about his engagement, to concentrate on all the boring things I have to say. He must have forgotten he is supposed to give a speech today."

The crowd chuckled.

"What do you expect?! If I had a fiancée like Oma, it would be hard for me to concentrate on anything but her." Someone said from the crowd, and the laughing got even worse. Oma was almost red. I turned to her. She must have found it so amusing. I scoffed silently. I couldn't believe it, I couldn't believe any of it.

I narrowed my gaze on the crowd, as I noticed Kora stand up slowly from her seat, bowing her head like she was avoiding everyone's gaze. Where was she going? Was she leaving?

"Son." I slowly turned back to my father when I felt his hand squeeze my shoulder, his smile even spread more. "Everyone is waiting to hear what you have to say concerning your engagement." He told me. "Why don't you and your fiancée address them?"

I turned back to the crowd, they were waiting anxiously. I turned to the press and media, they had all their cameras on me, every single one of them, concentrated on the stage, on me. That was it. That was my only chance to get my revenge. At that point, I knew I had the power to ruin my father's most precious event, if I wanted to. My engagement party was this year's highlight after all.

I watched the MC approach me with a microphone, as I slowly let go of Oma's hands. I was going to do it. I was going to do the one thing I always wanted to do, I was going to step on my father's tail and ruin his perfect event, and I was sure going to take advantage of the press. I walked past the MC and down the stage, I was sure everyone was going to shift their attention to me no matter where I went, including the media. They all watched me, whispering amongst themselves.

Where was I going? What was I going to do?

I had no idea myself, but at that point I knew I wasn't going to think it through. I didn't want to. I was going to do what I wanted, and I was going to let both my heart and my head lead me.

I hurried as fast as I could, I couldn't let Kora leave the hall. If I wanted to hurt my father, a part of me knew that Kora was my only chance. I pulled her arm before she took another step to the exit door. That way, she turned slowly to look at me with a lot of surprise on her face. Not that I could blame her, I was surprised at what I was doing myself, at how far I was willing to go. The whispers got worse, and the flickering of camera got noisier. I held on tightly to her hand, watching her look at me, so clueless of what I was about to do.

She turned to the crowd. She was aware everyone was looking at us. The spotlight was on us, and the press were taking as much pictures as they could. She slowly turned back to me.

"Jeremiah." She called my name.

"You owe me." I told her as low as I could, so no one else heard me. I could see how wide her eyes opened. I had fueled her curiosity. She opened her mouth to say something, and that was my cue. I pulled her close before she said anything else, and then wrapped my hands around her waist as tightly as I could, to reduce her chances of escaping, before and after I did what I was about to. She couldn't leave.

"Jer-"

I kissed her immediately.

The noise became worse. The hall was on fire. The press and media were on fire. Kora was shocked, I could sense it. She didn't see it coming after all. She tried to pull herself away, to push me away, but I didn't let her go. I pulled her even closer, turning around with her, so I could see the look on all their faces. It was exactly as I expected. exactly as I wanted. None of them could believe it. My father just stood there, numb from head to toe, and had a big frown on his face. It looked like he was going to have a heart attack. That was all I wanted to see, all I needed. I tightened my grip on her, and then shut my eyes, kissing her deeply, shutting my eyes and mind to everything else happening around me. Kora stopped struggling, and my grip on her lessened as I suddenly became numb to everything else happening around me.

I couldn't hear anything anymore, not the loud mumors, nor the flickering sound of the camera. For some reason I couldn't let Kora go. I was lost in the moment. What was wrong with me? I already got what I wanted, why couldn't I stop? Why did I find every inch of my body wanting more? Wanting to keep holding on to her, wanting to kiss her even more, even though I had already convinced myself that I felt nothing for her, and hated her, just as much as I hated everyone in that room?

What was wrong with me? Why did it feel like my mind and my heart were in sync with every part of my body? I had to get over it. I had to snap back to my senses. I had to open my eyes, and I did. I slowly pulled my lips away from hers. I could feel her body trembling, her eyes were looking into mine. For the first time I was lost in her eyes. My heart was fluttering. My heart was racing uncontrollably. I could see just how shocked she was, shocked to the extent that she was numb. She hiccuped. I swallowed hard, and then slowly reached for her hand. I held on tight to it, summoning all the courage I needed to face my family, to face my father.

The entire hall was becoming quiet. Everyone had their phones out, and were taking pictures of us. I held on tighter to Kora's hand. For some reason, I wished it gave me the courage I needed. I could see how furious my father was.

"I can't go on with this engagement!" I announced to the crowd as loud as I could. I needed them to hear what I had to say. I needed all of them to hear what I had to say. "I can't go on with this engagement, because I'm in love with someone else."

"Is he out of his mind? - who is that girl? - what's going on here?" The public sure did have a lot of things to say, but I didn't stop. I went on.

I slowly turned to Kora.

I could tell she was frightened, but it didn't stop me. I had already started, and I had to make sure I finished it. I had to make sure I passed my message.

"This is my girlfriend!" I announced. "The woman I'm madly in love with. The reason why this engagement can not take place."

I watched the entire hall get heated up once again, with all the noise and murmurs. Kora stopped shaking all over. She was mute. She just stared at me.

"You said you'd do anything to earn my forgiveness, didn't you?" I told her again in a rather low tone. "Consider that debt paid."

The flickering got worse. The noise filled the room. I watched Kora bend her head, so she could look at our joined hands. If there was anything worse than shock, that had to be what she was going through at that point.

At that point on, I knew nothing was going to be the same for us anymore. Everything was going to change, we were both going to change.

A change that started with a kiss, a kiss that was going to change both our lives forever, and it scared me. A new chapter for us had just unlocked right in front of my eyes, and it scared the shit out of me.