Chapter 5: The Party (II).
Author's note:
For a better experience in reading the chapter you can play this song in the background or any enemies to lovers theme songs you want!
...
The bite mark was left on the villainess' body, making her stunned and the hand was still resting below the stomach.
"No dejaré que nadie más te tenga."
The heroine spoke in an unknown language that she couldn't understand.
"Hff!"
She takes her hand back, staring at it with a reddened color on her face and considers running.
But Olivia knew that she's in trouble if she went back with this bite mark on her neck everyone inside would squabble and gossip to no end.
Olivia traces her fingers along the lines of the mark with utter horror upon realizing that it was a little deep.
Well shoot!
This is something that make-up won't be easily concealed with!
"It seems that it suits you well~" The heroine seems so proud of her work being displayed upon the other girl's neck.
Olivia could feel her heart thumping in nervousness and excitement.
A few flashes of her memory with Lady Mariana in their night of passion, how this little innocent looking figure could actually be so-
Aggressive.
"D-Don't fool around!" She points at Lady Mariana with an angry finger.
But deep inside she wonders. 'It stings, but why does it feel so good at the same time?'
Now is not the time for such indecent thoughts! She must act like a proper villainess to get the story going in the right direction.
"Lady Mariana! Help me conceal this bite! I don't want to go back in the party and have your other guests thinking that-"
That they were having such an affair with one another.
"Thinking that you're mine?" She finishes her sentence for her with a smile.
The villainess became flushed hearing that sentence and straightened up that she was definitely no one else's property. "Hah? When have I become yours?!"
"Since you decided to take my tender flower and suck upon them with your lips." (Lady Mariana) traces her hands into the villainess' arms hoping to hold her once more, giving a good tease- yearning a pleasant reaction that this noblewoman would give. "I thought you had told me that I was such a delectable wine to taste."
Delectable wine to taste?!
The heroine?!
No way, no way!
"...!" The villainess was having a breakdown just hearing that cringe line. She points at the heroine rather accusingly. "That's not- Did I ever say such a thing?"
"Yes, you did and I remember it fondly."
Lady Olivia who had a conflicted heart, on one hand it is regretful that she used alcohol as an excuse to bully the heroine.
At the same time...
Was she that good in bed that the heroine is trying to come back for more?
"Hah... please, milady. I want nothing more but peace in my life and to establish our relationship with one another as nothing more but strangers." She rubs her temples in order to help herself be calm. "I came to this party to show you that you should never play games with a hunter. This is a warning, never- ever contact me again or send... such bold art pieces."
No one should ever do that by the way.
"Or I promise to make your life a living hell."
The villainess' heart was pounding as she tried her best not to break her facade. She needs to be horrible, cold and selfish. Perhaps reminding the heroine that they cannot be more than what they are destined to be would help.
"Is that truly what you want?" (Lady Mariana) asks, in a weak tone.
The villainess with no hesitation nods in reply, "Yes that is what I want."
"I see."
"..."
Silence fills them.
The heroine walks forward looking at the mark that she placed, a lovely mark of her dominance.
"If that is the case, I have only one request before I agree with your terms."
"W-What is your request?" (Olivia) asked.
"Before we become strangers, may I have this dance?" The heroine offers her hand out to Olivia who in turn looks at her in a confused manner.
"I don't want... anyone else taking your first dance today. I don't think I can have the courage... to ask you again once we're inside." (Lady Mariana) gestures to the nobles inside of her own house, partying and laughing.
Can she ask her to dance in front of all of those people?
No... she can.
Perhaps she couldn't handle the rejection instead. After all she... was like the moon surrounded by stars.
The villainess blinks in confusion, that's it? That all that she requests? She should be grateful but Olivia doesn't let her guard down not one bit by that simple request. This girl is the heroine- there's got to be something else behind that dance.
"A dance... that's all that you want?" She asks, making sure.
"Yes, just once dance with you."
One dance.
Olivia couldn't help but raise her eyebrows looking unsure, the heroine's smile never left. To be honest, one would not trust the heroine with her sudden offer but if it'll get the story right on track then one dance won't be that bad.
"...fine."
The villainess groans as she takes the heroine's hand carelessly. It was a good deal that she couldn't pass up.
"Hm." (Lady Mariana) smiles as she sees the person she admires accepting her request, it seems that even if she says that she'll make her life a living hell-
If it means she can be together with her.
Perhaps hell won't be such a bad place to be.
"One song and then we part ways." (Olivia) decides that she'll be the one taking the lead, she places a hand on Mariana's waist feeling her body's warmth over the white dress.
"Is... this alright with you?" She asks, staring at the hand holding Lady Mariana's waist thinking if the position was proper.
Marianna leans in closer, purposely pressing her chest to hers eyes glittering with softness and admiration. Her heart- she could hear it beating loudly and her mind was being run by excitement of being close to the woman she love. "Yes, you may even hold me close if you wish."
The heroine teased.
Olivia shakes her head, wanting to keep distance. "...This is enough."
Thump... thump... thump.
They wait for the melody and music to start, following the music.
'Her eyes... are really beautiful. A pretty accent of gold, it really shines under the moonlight.' The villainess couldn't help but stare at her golden eyes.
The heroine was happily enjoying their fleeting moment as she stared at Olivia's lips recalling the times that they kissed. It was tantalizing, that night- even if she did puke the way she kissed her so fiercely and softly- made her want to do it again. 'Her lips... I want to taste them again.'
The orchestra starts playing.
The music swells, a haunting melody that seems to echo their unspoken truths.
Their eyes lock, bound by fate's cruel joke.
Their movements precise but wary, every muscle taut with the memory of battles fought against their partner now stepping forward.
The heroine's smirk curls their lips, equal parts challenge and invitation.
"..."
"...hm~"
Sparks crackle between their fingers.
The dance begins, a dangerous waltz, their bodies circling like duelists measuring distance. Each step is deliberate, a negotiation of power. The heroine presses closer, testing boundaries, while the antagonist pivots, deflecting with grace and a flash of teeth.
But then, the rhythm shifts softer, intimate. Their movements synchronize, a language spoken in whispers and glances.
Marianna was the first one to initiate, their height difference was a bit of a problem so with one move in their dance she rose on her tiptoes, brushing close enough to whisper secrets into her ear. "You dance very well, milady."
Olivia almost slipped, she could feel her breath as the heroine whispered the compliment in her ear. "T-Thank you, I do well to practice my craft."
The heroine' pulse races as they catch a glimpse of something raw in the villainess' eyes, a flicker of vulnerability that doesn't match their wicked reputation. "I have heard many of your rumors in the past of being a cold and heartless person, Countess Olivia Alarie. From what I've seen from your eyes and body language you possess another side you can't show much to others."
The tension reaches a crescendo when the antagonist dips the protagonist low, their faces inches apart.
"That night I've seen who you truly are."
Time seems to stop.
The villainess' voice, low and taunting.
"You best be careful on what choice of words you're going to choose. You're playing a dangerous game. That night, I was merely influenced by alcohol."
"I know I accompanied you to your room after all." The heroine's lips curl into a smile, bold and unyielding. "That night I have fallen for you. Even if you were influenced by alcohol, it was the first time that someone loved me in that way."
"...!" The dance resumes, fiercer than before, each step a declaration, each touch a betrayal of their defenses. By the final note, they part, breathless and undone, the line between love and hate blurred beyond recognition.
"Milady, truly I love you."
Olivia Charlotte Alarie couldn't say those same words back, she doesn't love the heroine in that manner.
"You... love me?"
She loves her? This is... something that shouldn't be possible.
"I do." (Lady Mariana) assures the villainess that her heart is hers alone.
No one else can have it.
But for Olivia this was a huge red flag!
The heroine and the villainess can never be together in such stories.
"..." The music stopped and the two felt a little flustered with their dance, it felt so right and yet so wrong at the same time.
"The song is over and as promised you have to remove this mark from my neck." The two part their bodies, the heroine's warmth leaving her body.
"Yes, as promised I will remove the mark." (Lady Mariana) looked a little disappointed at how her plan wasn't working out as intended, she had hoped to seduce the villainess as they danced with everything that she can offer.
Alas... Lady Olivia's heart is hard to grasp.
"[Magia de Luz: Curar]." The heroine places a hand on her neck, being experienced in light magic she didn't even need to chant a spell for it to work. The faint glow immediately fades after the villainess' bite mark on her neck has been healed, the stinging pain and itchiness was also gone.
"It is gone now. You're free to go, milady. I do hope we'll meet again in better circumstances." (Lady Mariana) curtsies as she holds her head high towards the person she has fallen over heels for. "Thank you for fulfilling my selfish request. I loved dancing with you."
Olivia Alarie checks if the bite mark was truly gone in the glass mirror that was near.
"Hmph." Once she had confirmed that the transaction was over it was clear that they needed time apart for the heroine to come back to her original self. "Let's... become strangers like we're supposed to be. Don't expect me to dance with you like this again."
'I'm the villainess after all.'
Clack... clack... clack...
It was the sound of her heels exiting the balcony, deciding to go back and check up on Lady Anne who must've been waiting for a while in worry.
Lady Mariana Borbón giggles, feeling the cold air making her skin shiver. "The moon... looks really beautiful tonight but alas the sun must rise." She tries reaching for the beautiful moon, raising her hand up in the air.
"The sun is also a star. I wish... you would be up there with me instead. Why are they meant to be apart?" The wind starts to blow, she turns to where the noise of the party was and wonders if this is how their story will truly end.
A simple dance and a goodbye?
A promise that she'll make her life a living hell?
No.
Their story won't simply just end here.
"I will make you love me. Look only at me, hold me and be with me till our very last moments." She eyes the figure of Lady Olivia in the glass mirror who was talking to Lady Anne in a friendly manner.
Whatever it takes, she'll make an eclipse that will last until forever.
May the moon be with the sun.
The heroine opens her palm reaching out to Olivia as she closes her hands, balling it into a fist, her mind being driven by wanting to possess.
"You're mine."
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