Chapter 164: Change
As Draven spun Rhea gracefully on the dance floor, her laughter echoed with the fading music. By the dance’s end, they were both panting, joy radiating from Rhea’s heart.
Just as Draven was guiding Rhea back to their spot, Aria stood in their way, smiling. "Do you mind if I borrow my friend for a mont?" she asked Draven.
Before he could answer, Rhea had already linked arms with Aria. "Of course he won’t mind. Let’s go." She shot Draven a quick glance, "Watch over Lilac, will you? She’s having a bit too much fun over there. Make sure she stays out of trouble. See you!"
Draven tried to respond, but his hands that were extended only grasped air as Rhea was already being led away by Aria. He suddenly felt a pang of jealousy, fearing he might beco an afterthought now that Aria, the princess, was here. His jealousy mingled with frustration.
Spotting Lilac about to confront a much larger fellow, he called out in frustration, "Lilac!"
***
Aria whisked Rhea out of the hall, the night wind greeting them. "Seems like soone’s not too pleased I’ve taken you away," Aria comnted playfully.
Rhea chuckled, "Who’s upset about that?"
"Your dance partner, obviously," Aria quipped.
With a dismissive wave, Rhea replied, "Trust , he won’t even mind I’m gone. Let’s find a spot to chat." She led Aria toward a familiar tree, where she once shared fruit with Gail.
The pale moon was high in the night sky as they sat under the tree. Aria’s beautiful dark blue gown was spread across the ground, her face glowing under the moonlight, her lose hair was fluttering with the wind, and Rhea couldn’t help but stare at her because everything still seed almost unreal. She had never expected they’d ever et again, but here they were together again.
Aria tilted her head back and gulped down from the wine bottle she had brought with her from the hall. Seeing that, Rhea couldn’t help but say, "If I rember clearly, you never used to like drinking wine in Birhhan, you only drink tea."
Aria’s face was slightly flushed from drinking, she smiled, "Oh Rhea, my identity in Birhhan is nothing but fake. I love wine, it’s my favorite drink to clear my mind, but to avoid getting intoxicated and slipping out of character, I have to be careful and never drunk wine." She explained, "Everything you think I used to like were not my favorite, but a pretence I have to put on to survive among humans."
Rhea gazed at her friend, who she’d known for more than a year but now realized she actually knew nothing about her. She raised a curious eyebrow, "Then your feelings for Valen were also a pretence? You used to be madly in love with him, so was that also fake?"
Aria’s smile froze and eventually faded away at the ntion of Valen, she looked away from Rhea and gazed up at the moon, "I went to the human realm to be with my sister, but afterwards my father thought I’d do good as a spy, I had no choice but to take on a new personality that wasn’t mine. At first I got closer to Valen just to get important information from him about their Emperor. I made him trust , Rhea..." She paused, searching for the right words.
"But amidst all the pretense, my love for him erged as the one true thing. Even when so much of
was a facade, my feelings for Valen were all too real," she admitted with a lancholic smile. "Love has its own will; it’s not sothing we can command. Despite everything, my love for him was profound, and walking away from that was agonizing."
Rhea looked at her friend’s bitter expression as she gulped down the wine as if she could wash away the bitterness in her throat. "Then why did you co back when you love him so much?" Rhea asked curiously. She knew if Aria were to continue staying in Birhhan, it was possible she might never be discovered and her father didn’t seem to have anything against loving a human as his wife was one.
Aria shook her head, "I had to, Rhea. After what the fire controllers did to my sister, my father could not afford to leave
be in Birhhan anymore. He demanded my return from Birhhan. My sister died because she married a human. If my father ever found out about my feelings for one, he’d never accept it. But the real urgency to leave was when I discovered Valen’s alliance with Azure. Valen has always been transparent with , but he evaded my questions about Azure, then I thought I would be risking my life if I continue to stay...
Rhea frowned, trying to connect the dots. Azure and Valen were polar opposites, she had never thought they knew each other. However, if she thought about it, Azure had never been the person she thought him to be anyway.
Aria’s voice was almost a whisper as she continued, "Azure’s frequent visits to Valen, combined with his power to detect outcasts, made
realize my ti was limited. I had to flee."
"And Valen? He just let you go?" Rhea questioned, recalling Valen’s fervent declarations about not letting Aria go no matter what.
A bitter laugh escaped Aria. "Of course not. He’d never willingly let
go. I had to free myself from him."
"What did you do?" Rhea asked.
Aria hesitated, then said, "During one of his outings with Azure, I set The Den Of Pleasure ablaze, leaving nothing behind, and made him believe I perished in that inferno."
Rhea was at a loss for words. The audacity and pain of Aria’s act were hard to fathom. If it were in the past, Rhea wouldn’t have known what it most felt like to let go of the person you love and make him believe you were no more. But now...
Drawing Aria into a comforting embrace, Rhea felt her friend’s anguish. Aria murmured, "Before I fled, I witnessed Valen, he was disheartened amidst the ruins, sobbing uncontrollably like a child who’d lost everything in life. He shouted his love for
to the charred remains. That heart-wrenching sight confird his feelings, and it’s how I’ll always rember him."
Aria’s voice trembled slightly, "When I saw him crying, I had a strong urge to go back to him and hug him to assure him that I’m alive, to tell him that I love him too, but...I had to leave."
Rhea was at a loss for words, she could only hug her friend and say, "I’m sorry you have to go through all that..."
Aria, who was on the verge of crying was startled by Rhea’s words, she quickly pushed away from the hug and glanced at her with disbelief, "Rhea, you have changed a lot. If it were In the past, you would’ve exploded hearing
talk about my love, and you wouldn’t console
and instead tell
to let it go and move on because love is nothing but a waste of ti."
Rhea shot Aria a disbelieving glance, "What? Would I really have said such thing? That’s being heartless."
Aria laughed and pulled Rhea’s arm until it was around her shoulders, "Yes, that was more like what you would’ve said in the past. And I bet you would have been laughing while saying such heartless words like a little thug."
Rhea thought about it and couldn’t help but also laugh. That was more like her in the past. Well, people change, sotis for the good and sotis for the worst. The saying was right when they say; ti is the greatest teacher, she realized that ti had indeed been her greatest teacher. It had sculpted her, refining the raw edges of her younger self into soone more understanding and mature. Life’s lessons had transford her in ways she had never anticipated.
Rhea sighed and leaned her head against Aria’s, "I guess I have indeed changed."
Aria patted Rhea’s hand that was around her shoulders and said, "Rhea, I have a rough idea about what happened to you and Cal. I’m sorry," she said, "The words in Birhhan were that you and Draven had killed Cal because he tried to stop you from escaping."
Rhea’s smiling eyes imdiately turned cold at the ntion of Cal’s death. "I did not kill Cal. Even if Cal had tried to stop
that night, I wouldn’t have hard him."
"I know you didn’t do such a thing." Aria’s steadfast belief in Rhea’s innocence was heartwarming. "I never for a second believed those tales Oriana spread about you. And Whenever i saw those wanted posters around the city, I made sure the girls at The Den Of Pleasure took them down," she said, her voice firm with conviction.
Rhea’s gaze softened, deeply touched by Aria’s unwavering support. The ntion of Oriana, however, brought back mories of betrayal. "Do you know what beca of Oriana after she spread those lies?"
Aria nodded. "Last I heard, she lost her position due to certain undisclosed reasons. She’s now residing with her aunt, likely lying low until all the war chaos subsides."
"Good, it’s good those two are together. At least Draven and I don’t have to go to two different places to seek them out when the ti cos to take them down." She remarked determinedly.
Aria was montarily surprised but she didn’t comnt on those words as she understood what Rhea had gone through at Oriana’s hands. However, she said, "Rhea, I think Azure has other plans of his own. I once overheard him fighting with Valen because he let you out of his sight after they’d agreed that he looked after you when you were in The Den Of Pleasure. He looked so mad that I thought he’d hit Valen. And few days before I left, he went to the Villden mansion and told your family to leave Birhhan because it’s no longer safe, he also told them not to bla you for Cal’s death, he_"
"I don’t care," Rhea cut her off before she could finish speaking, she then turned to gaze at the moon, "Nothing Azure does will ever make
forgive him, he is one of my enemies now, and he shall pay for Cal’s death as well!"
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