11. PRETTY LIAR

ACT TWO SCENE FIVE

PRETTY LIAR

third person

PERSPECTIVE

LUCA LOOKS AT THE packet of tissues on the railing, he grabs them hesitantly and turns around to witness a very familiar brunette with her back turned to him. He grabs her wrist gently, causing her to face his solemn eyes. His eyes scan her pretty face in awe, so familiar, she has to be the girl he claims to love.

Luca watches as tears slide down her ethereal face. He pulls out a tissue from the packet of tissues Sahar gave him, he hands it towards her. He watches as Sahar hesitantly takes the tissue. "You need it more."

Sahar wipes the tears. Luca had a feeling, a huge feeling that she is the same girl. But she behaved like they don't know each other and that felt like a knife pushing through Luca's numb heart.

"You should use it too." her words cause Luca to stiffen. Nobody ever cared about him, nobody ever questioned his tears. They all watched as he drowned in his own tears and felt haunted by his own fears.

Sahar turns around with the intention to leave but Luca stops her. He couldn't let her leave just like that, he has a feeling that they know each other. Sure she does look like the girl Luca loves but he still wasn't sure. He needed confirmation.

"Don't go," Luca exclaims. "You look just like her, tell me Sahar; are you pretending that you don't know me?" his words cause Sahar to stop. Luca felt his heart pounding out of his body, he had a feeling, a feeling she knew him. He just wanted her to say it. To say that she knows him too.

Please don't leave me again, Luca thought to himself, he felt his hand clenching on to the packet of tissues.

"I remember you Luca, I know you very well." her words cause Luca's heart to stop, his lips quiver at her words. Luca couldn't believe it, the girl in front of him is the very girl he spent years searching for.

He drops the tissue packet.

"Why didn't you say so? I spoke too harshly to you before, why didn't you stop me Sahar?" Luca questions, looking at the ground with immense guilt. If he knew that she was the girl he was searching for he wouldn't have been rude to her at all.

"So if I wasn't the girl, you would've treated me badly?"

Luca widens his eyes, his words were misinterpreted.

"No, I would've ignored you not treat you badly," Luca says, watching Sahar with a dazed gaze. "But knowing that you're still the same girl, I won't ignore you Sahar: I truly do admire you." he mumbles.

Sahar falsely smiles at Luca. But Luca mistook it for a real smile, his heart rate quickens rapidly.

"I admire you too Luca, you're really good at managing your big businesses and an amazing spokesperson." her compliment causes his cheeks to burn with embarrassment: he couldn't take compliments not from the girl he really adores.

"I'm sorry about the other day, I assumed you weren't the same Sahar I knew because Asher told me that it would be impossible for you to attend Devon Academy." Luca's words cause Sahar to furrow her eyebrows.

"Asher told you that? What else did he tell you?"

"That I should leave it, I shouldn't search for you and told me that there's a lot of poor people and you could easily be replaced." his words cause Sahar to clench her fists: Asher is so inconsiderate; Doesn't he know his words are so toxic?

"Did he say anything else?"

"How could you like a peasant?" Luca mutters, clenching his fists at Asher's words. "He despises the idea of the rich and poor mixing, he believes they are separate for a reason." once again, Luca's words impact Sahar deeply.

Asher has no idea about to hardships of being poor. Sahar's deceased mother worked so hard just to help these rich people with things they could do theirselves. She watched her mother struggle to cater to the rich, she watched her mother clean toilets and tend to the rich family with a forced smile.

Her mother was a golden person. She smiled through the pain, she smiled through her hardships. No matter what, her mother never did anything wrong. Yet whenever she'd accidentally make a small mistake, she watched as Luca's mother slapped her mother across the face.

Luca's family are the bad guys. The rich, the rich don't understand how lucky they are. Now that Sahar is a part of them, she still behaves as if she has nothing. She doesn't waste her money like water. She's not ignorant.

"I can't believe he said that."

"Ignore him, the boy has his own problems too." Luca attempts to defend Asher.

"He has his own problems but he should know better not to blame others for his issues, he should no better than to shame others who are suffering." Sahar states bitterly

Luca nods his head, he truly admired Sahar. "You've always been smart."

He takes a step forward. "And beautiful, you look beautiful tonight Sahar." he places a loose strand of hair behind her ear, watching her with admiration.

For a split second Sahar found herself lost but she snaps out of it immediately, she knew it was wrong. Everything about Luca and his family was wrong. Her mother died because of them and she can't help but wonder what else they've done for her aunt to pressure Sahar into attracting Luca's attention.

"It's getting cold, we should go inside." Sahar lies, it was an attempt to get Luca to place his blazer around her. She needed to show her aunt proof that she obtained the leader of the billionaire bad boys club attention.

Luca notices the goosebumps on Sahar's arms. He takes off his blazer, placing it on top of her shoulders. Sahar looks at Luca's built body, her eyes scanning his slightly unbuttoned shirt. She shakes her head.

Snap out of it, the voice in her head snaps.

"Your dress is pretty but it's too pretty, I'm sure you got a lot of stares from the exposed back." Luca says, he felt slightly jealous of the male attention but Sahar wasn't his; Who is he to say that to her?

"I was forced to wear this."

Luca frowns. "By who?"

Sahar closes her eyes, her mind leading her back to another flashback.

"Don't call me aunt, call me mother," her aunt tells her, watching her through the rear view mirror. "You'll know why as time goes by, but nobody should know your mother died because it will make it obvious to the bad guys and it will be you next."

"Sahar? Is everything okay?"

Sahar opens her eyes, looking at Luca's bright ones. "My mother told me to, it's alright though, I'm used to it." she explains.

Luca looks at her with confusion. Her mother isn't like that, she's not the type to force Sahar to do things. When they were children Sahar's mother was always nice, she was so nice that Luca admired her as a person.

"Is she here today?" Luca questions, excitement rushing through his veins.

"She is."

"I want to meet her." Luca states.

"I don't think that's a good idea." Sahar says under her breath. Luca won't be able to recognise her aunt, he would question why her 'mother' looks different. Additionally her aunt will act indifferent and will treat him like she doesn't know him.

"What was that?"

"I think we should talk to others, my mother is in a deep conversation." Sahar lies, slightly enchanted by Luca's face. "Maybe another time?" she suggests, but her mind was confused. Why was Luca so persistent in meeting her mother? Since when were the both of them close?

"Alright." Luca believed in Sahar, she'd never lie to him.

The both of them leave the balcony and back inside.

sahar glacé

PERSPECTIVE

THE MOMENT THE BOTH of us enter the room, all eyes fall on us. The sound of sweet gossip fills the chaotic room filled with petty people, sounds like a melody I'd play any time. Everyone in this room surrounded theirselves with gossips, they burned gossip as fuel.

Luca keeps a safe distance from me, for some reason he respected me: he didn't treat me like trash like others. His eyes truly revealed a deep emotion, he had too much passion, too much passion ran through his golden blood.

"If you ignore them, their words will seem like whispers in a loud concert." Luca states, running a hand through his caramel hair: the silky hair moved to his command; mesmerising me.

"Whispers in concerts are pretty loud."

Luca deadpans.

"Have you ever been in a concert, Sahar?"

"Never." I respond curtly, scanning the large hall for my aunt, ignoring Luca's heartwarming gaze. Every-time I look at him I feel the emotion of deep regret and forgiveness towards him, it's like my mind is preventing me from hurting someone like him.

But I'm not sure if Luca is a bad guy. Right now I'm trying to gain information on his family and tricking my aunt to believe that I have Luca under control. As bad as it sounds, I'm not attempting to hurt Luca unless I know more about him.

After all, without solid evidence I can't go against someone mindlessly. That goes against my morals.

"I'd like to take you to one." the sound of Luca's soft voice causes my breath to hitch, the boy was truly good at striking someone in the heart with a bow and arrow. I'm too complicated to fall for his soft blows and sweet words.

"Take me to what?"

"A concert." he smiles.

Before I could respond another voice cuts in.

"A concert with who?"

Jumin Xu stops before the both of us with a complacent gaze, his dark eyes scans me in distaste: he seemed to despise me although the both of us have never had a conversation till this date. He's the very billionaire bad boy's club member who drained Normani of her wealth, the very guy who walks with pride.

Luca loses his smile in an instant, masking it with a poker face. He acknowledges Jumin with a curt nod, confusing me with his sudden mood change: that's rather odd.

"Alone." I state, saving Luca from the embarrassment of stating he wants to go with me. After all, I'm sure it's against their little rule book to go anywhere with a girl, going to a concert with someone like me would break Luca's flawless status as the aloof leader of the billionaire bad boys club.

Jumin eyes me, not believing a word that came out my mouth. He walks closer towards me until our shoulders touch, his lips dangerously nears closer towards my ears. "I've never seen a pretty girl lie with such confidence." he whispers, a callous look imprinted on his glorious face.

I mirror his actions, bumping my shoulder harshly with his. "You never should've messed with my friend Jumin because now you'll hear this pretty girl lie a lot."

His breath hitches. "You're friends with that girl?" he scoffs at my confident expression.

"She has a name, Normani Blaze."

"Tsk, such a commoner name." his words cause a fire to burn in my eyes, smoke was running through my veins. I wanted to hurt him but I couldn't, I lacked power, I lacked knowledge about this very person in front of me.

"What about you? Jumin, a knock off name of the famous kpop star Jimin, quite pathetic." my words causes Jumin to clench his fists tightly.

"I don't like you, everything about you annoys me: you'll regret your words." he states distastefully, walking away in frustration. Luca simply watches me, his eyes bright with amusement.

"You're something else, Sahar." Luca says with a elysian smile, making his eyes light up like a meteor shower. My heart softens at his words, the boy was something, sometimes he'd be as fragile as glass making me wonder what else he had to his precious soul.

"Something else, how so?"

"Jumin isn't the type to get frustrated easily, he doesn't react to people even when they irritate him and the fact you got a reaction out of him is priceless." Luca's words cause me to unknowingly smile, for some reason I felt slightly proud that I impacted Jumin in a bad way.

"He's your friend, shouldn't you be against me arguing with him?"

"But I met you first, long before I met Jumin, if I were to choose I'd always choose you, Sahar." a ghost of a smile appears on his pretty face, forcing me to look at his ethereal face with bliss.

do you think jumin is being childish? do you think that luca and sahar should be together? and luca do you think he's making sahar change her opinion on him? what are your ships?

thank you for 31,000 reads!