Chapter 1

There she stood, a lone figure in her bedroom. All was still, and her soft deep breathing filled the emptiness of the room. No matter how hard she tried, the scenes wouldn't stop playing in her head. Quistis could only close her eyes and feel her heart palpitate against her chest.

Pang!

The dart flew straight into the air, piercing the picture attached to the wall. It hit the face of a man she loved whole-heartedly. Squall Leonhart, the brown-haired and green-eyed SeeD cadet who stole her heart the moment she laid eyes on him.

Raising another dart, she couldn't help but remember how Squall broke the news to her. He took her to their secret space in the training center. A midnight rendezvous, if one could say. Except it wasn't a pleasant one.

"I'm sorry, but we need to break up." He said. "I don't love you anymore."

"You're joking, right?"

But Squall kept his silence, looking at her with sorrowful eyes.

"You don't mean it, do you?"

"I'm sorry."

"Y-you mustn't be thinking clearly."

"I'm as clearheaded as I can be."

"Then why break up with me?" she asked, not believing that he fell out of love with her. When he didn't answer her, Quistis finally grabbed him by the collar. "Answer me!"

Squall looked at her straight in the eyes. "I love someone else."

"Someone else," she repeated. "You love someone else." The words were quite strange upon her lips. It felt like a bad dream. Yes, it was dream. It had to be a dream. That was the only logical explanation why her boyfriend was telling her this. It had to be…

Taking a deep breath, she tried to guess who this someone else could be. Everyone in Balamb knew they were a couple, and no one would dare to poach Squall from her.

Unless….

Unless she wasn't from Balamb.

Unless Squall met her outside Balamb Garden during one of his missions.

Five months earlier, Squall was deployed to Galbadia to protect a certain very important person. It was such an important case that Squall never even divulged the details to her. When he returned a couple of weeks ago, Quistis was glad to be reunited with him. Perhaps she was too blind with love that she had never noticed the subtle changes in his demeanor.

The eyes that once shone with love for her dimmed. The smile he sheepishly would give her never reached the corner of his ears or eyes. And the long dreaded monosyllabic responses he gave her when they initially met came back.

Of course. It made perfect sense.

She was a Galbadian.

"Why, Squall?" she asked, hating herself as she was close to begging. "Am I not good enough?"

He pried her fingers away from his collar. "I'm sorry." With nothing else to say, he left her. Quistis crumpled on the ground, choking back a sob and the tears from her eyes.

She began to recall the conversations they had together. The love he professed. The appreciation he had for her as an instructor. The dreams they had. The family the planned to have in the future.

Quistis remembered the last time she had cried over a man. It was the day Squall confessed to her that he loved her. His words brought genuine joy and tears because she loved him as long as she could remember. She loved Squall despite him being a cold and unfeeling jerk to everyone, including her.

How strange it was that she was crying over him again. Except that his words now brought sorrow and tears to her.

Pang!

This time, the dart shot straight into the air, this time, hitting the woman beside him. Quistis dispassionately looked at her. It took Quistis's skills to find who someone else was after Squall dumped her.

Rinoa Caraway, or Rinoa Heartilly as she called herself among her close circle of friends, was the daughter of the Galbadian General Fury Caraway. Apparently, she was the very important person Squall was tasked to protect. Through a freak accident, Rinoa inherited Sorceress powers that rendered her a possible target for scientists who wanted to exploit her powers.

Quistis managed to secure a copy of the mission's feedback report. Squall was the hero of this mission, managing to escort her to a scientist so that she would be able to control and stabilize her powers.

The hero of the mission also became the hero of her heart, it seemed.

Lucky them, she thought.

Poor her.

Would she allow a mere sorceress to undo everything she worked for?

No, of course not.

There was a reason why she was Instructor No. 17 and why she had become a SeeD at the tender age of 15. At 25, she had 10 years as an experience as a SeeD. She was Balamb Garden's Card King and one of the institution's youngest instructors. She attained her achievements with her mind and her skill. She could work her way through any problem. She could forget Squall and move on…

Or she would make Squall pay, as she planned with him.

It was a fantasy she nourished to soothe the ache brewing in her heart. He'd regret dumping her, and perhaps then, he'd return to her and apologize, thinking how sorry and foolish he was to give her up. And then she'd move on, breaking his heart the same way he broke hers.

Was she really going to spend the rest of her days being angry and miserable? A part of her wanted to forget and move on with her life. Despite the pain of heartbreak. Despite the fact the one she loved, loved someone else.

But fate had a different plan for her.

In hindsight, perhaps she should have refused his offer. Heck, she should never had bothered to agree to his stupid plan anyway.

But a deal was a deal, and she had already given her word.

Perfect, Quistis. Absolutely perfect. You're making a deal with the devil, and anytime, he'll come knocking on your door to seal the deal.

The door banged.

Hyne, he was here. Quistis didn't even bother to approach the door. "Who's there?"

"It's me."

In less than a minute, the door opened.

And there, he stood.

Looking like the perfect knight.

The perfect devil.

"Seifer Almasy."