CHAPTER TEN

REYNA

"I don't understand why you have to tell them you're looking at other places," Reyna called out to Jason from inside her bathroom. Reyna tugged uncomfortably at the dress she wore for dinner as she surveyed her reflection for a good minute. Instinctively, she began brushing her hair even though she had already combed it before she left the house for the dinner.

She could hear the music of John Legend playing from her stereo system in her bedroom and she knew that the shades of her room were drawn, the candles were lit and the mood was set. Her parents had decided to go see a show in the city, saying she was more than welcome to allow Jason to spend the night in her bedroom. You knew it was serious when the parentals were hinting at you to get that serious.

The one thing that Reyna had always superseded Hylla in was getting a boyfriend- and a boyfriend that was super approved by her parents. She knew her parents adored Jason and everything he stood for- he was Arellano material and Hylla didn't have that. She did, and they sure as hell were pushing for them to be together.

It wasn't that Reyna didn't like Jason and it wasn't that Jason was a terrible boyfriend. He was everything a girl dreamed in a boyfriend- he had that All-American classic good looks with his strong jaw and baby blue eyes, he was smart and he was attentive. He spent just enough time with her, he was Ivy-ready and he came from a good family. So why wasn't she happy with him? When she kissed him, there were no sparks flying in her head, there was no passion, there was no...connection.

Reyna buried her face in her hands.

Why does everything have to be so complicated?

"I told you, I am looking at other places. I want to be honest with your parents," Jason said earnestly as he was lying on her bed in the adjoining room, snaking one of her leather Gucci belts around the top of the bedspread for Aurum and Argentum, Reyna's greyhounds, to chase.

Reyna placed down the comb, blew out a large breath, and exited out of her bathroom. Jason looked up, smiling at her with those ice-blue, Siberian husky eyes resembling a boy in love with a girl. Reyna felt her heart deflated, feeling somewhat guilty. Here was a boy who loved her so unconditionally. They were childhood friends and lovers, destined to be together, giving themselves wholly to one another, and yet nothing felt right about this.

He reached for her hand and pulled her down on top of him. He kissed her and she responded back tentatively. Reyna closed her eyes, feeling her whole body recoiling and wanting to rip herself apart before urging herself this is what you want. She began kissing with more vigour until his fingers slid down to her thigh and she flinched.

"Are you okay?" Jason asked when he saw the fear on her face.

"Yeah, I'm fine," she lied. She hadn't meant to sound scared when she said it, but she was, a little. She forced herself to relax her body in his arms. "I'm just…" She shook her head.

Jason's eyes crinkled, "Reyna, what's wrong?"

Reyna bit back the response she was dying to say, which was everything. Instead, she plastered on a smile and enveloped her mouth onto his. Jason tasted like champagne and his cologne smelled really good, like pine trees. She loved that smell- it reminded her of his companionship and their friendships through the years. She tried to keep her shoulders down and her neck stretched long so she would feel tall and lean and sensuous in Jason's arms.

Jason accidentally jabbed her in the ribs with his elbow. "Ouch," Reyna laughed awkwardly, prying herself away.

"Sorry," mumbled Jason. "Here." He reached for a pillow and slid it under her so that her head and shoulders were propped up comfortably. They were about to kiss some more when the front door to her family's penthouse creaked open and slammed loudly shut.

"I'm home! Is anyone in?"

It was Hylla.

Jason and Reyna both froze.

"Fuck," Reyna gasped, untangling herself from the bed. "She's not supposed to be back." But somehow, Reyna felt relieved. She didn't know why.

"What should we do?" Jason whispered.

"Get dressed," Reyna said back in a hushed, furious whisper. Though her olive skin hid it well, her cheeks were flamed with embarrassment. She lunged for her closet and whipped out a pair of sweatpants and her father's old Yale sweatshirt. Jason adjusted his crumpled button down and smoothed the wrinkles of his trousers to make it look as if they hadn't been fooling around.

"We're around," Reyna announced to her sister as she pushed open her bedroom door to find her sister in the hallway with a bunch of shopping bags. Hylla Arellano sighed at the sight of her sister and narrowed her eyes into a squint when Jason emerged out.

"Where's mom and dad?" Hylla questioned her, her welcoming tone that was used when she entered the house growing frostier.

"Out," Reyna replied back, matching her sister's hostility. "Why?"

"None of your business," Hylla shot back at her, trotting off to her room to dump the shopping bags.

"Sorry about that," Reyna huffed, leading Jason out to the two-story foyer, the only one in the entire structure. Her parents had always bragged about it- they were so proud of this entryway, but Reyna hated it: the hollow way it made her footsteps echo, the glinting mirrors on every surface. She couldn't look anywhere without seeing her reflection.

"It's fine," Jason said sweetly but the tension that was permeating the air in her bedroom just moments ago was developing into an awkward one. They arrived at the kitchen, where silver candlesticks were placed in the centre of the marble island counter.

She sat down at the long, mission-style farmhouse table in the dining room, running her finger around the stemless wineglass Ella, the family's housekeeper, had just filled with red wine. Her parents didn't care if their kids drank while they were at home as long as no one was driving, so she grabbed the glass with both hands and greedily took a large gulp.

"Do you want something to drink?"

Jason shook his head, "I can't. I'm going to Leo's afterwards and I think he wants me to drink my bodyweight in vodka."

Reyna nodded firmly, feeling somewhat relieved that he was leaving, then suddenly feeling guilty. Why couldn't she be just a normal girl who wanted her boyfriend to kiss her and hold her and be intimate with her? After all, they have been together for months now. She should at least be somewhat comfortable with some contact.

"Oh okay," Reyna said, "Do you want to leave now? I'll book you an Uber."

"Nah, it's fine," Jason responded, pulling up his phone out of his jacket. "I'll just see you at Dakota's this Saturday?"

Reyna sipped the rest of her wine, "Yeah, sure! I'll see you?"

Jason kissed her tenderly on the forehead. "See you," and then he disappeared into the foyer and out of the house.

Reyna sighed, running a hand through her hair when all of the sudden her phone lit up with a new notification.

gwenkozak99 sent a streak!

Reyna managed a feeble smile when she saw a notification from Gwen popped up on her phone, squashing her anger from Reyna aside. She clicked open the snap. It was Gwen doing a double chin in front of a camera. Reyna couldn't resist smiling anymore. She could always count on Gwen to cheer her up. Reyna quickly took a snap of a potted plant to save the streak.

Reyna's skin prickled at the thought of Gwen. Luckily for her, Gwen had been too smashed to remember what happened at that homecoming party and never brought it up. For Reyna, however, it had been seared into her mind ever since it happened three months ago. Gwen's lips have tasted like apple cider and mint gum and Reyna had never noticed how soft Gwen's palms were. In her defence, they were both very drunk- Gwen on the borderline of blacking out and Reyna on the steep hill of tipsy. Nonetheless, ever since the kiss, Reyna had this fluttering feeling in her stomach whenever she was near Gwen like she kept thinking about how Gwen kiss with her cupid-bow lips only slightly open or the intricate details of her face- from her turned-up nose to the freckles splashed across her cheeks.

She couldn't stop thinking about Gwen and the kiss and how different it was from kissing Jason. Then she would feel the guilt about Jason, her poor, loyal, adoring boyfriend who was always there for her, who would've never gotten drunk on apple ciders and then kiss his best friend.

Nothing could ever come out of pursuing a relationship with Gwen. Her parents would've never approved of it. Her parents were old, conservative, controlling, Blue Money Elites, who were scandalised by gay marriage and liberal thinking. Besides, she didn't even know if Gwen remembered the kiss, much less returned the same feelings. So it was better to squash down whatever feelings- lust, attraction, or otherwise- and did what was expected of her.

After all, she was Reyna Arellano, the perfect model student.

OCTAVIAN

On Thursday nights, Octavian usually found himself nursing a few drinks at the Hilton. This was common as Thursday nights were a follow-up to Thursday afternoons. And without fail, every Thursday afternoon was when the Solis family had their afternoon tea. No matter how busy or hectic the week had been, everyone knew that Thursday afternoon tea at the Hilton was mandatory attendance by all family members who were in town.

The tradition began with Octavian's father, Augustus Solis. Augustus Solis was one of Asia's most esteemed private banker. He also belonged to the blue-blooded Solis aristocracy, a family well rooted into Spanish nobility with generations of wealthy businessmen and philanthropists spread out across the world. As a Solis, Augustus was a rising star in Hong Kong's private banking world with invitations to attend annual meetings of the World Economic Forum but of course, as a Solis, it was pretty much a given. Augustus was part of the exclusive group of people who truly mattered- people who could move the economy, people who have the ear of the top politicians around, people who affect culture, people who mattered.

His wife, or rather current wife, Brenda Solis- originally Brenda Chung- was a model turned soap opera star, who despite nearing forty had decided to show up to high tea in

her vintage Yves Saint Laurent safari jacket and gold leather caged thigh-high Gianvito Rossi sandals, completely overthrowing the quiet elegance of the Hilton's tearoom. With his currents stepmother cherry red lips and charcoal lidded eyes, Brenda essentially resembled the unattainable object of fantasy for pubescent boys. Nonetheless, no matter how annoyingly out of place his stepmother looked, Octavian had no doubt it was going to be soon for his father finally got bored of her and cheat on her with yet another retired supermodel.

Regardless, his father had always utilised Thursday afternoon tea as an opportunity to inspect his children to make sure they were following in line to becoming some of the most influential teenagers in the high society of Hong Kong. For in spite of all the advantages the Solis children had growing up, Augustus was constantly worrying about them and the image they cultivated.

There was his oldest sister, Calliope- the quote on quote "socialite" as she now went by Calliope Kensington, what with being currently engaged to the son of the Marquess of Bath, Henry Kensington. A consequence of his first marriage to Augustus's college sweetheart, she was an exceedingly bronzed strawberry blonde who had breezed through her whole socialite as a devoted philanthropist and art collector. His sister was a fixture in the party pages of the Tattle with her inbox filling up with invitations for cocktails at the Chopard boutique or art openings in Sheung Wan before heading off to live with her mum in London and complete her education at Oxford only to drop out in her last year to become married.

Octavian's oldest half-brother, Julius, however, was the exact opposite of Calliope's accomplishments of creating charities donating to some poor kids in Africa or eating mini tarts with pearls and white silk gloves. Instead, Julius was the original party king of the social scene in Hong Kong. With a hundred virginities of Hong Kong's richest socialites and expats under his belt, Julius Solis had elevated himself to cult status. Julius was also the previous president of the Gentlemen Club, making it a legacy right for Octavian to inherit that throne (All he needed was that pesky Percy Jackson out of the way). Nonetheless, nowadays Julius was no longer around in Hong Kong as he was supposed to be at Cambridge finishing his master's dissertation, but had instead spent most of his weekends doing his best Prince Harry impersonation—running up a £38,000 bar tab at half a dozen London nightspots, wrecking his brand-new Ferrari, destroying public property, and almost getting himself killed. And that wasn't even the worst of it.

And lastly was Lucilla, his second oldest and actual full-blooded sister. Lucilla was the only one of the Solis clan that didn't come out a total disappointment. A violinist and an aptitude for education, Lucilla had demonstrated her worth by playing at Carnegie Hall last year and flying through Cambridge Judge Business School with distinction. Now working for Cazenove in London, she had proved herself into becoming just as astute of a banker as her father was.

As Octavian was the youngest out of his massive family, Octavian knew he had a lot to prove. After all, he wasn't the charitable socialite, neither was he the party animal and nor was he the gifted violinist. And in a family like Octavian, proving yourself was constantly a battle that kept going on.

Today's afternoon tea had no less proved itself to be an event of Julius arriving hungover and cranky, Lucilla complaining about how she was far too busy to be here and Calliope dominating the conversation about how beautiful the long-stemmed white tulips and calla lilies centrepieces were for her upcoming wedding. All of which was accompanied by his father settling business disputes on his phone for the afternoon and his stepmother bragging about how Harry Winston had custom made a jewellery line after her.

It was safe to say that Octavian was in desperate need of a drink right after. He went to sit in an armchair near the bar and ordered himself a whiskey. He checked his watch for the time.

It was only 6:30. Still extremely young for the night. And Bryce and Michael shouldn't be doing anything.

Octavian was about to reach for his phone to text them when a woman's voice caught his attention,

"Look at her," Octavian heard a woman say to her friend. "Isn't she beautiful?"

Octavian turned to look. It was her. Rachel Dare, live and in person. The oxygen inside his body disappeared for a quick second.

She entered the bar looking severely underdressed for a place as swanky as the Hilton's hotel bar. No sequined mini dresses or plunging necklines with sky high stilettos for her tonight- just wearing what appeared to be a crisp men's button-down shirt tucked into exquisitely cut navy-and-white gingham cigarette trousers. No makeup- instead, her eyes were rimmed red and she seemed...upset.

Hmm. Maybe she found out about the three thousand other girls Percy Jackson has slept with. Octavian murmured as he watched her trudge over to the bar and dumped her Celine purse onto the counter. With a brilliant idea in mind, he decided to pick up his whiskey and leave his armchair to occupy the empty bar stool beside her.

"Can I have a lavender-and-yuzu martini?" She asked the bartender. "And a tequila shot?"

"Whoa, you alright there?"

Rachel turned. Up close she was even prettier with her crimson hair spilling down her back like a river of blood, her skin was deathly pale and her lips were naturally plump and red as if she just kissed a raspberry. Her eyes were a soft green colour, reminding him of pond water in a Monet painting.

"Octavian Solis," she muttered, recognizing him immediately. "What the fuck are you doing here?"

"Drinking? Having a good time? I'm perfectly entitled to be here," he shot back.

She rolled her eyes and rubbed her temples, annoyed. She looked even cuter when she was annoyed. "You know what? Stay here for all I care, I so do not need this right now," she grumbled.

"Where's your dumbass boytoy? Or is he too busy looking at other girls to make time for you?" He laughed, sipping his Scotch. He lit a Camel, inhaled it deep and then exhaled, blowing out grey smoke into her face.

"Percy actually has things to do unlike you. We're not the type of couple who needs to be with each other every waking moment," she said through gritted teeth.

The bartender plopped down her drink and shot. She sipped her martini before tossing back the tequila shot. She winced as she squeezed the lime wedge into her mouth. "Another shot," she told the bartender.

"Oh really? So you and Percy are still together?" He arched his eyebrows at her. "Is that what's going on? I haven't seen you two together in the last three months anywhere."

"Oh, so what? You've been keeping up with those inaccurate gossip magazines?" She retorted hotly but he could see the insecurity bubbling up in her expression. He had hit a spot.

"Don't be stupid, Dare. You know what kind of guy he is. That's why you're here, aren't you?" He gestured to the second shot the bartender has placed in front of her. "You found out another affair so you're here, drinking before dinner, alone."

She couldn't come up with anything else to say. That or the alcohol was creeping up her system, eroding any wit she once previously had. "Go away, Octavian."

"I'm right, aren't I?" He took a long drag from his cigarette.

"Shut up."

"Come on, Dare, you and I have now something in common. Jackson had screwed us over."

"That's a lie. You and I are nothing alike," she protested, her voice growing less angry. All there was left was sadness. Rachel raised her martini glass at the bartender, asking for another drink.

"You should probably stop drinking," he advised her, "Especially before dinner."

"Coming from you?" She tilted her head at his glass. "And I'm allowed to do whatever I want, thank you very much."

God, he loved how fiery she was. It would be plenty of fun wearing her down. He couldn't wait to brag to Michael and Bryce about this.

"Fine, vomit your guts out. I don't care." He tipped back his glass of Scotch and finished the rest of it. Rachel's second martini arrived. "But look, even though I fucking hate your boyfriend or whoever he is to you now, you don't deserve it."

Rachel blinked, perplexed. Did he just say what she thought he said? "What?"

He blew a breath through clenched teeth. "He doesn't treat you like you deserve to be treated," Octavian said, establishing their eye contact. "If you were mine, I would've never done what he did."

Maybe it was the gin talking but all of the sudden, Octavian's eyes brightened into an azure colour. Was it her imagination or was his eyes had always been that blue?

"Really?" she asked in a small voice, dabbing her wet, red lips with a cocktail napkin. Her tone felt hushed, dimming down along with the lights of the hotel.

"Really."

Rachel straightened up in her seat. The waitress brought Rachel her drink and this time, Rachel swallowed half the sweetened gin in one go. "You know, Percy always hated you. He never gave me a reason why...he just always said you were trying to sabotage him."

"Well, he isn't wrong but...Percy always tried to sabotage me too. We both want the same things," Octavian shrugged, "We're going to have a rivalry."

Rachel used the moment to scrutinize Octavian critically. His mouth was open, the corners of it quivering up and then down with the cigarette. He was different for the type she liked- well, her type was normally Percy. With a jolt, she realized that in all her sixteen years of living, she had only been with one guy and that was Percy Jackson. She had never kissed any other guy other than Percy because she had spent so much of her time and effort envisioning their life together like some sort of movie. But life wasn't like a movie and Percy wasn't going to be the guy of her dreams anymore.

It was like an epiphany- a heavy load that had just been removed from her shoulders. The expectations of marrying and being with Percy Jackson had just...disappeared. She looked over at Octavian, who was about to lit another cigarette. "Hey, can I have one?"

Octavian raised his eyebrows at her. "You smoke?'

"Not really," she confessed, "But I kind of need it."

He nodded like he understood and held out his packet. She selectively pulled one out and he offered his lighter. She used one hand to protect it from the air conditioning and the other to flick the lighter on and set the tip on fire. It glowed as cherry red as her hair.

He ordered another whiskey sour as she fiddled with the Cartier Love bracelet around her fragile wrist. Her L'Orient ruby ring glimmered as she wrapped her hands around her martini and drain the rest of it.

"Want another one?" His finger tapped the rim of the glass. He had nice hands with long fingers and trimmed fingernails. She wondered how his hands would feel on her skin. What the fuck? Rachel asked herself. She had never ever thought that way about another guy other than Percy. But then again, she never ever had any other guy other than Percy. Ugh, whatever, Rachel thought. Percy and I are over.

"I actually want a Scotch," Rachel confessed, glancing at his own drink. "I need to get fucked up."

Octavian laughed. "Alright. Whatever you want."

Rachel's cheeks flushed. She couldn't remember when was the last time she felt this way- all gooey and lightheaded. She couldn't remember when someone made her feel good and God forbid, it was Octavian. Percy's biggest rival. Personally, she didn't hate him. She was just conditioned to. After all, he went to a rival school and all she ever heard about him was how horrible he was- from Percy's perspective. Rachel studied him again- Octavian was kind of...dare she say it, attractive? He had these full lips, a defined jaw, and long eyelashes that would make any girl envious. He was very attractive, sure, but there weren't just his looks. It was his style, his swagger, that smirk and the way he carried himself...it was sexy.

I'm drunk. Rachel decided. I'm so drunk.

"You know, I knew Percy had been cheating on me." The Scotch sizzled on her tongue. "I had always known and I keep forgiving him. I keep letting him get away with it and…"

"I know," he said. "I always wanted to use the affairs as a leverage against him but it seemed like it wouldn't do anything because you'll take him back anyway."

"Not anymore," Rachel promised herself. "I'm done with him. I'm actually so fucking done with him."

"Well that's good to hear," he replied, his voice deep and musky. Rachel squinted her eyes. Was that flirting she detected?

"What about you?" The question flew out of her mouth before she could control it. Shit, shit.

Luckily for her, Octavian didn't gouge that she was trying to find out if he had a girlfriend. "No one in particular, not right now." He smirked at her. "Why the question?"

"I was just wondering." She feigned interest by cupping her hand around her glass. She went for another sip of her Scotch and realized she'd finished it.

"Sure you were."

"I was curious." The bartender set another Scotch in front of her. She downed it like water and looked at her phone for the time. "I should go soon."

She hopped off her stool, attempting to land gracefully but she stumbled off messily on her Tory Burch ballet flats. She giggled, off balance.

"Whoa." Octavian grabbed her arm to steady her. "I don't know if you can get home in this state."

Rachel looked deep into Octavian's eyes, allowing him to undress every part of her. Even at her shittiest, he was admiring every curve of her body, how red her hair was against her porcelain unmarked skin, and how fragile she was around her arms. She edged closer, grounding her body into his chest. It was like a game they played- teasing each other with their bodies and suggestive lines to see who would break first. They were Rachel Dare and Octavian Solis, the sad princess who just lost her Prince Charming and the daredevil demon tricking her into doing terrible things.

And for the last time that night, Rachel Dare lost control once more. Submitting to her desires, she tugged at his shirt, pulling him into a deep kiss, and the rest was history.

oh welp.

sorry this chapter took so long :( :(

can we get up to 115 reviews?