Primrose sighs as she leans against the walls of the elevator, tired from all the meetings she has attended today. The publishing company that she is working with is planning to host a formal attire event to celebrate and give gratitude to everyone who has contributed to the book industry.

While the idea sounds nice, Primrose can't help but wear a dreaded look. Her editor has asked her to come to the event with a partner, despite how many times she tries to decline. That editor reminds her of Lilian, always so persistent. The raven head wonders why she even needs to attend the event, given the fact that she only goes by her pen name and how no one knows about who Azure Rose is besides her editing team.

As the elevator continues to ascend to the designated floor, Primrose feels her stomach turn. She doesn't understand why, but something tells her that whatever happens next is not going to be enjoyable for her. Maybe she has been a bit too skeptical about her life, or maybe it's because of that person popping in and out of her life lately.

When she hears the 'ding' sound and the elevator doors open, Primrose feels her anxiety rise with each step closer to her home. Why is she feeling like this? Is this some kind of unspoken fear that she is going to face soon?

"Yes, everything comes in good shape, you don't have to worry too much about it."

Wait…

Primrose raises a brow, has she been so tired that she becomes delusional?

"I know, everything is ready to move in…"

It can't be…

The closer she gets, the wider her eyes become. This voice, she knows this voice very well.

"Thank you, I appreciate that. Take care of the estate for me."

Her pace becomes faster as she walks around the corner and the first thing that lands on her eye is a tall figure wearing a fine-tailored vest, with a dress shirt and dress pants. Despite the fancy clothing, his hair is tousled, with both of the sleeves rolled up as he is carrying a moving box.

"No…"

With one word leaving her lips, Primrose acts on her impulse, walking towards him and yanking on his shoulders, forcing the man to turn around. The moment their eyes meet, her heart sinks. Her face becomes paler, cold sweats run down her body and her face screams terrified. She no longer can hold herself back.

"Why are you here?" she speaks up, her voice is loud yet quivering "Why are you here? Answer me!"

"Caleb? You're okay?" the person on the other side of the line asks.

"I'll call you later, Lilith." hanging up his phone, Caleb turns his full attention to the distressed Primrose who looks like she is going to cry at any moment "Primrose, calm down."

"Calm down? Calm down?" she speaks even louder this time "You…You're stalking me, right? What kind of pervert are you? Are you out of your mind? What makes you think it's okay to follow me like this?

Her grips on his vest become tighter, threatening to tear off the fabric. Caleb hears loud noises outside the window of the hallway, someone is screaming about the malfunctioning water hydrant.

Is that Primrose doing?

"Just because we met two times doesn't mean that you can follow me like this? How could you?" her bright onyx eyes begin to swim in tears "I want my peaceful life back! I don't want to see you! Why are you here?!"

Another scream erupts outside, and another water hydrant explodes. Caleb, baffled at her accusations, hurt by her words, and bewildered at how her anger is manifesting into the explosion of the hydrants, tries to calm her down. His hands are on hers, slowly but carefully prying off the tight hold on his vest. He looks down at her, staring right back at those teary orbs. The obvious height difference makes it seem like he is bullying her more than she is trying to confront him.

"Primrose, calm down!" he speaks to her, his voice is gentle yet firm "I have nothing to do with the stalking, following, or even a pervert that you make me seem to be. I work at the San Myshuno's Hospital, remember? This apartment is close to my workplace and I don't know that you are my neighbor."

She startles at his words, unable to process what is going on. She is too distressed to even realize that her power is starting to harm people. Primrose doesn't know what is the truth anymore…

"Get away from me! I don't want to see you, I hate you!" she exclaims, wrying her hands out of his grip "Leave me already!"

With that, she runs to her apartment, opens the door as quickly as she can, and gets inside, slamming the poor door so hard the card reader almost pops off the surface.

Caleb is left stunned at her outburst. As her words slowly sink into his mind, his own heart aches. For her to lash out at him and say that she hates him feels like a thousand daggers stabbing into his heart, her fear has been pushed to the brink when she knows that he is her new neighbor. He doesn't expect a warm welcome from her, but her accusations cut deeper than any wound he has encountered. The water explosion outside of the apartment building only seems to increase in intensity, a clear sign of her turmoil and distress.

With a heavy heart, Caleb retreats to his new home. He doesn't want to leave her alone like this, but his appearance would only make matters worse, so he chooses to go away and remove himself from her sight. Sitting on the sofa, he feels helpless. If things were the same years ago, he would waste no time bringing her into his arms and soothing her gently, Primrose always preferred the comforting warmth of his embrace. But now, things are different.

His relationship with Primrose is blocked by the walls she builds around herself, protecting her from the pain she desperately wants to get away from. Even when he is in his apartment, he can still hear her cries on the other side of the wall. His enhanced hearing is a blessing but also a curse, as now he has to force himself to stay still when the cries on the other side only become louder.

Caleb's hand curls into a fist, holding tightly that his nails are digging dip into his skin, leaving red marks of blood. He is well aware of the pain he inflicts on himself, but the cries of Primrose, her distress, and heartbreak are more than the sting of his palm.

Taking in a deep breath, the young lord tries to block her dreadful cries out of his ears. He is helpless, uncertain of what he can and can not do. Primrose's walls around her heart prove to be too strong to be knocked down, her defense mechanisms are the only way she can protect herself from the lingering pain of the past. It pains his heart to know that no matter how much he wants to be by her side and hold her close, Caleb can not do that. The person he holds dear to his heart is actively rejecting him, rejecting his efforts to make amends and to ease the heartbreak he inflicted on her through his decision.

He has no one but himself to blame…

The vampire lord trusts that time and patience are on his side, that he just needs to be calm and approach this matter more gently. The path to her heart is thorny and bloody, he can't force his way into it when she keeps pushing him away. All he can do right now is wait for the right time and moment for Primrose to calm down enough that she doesn't see him as a threat.

"Primrose…" gritting his teeth, Caleb runs his hand through his tousled hair, gripping the strands tightly "I'm sorry… I'm so sorry…"

As Primrose lies on her bed, still sobbing her heart out, she finally comes to a calmer state where she can think rationally. What she said to him was unacceptable, she was so blinded by her own sense of protection that she called him names that were unsuitable for a noble vampire lord like him.

Rubbing her eyes, Primrose slowly makes her way to the bathroom and wash off the tears, hoping the cool water can calm her down. The water hydrant explosions seem to be fixed, she feels so embarrassed about the troubles that she has caused other people during her emotional outburst. Marlin has always told her that her magic lies solely in how well she can keep her emotions in check.

The water mage feels bad for reacting like that without even giving him any time to explain. Or maybe he did explain his side of the story but she was too focused on her dear that she disregarded everything he said entirely. Primrose knows she can be like that sometimes.

Should she apologize to him? She hasn't even had a chance to say thank you to him for getting her favorite drink days ago and now, she calls him names that no great man should ever be accused of. Her eyes then land on the fluffy scarf he lent her on their first reunion, she hasn't even given it back to him yet…

Her delicate brows knitted at the thought…

Since when did her life revolve so much around him?

He was there to save her when Don Lothario tried to lay his hands on her, he offered her the scarf because of the cold weather, he treated her to her favorite drink, he knowingly removed himself from her when he noticed how uncomfortable she was when they were at that coffee shop with Lilian.

And what did she do to repay his kindness?

Calling him a stalker and a pervert…

"What should I do…?"

She can not come off with a solution on her own, she needs help.

Primrose searches her saved contact and smiles when her brother's name pops up. This is who she wants to talk to. Dial the number, she holds tightly onto the stuffed animal her younger brother gave her last birthday, her face beams up when he picks up the call.

"Hey sis, what's up?"

"Nathaniel…"

"Hm… you okay? Did you cry? Your voice is kinda horsed…" Nathaniel on the other side grips onto his phone tightly "Who made you cry? I'll make sure that guy will pay a hefty price."

"No, I'm not crying. W-what makes you think like that?"

Primrose tries to calm her voice down. Nathaniel will not be pleased if he knows that she has been crying because of a guy.

"You sure? 'Cause you don't sound very convincing, Prims." Nathaniel sighs but continues "Anyway, you call me?"

"Y-yes, I…well…I need help…" Primrose ponders her words a bit before continuing "Say, if someone calls your names like…pervert or stalker…how would you feel…?"

"Say what? Did you call someone like that? What did he do to you Primrose? Are you at home?"

"Just answer the question! And no, nothing happens to me."

Primrose bites her bottom lips nervously. Nathaniel has always been so protective of her, if she told him about Caleb, he would come here and make a scene. But then again, no one knows what happened between her and the vampire lord except for Marlin and Lumera.

"Well, I mean I have never been called like that before, that's quite a wild accusation if that person has done nothing wrong. So I would be pretty irritated if they call me that with no evidence of my indecent deeds."

The water mage is now biting her inner cheek. Of course Caleb would be irritated, especially when she refuses to listen to his reasons.

"Okay, thank you…"

"Hey, what's with the voice? You okay?"

"I'm fine, Nat. You have nothing to worry about." she sighs "I'm gonna hang up now, okay?"

"W-wait, hold on-?!"

"Bye, Nathaniel."

She hangs up the call before her brother has a chance to pry into her personal life. Nathaniel said that he would be irritated with the accusations, which means, Caleb would probably think the same…

She knows Caleb hurt her in the past and his actions, while selfless, didn't justify how he abandoned her like that. But that does not mean she has a right to call him such horrible names like that. What can she possibly do?

Lilian's brown eyes stare at her friend as she exhales again, wearing a disappointed face. Unless it is about her story writing, in which Primrose rarely shows this kind of negative emotion, the brunette doesn't know what is going on in her friend's little head.

Primrose pouts, the pen in her hand keeps moving as she draws what seems to be a long and never-ending line. Her eyes are not glued on the paper, but instead, staring at some distance that Lilian can hardly grasp.

"Alright, what's wrong?" she speaks up, breaking Primrose's train of thought "You're here for a reason, right?"

The raven's head blinks a couple of times before she realizes where she is and what she is doing. She has come to Lilian's workplace in the hopes of consulting with her friend about what she should do next.

But upon arrival, Primrose finds herself unable to speak up about the matter. She doesn't want the brunette to know that Caleb is her new neighbor and also wishes to hide their history as long as she can. The raven head knows that Lilian is an amazing friend but she can not bring up the topic, it's too personal for her that even her family doesn't know.

"Lilian, can I ask you something?"

"Of course, what's up?" she turns to Primrose, giving her friend full attention.

"Well, it's about…" the young mage ponders her thoughts a bit before continuing "A new idea for my book. I'm thinking about this kind of scenario…"

And Primrose goes on about her past connection with Caleb, using two different characters to demonstrate the problem while still maintaining some form of secrecy to herself. She then speaks about what happened yesterday, how the female character – herself – called the male character – Caleb – horrible names.

Lilian listens, nodding and humming in response. She has an odd feeling that her friend is hiding something else behind the metaphorical story, but she digresss. The way Primrose tells this new story idea of hers sounds more like she is telling her own story of a past flame that Lilian doesn't know.

She knows the raven head tends to keep things to herself, especially when it comes to the matter of the heart. But surely, Primrose can't hide such a big secret like that from her, right? She is her best friend, her trusted confidant, if anyone knows about this, it should be Lilian.

"So, what do you think? What should the female character do?"

"Hm…" Lilian plays with the pen on her working desk, puzzling at the possible answer she can give "Well, if I have to be honest, it's silly for the female character to hold onto the event that happened years ago. I think, while it may serve as a good storyline, the female character is actually harming herself, physically and mentally."

"O-oh, you think so…?"

"The male character was wrong, definitely, but his action stemmed from the goodness of his heart. If it was me, I would probably do the same thing as him."

Primrose blinks at the friend, Lilian's words slowly sink into her mind.

"And for the name calling, it's absolutely the female character's fault. I don't see a reason why she reacted like that, even when she was overwhelmed with emotions. Maybe I'm too practical about the matter of the heart, but to me…" Lilian looks at her friend with such seriousness in her eyes "She is showing vulnerability to the wrong person and that male character has every right to be upset to be called with those names."

There is a mixture of understanding and denying on Primrose's end. On one hand, she acknowledges Lilian's wisdom, but at the same time, she feels like her friend is making light of the pain she carries.

"You know Primrose, I always believe that people should have a second chance. When you're able to forgive the person who makes you mad, you're not only forgiving them, you're also forgiving yourself." Lilian smiles "I don't know what's going on, but you will do well keeping that in mind."

The raven head nods her head, accepting her friend's wise words. She knows that, the importance of a second chance. She too was given a second chance after her erupted decision to drop out of Glimmerbrook School of Magic just because the heartbreak was too much for her to bear. Later, Marlin and showed up, and before she knew it, they became her mentors. If it hadn't been for them, Primrose would never become the strong mage she is today.

The day Marlin and showed up was the day she got her second chance to learn magic.

When it comes to the matter of Caleb Vatore and what he did, Primrose is conflicted about the idea of forgiving or dwelling in the past. She doesn't know why, she tries to search within for an answer, but nothing comes up. Maybe time will tell, or maybe she will become too tired to even think about this matter anymore.

But now, right now she must do what is right. To apologize to Caleb for blurting irresponsible things when she was angry.