Hidden Horns

Then marry me instead

It was the kind of night even a feather would fall without drifting one way or the other. The grass was straight and silent, the leaves dangled more as if they had been painted there. Should a person be able to feel the beating of the birds' wings - that would have been the only breeze. It was still, utterly still.

And in Yohan's stillness, she scares Chloe. Perhaps it is the moonlight making her skin so pale, or the lack of wind letting her hair hang without movement, she's not sure. Yohan don't even blink, just keeps her eyes on the lake as if it whispers secrets to her.

She then looked at the lake, watching the reflection of the wan moon. "Are you going to take my soul?" She asked.

"Yeah." Yohan replied and in the midst of stillness, Chloe felt her heart thumping loudly.

"Go on then." She said nonchalantly but deep inside her, she's scared. Too scared to even look at Yohan.

"Do you even know the story why I wanted to take your soul?" Yohan asked as she sat down and crossed her legs while still looking at the lake.

"Do I have to know? You're going to kill me anyway." Chloe said and copied Yohan's position, but she pulled her legs onto her chest and hug them before she put her chin on top of her knees.

"25 years ago, I met your father when he summoned me." Yohan started. "Then he asked me for a favour. And as a Devil, I'm not going to do him a favour unless I don't get something in return."

"So you asked for my soul?"

"He offered the soul of his first child."

"That's me—."

"No." Yohan cut her off and she let her body fall back on the grass and she used her arms as her pillows and stared at the sky. Chloe on the other hand, was too stunned by what she heard and didn't know how to respond to that. "You were not the first child."

"All my life.." Chloe gulped to find her voice to continue speaking and gulping helped her in some way. "I thought I was an only child."

"Of your mom, yes. But not your Dad." Yohan said and she shut her eyes. Not even afraid that Chloe might take that as an opportunity and run away. She brought Chloe to a place that does not exist in the real world, so Chloe won't escape no matter how far away she runs. "He lied to you and to your mom."

"Do you know who the kid is?"

"Of course." Yohan chuckled. "I know her better than everyone else." She added.

"So she's a girl? Is she still alive? Where is she?"

"I'm not gonna tell you her identity, it's better that you don't know who she is." Yohan said and finally opened her eyes, meeting the cat-like eyes on her side. "But one thing is for sure. You are way more beautiful than her."

Chloe felt the heat rush up to her face which made her face as red as ripe tomatoes and she hid it by looking on the other side.

"It's okay if you don't want to tell me." Chloe shrugged. "I'm dying anyway."

"Why do you keep saying that?"

"Because that's my fate since the moment my father made a deal with you."

"And I told you, he promised his first kid's soul so technically, you were not the one who's going to die."

"Then why did you bring me here?" Chloe asked, looking back to Yohan.

Yohan heaved a deep breath and exhaled before she pushed herself to sit up, she bent her one leg and put her arm on top of her knee, one hand pressed on the ground and she shuffled her body to face Chloe.

"You confessed to me a few days ago, right?" Yohan asked.

Chloe suddenly choked in the air and she cough because of that question. She blinked her eyes rapidly while fanning herself using her hands because of embarrassment.

"What does it have to do with my question?" Chloe scoffed.

"Then tell me why are you marrying someone you didn't love?"

"It's not like I want this. I just have to."

"I deserve an acceptable reason." Yohan demands.

"Why tho? It's not like we are in a relationship." Chloe scoffed and rolled her eyes.

"You confessed to me, remember? So what was that?"

"I am not the one talking to you that night, it was the alcohol." Chloe chuckled and she shuffled her position, stretching out her legs and spreading them while her both hands behind her and pressed onto the ground to support the weight of her body.

They both fell in silence and just watched the dark skies with nothing to watch but the pale moon.

"Don't marry him." Yohan said after a moment of silence.

"Why?" Chloe asked, then she turned to look at Yohan's eyes, searching for some answer to her question, but couldn't see anything.

"I don't like the idea." Yohan said, holding Chloe's gaze. "I hate the idea."

"My father's company is on the verge of bankruptcy, the only solution to save it is marrying the son of his business partner."

"I'm not a human." Yohan said which made Chloe's forehead furrowed but didn't say anything and waited for Yohan to proceed. "And so as Asmodeus."

"He's a devil like you?" Chloe asked.

"He's one of the demons with sin."

"What sin?"

"Lust." Yohan replied, eyes still at Chloe's beautiful face.

"How come I have never felt lust when I see him?"

"Because you have the stone that your step mother gave to your Dad to protect you from devils like Asmo and.." Yohan trailed off her words as she smiled sadly. "..me." She added.

"Wait, step mother? So you mean that my step mother is a witch, because I remember one time when I caught my Dad talking to Nathalie and said that I have the stone that was given by a witch."

Yohan froze on her spot when she heard Chloe, thinking that she might find out her half sister. So she waited for Chloe to realise about Jess, but seconds passed, yet Chloe was just staring at Yohan, still waiting for her response.

"Yes." Yohan sighed.

"So my half sister is a witch?" Chloe asked again.

"Yes."

"So you mean to tell me, my half sister is Nathalie?!"

Yohan suddenly burst out laughing upon hearing Chloe's conclusion. Though on the other hand, she's glad that Chloe didn't know about Jess's real identity.

"Why are you laughing?!" Chloe sneered and slapped Yohan's arm.

"Why did you assume that Nathalie is your sister? Is she a witch?" Yohan asked between her laughter.

"I'm not really sure but she's not ordinary, I mean she changed a lot since she lost her sister." Chloe shrugged.

Yohan suddenly stopped laughing and she sigh softly, looking away again. "Don't marry him." She repeated.

"I have to." Chloe replied with a sad smile on her lips.

"If you do, you'll regret it. I'm telling you."

"Then marry me instead and let's run away." Chloe said, as if that is easy to do. Especially if Yohan was not a human at all, she's a devil. Her fate is to become the new ruler of hell, to replace her father, to be the most evil person in the world.

There's a brief moment of silence on Yohan's part, still processing what she heard from the brunette.

"What about your dad's company?" She asked.

"Didn't it all start because he asked for your favor to have eternal wealth? so you have the ability to save my father's company again." Chloe said.

"And what will I get in return?" Yohan asked.

"Me."

"Actually Chloe, if I do that. Your father will owe me two souls." Yohan chuckled while shaking her head.

"Me and our soon to be child." Chloe said and Yohan laughed again. She finds it ridiculous to be honest, but at some point, there might be a chance that she'll agree to it. So she stopped laughing and looked straight into Chloe's eyes.

"Are you willing to live in hell?" She asked.

"No! Are you crazy? Who's sane person would live in hell?" Chloe exclaimed.

Yohan laughed but she was hurt a bit. Though Chloe has a point. But Yohan is a devil, the only place where she can bring Chloe is in hell because no matter how Yohan would go far, she still belongs to hell and to the throne that is waiting for once she goes home.

"Then I can't marry you." Yohan said after a sigh and she stood up and offered her hand to Chloe. The latter looked up to her with confused eyes. "Let's go back."

"This is the 2nd time you rejected me." Chloe smiled but still reached for Yohan's hand and she stood up. "So I guess, I have to forget my feelings for you."

"Yeah, but you're still not gonna marry Asmo."

"I will and you can't do anything about that unless you will decide to kill me." Chloe chuckled when she realized that she was still holding Yohan's eyes. She looked down to their interlocked hands and she smiled sadly. "Our hands were so perfectly carved together, as if they were destined to hold each other like this." She said.

Yohan looked down to her then to their hands. She could feel something inside her that she couldn't explain, but she could say that it's in a good way.

"I like you, Chloe." She suddenly blurted out which made Chloe look up to her with her eyes wide open and her mouth slightly agape. "I mean, I.. uh—."

Chloe didn't let her say anything and she grabbed Yohan's head and slammed her lips against Yohan's lips.

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