M... Marriage? Did I hear that right? Oliver wants to... marry me??? Woah there! As far as I'm concerned everyone thinks I'm dating Cassius right now. So why would Oliver even think of such a thing!

"Marriage? But we barely even know each other!" I said nervously as I refused to look Oliver in the eyes.

"Isn't this what you call love at first sight though?" Oliver maintained as he cupped my hand tenderly. "I'd even call it fate."

No, this is most certainly NOT fate! At most I'd say it's a crush but even then, I'm being far too generous. "Sorry, but I'm not interested in marriage. I'm just here to focus on my studies."

Oliver's face dropped in disappointment. "But if you were to marry me, I could take care of you." He proceeded to slowly add pressure to my hand. "You wouldn't have to lift a single finger. I could get you anything you ever wanted..."

Yeah, right. From the sounds of it, he'd just confine me indefinitely. So, with that in mind, I think I'll just stick to my guns and say no!

"Vana? Are you here?" A voice called out.

Hah? That sounds like Cassius. Geez, he really has grown attached to me. It's like he wants to cling to me every second of the day.

"And so, the bother arrives..." Oliver grumbled with venom laced in his voice.

Yikes! A confrontation is the last thing I need between these two. I fear it might end in blood if I don't act now. So, with that in mind, I pushed Oliver off of me as I ran out of the courtyard.

Without stopping, I ran past Cassius who was left momentarily confused by my odd behaviour before chasing after me.

"Vana? Is something wrong?" Oliver shouted as he started to gain in on me.

Once I was out of breath, I reluctantly stopped running to catch my breath. "I thought I... ha... saw the person who stole my... ha... schoolbag." I turned to give Cassius a sheepish smile. "But I guess it was... ha... just my mind playing tricks on me."

Cassius exhaled in relief before hugging me. "Is that so? Geez, you had me so worried." To my dismay, Cassius proceeded to plant a trail of kisses along my cheek down to my neck.

Geez, stop with the fake couple act already! At least do this when there are people around so it makes sense. Ugh, he's really just using this as an excuse to toy with me...

"I really can't keep up with you." I narrowed my eyes at Cassius questioningly.

"First you were shy and nervous, but now you've become so... flirty and..." I looked down to see Cassius' arms slyly wrap around my waist. "Touchy..."

Cassius shrugged before answering me. "I'd say this is normal for most demons, it's in our nature to be dominating. All of our emotions are... heightened."

Ah, that explains it. But then again, this means I'm in an arguably worse position now. If his perception of love is doubled then the same goes for all of his other negative feelings too. Ugh, I really don't want to see Cassius' jealous side now!

"Hey, can you let go? I have to return to my room." I stated as I calmly pried Cassius' hands off of me.

He looked up at me with a sour expression. "Aw, but why? I just found you..."

"I need to try on some dresses for the masquerade." I furrowed an eyebrow as I looked at Cassius questioningly. "I hope you have your outfit arranged."

Cassius laughed awkwardly as he scratched his head. "Ah, an outfit. Right..."

"You do realise the party is tomorrow, right?" I sighed as I folded my arms doubtfully.

"Yeah, of course. Well then, I won't hold you back any longer then..." Cassius said before nearly tripping over his own words as he quietly excused himself.

I hope this means he's going to shift his focus from me to this party for the time being. Cassius can't be my only priority right now. He has to think for himself sometimes. I'm not his mom...

...

"Hey, are you okay?" Ophelia asked me in concern as she pulled up her gold mask. "You've been quiet all day. It's unlike you..."

Ah, she caught on to nervousness. "No, I'm fine," I said while waving my arms around frantically. "I'm just a little nervous, that's all."

She nodded along understandingly before pinching my bare shoulders reassuringly. "That's natural. But I promise you that you have nothing to worry about."

Ophelia led me forward by the hand. "I'm sure Cassius will think you look stunning." She continued as she looked around the glamorous golden ballroom.

Oh. Is Ophelia slowly warming up to him? That's surprising but nice to see, nevertheless.

As if on cue, I turned around as I felt a gentle tapping on the back of my shoulder. "Cassius, wow..." I remarked in awe as I took in his appearance.

He really does clean up well. His slicked-back hair along with his simple yet elegant black suit caught the attention of everyone who was nearby. I suppose they were all taken with the mysterious man in the navy mask.

"Vana?" Cassius said as he held out his arm towards me. I tried to hide my smile as I quietly linked my arms with him.

As I gave Ophelia one last look, she gave me a sneaky thumbs up before gesturing for me to go ahead. So, without giving it another thought, we made our way toward the main floor.

Once we were out of sight, Ophelia went searching for someone she could recognise in the sea of masked people. In her pursuit of looking for someone to socialise with, she harshly collided with a tough chest. Looking up, she was confused to see a familiar navy mask.

"Cassius? I thought you were with Vana..." Ophelia remarked dazedly as she tried to make sense of the situation.

"No, I haven't seen her yet." He joined Ophelia in her pursuit of scoping out the room. "Where is she?"

"She's wearing a baby blue dress; you can't miss her." She turned around to point before slowly dropping her hand in complete confusion. "She was just over there a few seconds ago."

The two stared at each other in alarm as a bad gut feeling sank in.