The next morning, Rory woke up feeling very embarrassed. She remembered the dream so clearly. It was stuck in the forefront of her mind.

The kiss felt so real. In the dream, Rory thought that Decha's lips were very soft. She knew deep down that it would never happen to her in reality. She was ashamed that she even dreamt it.

Rory got out of bed and walked up to the mirror on the dresser. Her gift was still there. The earrings dimmed because of the sunlight peering through the curtains. But she felt bad that she asked for and accepted the gift.

She didn't want to come across as demanding. Rory took down her hair and let the strange fall right below her earlobe. She fluffed the hair a bit, making sure it had a bit of volume, just enough to hide the studs.

When she finished, she walked out of the bedroom and made her wait down the hall toward the living room and kitchen. She smelled meat cooking.

When she walked in, the aroma of eggs, rice, and meat smacked her in the face. It was a pleasant smell, and her stomach was starting to growl because of it. Theodore Chen was at the large dining table, reading something on a tablet, while Jessica was stirring a spoon around in a small pot.

Rory felt a warm presence behind her. Decha nudged her aside gently before walking toward the table and sitting down. She noticed that his hair was damp. He must've just washed it.

The kiss in her dream flashed in her mind briefly, and she felt too embarrassed to sit next to him. She felt sick that her body craved another kiss from him. How would it feel if it was real?

Rory swallowed hard, forcing a lump of air down her throat. She needed to get her mind out of the gutter. Rory dragged her feet to the table and cautiously sat next to Decha, who was already eating what looked like rice porridge out of his bowl.

Jessica set a plate down in front of her husband and gave him the stink eye. "Theodore, you know I hate when you read at the table."

"I'm looking over important paperwork." He replied with a frown.

"If paperwork is more important than the food I cook for you, you can starve." Jessica forced a smile and kissed him on the side of his face. It was a warning. "Rory, you look so pretty with your hair that way."

Both of the men had their eyes on her, and her eyes remained glued to the food in front of her. "Thanks."

"So Decha, where'd you run off to yesterday? You left early." Jessica sat down and grabbed onto her coffee mug. She sipped on it slowly while studying him like a Lion.

"I went to go run an errand," Decha replied, stuffing his mouth with another spoonful of the porridge.

"Oh. Did you have any special plans yesterday during the Holiday? A lot of people went out. There were so many couples at the park yesterday."

"I came back late. So no." Decha bit into the egg and wiped his mouth.

"Did you do anything interesting yesterday, Rory?"

"No. I watched a bit of TV, did some studying, and went to bed." Rory's response made Decha look at her suspiciously. Was she just going to pretend that the kiss didn't happen?

"We talked for a bit when I got home," Decha started, and Rory bit her lip nervously.

"Yeah, we did."

"What did you guys talk about?" Jessica placed her coffee on the table and leaned forward, hoping that something happened between the two.

"Not much," Rory lied. "There was a lot of snow yesterday. How did you stay warm? What time did you come back?"

Rory was purposely changing the subject. She didn't want to reveal much about the gift he got from Decha. But Decha was growing a bit agitated that she wasn't acknowledging that they kissed. He noticed that she was avoiding his gaze during the conversation.

What was she thinking? It wasn't that he cared, but he knew that he wasn't lacking skill when it came to kissing. He had kissed Chai many times before. So why was Rory acting as if it didn't exist?

She was the one who fell asleep in the middle of it. Maybe she didn't enjoy it that much. But she kissed him first. This woman was going to be the end of him. Decha thought it was stupid to have thoughts like this so early in the morning.

Figuring her out always exhausted him. Bracket women just weren't the same as Astellians. Maybe Rory had a reason for doing this.

"I'm finished," Decha announced and slid his bowl forward. Then he stood and glanced at Rory, briefly. "Meet me for a moment."

"Me?" Rory blinked.

"Does it look like I'm talking to someone else?" Decha quipped.

And just like that, Rory set her utensils and food aside and followed him out of the kitchen. He led her back to her bedroom, far away so his father wouldn't be able to hear.

Theodore was hostile toward Rory. The last thing Decha wanted was for Director Chen to try to interfere with plans and force Rory into a hospital. "We need to talk about your surgery."

"Okay."

"Jessica is going to run a few tests, but you're going to have to scan."

"Why do I have to scan if you already know my condition?"

"I'm not a Doctor. I only know that you're getting worse. I can't tell how bad it is."

"I guess you're right."

"Jessica is making plans for you to have an exam, but before surgery starts you're going to have to change the way you eat and take in a lot of foods with iron. You may be on the diet for a few weeks." Decha stepped closer to her and Rory backed away. "Don't move." Decha frowned.

"What are you trying to do?"

"Every Bracketer has a black mark on either their face or on their neck." Decha reached for her shirt collar and she flinched when he touched her neck. "Rory—" The one single move from Rory caused her to slip and fall backward. Decha lost his footing when her leg kicked his shin, and he fell with Rory.

He quickly grabbed her from behind and maneuvered her onto the mattress so she wouldn't hit the wooden floor. Her back hit the bed, and Decha landed on top of her.

Instead of checking to see if she was okay, Decha let out a string of curses and began yelling at her. "I told you not to move."

"I couldn't help it!" Rory whined. "I'm ticklish."

"Why didn't you say so? That's better than kicking me in the freaking leg and jerking away!"

"Why are you yelling at me?" Rory whined. Decha rolled his eyes. He pushed himself off of her, but Rory screamed.

"OW!"

Decha grunted. "What the heck?" His hair was stuck on the studs he gave her. He lowered himself back down and grabbed onto the strand of hair and tugged on it.

"Decha!" Rory whimpered and grabbed onto his hand. "DON'T PULL!"

"What do you want me to do, Rory?" Decha spat.

"I'd appreciate it if you didn't try ripping my ears off." She huffed. The two were extremely close. Rory felt like she couldn't take much more of it. She could feel Decha breathing down her neck and it was driving her insane. "Can you try taking it off?"

"I can't see it." Decha narrowed his eyes at her.

"Don't you have a knife or something so we can—"

"I'm not cutting my hair, either." Decha refused.

"Don't pull it," Rory repeated, more serious than before.

"Stop whining and let me untangle it."

"Stop breathing in my face." Rory groaned.

"Where else do you want me to breath, stupid?"

"Can I be honest? You're heavy." Rory wheezed. "I can't breathe. Is it me or is it very hot in here? I can't—"

Decha placed a hand over her mouth to stop her rambling. He pulled the strand of hair but Rory shrieked again. His body slammed back onto hers.

"I told you not to pull!" She cried.

"I'm trying my best." Decha frowned. "I'm not trying to hurt you, calm down."

"You smell like a forest." Rory blurted while getting an entire whiff of his scent.

"Okay?" Decha grimaced at her.

"It's not a bad smell."

"Thanks but we need to focus on more important things." Decha gestured at his hair strand still stuck in her studs. "If we roll over, I can probably see it better."

"No, we can't move." Rory refused. "It will hurt."

"Then we'll move slow. You have to come closer."

"I don't wanna do that either." Rory gulped.

"Rory, don't piss me off. I've gotta get to work. I'm not gonna be stuck like this all day for your sake." Decha grabbed onto the back of Rory's head and dragged her close. Their lips were close.

While Decha was trying to figure out a way to unstick, Rory was flustered to no end. Her face was extremely hot. Her breathing was heavier.

Decha rolled slowly, making sure not to tug anymore on her ear. When she was on top of him, he got a better look at where the hair was tangled. He folded one of his legs to steady Rory, while he worked on detangling.

"I realized I never said thank you for the studs." Rory began, hoping that a conversation would decrease the level of awkwardness. "They're pretty. You didn't have to get them for me. I hope it wasn't too much trouble."

"It wasn't," Decha responded while his eyes were focused on getting the hair out.

"I did some research on yesterday's Holiday. During this time of the year, there seem to be a lot of days focused on bringing people together."

"I guess so."

"So, yesterday, when you left the house, did you have any plans during that errand?"

"I did. But traffic got in the way of time."

"Did you have plans with someone in particular?" Her heart sank. She found out that the Astellian Holiday was for people to go on dates and exchange gifts. The day before, Jessica and her husband went out while taking Avon with her. So she was alone at the house all day.

Maybe Decha had a date. Why else would he come back at night so late?

"Why are you asking me these kinds of questions?"

"I'm just curious."

"Quit it, you're starting to sound like Jessica," Decha grumbled. His mother was always interrogating him. He didn't like that Rory was picking up the same habit.

"Sorry." Rory pouted. She shifted on top of him, trying to reposition so she wasn't pushing all of her weight.

"Stop. Moving." Decha warned her. Although his pupils were already the color of obsidian, somehow, Rory felt they were darker. Even his tone changed with her.

"I don't wanna be dead weight on you."

"Just. Don't move." He commanded her.

"My leg hurts in this position."

"Don't move, Rory." Decha seethed. All he wanted was for Rory to cooperate. Her legs were near a very dangerous place.

"Let me just—"

"Rory!" He snarled at her when Rory's knee grazed over his crotch. He nudged her leg back in the same position as it was before. "I told you not to move!"

"Don't yell at me," Rory whined and shrieked when Decha tugged on her ear. "Why!?"

"We're both going to have to make some painful sacrifices," Decha swore. "Your legs may hurt, but trust me, when you move, I feel a lot more pain than you'd ever imagine. Keep them there for a little longer. I'm almost done."

"If you pull again, I'm going to rip your hair out." Rory groaned.

"I've never seen this side of you before." Decha laughed, and his chest vibrated against hers.

"Hurry up." Rory rested against him.

"Hey, if you hadn't moved, we wouldn't be in this situation." He teased her. "I'm trying the best I can."

"This is why you should have short hair." Rory rolled her eyes.

"My hair is short."

"Not short enough."

"You're the only woman who's complained about my hair to my face."

"Because it's stuck in my ear and it hurts. A lot."

Decha finally got the strand out and sighed in relief. "Finally!" He sat up with Rory still on top of him. She steadied herself and grabbed onto her ear.

Then she pushed herself off of him in a hurry.

"Later, you can tell Jessica about the mark on your neck." Decha hopped off the bed and brushed his hair back. "It's just a minor precaution. Scanning is going to be the main source of help."

"So... after the surgery. Am I just going to stay here until the walls are rebuilt?"

"Correct."

"So, how will you find my father? He has to be stuck in Sector B somewhere. And in our deal, I wanted to see him. But if it's too much to do before the surgery—"

"Don't worry about that." Decha sighed.

"I just don't want to be a burden. When Grandell starts classes again, I wanted to know if I could register to stay in a dorm. Temporary Astellian residents have access to that, right?"

"We'll talk more about that after the surgery." Decha could sense the urgency. "You're not a burden. You're a Patient."

Rory took a deep breath and exhaled. "I'm not only worried about the surgery." She was worried about him. Rory wanted to put as much distance between them as possible. The dream she had the other night was evident that her emotions were going too far.

It was wrong. She didn't even know what she liked about him. But she knew that he was never going to feel the same way about her.

Decha had 15 pins. He went Outside the walls. He interacted with the head of the Sectors. And the fact that he was able to get ahold of all her records in one day was enough to show her how prominent he was.

His family was well accomplished. His father was the Director of the Agency, a large company made of Generals that worked for both Sectors. His mother was a surgeon.

Rory realized that she would never compare to them. She didn't want to force her feelings on Decha. The thought of it made her stomach hurt. "It's nothing." Rory took a step past him, but the moment she did she felt her stomach churn in a way she had never felt before.

She shriveled and held her stomach, biting back a cry.

"You okay?" Decha grabbed onto her. His eyes moved to where her hands were. "Let me see."

"I'm fine." Rory forced herself to stand back up with a smile. "It was just a mild cramp. I think I need to stretch more." She joked in a dry heave.

"Be more careful." Decha nodded at her. "I've gotta go." He dismissed himself with a slight wave of his fingers and walked out of her room.

Rory looked down at her stomach. What kind of pain was that?

~~~

"N926, I'm not in the mood." Decha kept his eyes ahead. He was headed to meet Jax in one of the meeting rooms.

"We need to talk," Abigail placed her hands on her hips angrily.

"I have nothing to say to you. It doesn't matter how many times you ask. I don't owe you anything—"

Decha stopped when Abigail brought up her watch and enabled her holographic screen above it. A window popped up with an image of Decha and Rory kissing the night before. It was more than an image.

It was an entire video. Rather than focusing on the content, he wondered how she even got the footage. "Care to explain this?" Abigail seethed.

"What's to explain? I'm assuming you've already watched the video. There's no other context."

"So you willingly kissed her?"

"Did you come to my house and record us?" Decha spat.

"Don't change the subject. Do you like her? Is that why you kept rejecting me?"

"That's none of your business." Decha sneered at her. This General had a lot of nerve to go to his house in the middle of the night and record him. If he wasn't so busy, he'd have her arrested for trespassing. "What I do at home does not concern you."

"What's so good about a Bracketer like her?"

"What the heck?" Decha snapped.

"I've done my research. She's a Bracketer, a student at Grandell. How does she know you? Why was she at your house when the curfew was enforced? Did you sneak her there?"

"She's a refugee under my care. But again, that's none of your concern. I'm trying to be polite and cordial with you." Decha spat. "Stop acting so desperate. I've made it clear, several times. I have no interest in you or forming a relationship."

"So why her?"

"My arrangement with her doesn't concern you. Get that through your head."

"You're ruining your life. You'd give up a line of worthy Astellian women for a good-for-nothing Bracketer?"

Decha slapped her. And it wasn't wrong to do so. They were both in uniform, and this kind of behavior on the job was unacceptable.

Decha was livid. She had harassed him, trespassed on his property, and pried into his personal life. Those were high offenses against a high-rank general. Decha felt that the slap wasn't enough to put her back in her place.

The Generals in the lobby of the Agency stopped their tasks to watch the commotion. They all were shocked because the slap sound was very loud. They also couldn't believe that THE 'N96' just put his hands on a council member's daughter.

Decha didn't care how many eyes were on them. He didn't give a crap about how embarrassed Abigail would feel, because she made him feel much worse. Inheritance did not matter, the law did.

All Generals were at different ranks. The more pins you had, the higher your significance. Those in the lower ranks had to respect the ones who had more pins, with the exception that the higher-ranked Generals show respect to the council. That was the law.

Abigail touched her cheek which was now glowing red from the hit. Teary-eyed, she glared at Decha. "Dastard."

"From this point on, you're going to walk away. Get out of my sight. And you're going to refrain from cursing the woman in the video, or else I'll rip your tongue out. Whenever you see me, you're not going to look at or even think of me as your equal. We are not well acquainted. You are nothing but my colleague. Do I make myself clear?"

The venomous command echoed across the entire lobby. Abigail refused to answer him.

"Don't make me remove your one single star pin." Decha stepped forward again. "Do I make myself clear?"

"Y-yes." Abigail huffed. She didn't want to spar with him. No one in the Agency could top Decha in battle. Legally, if he wanted to, he could snatch her only achievement away.

"Good. Then we have a mutual understanding. Leave." Decha gestured and backed away. Abigail reluctantly turned around and took her walk of shame out of the Agency. When Decha turned around, every General went back to doing their work as if it were a reflex.

Decha walked up the set of stairs in the middle of the lobby and went to one of the meeting rooms. Jax was leaning against the large table with a sulky expression.

"What's with you?"

"... My date..." Jax let a tear fall down his cheek. Whatever happened the day before, it didn't go well for him.

Decha didn't want to hear anything about relationships, dates, or romance for the rest of the day. There was too much work to do to focus on a trivial thing.

He needed to track down Rory's father. He had planned on taking Jax to Kilos. But he couldn't do anything while Jax was sobbing over a woman.