The day at the college was a slow torture. Every time I stepped into the hallway, I saw them. Alex and Elena were like two magnets that couldn't stay apart. I stood behind a cold stone pillar, my fingers digging into my textbooks. Elena was wearing a dress that cost more than my entire year of tuition. She laughed at something Alex said, and then, she reached out and straightened his tie.
It was a small gesture, but it felt like a slap to my face.
He told me to be simple, I thought, looking down at my plain grey sweater and flat shoes. He told me to win his mother's love by being a 'good girl.' But while I am hiding in the shadows, Elena is standing in the light with him.
Suddenly, Elena looked up and saw me. "Oh! Luna! Come here, dear!"
I walked over, my heart feeling like a heavy stone. Alex's face turned into a mask of stone. He didn't look at me. He didn't even blink.
"Alex was just telling me how dedicated you are," Elena said, her smile bright and perfect. "It's so kind of him to let a scholarship student stay at his private apartment. Most professors wouldn't be so... generous."
She knew. She knew where I lived. It felt like a threat wrapped in sugar. I muttered a quick excuse and ran away, her laughter following me down the hall like a ghost.
When I got home, the apartment smelled like rich spices and heavy cream. Alex's mother was already in the kitchen, her sleeves rolled up.
"Luna, good, you're early," she said without looking up. "I need help. We are preparing a traditional feast. Wash your hands."
I spent the next three hours chopping vegetables and stirring heavy pots. My back ached, and my eyes burned from the onions, but I didn't complain. I wanted her to love me. I wanted her to see that I was a hard worker, that I was kind, and that I was the right woman for her son.
While we worked, the mother started to talk. "A man like Alex needs a very specific kind of partner, Luna. He needs someone with a strong family name. Someone who understands his world. Don't you agree?"
"Yes, Ma'am," I whispered, the words tasting like ash in my mouth.
"I have already made the final choice," she continued, her voice firm. "The girl and her family are coming for dinner tomorrow night. It will be the official meeting to set the date."
I stopped stirring. The world seemed to tilt. "Tomorrow night?"
"Yes. And since you are living here, you will help us. You will serve the tea and the food. It's a good way for you to show your gratitude for the scholarship, don't you think?"
I felt like I had been stabbed. She didn't want me there as a guest. She wanted me to be a servant for the woman who was going to take Alex away from me.
When Alex finally came home, the kitchen was full of steam and the scent of the feast. His mother met him at the door, her face full of pride.
"Everything is ready, Alex! I told Luna she will be helping us serve the dinner tomorrow. The bride-to-be will be so impressed with our household."
Alex's eyes snapped to mine. I was standing there, covered in flour, my eyes red from crying and onions, holding a wooden spoon like a weapon. I saw the flash of pain in his eyes—the same pain I felt. He wanted to reach out to me. He wanted to stop his mother.
But he couldn't. Not with her standing right there.
"Luna will help?" Alex asked, his voice low and dangerous.
"Of course! She is such a helpful girl," his mother smiled, patting his arm.
Alex looked at me, his gaze deep and intense. I saw the promise he made in the dark—the promise that he was mine. But as I looked at the pots of food I had cooked for his future wife, I wondered if a promise was enough to break the walls his mother was building around us.
I was the girl he kissed in the dark, but tomorrow, I would be the girl serving him tea in the light. And I didn't know if my heart could survive the difference.