HIS PRINCESS | K.TH

Perfection and A Single Flaw

AERI

"Wait for it. Just wait."

Rin stares straight at the clear cocktail glass, her amber eyes reflecting the cyan blue of the alcohol. I watch her intently, amused and liking the distraction.

"Now!"

She flicks her wrist. And in a second there's a tornado in the midst of the deep turquoise of the drink, and I laugh as she chugs the entire thing in one gulp.

Rin smiles widely, licking her lips.

"Mm. That's so good."

"I might order another one, actua—"

Then the inside of the bar suddenly quiets. It gets so quiet all of a sudden that Rin pauses, looking up in confusion. I follow her glance.

There's a man standing in front of me. Two men— counting the one snickering behind him. He's tall, muscular under his expensive shirt. Seemingly he wants to show off too, with the silken sleeves tugged upwards.

Tattoos mark half of his body. But I stare at him, both disinterested and unimpressed. He might be considered handsome, but my standards were sky-high with V already.

Just a piece of shit with daddy's money.

My eyes narrow.

"Who the fuck are you?"

He bursts into laughter, when nothing is really funny at all. At this point the entire bar is staring at us.

He seems to laugh for almost a minute before he finally stops, staring down at me with a smile that makes me want to vomit. His fingers motion at the oversized hoodie I'm wearing.

"Me?"

"Just a guy wondering what you're hiding underneath all that, baby."

A familiar glass spins through the air.

And I hold my breath as the cocktail glass slams straight into the side of his head, shattering into a million pieces. The glass rains down on the bar floor as he stumbles back with a cry, his hand flying to his temple.

A thick trail of blood smears his palm.

My gaze whips over to Rin, her hand outstretched and a playful smile on her face.

Time seems to stop, for a second.

Rin was such a sweet girl. Fiercely loyal, never hesitating to help out if she saw something against her morals. But there was one thing I'd told her to fix, for the past six years I'd known her.

Her terrible temper.

The guy curses, stumbling back another step. A group of men get to their feet, and suddenly the bar is full of loud, shouted curses.

Rin winks at me, flashing her middle finger in the direction of the man.

"Meet me back home, okay?"

Then she dashes out of the bar. And I'm stunned, as more than half of the men run after her. The man who had hit on me is sprawled on the floor now.