Love Or Rivalry

Chapter Twenty-Five

Hey guys! It's been more than a year, time really flies~ Here's another chapter, finally. It's kind of a filler and it's short, we're trying to find our footing after not writing for more than a year. We hope it's okay! Sorry for the really long absence, and thank you guys so much for waiting for us. We can't say that we will be uploading regularly, but we will definitely try our best to upload as much as we can. Please continue to support Love or Rivalry, and as we're still amateur writers, please do comment on any mistakes you see or anything you think we can improve on! -xkies

Chapter Twenty-Five

I stared at myself in the mirror, frozen at the sight of the many bruises covering my skin. Hand marks were printed everywhere, blood trailed slowly down my legs from the cuts. I swept my hair away from my face, my hands shaky. A mottled bruise spread across the left side of my face. Brushing my fingers lightly against the swollen skin, I jerked my hand away when it stung painfully. The right side wasn’t any better, the skin was scraped of my cheek and it was bleeding slightly. My face was pale, my eyes were dull and lifeless and my hair hung limply down my back in a knotted mess. It was amazing how Mirai managed to act like it was nothing. He probably didn’t want to worry me. Turning sharply away from the mirror I turned on the shower, ignoring the bathtub that was already filled with warm water, despite how I was longing for a long soak. I didn’t want to impose on Mirai, he’d already done so much for me. I needed to figure out what to do next. I didn’t want them seeing me when the wounds were still visible. I had to find somewhere to go, somewhere that I was sure they couldn’t find me.

I scrubbed at my teeth fiercely, carefully avoiding the mirror. After rinsing my mouth, I stepped towards the door, only to realise that I didn’t have clean clothes. My dress was torn beyond repair, Mirai already threw it out for me. Sighing heavily, I grabbed the towel Mirai gave me and wrapped it around me tightly, padding out of the bathroom only to find that Mirai had laid out a plain black t-shirt, a cream jacket and a pair of red sweatpants on the bed for me. He really was so kind; I smiled as warmth flooded my chest. I quickly pulled on the clothes, wincing at the fact that I didn’t have any underwear on. The shirt and jacket hung off me loosely, the jacket sleeves were so long they reached my knees. Even with the stretchy waistband, the sweatpants were too loose and way too long, so I had to fold the waistband about five times before I could even properly walk in them.

The smell of pancakes wafted into the room and my stomach growled. Following the delicious aroma, I peeked outside from the door and tiptoed quietly out. The place was huge and spacious, the everything was white, except for the wooden tables, shelves, etc. There were also a few potted plants at the corners, I could really sense that it was designed to be minimalistic. Occupied with looking around, I didn’t notice that Mirai had crept up on me.

“I made pancakes for breakfast...” I jumped and spun around, startled. Mirai laughed, a soft and delicate sound. “You don’t have to feel uncomfortable here, make yourself at home.” Taking my hand, he led me past the living room to the kitchen, where two plates of pancakes sat on the counter. Pushing myself up onto the high leather chairs, I cursed softly at my petite stature. Grinning, Mirai sat easily on the chair. I blushed, knowing that he heard me. I was blushing a lot around Mirai, for some odd reason. “Thank you. For the clothes, and the pancakes.” I drooled a little as I stared at the blueberry pancakes piled on my plate. “It’s nothing, I’m glad I can be here for you.” He smiled gently at me.

I dug in and devoured the delicious pancakes. “You make AMAZING pancakes.” I turned too Mirai, only to find him to staring at me. “Um...D-do I have something on my face?” I stuttered nervously. “You’re really cute when you eat.” He reached out, his thumb brushing the corner of my lip. “Maple syrup.” He smiled softly and licked his thumb and I blushed cherry red. “Er, sorry, did I make you uncomfortable? I didn’t mean to.” He bit his lower lip. “It’s okay, you didn’t.” I let my hair hang down to shield my face like a curtain. “Mm.” He nodded. Suddenly feeling the need to do something, I piled his plate on mine, put them in the sink and started to wash them. “It’s okay, you don’t have to do that.” He got up hurriedly. “You’ve done so much for me, it’s only right for me to repay you; this is the least I can do.” I mumbled as I scrubbed the plates. “I didn’t save you for you to repay me, I saved you because I WANTED to.” He shut the tap and turned me around to face him. “Allie, I don’t need your repayment, or want it. I saved you, because I couldn’t stand seeing filthy men like them defile a pure girl like you. You didn’t deserve it. Nobody does. I couldn’t just do nothing. You don’t need to repay me. Just being able to meet a beautiful, kind, gentle girl like you is enough for me.” His beautiful amber eyes stared into mine. “But-” He cut me off, pressing his finger over my lips. “No. I won’t allow you to repay me. In fact, I’ll get angry at you if you try, okay?” He said firmly. I nodded reluctantly and he smiled, brushing his knuckles against my lips lightly before letting it fall. For one ridiculous moment, I missed his warm touch.

So yeah it was really short but don't worry we're already working on the next chapter! And also, we'll be doing a bit of editing as there was some name confusion in the previous chapters. Do comment if you would like a list of characters and a brief overview of them and/or a summary of the story so far as it's been a while. Thanks so much guys <3 Much love, xkies.