Rebirth: Love me Again

[IRAYA]

Do something! But Lyander, the picture of nonchalance, leaned back in his chair and examined his nails like he had no idea what was happening.

Oh, he knew. He was enjoying this way too much.

"Look, you don't have to answer now," the Don said, waving his hand as if he were granting me a great favor. "You two can be in a . . . introduction phase. Date first."

Date first? That didn't sound so bad. Maybe I could use the time to finish college, find an escape route, extract my revenge on Jason, and leave this place for good.

I let out a small sigh of relief, already forming my escape plan. Maybe I could even fake a terrible personality flaw to make myself less appealing. How hard could it be to sabotage a fake relationship?

"And then, after your graduation, we'll set a proper date for the wedding," the Don added, nodding to himself like he'd just made the most reasonable suggestion ever.

My relief evaporated faster than my last paycheck.

My lips pressed into a thin line, and I grumbled internally. Graduation was months away, which meant I had to spend all that time being courted by him.

Lyander's smug grin told me he was well aware of my predicament, and he wasn't going to make this easy.

Great, I thought. Now I have to survive a fake relationship, a determined Don, and Lyander's ego. Someone send help.

After that whirlwind of a meeting, Lyander offered to drive me home. Honestly, I wasn't even sure what had just happened. The entire conversation with Don Gregory felt like a fever dream—hazy, surreal, and absolutely ridiculous. I couldn't decide if I was in shock or just plain numb.

The ride back to my apartment was, unsurprisingly, as awkward as you'd expect after being pseudo-kidnapped and practically engaged to a guy who treated life like one big joke.

Lyander was behind the wheel of his sleek, stupidly expensive car, humming along to a song I didn't recognize while I sat stiffly, plotting my escape.

"You've been quiet," Lyander said, his voice cutting through the tension. He glanced at me, smirking. "Is this your way of silently protesting the engagement?"

"I'm just trying to process how I got dragged into your soap opera," I replied, crossing my arms. "This entire day feels like a fever dream."

"Well," he said with a dramatic sigh, "I could pinch you to prove it's real, but I don't think you'd appreciate that." Experience more on My Virtual Library Empire

"You're right. I wouldn't." I shot him a glare. "And stop acting like this is some kind of game."

"Who says it's a game?" He quirked an eyebrow. "Maybe I'm taking this whole thing very seriously."

"Oh, please," I scoffed. "You don't even like me."

He feigned shock, placing a hand over his chest. "I'm offended. What gave you that idea?"

"Oh, I don't know. Maybe the part where you've spent the last days treating me like your personal entertainment?" I snapped, rolling my eyes. "Face it, Lyander. You're just doing this to annoy me."

"Annoy you?" He let out a low chuckle. "If I wanted to annoy you, I'd have done something much worse. Like texting you at 3 a.m. with random memes, and order you random things."

"You mean like you already do?"

He grinned, unabashed. "See? We already know each other so well. It's practically fate."

I groaned, sinking deeper into my seat. "You're impossible."

"Impossible?" He looked at me with mock indignation. "I prefer the term 'charmingly persistent.'"

"More like persistently infuriating," I muttered, staring out the window.

There was a moment of silence before he spoke again, his tone uncharacteristically serious. "What if I told you I wasn't playing games?"

I turned to him, my brow furrowing. "What are you implying?"

He shrugged, eyes fixed on the road. "Maybe I actually like you. Maybe this whole engagement thing isn't as ridiculous as you think."

My heart did a weird little flip at his words, which I immediately blamed on indigestion. "You're joking, right?"

"Do I look like I'm joking?" He glanced at me, and for once, his expression wasn't smug or teasing. It was . . . sincere.

That threw me for a loop. Lyander? Sincere? This had to be a sign of the apocalypse.

I didn't know how to respond, so I did the only logical thing: I avoided it altogether. "Well, uh, thanks for the ride," I said quickly as we pulled up to my apartment.

Before he could say anything else, I unbuckled my seatbelt and bolted out of the car like it was on fire. I didn't look back as I hurried up the steps to my building, my mind racing.

Whatever Lyander had meant, one thing was clear—I wasn't ready to deal with it. Not now, not ever. Probably.

Once I was safely inside, I leaned against the door and let out a breath I didn't realize I'd been holding. My heart was still racing, and I pressed a hand to my chest like that might somehow calm it down.

"What the heck was that about?" I muttered to myself, shaking my head. I wasn't ready for whatever Lyander had been trying to say, and I had a sneaking suspicion I'd just opened Pandora's box.

Great. As if I didn't already have enough problems, now I had to figure out what Lyander meant and why it was suddenly so important.

Tomorrow. I'd deal with it tomorrow. Or maybe next year. Or never.

Honestly, I had no brain cells left to deal with Lyander's antics right now. None. They were gone, packed up, and on vacation somewhere far away, sipping margaritas on a beach while I was stuck here dealing with him.

I had bigger, more pressing matters to focus on—like graduating and making sure Jason and Kylie got their not so happy, never-ending "after." You know, the one where they frolic off into hell, crying and regretting their life choices forever.

But instead of handling that, I was here, mentally exhausted, all thanks to Lyander and his latest round of "Let's Make Iraya's Life as Chaotic as Possible."

I mean, really. Who was he kidding with that "I like you" stunt? Lyander wasn't in love with me. No way. This was just another one of his elaborate ploys to entertain himself at my expense. He probably thought of it as some kind of interactive reality show—The Iraya Chronicles: Will She Snap or Keep Her Cool?

Spoiler alert: I was this close to snapping.

What did he even mean, telling everyone at that party he liked me? Like, really? Was he just bored? Had he run out of hobbies? Taken up public humiliation as a side hustle?

I could just picture him planning it all out, sitting there with his smug grin, thinking, How can I make today as dramatic as humanly possible? Oh, I know—I'll confess my undying affection for Iraya in front of a live studio audience.

He must have thought he was being charming, like some kind of romantic lead in a cheesy drama. But this wasn't a drama. It was my life. And if this were a drama, I'd be the side character rolling my eyes at the ridiculous love triangle while sipping tea in the background.

Besides, Lyander liking me? Yeah, right. The man probably couldn't name three things about me that didn't involve me rolling my eyes or muttering sarcastic comments under my breath. I wasn't exactly giving "leading lady energy," unless the lead role required endless amounts of skepticism and snark.

Still, a tiny, annoying part of me couldn't shake the thought. What if he wasn't joking? What if, by some miracle of fate, Lyander actually meant it?

Nah. He couldn't be serious. Could he?

No. Definitely not.

I shook my head, forcing the thought away. I had more important things to do—like not flunking out of school and figuring out how to avoid becoming an unwilling participant in Lyander's next episode of Make Iraya's Life Ridiculous.

Because let's be real, I was not the girl who got swept up in someone's grand declaration of love. I was the girl who quietly exited stage left while everyone else clapped for the happy couple.

And that was fine by me. Or at least that's what I kept telling myself.