One month later.

 

My eyes rolled open, barely catching a glimpse of a stick falling to the ground in front of me. I ignored the throbbing pain from my forehead and summoned what little strength I had left to look ahead.

 

Zane crouched down silently while his gaze swept over my battered and bruised body. 

 

“Minus 4,000 points.”

 

He twirled another stick around his fingers as I let out a frustrated sigh. I bit my lip, expecting that stick to shoot forward and knock me out the same way again; but instead, something unexpected happen.

 

“It’s time now. Rest well, Lyon.”

 

I watched the corners of his mouth rise into a soft smile. I didn’t have the energy to try and make sense of Zane’s words, so I just stared at him blankly.

 

He vanished before my eyes, leaving me alone among the sea of sticks, branches and whatever else was thrown at me. My head slumped back against the trunk of the tree behind me. I gazed at the moon for awhile before closing my eyes.

 

‘I won’t give up.’

 

Sleep came to me quickly that night.

 

 

***

 

 

Skyla POV:

 

I folded my arms; my leg resting over my knee as I sat on the desk. I bit my lip in frustration while thinking over the current state of affairs within the family.

 

My gaze shifted to a handsome young man who stood beside the window. His orange hair contained gold highlights—a trait that all Summerways shared. He had sharp eyes that contained a sweet softness to them while his well-built frame was usually hidden by the long cloak that he wore.

 

‘...He’s so damn hot!!’

 

I shook my head, pushing away my fangirling thoughts. Now was not the time for this. I ignored the blood rushing to my cheeks and parted my lips.

 

“Let’s spar again. You got lucky last time.”

 

“I don’t want to though.”

 

“I-I’ll let you sleep with me.”

 

“I do that anyway though.”

 

The veins on the side of my forehead popped. Losing was one thing, but losing to a man within the Summerway family was a big deal.

 

“Damn it! If you were a woman, you wouldn’t be stronger than me!”

 

He finally turned his beautiful face towards me; his rich orange eyes sparkled, momentarily taking my breath away as I quickly looked down. A dark shade of red wrapped around the bridge of my nose while I swiftly took a peek at him, hoping he had at least looked away by now.

 

‘...’

 

Croto stared at me with a blank expression devoid of any emotion. He pulled down on the cloak that wrapped around his jaw like a scarf, revealing his perfectly shaped chin that wasn’t too angular, nor too round, but just right.

 

“If I were a woman, I wouldn’t be marrying you in the first place.”

 

“If you were a woman, I wouldn’t be interested in you in the first place!!”

 

I glared at him in annoyance for pointing out such an obvious fact. It irritated me just how cool he was while I always managed to lose my composure around him.

 

“Interested in me? That’s nice.”

 

My pupils dilated as I immediately looked down at my thighs. I could feel the heat rising from my cheeks while my vision spiralled out of control. Croto... Croto had tricked me again.

 

“...You’re dead!”

 

The redness of my cheeks was reflected clearly in the windows of the large room as I bolted forward. My hands blurred, shooting out a flurry of powerful punches that Croto easily weaved through while maintaining eye contact with me.

 

“D-Dodge this!!”

 

Explosions rang out around the reinforced room. Loud bangs continued to shake the are—

 

*Knock, knock*

 

“Please come in.”

 

The door swung open right when Croto wrapped his arm around my waist. He lifted my chin up slightly as we stared into each other’s eyes.

 

“Oh honey, you look even more beautiful today.”

 

“Dear, why are you so sweet?”

 

I rested my head against his chest, unable to completely dismiss the sound of my heart trying to explode. Nevertheless, I maintained my composure as my gaze rested on my sister who placed her hand on her hip, unimpressed by my act.

 

“You do know I heard you both from outside, right?”

 

She looked me dead in the eye, not giving me any leeway out of this situation. I began to sweat bullets as I quickly came up with a weak response.

 

“I-I have no idea what you’re talking about, right honey?”

 

“She must have misheard..., Cutie.”

 

‘...’

 

My mind went blank as that one word slowly zoomed across. I watched it fly backwards, upwards and then sideways before slamming itself right in front of my eyes.

 

“T-that’s right, hahahaha...”

 

A robotic voice came out while I was still in the process of rebooting my hard drive. Daisy sighed, placed a report on the desk and glanced back at me.

 

“Sis, Croto is perfect for you.”

 

She slammed the door shut before I could reply. I knew she was worried about me pushing him away with my antics, but... It wasn’t so simple.

 

“Ahem...”

 

I quickly moved away from Croto’s warm embrace. I sat down behind the wide desk while wondering whether Daisy was still dating that guy. It wasn’t a problem that my younger sister was dating a commoner, the issue was that I heard he didn’t have the best personality.

 

‘Hmm.’

 

I shook my head, dispelling those thoughts as I turned my attention back to my fiance. 

 

“Tell me honestly, how did you become so strong?”

 

Croto glanced at me briefly, quickly taking in the seriousness in both my tone and facial expression before looking away.

 

“I met Grandfather.”

 

My eyes widened while I took my feet off the desk and leaned forward.

 

“...What did he say?”

 

“He said, it’s no fun if men win all the time, but it’s also no fun if women win all the time too. So, reach the top and grab her buttcheeks.”

 

I stared at him in a daze. It took a few seconds for me to register just what he had said as a deep heat rippled across my face.

 

“W-what?!”

 

His lips curved into a beautiful smile that teased me.

 

“You said you liked it last nig—”

 

A cushion crashed against his face, shutting his mouth instantly as I slammed my hand down on the desk. 

 

“S-shut up!! What did he really say?!”

 

What made it even more embarrassing was that Croto wasn’t wrong! It did indeed feel nice as we cuddled together, but still! That wasn’t the point of this conversation...

 

“Everything apart from your buttcheeks.”

 

The erratic emotions consuming me instantly vanished. My gaze fell to the desk; my quivering eyebrows curving inwards as I bit my lip.

 

“...I see.”

 

If it’s Grandfather's wish, then the matriarchy would come to an end. The men of the Summerway family weren’t weak—they just weren’t as strong as the women.

 

“Sky, you’re my fiancée, and I have no interest in being the family head.”

 

I slowly swivelled my eyes up towards Croto. His piercing gaze focused solely on me, explaining that his words weren’t just words, but his true opinion on the matter at hand.

 

After a few seconds, he broke eye contact and opened his mouth once more.

 

“...I just like seeing you smile, Sky.”

 

‘!’

 

Silence flowed between us. No words came out of my open mouth, and I was positive that he could hear the thumping sound of my heart from where he stood. 

 

The corners of my lips rose while I looked down at my slender fingers shyly. Croto didn’t say things like this often, but when he did, it really... It really touched me.

 

“T-thank you...”

 

“...Y-you’re welcome.”