"Amethyst Grace Hall, why aren't you ready yet?! We leave for the RFA party in an hour!"

Amy lazily raised her eyes from the notebook in front of her to look at her younger sister, Emerald, or Emma as she preferred to be called, standing in the doorway of her bedroom. Uninterested, she allowed her gaze to drop back to the page and hastily scribbled something down. With an irritated huff, Emma stormed over to her sister and snatched the book away.

"Hey, give that back!" Amy yelped, leaping off of her bed and reaching for the notebook. However, her little sister brought the book close to her chest, sheltering it with her body, and hastily scurried over to her sister's bookshelf.

"You're starting to get careless, Amy. What if Dad came in here instead of me and found this?" she said as she pulled out one of the many books and opened it. Instead of pages, a rectangular cavity rested inside the leather cover, its sides painted so it looked like a stack of yellowing paper from far away. After slipping the notebook inside the secret compartment, Emma hastily closed the "book" and hastily returned it to its place on the shelf.

Amethyst shuddered at the thought of her father finding that notebook. She knew what he would do. He would get angry and yell and he would possibly even hit her. He would remind her that her life belonged to him and that her life's purpose was to be a bargaining chip for his company and possibly a housewife, not a author or artist. In his eyes, women getting a college education or going to work was unacceptable; any man whose wife has to work is obviously not good enough to be her husband. In his opinion, women were not qualified to run companies or businesses; they were to remain at home like in the olden days and perform their duties there. That was why her and Emma's mom, a very independent woman, had left him when the younger girl was only five years old. Unfortunately, she wasn't qualified to care for the girls after the divorce, so their father had full custody of them. However, the three women kept in touch, and with their mother's help, the two daughters had been taking online college courses right under their father's nose. Of course, they had to do so in secret and being caught would result in dire consequences.

Still, despite the looming dangers, Amy longed to retrieve her notebook from its hiding place and return to her own little world amongst the safety its pages. She knew what this evening would hold and she wasn't looking forward to it on bit. However, the stern glimmer in her sister's told her the matter wasn't up for argument. With a loud sigh, she grabbed the simple, short black cocktail dress and the elegant matching heels her father had given her off of the bed and slipped into her closet to change. After she had it on, she walked back out and inspected herself in the mirror. The dress was a very flattering cut on her, much to her dismay.

"That's enough pouting. You'll get wrinkles. Now come sit down and I'll help you with your hair." Emma stated, patting the stool in front of her sister's vanity. As her older sister slid into the seat, she noted the sadness hidden in her blue orbs and felt her heart twange sympathetically for her. Being the eldest daughter of a very traditional father, she was burdened with the responsibility of ensuring their father's company and the family fortune endured by marrying a wealthy businessman who could take over and allow her father to retire. Every time their father had an important event, poor Amethyst would be dragged along and shown off like a prized pet to the other business owners in hopes they would become entranced with her and ask for her hand in marriage. So far she had managed to avoid her fate with subtle scowls and whispered insults when her father wasn't listening, but she knew one day such methods would not be enough anymore. She could only prolong the inevitable, but she intended to prolong it tirelessly for as long as possible.

Hoping to offer her sister some consolation, Emerald searched her mind for some glimmer in hope amongst the dark. Unfortunately, she could only find one, and she knew it wouldn't do much good.

"I heard Jumin will be at the party." she said softly as she finished brushing her sister's hair and reached for the curling iron.

An audible groan escaped Amy's lips as she rolled her eyes. "Great..."

Although it was nice that Jumin was closer to Amy's age than her father's other "worthy suitors", the woman was quite sick of hearing his name. Ever since their first meeting, he had been all her father talked about. It was clear her father approved of the executive producer and desired for his daughter to woo the young man. Unfortunately for him, Amy didn't share his admiration for the businessman.

"You should give him a chance, Amy. He's young and seems pretty nice." Emma said as she wrapped strand after strand of her sister's hair around the hot iron.

"Perhaps, but he is colder than dry ice. I'd get more affection from a computer." Amy scoffed.

"Amethyst, that's mean!"

"It's true! All he cares about is work and that stupid cat of his! He is no better than all the other guys Dad has introduced me to, so I'm not interested."

Emma sighed wearily. "Sis, you can't keep playing this game forever. Eventually Dad's patience is going to dry up and he'll do something rash."

"He can do what he likes. It won't matter in a few months when I get my degree and move out."

"But Amy, you can't get a job as an author or playwright right out of college! How will you survive?"

"I've already figured that out. A local library is looking for a new librarian, and I went in for a interview. I'll start working for them a few days after I graduate. The pay isn't much, but MC has offered to let me stay at her place till I get a better job."

Emma's eyes widened in surprise. "MC? From high school? She was a senior when you were a freshman. How did you two start talking?"

"We got paired together for a project in an elective class. Things just kind of took off from there."

"Oh. So she's going to let you stay at her apartment? That's so nice of her!"

"Yeah. Apparently she is staying at a new apartment and hasn't gotten a chance to sell her old one yet."

"Huh, that's odd. I wonder why she moved." Emma stated curiously as she ran her fingers through her sister's curls to loosen them. Once she was satisfied, she unplugged the iron and reached for her sister's foundation.

"I can do my makeup myself." Amy stated, shooing her hand away.

"Alright. I'll see you downstairs in an hour then. Don't you dare take that notebook back out again or else!"

A halfhearted chuckle left Amethyst's lips. "You sound like a mom."

"Well, one of us has to be the responsible one, and it's obvious that it's not going to be you." Emma huffed defensively, crossing her arms. Heading for the door, she briefly stopped to glance over her shoulder at her sister. "Amy, please at least try to enjoy yourself tonight. Who knows, maybe this party will be different from the others."

Amy only rolled her were in annoyance as she reached for her makeup brushes sitting on her vanity.

"Fat chance of that." she grumbled sarcastically.

Not knowing what else to say, Emerald quietly slipped out of the room, leaving her sister to paint on her smiling, red-lipped mask.

Amethyst's eyes wandered over the entire room, looking everywhere except at the man in front of her. As she had expected, her father immediately dumped her into Jumin's lap the minute he spotted the young man at the party. Now, the two were awkwardly standing in a corner together, avoiding each other's gaze. With a loud sigh, Jumin finally allowed his eyes to look at the young woman across from him, her arms folded across her chest.

"You could at least pretend like you enjoy my company." he grumbled.

Turning to the man, Amy flashed him an icy smile. "I don't know what you mean."

Jumin's eyes narrowed. "Look, I'm not any happier about this than you are, but your little pity party isn't going to get you anywhere."

"Fine. I'll quit ignoring you when you stop looking at your phone to check on that stupid cat of yours."

Jumin's face turned bright red, causing Amy to snicker.

"Look Jumin, we both know your heart belongs to someone else. True, she isn't your species, but she holds your heart nonetheless. There's no point in me putting effort towards a lost cause." she cooed smugly, twirling one of her long, white-to-purple ombré curls around her finger. "Now, why don't you be a good date and fetch me a drink from the bar?"

"Get it yourself." Jumin huffed irritably, turning his back on his date and storming off.

Smiling to herself, Amy sauntered over to the bar. However, as she walked, she could sense a pair of eyes watching her like a hawk, sending chills up her spine. Glancing around the room once more, she noticed a man dressed in Arabic clothing staring in her direction. One look told Amy exactly what kind of man he was: a commanding, lecherous older businessman who liked money and younger women. She had dealt with his kind before. Avoiding his gaze, Amethyst hurried over to the bar, hoping the man had been looking at some other girl and not her. However, as the bartender was setting the beauty's requested drink in front of her, she sensed a presence behind her and turned to find the same Arabic businessman standing behind her with a wide smile on his face and a lustful twinkle in his eye.

"Pretty lady come to party alone? Not smart. Bad men might hurt pretty lady. I watch over you. You thank me later with favor." the man said in very broken English as he cornered Amethyst against the bar.

Amy smiled hollowly up at the businessman. "I'm not alone, actually, but thank you for your concern. I should get back to my date."

However, the man refused to move, much to Amy's dismay.

"Date leave pretty lady alone. He not good for pretty lady. I not abandon pretty lady at a party. Pretty lady stay with me." he insisted, his hand grasping hold of Amy's waist.

Suppressing her unease, Amy forced herself to keep smiling as she tried to slip around the man. "Look, I'm flattered that you worried about me, but I'm not into older men, okay? Now I really need to go-"

"Pretty lady stay with me. Pretty lady stay with me all night long." the man stated sternly, tightening his grip on Amy and pulling her to his chest. Now the woman was irritated.

"Look buddy, you better let go of me right now or else!" she hissed.

A deep chuckle echoed from the depths of the man's chest.

"Pretty lady feisty. I like feisty ladies. Feisty ladies fun." he purred. Taking Amy's chin between his thumb and forefinger, he leaned down slowly, lips puckered. Appalled, Amy tried to squirm from his grasp, but his grip remained firm. As her impending doom grew closer, Amy shut her eyes and braced herself for the inevitable.

"There you are! I was looking all over for you!"

As the Arab man pulled back, Amy opened her eyes to see a handsome man with silvery white hair and scarlet eyes making his way towards her. Blushing profusely, the businessman stepped aside as the mysterious stranger slipped between him and Amy.

"I thought I told you to wait for me before going to the bar." he continued softly, his red eyes staring into her blue ones. Amy could only stare at him in awe, her mouth hanging slightly open.

"Play along." he whispered, shooting a glance at the Arab still looming behind him.

Blinking in surprise, Amy hurried spat out the first thing she could think of. "You were taking too long and I was thirsty."

The albino man chuckled as he gently slipped his massive hand around her small one. "You're so stubborn; it's adorable."

A shade of light pink dusted Amy's cheeks as she looked away from the man.

"Let's go back and join the others. They're extremely excited to hear about our honeymoon."

"A-Alright." Grabbing her drink, Amy allowed the younger man to guide her away from the bar and businessman and into the crowd. The entire time, her eyes remained fixed on his chiseled features and fascinating eyes framed by his snowy locks.

"Are you alright?"

"What?" she asked, taken offguard.

"I asked if you're alright." the man repeated, turning his head to look at her.

"Oh, y-yes I'm fine. Thank you for what you did back there." Amy replied, still blushing.

The man's lips twisted into a small smile. "You aren't a bad actress. Are you a performer?"

"No actually, unless you count pretending to be an angel whenever my dad is looking."

The man's amused laugh echoed through the air. "You are quite funny. My name is Zen. Who might you be?"

"Amethyst, but everyone calls me Amy."

"Amethyst. What a lovely and unique name."

"Says the guy named Zen."

"I'll take that as a compliment." Zen said with a wink. Noticing the drink in Amy's hand, he hastily snatched it away.

"Hey, what was that for?!" she exclaimed.

"I noticed the bartender slip something in your drink while your were preoccupied. You honestly need to be more careful." Zen stated as he set the glass down on a ledge as he walked by it.

"Oh." Embarrassed, Amy looked away. She should've been paying more attention.

"That pervert wasn't wrong though; it's improper for such a lady such as yourself to come to a party like this unattended. Don't you have a date?" Zen asked.

"My date was Jumin Han but he stormed off on me, not that I care. That robot only cares about his cat."

Zen stopped and stared at the woman. "Wait, did you just say JUMIN was your date?! Why the heck would you be with him?!"

"It wasn't my choice. My father pretty much threw me into his arms the minute we got here. I would much rather be home in the safety of my room at the moment." Amy answered.

"Oh." Zen was silent for a moment then flashed Amy a smile. "Well, since we're both lonely singles, would you do me the honor of serving as my date for this evening?"

Amy raised a questioning eyebrow. "Are you asking me out?"

"Maybe. It depends on how you look at it." Zen smirked, wiggling his eyebrows.

Chuckling at the boy's flirty antics, Amy nodded in agreement, won over by his charm. As Zen smiled down at her, something tugged at the back of her mind.

"Hey, have I seen you somewhere before?" she asked as she peered up at his face.

Again, Zen winked at her. "Maybe, maybe not."

"Are you going to be this cryptic the entire evening?"

"Maybe."

Amy sighed, rolling her eyes at the man's antics. "I'm starting to wonder if I can really trust you."

Zen laughed merrily. "If you must know, I am an actor. Does that help?"

Amy shook her head. She still couldn't remember where she had seen him.

"Well, that's not important anyways. Let's focus on our time now. Are you thirsty still?"

"Not really. I just went to the bar to get away from Jumin."

Zen chuckled. "I have a feeling we're going to get along great."

Amy felt herself begin to blush. For some reason, she felt the same way.