Chapter 1
Luna was busy tidying up her things when someone tapped her on the shoulder. She wouldn't have paid attention, but she heard the voice.
"Hey, workaholic! That's enough." She laughed, turned around, and removed the hand from her arm as it tried to put itself around her shoulders.
"Stop it, Miks. What do you want this time?" she asked. Miks smiled so sweetly that it made her raise an eyebrow. "I don't like that smile of yours, Miks Lanuevo," she said, but he just put his arm around her again.
Miks Lanuevo was one of her friends, a fellow lawyer, and her classmate since high school through college. As a result, she was always involved in his antics.
"Come on, don't you trust me?" he said, raising and lowering his eyebrows. She frowned. "And besides, the others are coming too," he mentioned their other friends.
She suddenly stopped. "Really? I thought they were busy?" she raised an eyebrow at him. Miks might be a joker, but he wasn't a liar. Still, she didn't believe him. If she was a workaholic, their friend Kahizer Javier was even more so.
Kahizer was the busiest of them all, as if there was no day for enjoyment. He liked being on top and hated being defeated, so no one could surpass him.
"Yes, they are! So, come with us!" Miks insisted. She removed his arm from her shoulders and grabbed her bag.
"Well, I'm done with the case I was handling, so..." she smiled, making him smile even more. "It's not wrong if I join the party tonight." To her surprise, he started jumping up and down.
"Ohh! That's my friend!" he shouted. She laughed but quickly stopped when she saw other people staring at them.
She scolded him and continued walking out of the courthouse. Her car had a flat tire earlier, so she commuted to work. And now? She thought, she might as well join her friend.
LUNA's POV
"Is everyone coming?" I couldn't help but ask the person next to me. From outside the car, he shifted his gaze to me.
"Hmm. I don't know, but I'm sure almost everyone will be there," Miks replied. I just nodded.
Even though I missed many of them, there was only one person I was really looking forward to seeing. God knows how much I missed him. But... I guess it doesn't mean anything. I just want to see him, nothing more.
A few moments later, we arrived at the party venue. It was a large hotel owned by the spouse of one of our friends. It was near the sea, and we could swim there.
There were many people, and I hardly recognized any of them. I've been all about work and home since I graduated. So, I was a bit afraid of people.
We hadn't even entered yet when someone blocked our way. "Yoo!" he greeted cheerfully. Miks shook his head with a smile.
"You startled me, James!" he playfully hit his friend's arm. But when James's eyes landed on me, they widened. I laughed.
"L-Luna!" he exclaimed and came closer. He hugged me, and I hugged him back.
James was one of our friends. In college, he was the biggest womanizer and the loudest. I was happy to see him because he was close to me despite his craziness.
We entered and found many people and loud music. Like us, everyone was dressed formally.
"Where are the others, James?" I heard Miks ask. James paused to look at us. He smiled.
"At the table. We've been waiting for you," he said as he took our hands. It wasn't a big deal for us, we're just friends, and it stayed that way.
A few moments later, we reached the table he mentioned. And he was right; our friends were there. They were noisy but fell silent when they saw us. Their expressions were shocked, and they suddenly stood up.
"Ouch, damn you, Calix!" James groaned as Calix pushed him away from us. Like James, Calix hugged both Miks and me.
"Calix," I laughed as he pushed James again as he tried to come closer.
The others approached, but I stopped when I noticed a woman sitting in a chair. She was staring at me.
'Do I know her?'
When they noticed me looking at her, they turned to the woman. "Oh. Luna, this is Mika. Mika, this is Luna. Kahizer's closest friend," Janice introduced the woman..
Confusion filled my system, but I chose to smile. She stood up and extended her hand. "Nice meeting you, Luna," she said, a small smile forming on her lips. I accepted her hand.
"Oh, c'mon! Let's enjoy the party!" Amanda exclaimed as they turned to look at her. She had just arrived, holding a glass of wine. She gulped it down and dragged Santino to the dance floor. Our companions started to make noise while I remained seated.
I'm not much of a party-goer, and I'm a little uncomfortable, especially since I noticed Mika kept glancing at me.
I reached for the glass of juice in front of me and drank it. I only came here to talk to Khaizer... but he didn't even show up.
"Are you close with Khaizer?" Mika's question caught me off guard. She was now staring at me, waiting for my answer.
I put down the glass and smiled awkwardly. I don't know... but she's making me uncomfortable with her stares, the way she looks at me, and the way she asks. Her tone.
I shook my head. "Not really," I replied briefly, avoiding her gaze. I can't say that Khai and I are very close, it's just... he's comfortable with me, like he told me before.
The woman seemed unconvinced but chose to nod and smile slightly.