From the start, Ren shouldn't have done that. There was no reason for him to go to such lengths to protect her unless . . .

Evie's thoughts floated to that time when they were in HQ when she asked Ren what he felt towards her . . .

Could it be?

There was no other explanation.

The signs were clear to see, but she refused to look. The truth was loud enough for her to hear, but she refused to listen. All because she knew that at the end of the day, it was impossible for her to be with him no matter what they felt.

Evie admitted that she had fallen without even noticing it. She was reminded that they weren't meant to be when he suddenly had a girlfriend on top of her existing reason — her family.

No matter how much she tried to distance herself from Ren, she'd end up longing for him.

They had met through an unforeseen circumstance. Out of the countless possibilities, their paths crossed as if it was fated.

Still, that was no reason for her to burden him with problems that she was supposed to bear alone.

After making up her mind, Evie shot out of her bed. She wobbled from the onslaught of dizziness and groaned as she steadied herself.

She forgot that she had eaten nothing since morning and hadn't taken a bath since yesterday. Talk about being a non-functional human being.

Because of Ren, her world was turning upside down and shaking left and right.

Evie took deep breaths and ate a simple microwavable meal before taking a quick bath and then logged into the game.

The Guild Wars had just finished, and it was the talk of the town.

Evie didn't know about the Guild Wars ever happening. And she was sure as hell didn't know that what she was about to do would cause a commotion so big it would be the talk of the town.

Too bad about the mask. Evie thought. They painstakingly tried to get it in the beginning, but in the end, it was all for naught.

Evie didn't log into HQ for fear that Ren and the others might be there, though she doubted that anyone would be there this early in the morning.

She chose to appear in Lone Valley. Now that Sebastian had left with Regard, the area was now accessible to all players. However, no one knew about it, and the valley was as desolate as ever.

There weren't many players online since the Guild Wars had just finished, and anytime now, the maintenance break would commence for the Halloween Event.

A lot of players were waiting for the update to finish instead of staying in the game and being forced to log out when the maintenance started in an hour.

Evie didn't know all of that, though. To her, it was just a regular day. That was how disoriented she was. She didn't even know what day it was today if there was school, or what time it was.

She walked through the woods until she reached the lake, where they battled for Meriyaah's second item. Now, there was no one there except her.

She walked around the area, looking at the trees, the grass, the flowers, everything. The place was so peaceful.

It was just her in there. No monsters or anything else. Just peace and quiet. And that was exactly what she needed right now.

After walking around for a while, she sat on the ground and stared at the sky. She let herself recall everything that had happened. Everything that she experienced.

It was overwhelming, but she tried to keep her thoughts together.

It took her a long time before she finally calmed down.

Her mind was still racing, though. She couldn't stop thinking of the words Ren had said to her before.

"Yes," Ren told her with a wry smile and continued with a soft tone, "I like you."

He really did. It was the only reason why he got together with Saya . . . It was to protect her.

But instead of feeling happy, Evie felt angry and frustrated instead.

'He should have told me,' Evie thought.

It was not his problem, to begin with. She should have known about it. It was her right. He didn't have the right to decide for her.

Typical of him to take all the burden alone. Evie thought.

Pouting, she grumbled under her breath. She then shot to her feet and took a mouthful of air.

She approached the lake and set the recording feature to an automatic aerial view. That way, she didn't have to do anything, and the system would automatically capture her every movement in high definition.

This was it. Her decision would decide her fate, and she was sure that her family would find out her whereabouts now.

She could have let Ren continue protecting her.

She could . . . all her problems would disappear.

But . . . she couldn't stop thinking about it, and she was losing her mind every second. It was like her nerves would continue tearing her apart from the inside out if she didn't do anything.

She found in him what she thought she couldn't experience, and she found in him something that was worth fighting for.

Would it be all worth it in the end . . . ?

No one know . . .

But at this moment, she had to set things right.

It was time for her to choose and face the problem herself.

Evie felt like her every step was towards her grave. Either that, or she was floating, for she couldn't feel her limbs. She moved her face slowly, slowly through the cold air, and removed her mask.

"You idiot," she said to the empty air. "I can take care of myself. You don't have to protect me."

The words sounded hollow even to her own ears. She wasn't sure if she meant them or not.

With this, Evie prayed that everything would turn out fine in the end before uploading the video on the net.

Her privacy was precious to her, and she wanted nothing more than to hide her identity in the game forever.

However, she didn't like it more if someone used it to threaten others. She didn't want to be Ren's or anyone's weakness, for that matter.

Evie took a deep breath and watched her own video in a daze. It was on repeat, and she didn't know how much time had passed since she started standing there like a statue before a notification startled her.

[WARNING!

Maintenance break will commence at 4:59. All players are advised to log out, or you will be forced out from the game.]

Evie blinked. It was time to face reality. She couldn't hide in the game forever.

Her fingers were about to press the log-out button when she inadvertently saw Ren standing not far from her.

The shock traveled to every pore in her skin, igniting her being and punching her breath right out of her lungs.

Time seemed to freeze as they locked eyes, an unknown force burning behind his silver gaze, like a prison she couldn't escape.

Ren closed the distance between them. His silver eyes pinned her to a stop. His gaze was a pool of warmth, inviting her to bath in them.

She hushed though her pulse drummed in her head.

Silence rippled between them like a curtain in a breeze until he broke it with a million-dollar question.

"Why did you do that?"

The words were spoken so gently, and Evie felt the weight of them settle on her shoulders. They made her feel safe. Like she had someone to lean on when she needed it most.

But then again, she didn't need anyone. Ever since she'd left home, she'd been alone. And she liked it that way.

Evie looked away. "This is my problem. It got nothing to do with you."

"So you know?" he asked softly.

There was a slight pause before Evie nodded. "Yes."

It took everything to keep the smile off from Ren's face. All the glitters couldn't compare to her eyes, which were languid and innocent.

"What?" Evie hid her embarrassment with a snappy tone.

"You should have told me in the first place. This is my problem, and I have the right to know. You can't just decide on your own and leave me in the dark."

Even when she was angry, she still looked so cute, and Ren started to smile even more, which made Evie even angrier.

"What? Aren't you going to explain?"

Instead of answering, Ren closed the gap between them and pinched her chin to steady her face onto his. She could feel his body heat radiating from him from the closeness.

( . . . continuation on NOTES)