Chapter 2 PEARL LABYRINTH POV

Somewhere in London,

I jumped out of the window and ran out of the house. I looked around to see if anyone was nearby. Luckily, no one was there, so I slipped away without any problem.

A few minutes later, a maid came into my room— but I was already gone. I had run away.

My whole family went into a panic. They tried everything they could to find me, but I wasn’t going to get caught.

Finally, I’m free—and I won’t have to marry him. Woo! Yeah!

I just hope she doesn’t get caught up in this mess.

Whatever. At least I’m safe from that marriage.

___

NEXT DAY

I woke up in my private mansion which no one knew about.

I started my daily routine: running, then working out. After that, I freshened up and made myself breakfast.

I turned on the TV to check how much chaos my family was in. As I took a sip of my coffee and flipped to the news channel, I nearly choked. I spit the coffee out, and the cup fell to the floor.

[cough] [cough]

“What the fuck? What an idiot she is! How could she do that?”

I quickly threw on a black outfit—baggy jeans, a crop top, a black jacket, a cap, and a face mask. I grabbed my ATM card, phone, and car key, put on my shoes, and rushed out.

Once in the car, I called her.

She picked up.

“SEREN IREZ, What The Fuck Did You Do? Are You Okay? Did That Bastard Do Anything To You? Where Are You Now? For God's Sake,Seren, Says Something!” I shouted, my voice trembling—scared, yet commanding.

“Relax, Pearl. Relax,” she said softly, trying to calm me down. “Nothing happened to me. He didn’t do anything. I’m at his house. I couldn’t say anything earlier—you didn’t even give me a chance to speak.”

I was so worried more than that I was scared something….. something might happen to her.

Still anxious, I snapped, “Seren, send me your location. Now.”

That wasn’t a request. It was an order.

I couldn’t calm down until I saw her with my own eyes—safe and unharmed.

“Okay, I’m sending it now,” she replied, and ended the call.

As soon as I received her location, I drove like a maniac.

When I finally reached the mansion, I slammed the brakes and jumped out of the car. Without hesitation, I ran up to the gate and said to the butler, “Tell Seren Irez , Pearl labyrinth is here.”

He gave me a quick nod and disappeared inside. Minutes felt like hours. I paced back and forth, getting more and more restless.

Eventually, he returned and bowed. “Miss Pearl, please come in,” he said, gesturing for me to follow.

The moment I stepped inside, I saw her.

Seren.

Relief washed over me.

I ran straight to her—and slapped her.

I knew it hurt her.

But it hurt me more.

“Take me to your room,” I said sharply.

She just nodded. “Hmm.”

The maids and the butler were shocked. One of them snapped, “Hey! How can you slap our lady?!”

They began stepping toward me, but Seren raised her hand and stopped them.

Without saying anything, she turned and led me upstairs. Once we entered her room, I closed the door and locked it.

Then I turned to her.

She was standing there, head lowered, not saying a word.

I walked over, made her sit on the edge of the bed, and knelt down in front of her. I gently took her hands in mine.

“Seren,” I said coldly, “start explaining.”

She took a long breath and looked at me.

“Pearl… when you ran away, your family was heartbroken. Your mom started crying, and your dad kept saying their reputation would be ruined. So… I told them I’d marry in your place.”

I got so angry hearing that.

“Seren, you married in my place for this? Really? Listen—even if I refused to marry or rejected ten, eleven families on the actual wedding day, they couldn’t have done anything to us! I could’ve restored their so-called ‘reputation’ in a blink. You know how much power I have. Mom cries over everything. It’s literally her daily routine.

You shouldn’t have married.”

“ I didn't marry because of that, Pearl. I am not an idiot.” Seren replied quietly.

“You are an idiot—for marrying!” I snapped, my voice cracking. A tear slipped down my cheek before I could stop it.

She looked at me with those calm, soft eyes and said, “I got married because you can’t keep running from everything, Pearl. You go here and there making a mess, and someone has to clean it up. Someone has to take responsibility.

And I did it. Not just as your friend… but as your sister. Even if we’re not related by blood, I’m still older than you. I know you’ve always treated me like a little sister, spoiled me, protected me—but that doesn’t change the fact:

I’m the older one.”

“Seren…. you big dummy” I pulled her into a hug.

She hugged me back, just as tightly.

We cried for a while, holding on to each other in silence.

Then suddenly, a thought struck me.

“Seren, now onto a serious matter. Who is this husband of yours you got married to? Name, age, work—everything about him?” I demanded.

She blinked at me in disbelief. “Are you serious right now? You were about to get married and didn’t even know who he was—not even his name!”

Seren sighed heavily.

“Well…” she finally said, looking up at me with eyes like a guilty little bunny. “His name is Aiden Arsenios. That’s the only thing I know about him.”

“At least you know his name,” I replied, crossing my arms. “I didn’t even get that far. Whatever.” I smirked and stood up. “Let’s go downstairs. And call your husband. I need to test if he’s worthy of being my Seren’s husband. If he doesn’t pass—divorce him.”

I started laughing, and she couldn’t help but laugh too.

“Okay,” she said with a small smile.

...****************...

***Download NovelToon to enjoy a better reading experience!***