CHAPTER 18
MATT
“What’s on your mind, Matty?” Sierra came walking in just as I was sipping my second glass of coffee. I didn’t keep count at this point. It was just too damn good to worry about calories or the strict guidelines I had forced into my life.
“Nothing,” I muttered, my eyes gliding over her profile.
It was a Saturday morning, so Sierra was in her all-black attire with a little backpack hanging loosely over her shoulder.
“You seemed to be staring holes at the cabinets like they committed grave murder of your favorite pet.” Her voice was light with humor as she locked those shiny eyes with mine.
I cocked a brow but didn’t say a thing.
Her eyes flickered as some of the sparkle dulled. “I’m going to go meet my friends now. They’re here.” She poked a finger over her shoulder.
I nodded.
“Okay, bye. I’ll see you later,” she whispered, flashing me a stiff smile as she walked out with her eyes on the floor.
I waited exactly three minutes before I dropped my glass in the sink and traced her footsteps with my own.
Drawing my hoodie lower, I exited the small service elevator at the back.
Last night, curiosity got the better of me, so I checked the security cameras, and I wasn’t surprised to find Sierra loitering around the hallway like she was wasting time, glancing at her phone every five seconds to check the time before a happy smile plastered her lips and she opened the door.
And it wasn’t something she did on just that one occasion. She did it every single weekday when she was pretending to go to classes.
Today, I knew she didn’t have classes, but my patience was wearing thin. I wasn’t going to wait till Monday to find out what she was up to.
It wasn’t like me to pry into her private life, but as long as she was living under my roof, maybe even longer than that, I wouldn’t want her to be roped into something salacious or dangerous.
So help me God if I found her pole dancing or partying around in suspicious places. I didn’t care if I came off as a backward caveman, but I was dragging her home and locking her in the bedroom.
Forever.
She was clueless to me trailing her, her head in the clouds as she absentmindedly exited the apartment lobby.
As soon as she stepped out, she dug inside her backpack and retrieved an amber yellow bomber jacket that oddly looked familiar for some reason, and donned it.
A tiny frown played on her face as she struggled with the backpack and jacket, the warm spring sun casting an ethereal glow on the high points of her face.
Fuck, she looked gorgeous.
A small smile curved her painted lips when she finally won the war with her jacket.
The jacket swallowed her whole, ending just an inch above her skirt, and secretly, I was thankful that she didn’t venture out in her tiny skirt and tight top.
I wasn’t one to comment on what a woman should wear, but something about others having an advantage to see her curves bothered the fuck out of me.
She fiddled with her phone while she waited by the sidewalk. I had conveniently parked my car outside, knowing I would be stalking a little liar, so without drawing attention, I headed straight to my car and got inside the driver’s side.
She shifted on her feet impatiently while her eyes stayed glued to her phone, not even paying attention to the woman who almost crashed into her on the sidewalk.
Five minutes later, an Uber pulled up, and she climbed into the car with a smile on her face.
So I was right. She was lying. There wasn’t any friend who was picking her up.
I took a note of the car plate as I started my engine, keeping a close distance as I shadowed the taxi.
My confusion grew with each mile I drove, and we reached the outskirts of the city almost an hour later.
My car slowed down when a familiar arena came into view, and traffic started to crowd the road. The sidelines were filled with people milling about with excited eyes and wide smiles. Even from the quiet of the car, I could almost feel the excitement in the air.
Just as I rounded the corner, a massive billboard said “Welcome to the sixth national e-gaming tournament.”
What the hell was Sierra doing here?
I didn’t know she was into gaming… or maybe her friends roped her in?
No use in pondering. I was going to find out soon anyway.
My eyes didn’t leave her car, which took a sharp turn and dropped her right outside the venue, and she slipped out with a small smile playing on her lips. My eyes followed her till she disappeared behind the entrance doors, flashing a key card to one of the security guards.
Not wanting to waste my time, I drove my car toward the parking lot and tried to find a spot, regretting my decision to drive here.
It took me almost twenty minutes to park and get myself a ticket to the event, which I thankfully scored one of the last VIP packets, but I wasn’t here to watch the game, or maybe I would…
Luna would be gaming today.
It hadn’t even crossed my mind till now that she would be here.
It wasn’t like she would recognize me, but still, there would be a chance for me to put a face behind that pretty voice.
It felt uneasy to do that, like I was doing something I wasn’t supposed to.
As someone who grew up in a humble household in a small town and got thrust into the level of stardom as a teenager, there was one rule, one order that I forcibly maintained all my life.
Privacy.
I built it with heavy forts and reinforced walls and made sure there wasn’t much of me available to the people who didn’t know me.
The crowd in front of me was only making me question my decision to be here.
It was perfectly fine for Sierra to go out with her friends to a gaming tournament, right? She did lie that her friends were picking her up, but she didn’t lie that she was with her friends. But I still hadn’t confirmed that.
Something twisted my gut, knowing I was doing the exact opposite and going against my morals.
Not just to Sierra but even Luna, who carefully curated her presence to hide who she truly was in the virtual world.
Maybe I should quietly leave after finding Sierra.
Yes, that was what I’d do.
That would be for the best. I shouldn’t linger here, poking my nose into other people’s lives when I wouldn’t extend the same courtesy if the same were done to me.
A heavy buzz cut through the room as the speaker started announcing that the round of sixteen, which is a knockout game, would be starting in ten minutes and that it would determine the teams making it to the quarters, and went on to commentate about the top teams to look out for.
But I didn’t pay attention because I had to find a little firecracker before the game commenced, so I could leave in peace discreetly before someone recognized me and created a shitstorm.
It took me a five-minute walk around the concourse to find her.
My entire body sizzled like an electric flame as I neared her, the pull of her magnetic field beckoning me closer. She was standing among a group of people wearing similar yellow-colored lanyards while a pink-haired girl spoke animatedly with her.
Sierra, on the other end, had her face composed in a mask of deep calm, her eyes set in a sense of determination, and her pink lips pursed yet soft.
A strong air of confidence and unwavering resolve radiated from her.
So unlike her usual self, like a sparkling firecracker had transformed into a burning dynamo. And I couldn’t stop watching her like a creep.
Every part of her was beautiful, but seeing this side of her told me there was more to her than she was letting on.
Sierra wasn’t just a teenager who rambled and ate too many Cheetos than necessary. She also had the biggest heart, was kind and protective, loyal, and at the same time brilliant, collected, and grounded, a side of her she didn’t let anyone see.
The speaker announced the next game would be between Voltron Voids, who were currently ranked at number three, and the Magic Maidens, who were ranked at sixth.
That was my cue to leave. I’d seen enough of what I’d wanted to see.
More than enough.
I was just about to turn when something stopped me dead in my tracks.
The group that Sierra was with jerked upright just as the announcement ended, their eyes wide with excitement as Sierra nodded to them. They all brought their hands together and mumbled something before their hands flew above their heads like some kind of pre-game ritual.
Confusion flowed through my veins when they all turned around and entered the arena through the staff entrance.
Why was she going through there? Did she know someone?
My intrigue got hold of me, and I ventured along her footsteps, but a staffer stopped me before I could enter.
“Sir, you can’t go through here. This is only for the gamers,” he said, with a reserved smile on his face. “The entry for the spectators is through the east wing.” He gestured behind me.
“Is it?” I mumbled, nodding thanks as I stepped back.
I was so engrossed in watching Sierra that I didn’t realize the people milling about here were all in groups wearing similar lanyards.
Were they the gamers?
But what was Sierra doing with them?
The questions in my head only grew, and my feet took me right to my section. Thankfully, the VIP section was close by, so I was able to slip into my seat within seconds.
I was right on time as the gamers of the Magic Maidens took the stage, which had three huge screens mounted as the backdrop, the one in the middle displaying the team logos. Five pairs of seats with top-notch gaming systems sat right opposite each other, one end with golden neon lights and other with purple neon lights matching both the team colors.
The host introduced them one by one as they took the stage, but I paid no attention, my eyes roaming the crowd for Sierra.
Where the hell was she?
“Now, for the team to look out for, the Voltron Voids, ladies and gentlemen,” the host announced, and the crowds roared in cheers. “We have Tin, the team’s second laner.”
A boy in his early twenties with mousy brown hair hopped on the stage, smiling as he nodded to the crowd.
“Freddy, the marksmen, Ken on the mid-lane, and Kiki as the support,” the host continued.
My eyes were still searching for Sierra, but I couldn’t find her anywhere in these low lights.
“Now, a fan favorite, Daisy Luna, aka the Dagger Princess, Voltron’s Void top laner and the youngest leader in the tournament.”
I stilled as the air thundered with loud cheers and the atmosphere charged with excitement.
Fuck, it was Luna.
I had no clue she played on this team.
My eyes couldn’t help but drag over to the stage, and a sharp inhale left my lips when Sierra walked calmly up the stage with a composed smile playing on her lips.
Why was Sierra walking in place of Luna?
Her face flashed on the screen, with Daisy Luna plastered underneath the picture and her game stats rolling on the side.
And right at that second, everything clicked as the pieces fell into place.
No wonder my two worlds collided as one.
No wonder the two women wrecking my heart and mind were one and the same.
And I was the trapped door right in the middle, and Luna was the storm pulling me outside, and Sierra, my gentle abode, tugging me in.
I can’t believe that little firecracker tricked me.
Sierra, or should I say Luna, ambled to her seat on the far right in the gold corner by her team.
The host’s speech passed my mind in a blur as I fixated my complete attention on the screen that focused on Sierra.
The game kicked off, and I couldn’t stop watching her, her fingers flying across the keyboard at lightning speed, her features relaxed, yet a steel of resolve clouded her eyes as she spoke soft commands to her team, who followed with steadfast commitment.
Moves that I was a little too familiar with.
Moves that I’d played along with.
I watched Sierra transform into Luna, or maybe she’d always been Luna…
Two people living as one.
Two liars wearing the same skin.
Two women who had no idea what was coming for them.
Now that I knew the truth, there was no way I was letting this go.
No way that I was letting her go.
Sierra Chan had no idea what kind of trouble she had gotten herself into.