The marriage between the two had, from the very beginning, been founded on the intention of consolidating the standing of two of the most powerful families in the country.

For Lorena Schuett and Natsha Taechamongkalapiwat, there was, in essence, neither resistance nor objection to such an arrangement.

Because of that, the situation on their wedding night was decidedly different. There was no shyness, no nervous anticipation, and no joy mixed with excitement.

“How was it?” Natsha asked after the brief contact of their lips.

Lorena did not answer. Her expression did not change as she shook her head.

“Try again.” She said.

Natsha nodded. The two leaned in and kissed once more. Neither urgent nor gentle.

Lorena pulled away.

“Still nothing.” She whispered.

What truly happened that night remained an unknown. Yet as long as Lorena’s head continued to shake, the kisses would continue to follow.

And if one day those shakes were to be replaced by a nod of assent, there would be no guarantee that the kisses would ever stop.

=================================

“Lorena/Natsha.”

Two names were called out at the same time, making both of them turn around.

Lorena’s gaze landed on a handsome man dressed in a white suit.
At the same moment, Natsha looked toward a petite woman in a light colored evening gown.

So the legendary white moonlight had finally appeared.

//////////////////////////////

“Don’t you miss me, Natsha?” The girl asked.

Natsha replied calmly. That air about her, unchanged after all these years, remained intact.

“I do remember.”

Her expression was indifferent, present yet distant at the same time. A look the petite girl had never truly understood.

“I heard… you’re married now.” The girl said softly.

“Mm.” Natsha answered simply.

“You married that person… for your family?” Unable to hold herself back, the girl asked.

Natsha nodded.

A faint glimmer of hope seemed to flicker in the girl’s eyes.

“So… are you unhappy?”

Natsha did not answer immediately, as she had so many times before. She seemed to be thinking, yet also seemed not to be thinking at all.

“I’m very comfortable.” Natsha said, meeting the eyes of the one who had once walked beside her.

It was precisely this quiet, cool detachment that the girl had once felt... Natsha was heartless, and unbearably dull.

//////////////////////////////

“I once thought you would never marry." The man said with a bitter smile.

“With your detached nature, even I eventually gave up.” He added, meeting her gaze.

“But strangely enough… now I find myself wanting to taste that feeling again.” His eyes shimmered with a distant sense of nostalgia.

Lorena’s expression did not waver in the slightest. It was as if she used the same face to confront the entire world.

And because of that, he had never truly been able to understand her. Or perhaps, he had only ever seen what lay on the surface. Never capable of sensing what rested within.

///////////////////////////////

The man in the white suit, along with the petite girl beside him, turned their gaze toward the other side of the hall. Where two women stood, both dressed in black.

A faint, invisible aura enveloped Lorena and Natsha. Their eyes met, yet none of the radiant sparks so often found between lovers existed between them. Instead, their shared detachment merged seamlessly. Without distance, without restraint, without the slightest sense of discord.

Only then did the girl and the man finally understand.

Love is not always surrounded by dazzling light. Sometimes, it exists in muted layers. Quietly blending, finding harmony in restraint.