Worst Cupid Ever

I Regret Nothing

Raymond was ripped out of a strange haze of confusion at the blast of a gunshot. Ears ringing, he blinked hard and glanced around. He was certain the insurgents had located them a mere second ago; one even had their rifle pointed in their direction.

Another awareness rushed in. Genevieve had been next to him. Could it be the gunshot... Heart thundering, Raymond refused to look.

"Check her condition," Haruna, the head of their security detail, said.

All at once, horrifying possibilities crashed into Raymond's mind.

You know what that gunshot means, you unlucky bastard. Just like Jane, Genevieve is dead.

Hands shaking, Raymond wove his fingers around the back of his neck as he forced air in and out of his lungs. This fear he was feeling—this ghost from his past he assumed he had conquered.

Come on, man. Don't give in to the panic. Don't.

The security details were speaking but Raymond couldn't get himself to concentrate on their words. He should have been stubborn about it, found a way—any way—to convince Genevieve not to come to this damned place. Just like in the past, he wasn't decisive enough. Now, look. If only—

Raymond flinched when a hand settled on his shoulder.

"We should head deeper into the thicket," Haruna said. "Wait it out for a while until we are sure their attack is over."

"But..." Turning around, Raymond took in one of the men carrying Genevieve.

"She fainted," Haruna said as he ushered Raymond ahead of him. "Luckily, the vest caught a bullet. Another grazed her face but she is fine."

She is fine. The words repeated in Raymond's head, pouring over his anxious heart like the most relieving balm. Thank God.

"Let me carry her." Not waiting for a reply, Raymond took Genevieve in his arms.

"You stubborn woman," Raymond muttered as he hugged Genevieve to his chest. "Please, don't scare me like that again. Please..."

***

Ada twiddled her thumb as she waited. The extent of the disaster she had caused was yet to dawn on her and try as she may, she couldn't squeeze out a drop of regret. Give her a thousand more chances, she would do exactly what she did to the insurgents, probably go after the rest for good measure.

There was a low humming sound like an out-of-sight air conditioner. The cool waiting room was painted white with equally white lobby chairs and a lone potted plant in the corner that gave off humidifying puffs. The oddest part wasn't that a plant gave off humidifying puffs but that the stem and leaves were all white. Ada had taken a shot of it. She'd ask one of the Highbrows if the plant was one of their inventions.

Anxiety ate Ada alive the longer she waited for news regarding Haruto's health. Tasha was the only Helmet who had shown up, and so far, she had been gentle with Ada.

Ada recalled the look of horror on Tasha's face when she appeared at the camp. Along with Tasha was another cupid Ada did not recognise. The bright pink dinosaur onesie he had on was the opposite of his typical flat Blah expression.

"What do we have here," he asked in a dry voice as he scribbled on his notepad. "Five injured humans. Hmmm, one seems to have struck a tree. The probability of walking again: zero per cent. How interesting."

Tasha had looked at Ada with wide, questioning eyes. "Why did you do this?"

Ada shrugged and looked away. When Haruto staggered over, Tasha hurried to assist him. She gasped when she took in his appearance. "Why does he look like this? Say something, Ada."