Amari smiled as she snuggled against Ramire's chest. Her dark violet eyes sparkled in happiness at being in her lover's arms. Everything was right when she was with him.
The man stroked her hair gently, lost in thought. He loved her with all his heart, but to tell Amari what was happening in his private life would rip her heart to shreds.
"Ramire?" Her voice, laced with a soft French accent, pierced his thoughts.
"Hm?"
She tilted her head back, resting it on his shoulder, to look at his face. "What are you thinking about, love?"
His heart skipped a beat as panic washed over him. What was he suppose to say? The usual lie of "You, of course," that always seemed to pacify her? Or the lie "Our future," which would then prompt her to prattle on and on with ideas, though promising, were not for him?
Before he had a chance to open his mouth to reply, the great chiming of the doorbell interrupted them. "Scoot, Amari. I'll get it." Setting her on the couch cushion next to them, he stood and made his way to the entrance hall. His ice blue eyes narrowed at the familiar outline seen through the frosted glass.
Sighing, he shook his shoulder-length ebony hair away from his face and opened that door.
There she was, looking seductive, dressed in barely-there clothes. A smirk graced her lips and she moved closer, wrapping her arms around his neck.
"There you are, my big, strong steed. How I've missed you."
"Not right now, Michiyo. I have company." He gently pried her off and stepped back. "Can you come back later?"
She pouted, crossing her arms. "Oh, but why can't I stay and meet your company?"
Without consent, she strode into the house and into the living room to where Amari was still perched on the couch. Ramire followed closely, his heart dropping to his knees.
Amari smiled politely at Michiyo. "Hello." Her bright pink hair fell over one eye as she stood to shake the other woman's hand.
"Oh, you must be Ramire's sister." Michiyo shook her hand. "I'm Matsuo Michiyo, his girlfriend."
Ramire stopped dead in the doorway, face going as white as a sheet. All Hell was going to break loose now. And he would be dead as a doornail before one of them left tonight.
With a blink, Amari replied, "No, I'm not his sister. I'm his fiancé." She giggled a bit. "Oh, I get it now. You're just joking with me. Very cute."
"Oh, I assure you, I'm not joking." Michiyo narrowed her eyes as the smaller woman. "I've been dating Ramire for three months now."
"Ramire...what is this woman talking about?" Amari looked past Michiyo at her lover. He gulped and opened his mouth to speak, but no words came out.
"Ramire, tell the truth." Her eyes were sad, tears threatening to spill.
"Amari...I...I'm sorry. I love you with all my heart and soul. But you live just too far away. Seeing you only twice a year is torture. With you in Paris and myself here in Romania...it just doesn't work out. I'm sorry...my heart strayed to somebody closer." Ramire snaked his arm around Michiyo's waist. "I do love you."
The woman shook her head, sitting back down on the couch. "No...no...if you loved me like you said I did, you'd never betray me." Looking up at him, tears began to fall. "How could you, Ramire? How could you take all those plans we made and toss them aside as if they were nothing?"
His eyes locked onto hers with the iciest glare he could muster. "THEY AREN'T NOTHING!" He strode over and towered over her. "I love you, but you're too far away! It's torture being so far from you, and I'm sorry!"
Here, Michiyo cut in. "Ramire, love...let her go. I have reservations downtown for seven. We can still make them if we go now."
Ramire glanced at Amari, who was sitting, staring at the floor as tears fell. "Yes, let's." He put his arm around Michiyo's waist and led her to the door. "Amari, pack your things and leave. I'm sorry." And with that, he shut the front door with a snap.
Amari stood and made her way into the kitchen, her heart torn into tiny pieces. She looked through the drawers, searching for the utensil she desired. Finding the sharpest knife she could, she padded silently on socked feet up the stairs into the bathroom, where she shut the door gently.
After turning the water on in the tub, she looked at herself in the mirror. Her violet eyes were rimmed in red from her tears. Pink locks fell around her face, giving her an innocent look. She wasn't the most beautiful woman, but she wasn't horrid either.
She removed her clothing, folding the articles neatly and placing them on the counter by the sink. Grasping the knife, she shut the water off before stepping into the warm water. Goosebumps rose along her body as she sank into a sitting position.
"I love you Ramire," she muttered softly. Amari raised the knife to her neck and pressed soundly, feeling the cool metal pierce her skin slightly. She slid down more, her back resting against the ceramic tub. With the image of Ramire and Michiyo walking out of her life, she pressed the knife as hard as she could and dragged it along her throat, slitting her main vein.
Smiling sadly in her last moments of life, Amari stared up at the floral border of the wallpaper.
"Love isn't always what it seems."
With her final statement falling upon the walls of the room, she closed her eyes once more, the water around her stained a deep crimson with her blood, which she so readily gave to forget the pain of losing the only man she had ever truly loved.