Cyrus helped me get ready for Operation Hide and Seek. I explained how this mission and us hiding and seeking for the truth regarding Akane was the reason behind the title.

The others were asleep, Ethan waking up for a moment as I made my way to the washroom.

“Hmm, Scar?”

I stilled mid tiptoe, not wanting to wake up the four men in the living room. I turned my head to Ethan whose eyes struggled to stay open – those emerald globes thick with sleep.

I made my way over to him.

“Yes, Ethan?” I whispered.

“Where are you going?” He questioned; his hand brushed a strand of my hair which was again disguised by the brown colored wig.

“I’m gonna shower and get some air,” I revealed.

“Want me to come?” He inquired. I smiled; my heart rate increased at the potential of my plans getting ruined.

“No. I won’t be long.” I whispered.

“Promise?” He pressed his forehead against mine – the gesture made my heart hurt. I didn’t like lying to Ethan for a number of reasons – his past being the major one.

I didn’t answer, leaning forward to kiss him. He groaned, deepening the kiss. We finally broke apart when our lungs begged for oxygen.

“Go back to sleep Ethan,” I whispered. I knew he wanted to argue but his body was giving up on him. He closed his eyes, falling back asleep in seconds.

“Ethan?” I whispered. No response was given, his breathing slowed. I pressed my lips softly against his cheeks before I rose. I noticed Cyrus leaning against the door frame.

“Good job there. At least you didn’t need to lie.” He praised. I nodded.

I showered and was able to cover my markings with waterproof makeup thanks to Cyrus’ assistance. He was also sure to cover the multiple love bites he left on my neck.

We made our way to the elite patio section, making sure we were stationed as far away from the exit as possible. I would need to be able to take my luxurious time walking back to emphasize what we were planning.

“What’s this do?” I questioned, looking at the red lipstick presented to me.

“It’s lipstick.” I rolled my eyes, hidden by my sunglasses.

“I saw that.”

“What?”

“You rolled your eyes, didn’t you?” Cyrus grumbled. He hated when I gave him shade.

“Well, you’re not answering my question. Plus, we have to act like we’re arguing remember?” I reminded, taking a cocktail from the waiter who passed us.

“You need this. When you go to the washroom for your first break, apply it.” He whispered, presenting me the small red bottle of lipstick. I sighed, taking it and slipping it into my bikini top before I crossed my arms, taking a sip of the champagne.

“Uh huh. What’s that supposed to do?”

“You’ll know when you use it.”

“You’re not helpful, to say the least.” I sighed, making myself look irritated as I began to tap my foot.

“You love me. Akane at five o’clock.” He announced. I grinned.

“I hate you.” I snarled, throwing the remaining champagne in his face. The people around gasped, but I paid no mind, turning around and walking straight ahead. I placed the empty glass on the stunned waiter tray, who’d watched my little act.

“Irina!” He called out, but I ignored him. Christian’s gonna kill me for ruining his shirt.

“You hated that shirt.” Aurora reminded.

“Yes, but Christian said it’s uh that Army brand.” Serenity reminded.

Armani and I did hate it. Its ugly, and orange doesn’t suit him either.

“I bet Cyrus wore that shirt on purpose,” Aurora revealed, a hint of amusement leaked off her usual toneless voice.

“Christian’s gonna pop a blood vessel today.” Serenity sighed. I hope not. He’s going to be the one to make this believable.

“Irina?”

I stopped in my tracks at the familiar voice; turning to see Akane’s confused expression.

“Akane! How are you?” I greeted, blinking back the tears that threatened to fall.

“Cue the waterworks,” Aurora mumbled.

“I wish we had popcorn.” Serenity replied.

Can you two hush, so I can focus pretty please?

“Fine.” They said in unison. They stayed present within my mind to watch the drama about to unfold. Nosy spirits.

“What’s wrong? What happened back there with Alexander? You look like you’re about to cry.” Akane approached me, concern laced her face.

“Ah...it’s nothing. Just...um.” I tried to finish, but the first tears fell down my cheeks.

“Oh Irina, it’s okay. Don’t cry. Come, let’s go somewhere private so we can talk.” Akane ushered me to a set of doors. I nodded in agreement, following her lead as her hand slipped into mine.

She guided me to a room – SUITE 905 ELITE. She took out her phone; the purple jeweled case had multiple rhinestones in black, white and indigo. She pulled up the barcode, scanning it to unlock the door.  

We entered the luxurious suite – at first glance it appeared to be double in size from our suite. Holy shit. Is she richer than Junho? We’d gotten our suite thanks to Junho’s connections, but he couldn’t get us the Elite suite. I could have tried using my Billionaire status, but I didn’t care about the size of our room. I knew we’d only be using it for sleeping and some passionate sex.

“Sit down, Irina. Tell me what’s wrong.” Akane ushered me over to the white suede sofa. I continued my fake cry frenzy, sinking into the soft cushions. I wiped the tears from my flushed cheeks.

“Alexander. I think he’s seeing someone. I...I just have a gut feeling. But, I...I’ve been committed to him for all this time. I skipped events just to stay loyal to him. How can he possibly cheat on me?” I cried.

Akane rubbed my back, consoling me as I continued to cry. It wasn’t hard to act like I’d just found out I’d been cheated on. Less than six rotations ago, I’d found out that Jake had been cheating on me for most of our five years relationship.

I allowed those same feelings to resurface, this time having a hold on my emotions and not allowing the elements to react to my change in mood.

“There, there, it’s okay.” Akane pulled me into a side embrace. I took a deep inhale, noticing the sweet cinnamon scent that lingered on her white t-shirt and blue shorts. Did she smell like cinnamon before?

I continued to sob until my gut told me I’d given an Oscar-worthy performance. I turned off the waterworks, pulling back to give Akane a pitiful look.

“I’m sorry Akane. You barely know me, I shouldn’t be crying all over you. I even ruined your shirt with my makeup.” I apologized, bowing my head.

“Oh stop. Don’t worry about it! I know how it feels to be cheated on. Don’t sweat it. I’m glad I decided to get some fresh air and saw you.” She gave me a soft smile.

“What should I do now?” I mumbled.

“Well...why don’t we hang out. Just you and me. If we catch sight of Alex, we’ll hide. There are lots of activities on this huge-ass cruise ship, and my elite card can get us into the exclusive ones. Let me just get changed and you can fix your makeup and we’ll go.” She consoled.

I looked into her eyes – the gleeful compassion in them made me hesitant. Why am I getting different vibes from her than before?

“Something’s fishy. Her aura’s different, too.” Serenity suggested.

“Continue with Operation Hide and Seek?” Aurora proposed. I mentally nodded, focusing back on Akane.

“That sounds lovely.” I smiled at her.

She stood up, walking towards what I assumed was her bedroom. She lifted her shirt – a large tiger tattoo on her back. I gawked, having not noticed it the first time we’d met.

It was stunning – the large marking was a detailed image of a tiger with bright orange eyes. Its head started on her lower back and its body moved upward; its tail reached her shoulders.

She must have noticed my silence, turning around to see my gawking expression.

“Ah sorry, I assumed since we’re both girls, it wouldn’t be a big deal.”

I quickly lifted my hands up, shaking my head in protest.

“No. It’s beautiful Akane. I’m just confused why I didn’t notice it the first time we met.” I confessed.

“Ah. I hide it with makeup. It catches way too much attention. Especially on cruise ships like these. I’d be stopped every five minutes if I showed this bad boy.” She giggled, walking into her room.

“Give me two minutes to find something.” She called out.

“Okay,” I replied, relaxing in the seats to think. I felt my phone vibrate. I quickly pulled it out, noticing the text message.

I sighed. Didn’t Ethan say there’s a way to turn the tracker off?

“Settings – Enter the password and put it into stealth mode. You’ll still be able to text them in an emergency, but Ethan won’t be able to track ya.” Aurora explained.

“This is why you should have paid attention instead of zoning out. And the password is Whale.” Serenity reminded. I smirked. You know I love you two, right?

“Ya, until she gets pissed,” Aurora mumbled.

“Or embarrassed.” Serenity replied. Never mind. I take it back.

I looked back at the phone, struggling as to what to say.

I pressed send, putting my phone on silent. I sighed. He’s gonna be so pissed.

“I’m ready!” Akane announced, coming into view. I lifted my head to see her in a purple bikini halter top and white shorts. She tied her hair in a ponytail.

“Ah. Let me fix my makeup and stuff.” I stood up.

“Sure! Here, I’ll give you some stuff. I should have a foundation that matches your skin tone. I need to work on covering my tattoo so take your time.” She reassured me, heading back to her room to retrieve a bunch of makeup.

She handed me everything a girl with makeup knowledge would need to look like a model, and showed me where the washroom was.

“Thanks, Akane, I really appreciate it.” I whispered.

“Of course. We’re friends now! I don’t have many friends, to be honest. My best friend is in Japan, and my other friend is in a remote area helping her family with wildlife. My father’s pretty strict too...so, I don’t get to hang out much.” She confessed, a sad smile on her face.

“Truth.” Serenity whispered.

“Ethan did mention she’s the daughter of the CEO of some company. Maybe she didn’t get to hang with a lot of people when she was younger?” Aurora pointed out.

“I’m sorry Akane. Don’t wear such a sad expression. We can be friends! We can always text or Facetime if you like when you have to go back to where you live.” I encouraged.

“Really? You’d...want to keep in touch? Your boyfriend doesn’t look like he likes me.” She mumbled.

“He’s just jealous when I don’t give him one hundred percent of my attention. Plus, with the way it’s going I doubt we’ll be together much longer.” I mumbled, looking away.

Akane stepped forward, placing a supportive hand on my shoulder.

“Don’t worry. You’ll find everything out soon, and we’ll figure something out.” She whispered. I nodded in reply, giving her a smile.

“You’re awesome, Akane.”

“So are you, Irina.” She responded.

“Let me get ready and we can enjoy today! It’s about time I had some girl time instead of writing books all day long.” I rejoiced.

“Okay! After I do my cover-up, I’ll check what’s available. My guards get today off so it’ll be you and me.” She announced. I nodded, heading into the washroom and closing the door.

Shit. She’s telling the truth. Everything she said was the truth. You think the person we met in the beginning, was a doppelganger or something? It didn’t make sense. My gut told me she was innocent, and Serenity’s skill proved she wasn’t lying.

“The tattoo is different.” Aurora reminded. I remembered our first encounter.

“Wait, what happened to her tattoo that was on her chest?” Serenity reminded.

I don’t know. She could be hiding it with a glamour...but she didn’t hide her tiger tattoo. Glamour takes a hella lot of energy from what Ethan explained, so she’d do it all at once. Not in parts.

“I think we’re in a jam here. Double trouble?” Serenity proposed.

“More like, who’s the real Akane?” Aurora questioned.

I pulled out the lipstick Cyrus had given me. I took the top lid off, looking at my reflection in the oversized mirror before me.

Guess it’s time to find out.