Her Moonlight Prince 1

“Mom.” As soon as Anna entered her parent’s house, she squealed and ran towards her mother's warm embrace. She arrived directly from the art school where she works.

Rachel Rae laughed and stroked her daughter's hair lovingly.

She's a married woman now, but she still behaves like a child in front of her mother. “How come so suddenly, you did not tell anything that you are coming to meet us.” she asked.

“Are you not happy to see me, Mom?” She sighed. As she looked at her daughter, Rachel Rae smiled.

She's still as naive as she used to be. “It’s not that I'm not happy to see you Anna, come inside I have prepared the dinner. Do you want to join us?” Rachel Rae asked. Anna nodded although the meals which her maid prepared are delicious but she always misses the ones cooked by her mother. Anna followed Rachel inside the house.

Anna smiled broadly as she watched her mother serve the dishes she had prepared. The spicy fish curry and potted shrimps are today’s main courses. It came with a side dessert and her favorite blueberry pie. For a moment, she felt anguish for being separated from her family. She yearned for her mother's cooking, her father's stories, and her brother's jokes. She could count the number of nights she could drown herself in sleep while living under the same roof as Ibrahim. The problems around them persisted, and he continued to hurt her.

Rachel Rae added more spicy fish curry to Anna’s plate along with the other side dish, which surprised Anna. “It's fine, Mom. I can take it by myself.” She is happy that her mother still cares for her.

Rachel Rae looked at her daughter, “Anna,” she sighed softly. “You have only been married for a month, but I feel like you've lost almost half of your weight.” Concerned, she inquired. She still regrets sending her daughter away but they didn’t have any choice.

For a while, Anna was speechless. She was completely unaware that she was losing weight. She skipped dinner on occasions, and she couldn't even sleep soundly in Ibrahim's house. The cold environment bothered her. Is that the real reason she lost weight?

Ethan Rae looked concerned as well. “Did Ibrahim starve you in his house?” He sounded irritated. He vowed vengeance on anyone who dared to harm his beloved sister.

Anna laughed softly, grateful that there are still some people who care about her existence. She made a shaky motion with her head. “The food at Ibrahim's house is enough to make me fat. It's just that I haven't had much of an appetite lately.” She lied through her smile. She wasn't sure she could tell her entire family about her husband's problem. How they fought every single time. How they hate each other's presence.

“Did he treat you well?” Paul Rae, her father, who had remained silent throughout the dinner, finally asked his daughter.

Anna was about to take another spoon of rice when she was interrupted by her father's question, did Ibrahim treat her well? Ibrahim can be friendly one minute and then brutal the next. When he pulled her into his embrace, she felt safe and comfortable, but when she remembered their fight and the picture Lilly had sent her the night before, she began to doubt. She herself is confused by his bipolar character. She knows that he got hurt but it is not right that he should hurt her.

Paul Rae examined his daughter's expression, he exhaled and looked down. It's clear that his daughter is sad with her marriage, and it's all his fault that she had to marry Ibrahim Saunders. “He doesn't keep you happy?” He inquired once again, his teeth clenched with anger depicted on his face. Which father wouldn't be enraged if his daughter was being harmed by another man?

Anna shook her head quickly. “He's just a little cold and arrogant, Dad. Everything is going to be fine.” She tried everything she could to persuade her father.

Ethan does not feel satisfied with his sister's response. He could tell his sister was merely defending her husband. “If he ever hurts you, you can always tell us. I'll be the first one to punch him in the face.” Ethan said, showing her sister his fisted hand.

Anna couldn't help but smile. As much as she wanted to tell him that Ibrahim had already broken her, she decided not to. This will only cause more trouble to them.

Paul Rae could not be felt more responsible than he already is. He has no choice but to force his daughter into a painful marriage for the sake of his business and his stupidity. He once believed that if his daughter married a wealthy man, she would live happily ever after, but he has been proven wrong. He could tell his daughter was unhappy, and it was entirely his fault.

Ethan Rae and Paul Rae stayed in the living room after the family finished their dinner to watch a soccer match. It's a time for father and son bonding. Anna assisted her mother with the dishes and cleaning up the dining room.

“It's almost eight o'clock. Ibrahim doesn’t mind if you come home late?” Rachel Rae asked abruptly.

Anna gave a nod. “He's not going to mind.” She responded quickly. Of course, Ibrahim wouldn't mind. He's the one who always comes home late. If one time she did the same thing it wouldn’t bother him. As if he cared about her absences.

She approached her mother after both finished washing their plates. “I have to tell you something, Mom.” She said it quickly. Anna spoke solemnly and Rachel Rae brow furrowed.

“Let's have a conversation in my room.” Rachel said Anna simply followed her mother.

When they arrived, they were both seated on the bed, facing each other. Rachel looked worriedly at her daughter and began to question her. “What's the problem, Anna?”

Anna’s eyes welled up with tears, causing her mother to worry even more. Rachel hugged and stroked her daughter's hair gently to comfort her. Anna’s shoulder trembling violently as she sobs into her mother's embrace.

“If crying can help you feel better, then cry it all out.” Rachel stroked Anna’s hair soothingly as she continued to cry.

Rachel Rae looked at her daughter's face, which was already wet from tears, she felt a sharp pain in her heart. What exactly did that guy do to her to make her so sad? She looked like she was in too much pain. Her heart aches to see her daughter like this.

“I found him, Mom.” Anna said, in between her sobs. Rachel Rae looked at her daughter confused. What exactly does she mean? What did she find?

When Anna calmed down a little, she let go of her mother's hug. Rachel's heart was broken because her eyes and nose were reddened due to crying for so long.

“What did that guy do to you? Did he really hurt you that badly?” Rachel Rae asked gently, not wanting to add anything more to her daughter's grief.

Anna nodded, her eyes welling up with tears. “After sixteen years, I finally found him.” She whispered softly.

Rachel still doesn't understand what Anna means. “What do you mean, Anna?”

Anna exhaled deeply to calm herself. Her mind has been so clouded since this morning that she can't focus on anything. When she tried to concentrate, an image of Ibrahim appeared in her head as if she were enchanted by him.

“Mom, do you remember when I was 10, I told you about a boy who played the moon song for me?” Anna asked, reminiscing about the beautiful moment.

Rachel nodded. She did remember it. She reminisces about how her daughter told her she was captivated by a boy who could play the piano so perfectly with a wide smile, as he was her first love. “Your moonlight prince.”

Anna’s tears once again streamed down her cheeks wetting it. She hearkens back to the night after the Daisy incident, where Ibrahim played the same song. She realized now why the melody seemed so familiar to her. It was the exact same person and song which she heard sixteen years ago. “Ibrahim is my moonlight prince.” She uttered and began to cry again.

Rachel Rae was taken aback for a moment, she was so stunned to say anything. How could such a coincidence occur? “Are you sure?” She inquired once more. Not wanting her daughter to get hurt again.

Anna gave a weak nod. “Mom, why must my moonlight prince be him?” Her eyes were still welling up with tears, and she continued to sob. It's so pitiful.

Rachel Rae continues to hug her daughter, as if she is spreading all of her love to lessen her daughter's suffering. “It's called fate, Anna. There is an Indian saying that sometimes taking the wrong train can lead you to the right destination?”

Anna gave her mother a thoughtful look before shaking her head. What is her mother attempting to convey? That arrogant man is her right destination who always hurts her. There’s not one day where she gets to bed happily.

Rachel Rae smiled warmly at her daughter. She gently squeezed Anna's hand. “You may believe that your marriage with him is a mistake made by your father, but today you discovered that he is the man you have been looking for all along. Do you see what I mean?” She told Anna as if she was hoping her daughter would understand.

Anna looked at her mother’s eyes as the image of a young Ibrahim flashed through her mind. “He promised to look for me, but he never did. He lied to me.” Anna said, her shoulder dropping.

“How do you think he'd recognize you? It's been 16 years, and you've grown more beautiful than ever. He didn't even know your name, but do you remember leaving him something?” Rachel Rae inquired, recalling the detailed story her daughter told her about her moonlight prince sixteen years ago.

Anna gave her mother a nod. She is right. He had no idea what her name was back then. They only met by chance.

“If you really love him, you have every right to fight for him. If he's the boy you met sixteen years ago, he might not recognize you now, but Mom believes his heart does, and he will eventually love you back.” Rachel Rae stated. Giving Anna a hope which she has been looking for.

Anna looked at her mother and realized how impeccable her last sentence was. Should she fight for the man who has left a deep wound in her heart? What is her fate in relation to Ibrahim? Why does it feel like she was born to love him while he was born to destroy her? That man had deeply hurt her, but the letter which she saw this morning made her feel as if fate was playing tricks on her. She realized that no matter how much she tried, she would never be able to hate Ibrahim. There are more than seven billion people on the planet, so why must it be Ibrahim? Why is fate such a liar?