I liked how he talked to me in his gentle and soothing tone, the way he smiled at me, and the way he always handled me with care as if I might break. Then there would be times like earlier where I could get glimpses of other sides of him that never failed to intrigue me.“Anywhere is fine…” I replied as I felt myself blushing for no good reason.“Should we just run off? Just the two of us?” he suggested as his eyes widened with apparent excitement.“We’ll get in trouble if we do that,” I replied while worrying more about Anthony than myself.His wild suggestion was unexpected and didn’t seem to fit his character but that only made me feel special for getting to see this side to him. I ended up giggling at just the idea of making a run for it together even though I was supposed to be against the idea.“We’ll get in plenty of trouble already as it is…” he pointed out before winking at me.I knew immediately what he was referring to. He did just beat up someone, and even if it was for my
“Hmm…is that so?” Anthony replied while sounding extremely unconvinced.I wished that I could come right out and tell him honestly that I wanted to see him in action but because I couldn’t quite tell him that, I decided to ask him something instead to change the direction of my conversation.“How did you find me?” I asked curiously.“I asked around for you and someone told me that you’d gone into the back garden…” he replied before grinning at me.I could tell that he had also learnt from that moment on why I had gone to the back garden, and I couldn’t blame him for not being impressed.“Does it happen very often?” he asked, and I knew that he was referring to those confessions.“Yeah…too often…” I replied honestly before pressing my lips into a regrettable thin line.“Diana…” Anthony said after a moment of pause.It looked like he had something that he wanted to tell me but before he could say anything, the loud sound of thunder roaring in the distance disturbed us. The wind picked u
I hated how sad and lonely he sounded at that moment. His words and the worried look on his face tugged painfully at my heart and that was probably because it wasn’t true that I didn’t want him to kiss me. More than anything, I wanted him to kiss me. I wanted to feel his sweet lips on mine.“I…” I murmured hesitantly.In the end, I couldn’t bring myself to say no to him…or to myself…“Just close your eyes…” he whispered.I let my eyes drift close as I waited to feel his lips on mine. Having my eyes closed made everything even more frightening because I couldn’t see and didn’t know what to expect. I felt his soft and warm lips press gently against mine.That was it.The first kiss that I shared with Anthony was over before I knew it, but it made me realize that the feelings that I’d developed for him was far from over.…**The next day**“How was your date?” Diana asked teasingly.“What date?” I replied as if I didn’t know what she was talking about.“You’re going to tell me all about
I stared right into her eyes as I silently asked her if she did it. She must have understood my unasked question because she nodded her head slowly yet firmly. Diana closed the distance between us and wrapped her arms around me.“I did it for you,” she whispered right into my ear.The smile that she showed me told me that she didn’t have a shred of regret in her body. It felt like something was sucking life out of me and my entire body felt cold and numb.“What is the meaning of this?” the teacher yelled, and it was clear that her question was directed at Diana.Diana slowly unwrapped her arms from around my body before turning around to face the teacher, the staff, and the other students that had gathered at the scene. She lifted her hands to cover her face for a moment before lowering them.“I didn’t mean to. It was an accident…” Diana said in a broken voice before she began wailing.Tears fell from her eyes in streams as her face contorted into a mask of extreme sadness and regret.
I had no idea how many strings were pulled and how much money was spent. In the end, I returned back to school and spent my days with Diana as if nothing had happened. I wasn’t regarded the say way again since that incident, but it didn’t really bother me.“So, Dahlia didn’t tell you anything?” she asked.“No, she didn’t,” I replied as I wondered when she would just move on.Although I knew that she called me here to talk about this incident, I had hoped that she might have already come to terms with it and moved on. I was willing to help her in any way that I could now that I was literally in Diana’s shoes. I could help introduce her back into society or link her up with suitable suitors or any of Diana’s friends. Although Diana never regretted what she did, there was a part of me that wished that we didn’t need to part ways with Daphne like that. After confiding in me about the details of what really happened that day, I could tell that she was confident that she did the right thing
She closed the distance between us so rapidly that I was certain that she had already regained full and normal usage of her legs. In a flash, she was standing right in front of me, and her hand was raised.She’s going to slap my face…My instincts told me to dodge or lift my hand up to block the blow; however, I consciously decided against it. It was a small price to pay for all the years she had to go through without the use of her legs. I closed my eyes and braced myself for the impact. Her slap sounded much louder than it hurt.“Are you satisfied now? If you’re done, I’m going to leave,” I said curtly.I had no idea why she was keeping the fact that she could walk a secret from everyone. Perhaps it was an idea that she came up with to catch me off-guard. I smirked thinking that it wasn’t so bad of a plan given that it was Daphne that we were talking about.“I’m not done with you yet,” she said with her voice dripping with malice.I let out a loud sigh as I wondered what else she wa
Staying by his side seemed like the best place to be at that moment, although I hated to admit that the rule that he had set was right all along. I wanted to scream out loud that she was lying through her teeth while my frustration started taking over. I wondered why Bradon couldn’t see through her act right away.“You must have someone out for your life if you have this many guards at an event with high security like this. It makes me worry a little about your safety. Feel free to let me know if there’s anything that either me or the Vulkan family can help you out with. It would be a pleasure to help one of my wife’s friends,” Bradon said before smiling warmly her way.“Thank you. You are so kind…” Daphne replied softly.“Not at all. So, tell me Miss Wanderwalt, did Diana do something to offend you or hurt you in anyway?” Bradon asked.I turned and narrowed my eyes at him as I wondered why he was asking a question like that. Did he think that I did something wrong simply because I sn
Daphne’s legs seemed to cease to function at his words as she crumbled to the ground. The way she sobbed and then wailed made me pity her a little. It was probably killing her to be caught and seen like this by the eyes of the man that she is probably still in love with. On top of that, she was probably shocked beyond belief at how Anthony was acting. Bradon didn’t seem to care just how out of character he was acting at that moment. Although he acted like we were a sweet and doting couple by expressing his concern and care for me, his use of violence wasn’t at all like Anthony.“I guess you don’t know the truth either…” Daphne said before her eyes glared up at us.I wanted to stop her from telling Bradon about the incident, but I couldn’t think of a way to stop her at that moment. It was already too late. Whether I liked it or not, Bradon was about to hear about it.“She was the one who pushed me down the stairs. Because of her, I couldn’t walk and had to go through therapy for years!
Just thinking that the fool right in front of me dared to say he was in love with my sister, while he couldn't even tell the two of us apart, made my blood boil. It took a lot of effort to repress the urge to reach out and strangle his neck right then and there. I reminded myself that I had a part to play and quite an audience to impress."No... this can't be..." Mr. Malton whispered hoarsely from a distance, stepping even further away from me. I stood up from the table, grabbed his arm, and pulled him back to my side as I glared up into his face."It's actually quite simple to fool you. All I had to do was dress up in my sister's clothes whenever I met you and talk a little more sweetly..." I said, letting out a hysterical laugh. I could still feel everyone's eyes on us as the attention in the room escalated even more than before.Mr. Malton was speechless as he tried to pull his arm away from my grip, but I wasn't about to let him get away so easily."Well, now I guess the secret is
I had no idea how Diana managed to keep the girls silent up until that point so that the news wouldn't spread; however, I knew that it wouldn't be too long before everyone in school knew about this illicit affair. We would be extremely lucky if this news did not spread beyond the school walls. Despite the gravity of the situation, Mr. Malton was already ready to make his retreat."What if they don't believe us? I feel so scared. I don't want to be alone, and I don't want you to leave me," I said pleadingly just to see his reaction."You know that I would never do that. It would just be temporary until everything blows over. I promise that I will never leave you. How could I possibly leave you? I love you so much," he declared his love for me boldly.The more dramatic things became, the more I felt that his act of adoration was completely fake. No matter how many times he claimed to be in love with my sister, it seemed like he couldn't even tell us apart. I wondered what kind of face h
"Leya, you need to help me find a way out of this. Diana simply cannot make this kind of mistake," my sister told me slowly and clearly as she stared directly into my eyes."You're right. You can't afford to make these kinds of mistakes," I agreed solemnly."No one else must find out about this. We have to do something before word gets out because word is definitely going to get out,," my sister stated calmly, and I could tell that she had returned to her calm and collected self."Can't we tell them that they simply misunderstood and that it's not true?" I asked, daring to harbor a little bit of hope."They probably won't believe what we tell them, but they might believe what we show them," Diana replied, and I could tell her mind was made up.Without using any more words, it seemed like an understanding had formed between us, and once again, it felt like it was us against the entire world....**The Next Day**As I pushed open the back door to the building that was supposed to be off
The moment that thought entered my mind, I quickly killed it and pushed it out of my mind as if extinguishing a small flame before it would spread and engulf everything. I told myself that it wouldn’t have to come to that and that we could find another way to figure things out.“Does it matter? Why does it have to matter?” Diana asked, and her tone was cold.My sister’s response quickly snapped me out of my thoughts and back to reality. I narrowed my eyes at her as my irritation started to take over.“It does matter! Have you completely lost your mind? He’s our teacher,” I reminded her as I started to truly lose my head over what my sister had confessed to me.Had I known that the person she had been dating was one of our teachers, I would have definitely stopped her. That was probably the reason why Diana decided to keep it a secret, even from me. In reality, I had my own doubts about whether or not I could have persuaded my sister not to pursue her taboo relationship with Mr. Malton
"I guess he is not someone in this school," I said as I ran my mind through potential candidates who could be my sister's true love."It's a secret," Diana repeated again before pressing her index finger teasingly against her lips."Are you really not going to tell me?" I asked."Honestly, you have no idea just how much I am dying to tell you who he is. But you see, I did promise him to keep it a secret between us... at least for now," Diana said before flashing me a regretful smile."I don't think I will end up liking this guy. He's telling you to keep secrets from me," I replied teasingly."I'll make sure that you're the first one to find out," Diana promised me with a beaming smile."I guess that it's good enough for me that you're happy," I told her honestly."Thank you, Leya. I love you so much. You're probably the only one who truly cares about my happiness," my sister said before pulling me into her embrace.Back then, when I held my sister in my arms and hugged her back tightl
“Shall we?” Bradon asked as he offered me his arm invitingly.“Thank you,” I replied as I smoothly slipped my arm into his.Appearing in front of the public as Diana, with Bradon as my escort as he flawlessly acted out the role of Anthony, drew quite a lot of attention to us. I could tell that Bradon felt restless, even under his calm and collected exterior, and that was probably because he couldn’t wait for this engagement announcement to come to an end. Even though he should have been reassured now that Diana was taking my place at the ceremony, it seemed that nothing could make Bradon completely feel at ease given the situation.“I sincerely hope that they keep it short,” Bradon whispered right into my ear before planting a soft kiss against my temple.I was sure we looked like the perfect loving couple, and perhaps that wasn’t so far from the truth. For the life of me, I had no idea how Diana managed to convince Desmond to let her take my place at the engagement ceremony, but I wa
"So, are you going to get on your hands and knees to beg? How much longer will you keep me waiting?" I asked while pointing my index finger at the empty floor right in front of my feet.If looks could kill, I would have died an extremely painful death, stabbed by the millions of daggers flying out of my father's eyes from the way he was glaring at me. Even when I was clearly his only route of escape from the impending hell that was awaiting him, it was clear that my father felt nothing but hatred for me. I returned his stare with one of my own as I continued pointing to the floor where I wanted them to get on their hands and knees."I'm still waiting. Oh, but if you're not willing, then I'll make sure that some men will escort you out," I said before grinning at them. I could tell that my father was hesitating, and that meant that he was truly considering abandoning whatever pride he had left to get down on his hands and knees to beg for help from his long-abandoned daughter.Time mov
“Dahlia, dear! Please help your dear father!” The head of the Alnault family desperately pleaded for my help. I squinted my eyes at his face as I took in the evident panic and helplessness displayed on his features. I wasn't sure what I was hoping for when I wanted to see him, but his reaction surely surpassed even my wildest expectations. Gone were all of his confidence and arrogance. Perhaps, for the first time in his life, this man was feeling truly hopeless and helpless. “Dahlia! You have to help get us out of this. You need to help our family!”my mother's high-pitched voice begged openly for my help.I glanced in her direction. I wasn't at all surprised to feel absolutely no pity for her. The only question that went through my mind was why these two people were still standing on their feet rather than kneeling in front of me on their knees. My biological father continued begging while giving me countless reasons why I should help him out. However, most of his words were lost to
It was true that I had ample opportunities to tell Bradon about it, but it was also true that bringing it up would ruin the romantic and joyful mood between us and whatever we were in the middle of doing. Bradon came home early and in time for dinner every day, as if it was a change in habit. We spent time together just like regular couples—staying at home, watching movies, taking a dip in the pool, walking together in the garden, and doing many other things just to enjoy each other's company. It felt like we were making up for all the lost time.…**Around a week later**Diana's brewing plan kept me on edge. The secret preparation for the royal engagement announcement was in full swing. As for me, I spent a lot of time mentally preparing myself for what was to come. Each peaceful day that went by felt like the perfect calm before a raging storm. One day, I woke up to find Bradon sitting on the side of the bed, his eyes on me as if he was waiting patiently for me to wake up from my sl