“At times like these, I suddenly get promoted…or demoted to be your husband,” he muttered before rolling his eyes at me. I narrowed my eyes at him without missing his choice of words. How could becoming my husband be viewed as a demotion?“What is that supposed to mean? Why? Are you telling me that you’re dying to do a kiss scene with me? That crazy director is going to make us kiss for at least ten times until we do it right…” I pointed out as I started to feel even more frustrated than before. Just thinking about it made me mad and disgusted. I knew without actually reading the script that everything that they had in mind was going to be some cliché and tasteless romantic garbage. My thoughts were cut short when Bradon suddenly grabbed my shoulders and pushed me down onto the sofa. I let out a small cry of surprise as I found myself trapped between him and the sofa. Bradon loomed over me and I could see raw desire dancing in his blue eyes. “Shall we continue with our practice?”
I was still too astonished to say anything. The staff murmured a little at the unexpected disagreement that had erupted between Bradon and the director. The poor director struggled a little with himself before clapping his hands together to get everyone’s attention. “Let’s wrap up here for this scene and let’s head over there to shoot the next scene,” the director instructed. I smiled a little at Bradon when I caught him watching me. It was my way of thanking him silently for helping me and getting me out of this one. After changing my outfit and letting the stylist have their way with my hair, I was ready to rejoin Bradon on the beach. By that time, the wind had really picked up and the sky was completely dark. The stars twinkled so brightly in the sky that I couldn’t help but gaze up at them. “You like the stars?” Bradon asked from close to my side. I hadn’t realized that he was standing so close until I heard his voice. The stars shining up above must have captured my attention
I didn’t realize at all that we were being filmed. When I turned to question Bradon, he shrugged his shoulders at me. That was when I knew without a doubt that he knew all along. It was no wonder that he called me Diana even while we were supposed to be alone. “Did you…” I began asking but decided against it. I already knew the answer already so there was no point in having him confirm it. It must have been his idea to get the director to film us naturally. I also doubted that we played out any kind of scene that was planned out in advance based on the script. That must have meant that Bradon somehow talked the director into filming us while we were naturally interacting with each other. I had to say that I did find it a lot less stressful, and unbelievably, we managed to get it all right in just one take. “Thank you…” I thanked him softly. “It’s not a problem. I didn’t do it for you. I did it for myself and the rest of the crew so that we can finally call it a day,” he replied a
Dreading the arrival of that moment, I ended up taking a very long time in the bath while listening to the sound of the door opening to announce his arrival. At first, I didn’t want to face him but when it took such a long time for him to return to our bedroom, I started to wonder where he went. “This is so stupid…” I mumbled to myself before letting out a sigh.The water in the tub was no longer warm and I had gotten quite bored. Just as I climbed out of the bathtub, I heard a few knocks on the door. …Bradon?I wrapped a towel quickly around my body and headed out of the bathroom. Since Bradon would never knock on our bedroom door like that, I knew that my first reaction in thinking that it was him was definitely incorrect. “Who is it?” I called out questioningly as I approached the bedroom door. “It’s me…” a man’s voice replied. “Zain?” I replied, after recognizing his voice. “Yes, My Lady…” he replied. “I’m…I can’t open the door right now. Do you need something?” I asked. “
“I need your help again, my friend…” he said before letting out a long sigh. It wasn’t rare for the prince to give me a call and he was right when he said that we are friends. While taking Anthony’s place over the years, I’ve had a couple of opportunities to meet the crown prince. At first everything was very distant and formal between us; however, our relationship started to change when I suddenly received a mysterious invitation from the palace. What surprised me even more at the time was the fact that the invitation was addressed to me as ‘Bradon’ instead of to my younger brother. I had always thought that I was good at impersonating my brother but it appeared that the crown prince was even more talented at telling people apart. Upon our meeting, he could tell that I wasn’t Anthony and my true identity turned up after some investigation. Instead of probing into the reasons why the Vulkan family had a hidden son that sometimes impersonated their only son, the crown prince was more
I could tell that he would rather come along with me and the rest of the men but I felt like he would have a much more important role to play here. “Watch over her and make sure that she stays out of trouble. Make sure she doesn’t do anything reckless,” I instructed sternly. “Will this help make you focus on your work?” Zain asked as he stared directly at me. “Of course. I’ll feel much better knowing that I can trust you to handle things here,” I replied honestly. “What should I tell her?” Zain asked for further instructions. “Tell her that I have some things to deal with and that she shouldn’t wait up for me,” I instructed. I didn’t think that Dahlia would wait up for me and it would come as no surprise if she preferred to have me gone. Zain nodded his head once to show me that he understood. …**Dahlia’s point of view**What time is it now?Is it possible to tell how much time has passed from the movement of the stars in the sky?I must have heard that from somewhere but I co
It infuriated me that he could do whatever he wanted whenever he wanted without a care about how I felt while I didn’t have the freedom to do the same. It honestly felt like my chest was ready to explore from the tension and frustration that had started accumulating inside. “I’m going to sunbathe…and then I’ll play in the water…then I’ll go for a swim in the pool…” I muttered my plan as my voice shook from anger. **Bradon’s point of view**I managed to wrap up the whole mess and calm down the situation within a few hours which was something that I felt slightly proud of. However, the fact that it came at the cost of a handful of my men sustaining injuries made me feel like I could have done better had I been less hasty. Men getting injured during these kinds of crackdown operations wasn’t abnormal no matter how well prepared we were. There would always be unforeseeable circumstances and dangers. Everyone had to stay on their toes and learn to expect the unexpected. Everyone’s life w
“I’m Sam. Nice to meet you,” he introduced himself before showing me a smile. His sun-kissed tan skin complimented his light brown eyes and hair and I found myself smiling easily in his presence. “I’m Diana,” I introduced myself simply because I believed that he already knew who I was supposed to be. “Shall we get started?” he asked with clear excitement. “Sure…” I replied as I unwrapped the thin shawl that I had around my waist to reveal the bright red bikini that I had on. While in the middle of my lesson, I realized that Zain had suddenly disappeared somewhere. It must have been while I was under water with Sam because I didn’t realize when he left. It did not bother me and I decided to devote my attention to Sam and all that he was teaching and showing me. He was a good and patient teacher and he made sure to strike a good balance between teaching me the basics in words and getting me to try things out for myself. The staff was right in the deep end of the pool being very de
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