I can't let him find out about this. I wasn't sure how well the prince knew Anthony personally, but they definitely knew each other. “Don't put words in my mouth. There's no one that I like,” I stubbornly denied. The prince stared at me in silence for a few seconds before he smiled and then shook his head slowly from side to side. “Did someone ever tell you that you're not a very good liar?” He asked, although it wasn't truly the question. At that moment, I was absolutely certain that he could see through me and my lies, and I wondered how much he truly knew. “Are you going to continue to deny it?” The prince asked. “I'm just telling you the truth,” I replied softly without backing down. “Well then, if there's no one that you like, I guess that works in my favor. Let's go on more dates until you start falling for me,” the prince suggested as if that was the best solution. “I don't want to do this,” I said firmly as I decided to take a stand. Instead of getting angry at me, th
I felt a chill run down my spine and I began regretting getting on his wrong side. “There is nothing to gain from loving someone that you can't have. No matter how much you love him, he will never be yours,” Desmond said coldly as his eyes seemed to glaze over and become lifeless. His words shocked me, not because I couldn't predict the same outcome, but because it convinced me that he knew the identity of the man that I love. How else could he say with absolute certainty that Anthony would never be mine? I wasn't sure if the timing was on my side or not, but the car suddenly came to a stop and that meant that we had arrived back at my house where their prince was supposed to drop me off. It felt like a short eternity had passed by, and I didn't remember the ride from my place to the venue being that long. I turned and stared at the prince while my mind raced to find the right words to say to him in order to end our conversation. After having learned that leaving our conversation
Aside from those vile comments, there were also countless comments expressing how well suited we appeared for each other. I wasn't sure which types of comments made me cringe more inside, and I wondered what kind of face these people would make when they found out that none of the things that they saw were true. I wasn't dating the prince, in fact, I haven't even seen or spoken to him in almost a month since the last time that we saw each other at the event. So far my shameless parents were over the moon excited ever since the photos of the prince and me kissing went public. The two of them clearly enjoyed the attention and I could imagine them boasting to the other nobles and their business partners about my relationship with the prince and how much he seemed to favor me. That all happened before they started realizing that the prince no longer called on me, and that I no longer left the house to meet the prince at the palace. “What is wrong?” My father asked with a frown between
Before they could say anything else I stood up from my seat and ran out of the living room. “Dahlia, wait!” I heard Diana calling after me and then I heard her footsteps as she ran after me. By the time that we both reached my bedroom, I felt like I needed to cry it all out so that I could deal with all the stress and the pressure of the situation that had built up inside of me. It felt like someone had wrapped their hands around my neck and had started squeezing it. Diana entered the room after me and pulled me into her arms right away. She must have realized that I needed comforting without me needing to voice it. “I told you that he is interested in you. You should have listened to your sister…” Diana said before letting out a giggle as she continued stroking my back. “Shut up…” I muttered as I buried my face into her hair and held her tightly. “Did you have a fight with him?” Diana asked after a moment of silence. “No, we didn't fight. At least, I didn’t think we did…” I rep
“What the reporter is saying isn't actually accurate. Sure, they have some evidence, but it’s not super airtight. If we could just do something, we still have the chance of sweeping this all under the rug,” my father said thoughtfully. Suddenly everyone was silent as we all seemed to wait for him to come up with another genius plan to get us all out of this trouble. For a moment, I felt so far removed from the troubles of my family because I felt like it had nothing to do with me. That was what I thought until I felt my father's gaze stop and then stared at my face as if he was expecting me to say something. I stared back at him with wide innocent eyes as I silently questioned what he really wanted from me. He can’t possibly...“I am not doing it. I am not doing anything to help you with this,” I stated before my father got the chance to say anything.I might not know much about life, but I could clearly tell when someone wants something from me that I didn’t want to give. The way m
I wasn't sure what Diana told them or what she had done, but nothing seemed to have moved forward during that week. Although no new evidence was found and no progress was made on the case, the press continued to cover the story non-stop. I wondered if our entire family would be under investigation or if we had to go to court. My parents were always stressed and on edge, and I would be lying if I said that their anxiety we're not getting to me. Diana seemed to be the most calm out of all of us, and it made me feel that she knew something that we all did not. “Will Dad end up in prison?” I asked her one evening while we were alone. “Is that what you wish for?” Diana asked with a teasing smile. “It doesn't matter what I wish for. I simply want to know what is going to happen,” I replied to her honestly. “This might be disappointing to you, but I don't think anything significant is going to happen to our family,” Diana replied with a shrug of her shoulders. I stared at my sister sile
“Where are you going?” My mother asked when I suddenly stood up. “My room,” I replied in short before making my escape.Did the prince do this? I didn't dare voice this question or my thoughts out loud while I was with my family, but now that I was alone inside the sanctuary of my bedroom, it dawned on me that it must have been the prince or someone from the Royal Family. In this country, the only family that ruled over the court and could directly influence its decisions and rulings was none other than the direct royal family members.Had the king decided to help my father and our family out of mercy because he felt thankful for all that we had done for him as his loyal servant? It wasn't impossible; however, something told me that that wasn't very likely. Desmond's handsome face and warm smile suddenly entered my mind and I was convinced that the prince had something to do with this. I had not asked him for help so I began to wonder whether my parents or even my sister had asked h
“Can you tell us more? Now you’ve really got everyone's attention and we can't wait to learn about this owner of the name,” another reporter quickly chimed in. The prince seemed to hesitate a little as he continued smiling before he nodded his head. It felt like his impressive gray eyes were right in front of me and that our eyes met although he was just a figure displayed on the television screen. “I'm thinking of naming this building after someone that I find very interesting and also impressive, but as I said, I think that I should get her permission first before any official naming,” the prince replied with his eyes staring straight into the camera. “Can we take a wild guess, Your Highness? Is this lady that you're referring to the one that you're dating?” another reporter asked without missing a beat. I felt my stomach churning into knots and I suddenly felt very restless. It seemed that Diana was quite excited by the sudden development because she began gripping my hand tigh
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