At first, I thought that it was going to be once or twice and that it wouldn't hurt to go out with him because I had gotten a little bored of our repeated meetings. Our first date outside was in a quiet private setting although we were out of the palace. The prince took me on a perfect date where we went to a private luxurious restaurant, a private afternoon tea session together, before he took me shopping at a private jewelry boutique.Despite my active refusal to accept his gifts, I ended up going home with a luggage filled with precious jewelry. I can still remember the wide-eyed excited face of my parents when they found out that I did not return home empty-handed.“I couldn't turn him down on the spot, so I ended up accepting all these gifts. Anyways, I think we should send it back to the palace so that it can be returned,” I told my parents without any excitement. I truly had the intention to return all the gifts that I had received back to the prince because I couldn't see why
I did not at all share the prince’s confidence and an uneasy feeling developed inside of me when I wondered what exactly our relationship was. It wasn’t hard for me to imagine what we would appear like in the view of other people when we made our appearance together. People were always so ready to gobble up gossip and they were undoubtedly prepared to get the wrong idea about us. However, I didn't even understand what my relationship with the prince was actually like. Were we just close friends, or are we something more? To say that I was confused would be an utter understatement. “If that's something that you would like to say, you can go ahead and say it, Dahlia,” the prince said as he stared directly at me. “I actually don't have something to comment or say but I do have something that I would like to ask you,” I replied as I sat up slightly straighter than before. After reminding myself that I didn't actually have much to lose, I decided to ask the prince directly.“What are
“Well, if I had to put it frankly then I would say that I want us to start dating,” the prince replied. “That's not possible,” I replied immediately with the response that came naturally to my mind. “Really? Well, that is interesting…” the prince replied softly as he began rubbing his chin. I was still stunned by my sudden response; however, I already had a pretty good idea why I blurted out that response. Surprisingly, the prince didn't look surprised and neither did he look disappointed. Just when it seemed like he was ready to say something else, the car came to a stop and it seemed like we had arrived at our destination. “Don't worry, we'll pick this up later,” the prince told me before he reached out a hand and patted my shoulder.I stared at him silently for a brief moment as I tried to find the words to say to him. After failing to find the right words in time, I just let out a long sigh of resignation as I waited for us to arrive at our destination.Had I known what was go
“I hope it helps that I'm here to share your pain,” I muttered sarcastically. “If you keep on talking, this event will surely get less boring,” he said before chuckling softly. “Is that so?” I replied back while making sure to keep my voice down so that no one would overhear us. I kept staring straight ahead although I could feel the prince’s gaze resting on my face. He clearly wasn’t paying any attention to the presentation and he didn’t even bother to put on an act. “Of course. It’ll get even better if I can hold your hand,” he replied before reaching his hand out for mine.I moved my hand away from his at the last moment and the prince ended up laughing at my attempt to get away from him. He was clearly enjoying himself and that meant that he had made the right decision in bringing me along with him. After what I thought was an excessively long presentation, the main part of the event finally came to an end. However, it seems like the role of the prince at the event wasn't yet
“An answer?” I asked as I narrowed my eyes at him. “That's right. You asked me a question, and that was my answer to you,” the prince replied as he stared directly into my eyes. His gray gaze was steady as he looked back at me, and I could feel his sincerity and that bothered me even more than before. “I don't know what you're talking about…” I muttered quickly before looking away. “Are you sure that you don't understand or is it more like you don't want to understand…” the prince pointed out without willing to let it slide. “Regardless, you shouldn't have kissed me right in front of everyone like that. Do you realize what you've done? Photos of us kissing will be everywhere for everyone to see!” I could no longer control my anger and ended up raising my voice at him. I sucked in a deep breath before rolling my eyes backwards and clenching my fists tightly as I imagined the mess that this scandal would create. “Be my girlfriend,” the prince said, and I could tell that he was b
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
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