“The last king?” I repeated blankly after recovering from my initial shock and confusion. It felt like time suddenly came to a stop and all I could hear in the tense silence that surrounded us was the fast beating of my heartbeat. His answer surely caught me off guard, and for a moment, I wasn't sure if I understood what he really meant. I must have looked confused enough for him to give me an explanation. “I'm going to be the next king and I am also going to be the last king of this country,” he said slowly and clearly as if it would help me absorb the true meaning behind his words.Desmond will definitely be the next king and after that his son should take over, at least that was how things were supposed to be, unless he doesn't want things to turn out that way in the future. I felt my jaws loosen as my mouth hung open when I realized what he was trying to say. Desmond nodded his head in affirmation as if he could feel that I was finally taking in the meaning of his words. Many th
True to the prince’s words of speculation, I couldn't come up with a single thing about the society that we lived in that was beneficial to the country's future or for the people in general. Having been on the receiving end of the twisted madness of the society, I surely struggle to see the merits in all of it. “See? You can't really come up with anything, can you?” He guessed quite correctly while sounding quite amused. Desmond grinned at me and he seemed satisfied that I was unable to answer his question. “What is so great about the country being run by the royal family and the nobles? Even if our country is democratic, it is only democratic in name only. You should know that best with your father currently running in the election with full backing from the King and also the Vulcan family,” Desmond said before showing me a knowing smile. Even though it is almost certain that the election will be postponed by the King's death, it would come to no surprise that my father would win
It was a very random thought but I found myself wanting to buy some desserts to share with Brandon. It just felt like the perfect treat that we could enjoy together after breaking the good news. It also felt too long since the last time that I had something from this bakery. Instead of the car coming to the stop just as I had ordered, Zain continued driving without stopping or slowing down. “Didn't you hear what I just said? I want to make a stop here, can you park over there in front?” I asked as I started feeling confused. Something felt amiss and I began wondering what was wrong with Zain. It was then that I realized that Zain had not spoken a word since I entered the car, and I had not seen his face since he had not turned around to look my way. Many gruesome scenarios appeared in my mind while I actively tried to tell myself to remain calm. “I'm not your driver and we will not be making a stop based on your request,” a voice replied coldly. The voice clearly did not belong to
Desmond and I were now on the same side and our plans were clearly aligned with each other. Bradon's silence made me feel like I had to keep on speaking before I would lose my courage. “Prince Desmond agreed to help me with my plan to remove the power of my family and also punish my parents for whatever that they have done wrong. This is probably going to be my only opportunity to right what is wrong,” I said while trying to sound calm. If he was in any way surprised with my decision, he showed no signs to betray his feelings. It was as if he had more than half expected that the outcome would turn out this way since the moment that I left the mansion to go see the prince. He looked straight at me but refused to comment, and that made me feel even more uneasy inside. After all, despite all of my bravery, I still haven't told him the main part of the prince’s plan to end the rule of the monarchy in the country. I could still recall Desmond's words and the absolute look of determinatio
“Do you know the prince? Forget that, how long have you known the prince? Are you two close?” I bombarded him with questions as I closed the distance between us as if I could prevent him from escaping.If he already knew about this, then he must have always known that Desmond would end up helping me. I wondered how long he had known the prince and if he was aware of my past relations with Desmond. “Have you ever thought about what will happen to this country when it no longer has a king?” Bradon asked to suddenly change the direction of our conversation. Even I had to admit that it was a very fair question and that I haven't had much time to put enough thought into it. I wasn't quite sure what changing the governance of a country entailed and what would be the impact to the various parties. “Desmond told me that the country will improve and move forward. He seemed very convinced that it is for the better, and I would like to believe in what he says,” I replied truthfully. “It's go
I felt quite lazy and it was still quite early in the morning, but I had no trouble figuring out who was standing on the other side of my door. “Good morning,” Jenna greeted me the moment that I opened the door. “Good morning,” I replied as I wondered what she wanted so early in the morning. “Did I wake you?” Jenna asked with a slightly worried look on her face. “Not at all, actually, I've been awake for a while now, I just haven't made my way downstairs yet,” I replied casually. “Oh, I was afraid that I had disturbed you. Anyways, I'm here to give you this,” she said. That was when I realized that she was holding something in her hand. I looked down as she extended what she wanted to give to me towards me. Flowers? More accurately, what she was about to give to me was a pot of flowers. “Dahlia flowers…” I murmured as I took the pot of plant from her hands. “Are these dahlia flowers?” Jenna asked curiously. “Yes, these are dahlia flowers. Didn't you know?” I asked in wonder
“Did you perhaps forget your own birthday?” Brandon guessed quite correctly.“That's not the point,” I snapped back at him. The fact that he had caught on so effortlessly that I have forgotten my birthday only added fuel to the fire that was burning inside of me. It felt like everything that he was doing and saying was mocking me. “Do you want to take a look around the garden? If not, we can go inside,” Brandon suggested. “I don't want to take a look at the garden and I also don't want to go inside. What I want to know is why you gave me these dahlia flowers for my birthday present?” I ask as I quickly came to the point.“What's wrong? I thought you would like them,” Bradon replied and I could tell that my reaction wasn't what he was expecting or hoping for. I narrowed my eyes at him as my jaws clenched. After taking in a deep breath and letting it out slowly, I managed to let out a scoff at the ridiculousness of the situation. “Did Anthony tell you to do this? Did you get this i
The day of our birthday party finally arrived, and it felt like a very close rerun of what happened the year previously except for the fact that we were wearing red instead of the light shade of purple that my sister fancied the year before.We greeted the guests, we accepted the presents, and we played all the games that my sister had planned. Our parents socialized with the guests that they invited while the piles of presents kept piling up higher and higher. Everything passed by in the blur of events as I didn't take note of much. “Diana, that fiancé of yours is late,” mother commented before scrunching her face in a look of disapproval. It was so like her to nitpick on even the smallest things regarding the Vulkan family. “Well…” Diana murmured before smiling like an angel to cover up for Anthony’s delayed arrival. I also did my best to smile as I resisted the urge to remind my mother that the Vulkans were precisely the ones who were funding the spectacular birthday celebratio
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