I don't know what made Emma change her mind. She decided to come with me, I gave her my card for some last-minute shopping.And now, we're on our way to Bora Bora, and I like how she's starting to look excited. She peeks over the airplane window in excitement, marveling at the sight.Soon, we land and she doesn't look tired at all."You should get your rest, we'll meet again for dinner by seven," I say to her."Yes, great idea. In our 'separate' rooms I presume?" She hints, referring to our last encounter when we last traveled."Yeah, of course." I made sure I settled that properly this time.She nods, "Great! Just show me to my room first."I nod and do that, she doesn't wait for me to say goodbye before shutting the door in my face.Of course, I couldn't sleep, but I had to show up for dinner. Not only did I promise Emma, that some familiar faces would be here, so, if I'm around, the least I should do is show up for tonight's dinner.After taking a shower, some painkillers for my he
I'm glad Liam took me out of there, even though I tried my best not to show my discomfort.I heard what Serena said, every single word, she wasn't loud, but loud enough for me to hear. No matter how much I pretended I wasn't affected, my hands still shook, and my breath hitched, I wished Liam was the one seated by my side and not Marco, he looked uninterested in what was happening to me.On a normal day, I would've put Serena in her place, but today, I feel weak, and inferior, surrounding by these upper-class people, unable to breathe, wondering how expensive even their perfume is, how it felt like everyone was staring, wondering: 'Who is she?'.Liam has been quite attentive tonight, even when he draped his jacket over me once he noticed I got a chill.I must be quite affected because it's not even the slightest bit cold. Tonight, it's 27 degrees Celsius, the coldest it could get here, and I'm having a chill."Sorry about that," Liam mutters.I freeze. I wasn't expecting that, but I'l
I can't help but smile to myself at the sight of Emma gobbling every local delicacy we try. I haven't seen her this hungry before, and a part of me wants to save this moment and use it as blackmail later.Just kidding.Or maybe not."You must have been really hungry huh?" I ask, not being able to help myself.She choked on her drink before turning to give me a shocked look, "Do I look hungry?"I look at the few crumbs scattered over her mouth, some on her chin, her lips stained with oil, and a leaf stuck on her teeth.I let out a small snort before replying, "Not at all, I was just messing with you," I lie.She rolls her eyes and flips her hair, "That's what I thought.""It's getting late, wanna head back now?" I suggest."Yeah, we can, but, can we get another grilled meat sandwich?" She smiles and I can't help but smile too.The first function, Day 1: The Charity Outreach.I dread this day, and not for what you think. It's not that I detest the idea of using my money for a good cause
I place a palm on my chest to calm my frenzied breathing. How did she know that? How much more does she know? How safe am I?My mother, can't handle the media, the paparazzi, what if they've uncovered her location?Liam is on the phone, furious, speaking some French and pacing up and down, today is meant to be a charitable, happy day, but now I'm huddled up in this corner, still panting.I need to move my mother. If they know all this, if all this is now public knowledge, then, it won't take long for them to uncover er location, or, maybe…they have.I run my fingers through my hair and sigh. What was I expecting? This would've happened sooner or later, and now it has. I just didn't think it would come this suddenly, quite unexpectedly.All the information she had, and they now have, how did she get access to it? How deep did she dig? Or was I ratted out? Probably Isabella, or Serena.I wouldn't be surprised if it were that witch, that hag, I hate her. Humiliating me last night wasn't
She's so stubborn.I've told her several times we don't need to attend this evening's event, the All White pool party, but, she insists on going.I'm not sure why but she's so adamant."Help me zip this up please," she turns her bare back to me.I'm in her room to persuade her not to go, only to meet her almost ready, still insisting on attending.They'll be raw on her, they'll devour her, and I'll try my best to protect her, but, at the end of the day, some damage will still be done.Now, I've gotten some annoyingly concerning texts and calls regarding Emma's background, and, of course, some unreasonable, blatant rumors, and lies that sound too stupid to be believed. But, of course, people believe what they want to.Even though that may be some poorly conceived lie, too obvious to be true. As long as it fits their foolish narrative they gobble it up.Yes, this may be quite hypocritical of me. These are people I was raised among, people I was raised to interact with, raised with the s
"Liam has been looking your way all evening, are you guys fighting?" Odette asks."When are we not?" I chuckle awkwardly.He pisses me off most of the time, to be honest."What did he do this time?" She asks, genuinely intrigued.I shrug, "Nothing worse than before."She laughs and I join her.Out of curiosity, I can't help but ask, "What was his name?""Julian, if you're talking about my bodyguard, now ex-bodyguard," she smiles softly."What was it like?" I peer."Bliss, anger, passion, fear for what the future holds, altogether, it wasn't a bad experience," she reminisces, her face lights up.I nod and urge her to go on, "Talking about it might make you feel better.""He...he was assigned to me about two years ago. I hated having bodyguards, so, when my dad got rid of my former one, I thought that was it, because, I was free for a while. Julian was too serious, he took his job too seriously," she laughs."So, it was hard coming to terms with him, he was too damn stubborn, but, it tu
"What were you thinking?" Emma asks, still pressing on even after I told her I don't want to talk.I keep her silent throughout the whole ride, even in the helicopter, on the way back to the Hotel in Bora Bora.She eventually stops asking and I hate to admit, I'm glad.I'm glad because I also don't know why I reacted like that, because of something he said about her.The asshole was proud, satisfied with my reaction, that's what he wanted and I gave it to him. I've always hated that motherfucker, and I always will, I'll never believe a word that comes from that fucker's mouth.Fucking piece of shit.At the hotel, Emma doesn't stop at her door, rather she keeps following me."Emma," I warn. "Not now.""Bullshit, I won't leave till you tell me what's going on," she insists.Sometimes I forget how bullheaded she is.I ignore her and open my room with the key card, she comes in after me and I turn to face her."It's been a long evening, we both should get some rest," I suggest.She shakes
Liam and I decided to leave early, not staying for the last day and event of the Summer Soiree. I'm glad we made that decision, there was too much toxicity around.Now, back home, our plan to teach Marco and Serena a lesson begins to unfold. Is it safe to admit that I'm enjoying this and it feels like we're getting along? Like partners in crime? Perhaps that's the best type of relationship for us."What are you thinking about?" Liam asks, pulling me out of my thoughts."Nothing," I lie, trying to suppress a small smile creeping up my face."Anyway, I've pulled some strings with the investors I sought out, I used some blackmailing methods of course." He sips from his glass of wine, "I am my mother's son after all."I choke on my rice, that's funny, coming from him."I'm sorry," I apologize and wipe my mouth with a napkin after coughing into it."I just didn't expect you to have a sense of humor, that's all," I admit.He tilts his head, "Just being honest, sometimes, although it's a pai