The Beaumont Study

I woke up the next morning to my phone ringing incessantly. I groaned as I fished for it under my pillow.

"Hello?"

"Drake! Drake, thank God!" Maxwell screamed in my ear. "Oh, sorry did I wake you?"

"Yes."

"Oh! I'm so sorry! I didn't realize how early it was."

Yeah, but don't worry about it, I just stayed up almost all night and literally just got to sleep, but whatever. "Fine. What's up?"

"Well… we kind of have this situation, and we really, really, really need your help! See, we got here and Bertrand found this note, and the catering crew canceled and the house staff won't be here until tomorrow, and-"

"Maxwell!" I breathed in deeply. "What do you need?"

"Do you think you could come over and help with the arrangements? Please?"

I looked at my phone. 10 am. "I'll be there in a couple of hours."

"Thank you! Oh Drake thank you so much!"

"Uh huh. I'll see you."

"Ok-" I hung up the phone, my head falling back onto my pillow.

I rubbed my face, trying to get rid of all this exhaustion. I got up, showered and went to the kitchen for some coffee, before getting in my car and driving to the Beaumont Estate.

It was eerily quiet when I got there, with not a soul to be seen. "Hello?" I cupped my hands around my mouth, "Hello?!"

Nothing. I could hear the crickets. Well, there was only so many places they could be… in this giant mansion. I decided to check the kitchen first. I remember Maxwell said the catering crew cancelled, so odds were that he was in there trying to make something for tomorrow.

"Hello? Anyone in here?"

"Drake!"

I walked into the kitchen to find Myers and Maxwell preparing the appetizers. Myers stared at me with big brown eyes, and I had to look away.

"Drake! Drake! Drake! You came!" Maxwell cheered, jumping in his spot behind the counter.

Thank God he's here… I don't think I could handle being alone with Myers right now. "Yeah, yeah. Calm down, it's not that big of a deal."

"Yes, it is! We are friends!"

"You promised me whiskey."

"Friendship whiskey!"

"Drake… you made it." Myers kept looking at me with wide brown eyes, almost as if she couldn't believe I was really here.

"Yeah, yeah. Behold your knight in shining armor. Alright, I'm here now. What needs to be done?"

"Milla and I are plating some fancy appetizers. Come join us…"

I deliberately took a spot next to Maxwell and began assembling the caviar-paprika disaster. I really just couldn't be next Myers, could barely look at her without remembering last night. And I definitely avoided all the furtive looks she gave me, refusing to meet her eyes.

Between the three of us, we finished pretty quickly. Maxwell was about to get started on the main course, when his phone rang. He looked down and sighed in relief.

"Oh, thank heavens. Bertrand found another company to handle the main courses. Let me tell you, nobody would've wanted the science experiments I was about to produce."

I rolled my eyes. "Dodged a bullet there."

"What's next on the 'We're in Panic Mode' list?" Myers asked.

"Hmm…" Maxwell looked around. "I should stay here and clean the kitchen, but Bertrand might need help in the main hall. Last I saw of him, he was looking for cleaning supplies…"

"Oh boy."

I jumped at the chance of sending her away. "I'll stay here and help Maxwell. We'll come find you once we finish down here."

My stomach turned at the disappointed look on her face. What is it with you and the sad puppy eyes? "Okay…" she pursed her lips and with one final glance, she left the kitchen.

Maxwell looked back and forth between me and the door, but since I really didn't want to deal with it, I picked up a cloth and began wiping down the counter.

"It's you!" Maxwell shouted suddenly.

I turned. "Yeah, it's me. What the hell are you talking about?"

"You! You're the guy!"

I threw the cloth back in the sink. "What guy? What are you talking about?"

"The guy! You're the other guy Milla's falling for!"

My heart nearly stopped. Quick, play it cool! "What?! What are you- That's so- Why would you think-"

"You're stuttering!" Maxwell pointed his finger at my chest. "You never stutter!"

I rubbed my face, stifling a groan. So much for playing it cool… dumbass. Okay, since I can't play it cool, I guess I'll play it dumb. "Maxwell… I don't even understand what you're talking about. Care to enlighten me?"

Maxwell eyed me suspiciously for a moment, before sighing. "When we were riding on the mountain trail, Milla told me she was falling for someone else here in court."

Oh… shit. That's why she'd looked so upset! I remembered her face as Maxwell started freaking out.

She told him… I couldn't believe she told him. A part of me couldn't believe she'd be so stupid! But another part wanted to jump into somersaults at the words she'd used.

I shook my head slightly, turning back to Maxwell. "Did she say who it was?"

"No…"

"Then why in the world would you think it's me? It could be anyone." I made a show of snapping my fingers, my eyes widening with realization. "It could be Hana! Or… it could be you. Have you even thought about that?"

Maxwell gave me a small grin and shook his head. "Nice try, Drake. I know I look and act stupid most of the time, but that doesn't mean I am."

Crap.

He continued. "When she told me, I was between you and Hana. You two are the only people who she's gotten close with here at court. But the way she looked at you just now said it all."

"Why are you telling me this? Yeah, we've gotten close, but that doesn't mean we're anything more than friends." I asked defensively.

"I didn't say you were! And maybe you don't even feel the same way, but she's fallen for you!"

I cringed at his words.

"You don't feel the same… right?"

I looked away. God, I just couldn't deal with this right now!

"Drake!"

"What?!" I snapped. "What do you want me to say?! That I don't feel anything for her? That she's just a friend? That I haven't tried telling myself a million times that she's here for Liam? That I haven't cursed my best friend a million times simply for being the goddamned Crown Prince of Cordonia? For getting to marry her when this shit show of a competition is over?" My chest rose and fell as Maxwell stared at me wide eyed.

"Drake, I-I-I…"

I turned, storming to the door. "Don't worry about it. I won't let her do anything that gets in the way of winning this thing. Camilla will marry Liam, and your house will have all its glory and honor and riches restored."

I walked out, slamming the door and leaving him gaping in the kitchen.

"Drake, wait!"

Goddamnit! Couldn't he see I just wanted to be alone?

"Drake!"

"What?!" I whirled on him.

"I'm sorry! I'm really, really sorry. I… I didn't know how you felt."

Some of my anger dissipated when I saw how sincere he was. I sighed. "It's fine. It's not your fault." He nodded, regarding me with a sad expression. "Let's just not… mention this again, okay?"

"But-"

"I don't want to talk about it anymore." I said through gritted teeth.

Maxwell sighed, but relented.

We stood there for a couple minutes, just… staring at each other without saying anything. I tried to clamp down on my feelings, remembering we still had a lot of work to do. "Come on, let's go finish up the kitchen." We turned back, and got back to work.

After we were done, Maxwell went in search of Myers and I went to go help Bertrand out in the ballroom.

"Ah, Drake! There you are." Bertrand handed me a large box filled up to the rim with flowers. "I need you to arrange these into proper centerpieces. You'll find vases on the tables."

Seriously? Not even a please? I gave him a pointed look.

"Uh… Please."

"Sure." I grumbled, and got to work. I looked up some simple arrangements on my phone, and copied that with the flowers. Then I took a step back to admire my work. Not bad…

I went to the next few tables, recreating the arrangement. I looked at Bertrand, who was muttering under his breath while frantically checking his phone. I heard snippets of 'where could it be' and 'someone withdrew money from the account'.

Okay… something's definitely going on here.

Myers voice nearly made me jump and drop the vase. "Why, Drake, I never knew you had such a flare for peonies."

I looked at her from the corner of my eye. "The things I do for you people…" I grumbled.

She gave me a small smile and got to work next to me. My eyes couldn't help but linger at the curve of her neck, as she lifted all her hair up into a bun. Focus! I quickly averted my eyes, and saw Maxwell and Bertrand arguing in the back of the room.

"Myers."

"Yeah?"

"Anything about any of this seem off to you?"

"Huh?"

I jerked my head towards Maxwell and Bertrand.

"What I don't get is that this money was in our account yesterday!"

"I...I don't know anything about our finances, Bertrand. You know that."

"You might not know anything, but you're still causing me problems! You're the only other person with access to that account!"

"I…"

"This better not be to pay off one of your idiotic credit card purchases. Last month you said you spent three thousand on a jet ski. What is it this time?"

"I told you, I don't know what you're talking about."

"You're lucky I don't have time to deal with you right now."

Myers stared back at me with raised eyebrows. "Well? Doesn't it seem like something weird is going on?"

"Yeah… it seemed like something suspicious is going on with House Beaumont…"

"Exactly."

"I wonder what's actually going on with their money issues…"

"I'm going to find out what it is. Besides, it sounds like Maxwell's really in over his head this time. I think he really needs my help… But knowing him, he'd never ask.

"I didn't realize you and Maxwell were that close."

I smirked. "After all the time I've spent with him there past few weeks, I'm starting to find him less annoying."

She smirked right back. "High praise."

"Besides, we scrubbed the kitchen cabinets together. I think I'm invested now."

"Sure…" She considered me thoughtfully for a second. "Actually, Drake… there's something else we should talk about. About last night…"

"Last night?" Please… don't.

"What you said… about how you feel…"

Please stop… "Camilla… I don't think we should talk about this here…"

"Then somewhere private? Please?"

"I'm not sure that's a good idea."

"Why not?" She looked at me with sad eyes, the corners of her mouth pulling downwards.

"The way you look at me, sometimes, Myers…" I took a deep breath, "If we're alone again together, I'm not sure I'll be able to stop myself from doing something stupid."

"Drake…" she reached her hand out to me.

"Drake! Camilla!" Bertrand's voice boomed from the other side of the room, making Myers jump.

"Eep! Er, I mean, yes?"

"Why are you two standing around chatting like ladies at an afternoon tea? You both said you'd help, so help!"

Are you kidding me? "Right away, Duke Ramsford." I glowered at him.

Who the fuck does he think he is? Yeah, he may be a fucking Duke, but that doesn't give him the right to treat people like crap, or to take out his frustrations on other people! I mean, he's not even paying me, or Myers! He should be grateful we're even here, helping out! Fuck this. I'm going to find out what's really going on. I left my vase on the table and walked to the study.

I began rifling through some paper on the desk, when I heard the door close with a click.

"Drake? What are you doing here?"

"Myers. So you followed me, huh?" This is the Beaumont study."

"How'd you even know this was here?" She asked as she took in the intimidating room.

I shrugged. "I used to come to this house a lot, back in the day. We ran in the same circles, being friends with Liam and all that… My sister Savannah used to think the Beaumont brothers were the epitome of courtly life. She practically worshiped them."

"And you didn't."

"I found them to be more of an acquired taste."

"You mean they both annoyed the hell out of you."

I snorted. "Yup. Pretty much." I couldn't help but smile. "Whenever I got tired of their antics, I'd sneak off and come here to their study."

She chuckled. "So… your sister was the fun one?"

I knew she meant it as a joke, but… damn if it didn't hurt to be reminded she wasn't here anymore. "Yes, she was…"

Some of the hurt must've shown on my face, because she immediately reached out to me, an apologetic look in her face. "Drake, I'm sorry…"

I stepped back, raising my hands in front of me. "That's okay, Myers… it's just… I don't even know where she is now."

"And you don't have any way of finding her?"

"She stopped answering my calls and deleted all of her social media. Wherever she is, all I know is that she doesn't want to be found. Even by me. And you know what? I don't blame her. I failed her. I don't even know how, but I failed her. I didn't protect her from… from whatever it was that made her leave."

Drake, I'm sure you did everything you could…"

"I've spent hours trying to figure out if I could've done something different… if I could've done more."

"Hey… it's not your fault. Maybe it's one of those things she just needs to deal with on her own…"

I sighed. "Maybe. But she's my little sister… I helped her learn how to tie her shoes." I glimpsed at Myers and saw the corners of her mouth quirked upwards, her eyes softening. "It kills me to think there's something she didn't think she could trust me with."

"Do you have any idea what it was about?"

"She was so happy… and then one day, after one of these Beaumont parties, she wasn't. She locked herself in her room, and I could hear her crying. A couple of days later, all of her things were packed, and she was just… gone." I looked away, not able to handle her staring at me like… like she wanted to hug me or something. It wasn't pity, but… "But… that's enough about that…"

An awkward silence fell on the room, and I headed to the other side of it, looking around the bookcase.

"So," her voice broke the silence, "this is the Beaumont study… Are we allowed back here?"

She walked around the room, stopping at the shelf that held all the trophies and family ribbons. Their victory wall.

"They never lock the door, so I guess they don't care that much about who comes in. Besides, the point of this room is to show off." I gestured to the shelf she was looking at. "As you can see, the Beaumont family has a lot to brag about."

"I guess Bertrand and Maxwell had a habit of winning…" She said pensively, no doubt thinking about herself, and the pressure they were putting on her to win Liam's hand.

"A family tradition."

"I can see why Bertrand is always so worried about upholding the Beaumont name."

"Their house goes back a long way. I could never pity a rich kid like Bertrand, but I come very close to it sometimes." It must've been hard, growing up and never really being allowed to be a kid. To have been constantly sermoned about family, and duty, and honor. To just be born and already have to fulfill all these expectations. "He's got a lot of pressure on him. I think his parents gave him a lot of talks about his heritage and Cordonia… And it's not like Maxwell's much help with anything."

She smiled indulgently, as if talking about a rambunctious toddler and not a 27 year old man. "Maxwell tries. Sometimes."

"Heh. Maxwell's always been more interested in having fun. He couldn't care less about prestige and honor. That's one of the things I actually like about him."

She turned back to the victory wall, her eyes twinkling as she looked at a picture of Bertrand and Maxwell on horseback. Her eyes were so expressive… they weren't like the other ladies here at court, whose eyes were unreadable. She was so sincere, so easy to read, like an open book. She turned back to me and caught me staring. I looked away quickly.

"Drake…" she stepped closer tentatively, "we need to talk about us."

"There is no us." I said sharply.

She grimaced. "Drake… I don't think you mean that."

"Myers… the truth is that my best friend is head over heels for you. So it really doesn't matter how I feel, because that's where it has to end. Liam is the only one who's ever looked out for me. The only one who gave a damn about me after my dad… After he was gone. The rest of the court was ready to cast us out, nevermind that he died protecting the Royal family."

"Drake… I'm so sorry. That's terrible."

Just so you know what kind of place you've come to. These people… they're heartless, they don't care about us; about the "commoners" that work for them, serve them and give their life for them. To them, it's just… what we're supposed to do.

"I didn't care much, but my mom and Savannah… it would've devastated them. Liam made sure we had a place at the palace as long as we wanted one. I could never betray him by falling for his girl." There. I said it. "So that's what it all comes down to, Myers. Whatever I feel… it doesn't matter."

"Drake… it does matter. You matter. Your feelings are just as important as Liam's, and everyone else's in this goddamned place!" I took a step back, startled by her outburst. She pinched the bridge of her nose, trying to compose herself. "Besides, what about how I feel?"

My heart began beating a mile a minute. "How you feel… of course I care how you feel. I just didn't think-"

"No, you didn't, and I don't know if it's because you're oblivious or in denial."

"What are you saying, Myers?" I asked wearily.

She squared her shoulders, raising her chin and looking me straight in the eye. "I'm saying I want you."

There was thunderous crack on the planet. Or it may have been just me; all of my resolve to stay away from her crumbling. I gulped. "Oh, Myers. You shouldn't have said that."

I took a deep breath, trying to steady myself, trying to regain any semblance of resolve to stay away from her, to run.

She took the opportunity to step closer. "Drake… I want you." Please stop. "And I'll keep saying it, as long as it takes for you to believe it."

My feet walked towards her of their own volition. We came together, and I ran my fingers through her hair as she rose on her tiptoes. Our lips met in a desperate kiss, as she wrapped her arms around my neck pulling me closer. My tongue begged entrance to her mouth, and she greedily conceded. I ran my hands up and down her waist, pulling her closer to me, pressing her tiny frame against mine. Until finally, we pulled away, both of us breathless. She pressed her forehead against mine, her hand on my chest, over my heart. I was sure she could feel it thumping madly. "Myers…"

"Yes?" She gave me the warmest, most beautiful smile I'd ever seen.

"I've wanted this for so long…" I confessed, my voice husky.

"So have I…"

Those words undid me, and I pulled her closer to me. She bunched her fists on the collar on my shirt, her mouth hungry and demanding, as I ran my hands down her back, down her waist, and settling on her hips, pulling her closer to me. My mouth left hers to taste her skin, her neck, her jaw. She sighed, lifting her head to give me easier access. "Drake." She whispered my name, the sound of her voice and the scent of her hair making me crazy.

I dipped down to brush her ear with my lips, kissing her skin slowly. "I didn't think this would ever be more than a fantasy…"

Her finger slowly crawled up my neck, bunching into my hair and pulling my head back. She showered me with kisses up my neck and my jaw. I groaned. "Are you saying you've thought about this before?"

I chuckled. "More than I'd like to admit."

I cupped her neck, lifting her face and bringing her mouth back to me again. The taste of her was heady and intoxicating, and oh so addictive. I couldn't get enough of her. I just wanted to stay here, in this room, doing exactly this for the rest of my life.

Which is exactly what Liam wants to do… be with her for the rest of his life.

I broke the kiss.

Are you kidding me?! I screamed at that horrible voice in my head.

Well, somebody has to remind you of your best friend…

"Drake? What's wrong?" Myers looked at me with eyes filled with concern.

My bloody conscience, that's what's wrong… "Someone could come in here…" And now you're lying! I stuttered, "One of them might come looking for us… We shouldn't just…"

"Lucky for us, this door has a lock. A lock I might've used in case something like this were to happen…" Myers quipped, grinning mischievously at me. I couldn't help the corner of my mouth quirking up in a crooked smile. Of course you did.

"In case something like this were to happen?"

"What can I say? You're not the only one who's thought about it." She fiddled with the button on my collar.

She rose once again on her tiptoes, but I shook my head. With my hands still on her hips, I pushed her away ever so slightly, so I could look her in the eye. "Even without a drop of whiskey, why do I feel drunk when I'm around you, Myers?"

That beautiful, dimpled grin once again made its appearance, warming me up from head to toe. "Drake…"

Dude, stop! Think of Liam! You've already fucked up once, you can still get out of this without hurting her or your best friend further!

Shut up! She said she wants me! She kissed me! When has that ever happened? Don't I deserve a chance at some happiness too?

Not when it's at the cost of your best friend's happiness!

Her touch on my cheek brought me out of the war in my mind and back to the moment. She ran her thumb over my cheekbone ever so gently, almost reverently, looking at me like… like I was the most beautiful thing on the face of this earth.

I felt terrible.

"Don't smile at me like that. I don't deserve it. We shouldn't be doing this. I don't know what I was thinking."

"Hey…" she shushed comfortingly.

"Myers, don't." I pulled away. There was no way I would be able to leave if she kept looking at me like that.

Myers looked stricken, but quickly composed herself. "Should we leave?"

We both knew the real question she was asking was if she should leave. And the truth is I never wanted her leave… I met her eyes, and looked away, sighing.

"Soon… but we came in here with a mission, didn't we?"

"Something about searching for clues to the Beaumont mystery, I think?"

"Right." I looked away from her, and began searching the desk. I opened the first drawer, and right on top was a huge envelope, brimming with money. "Whoa!"

"What is it?" Myers stepped towards the desk.

"If I'm not mistaken, this is a fat envelope full of cash."

Myers' eyes widened as she took in all the money inside the envelope. "That's… that's what that is, all right. But, why is it here in the study."

I turned the envelope.

201 Rue de Trois Freres

75108 Paris

FRANCE

"There's an address on the back… a French address! It looks like someone was going to mail this out today."

"Drake… that has to be the missing money that Bertrand was talking about. We've got to take it to Maxwell."

"Really? You want to trust Maxwell Beaumont with an envelope of cash?"

"Let's just say I trust him more than I trust Bertrand right now…" She pursed her lips. "Besides… did you see the way he was yelling at Maxwell? He's always looking down on him, berating him. He's got Maxwell so stressed out, it's…" she clenched her fists. "Sorry… I just hate it when people get stressed and take it out on others."

I rolled my eyes. "Yeah, me too."

She took out her phone. "I'll text him to meet us here." After typing quickly, she regarded me with a thoughtful expression. "I don't have your number."

"What?"

"I don't have your number." She repeated, shaking her phone in her palm. "I just realized… I have everyone's number but yours."

"And…"

"...can you give it to me?" She said slowly.

"Is this your way of asking me out, Myers?" I teased.

"Well, how could I do that if I don't have your number?" She grinned.

I shook my head. "Fine." She took out her phone and typed as I dictated. Then she called me, so her number was registered in my phone.

"There. Now you have mine too. Aren't you lucky?"

I really am. "I think it's the other way around, but whatever."

She shoved me playfully. "Oh, I'll add you to the group chat!" Her eyes lit up as she took out her phone again.

"You guys have a group chat?"

"Yeah."

"How come nobody added me?"

"I'm the group administrator. I was going to make Liam administrator, so he could add you, but then I forgot."

My phone beeped with a new notification: Myers had added you to the group "❤️💛 Cordonia Rules! 💚💙💜".

"Seriously? Cordonia Rules heart, heart heart?"

She laughed, shrugging her shoulders. "It was all I thought of at the time!"

The door knob jiggled, followed by knocking. "Hey, you guys?! Open up!" Maxwell's voice carried into the room.

"Oh!" Myers rushed to open the door.

"Hey, what are you guys doing here? And why was the door locked?" His eyes narrowing as they flitted from Myers to me.

"We were looking for clues for the Beaumont Mystery!" Myers informed him cheerily, her hands on her waist. "I locked the door so that Bertrand wouldn't come in and yell at us for being in here."

"Uh huh…" He shot me this look that screamed do you think I was born yesterday?, but I put forth my best poker face and met his gaze cooly. After a tense moment, he shook his head, muttering under his breath, "what is it about this damn study…"

"Huh?" Myers tilted her head, confused.

"Nothing. So, what's up? Your text sounded serious."

"This is serious. Drake and I were in here, and we found this envelope full of cash." She took the envelope from my hand and gave it to Maxwell.

"Oh, uh, wow! That… that must be the money that Bertrand was looking for. Thank you! You guys saved my life. Bertrand was ready to kill me over this."

"No problem."

Maxwell's face fell. "I think it's too late to get the staff back, but at least we found it."

"But… how do you think the money ended up here?"

"Oh, you know, it's been so crazy lately. Bertrand probably put it here to give to the staff and then forgot about it or something."

That… didn't make any sense. I mean, I know the guy's stressed, but now more than ever, he would not forget where he stashed this amount of cash.

"I don't think that Bertrand would forget something like that…"

Maxwell looked uneasy for a split second, before breaking out into a smile. "Yeah, I'll have to talk to him about it."

I don't buy it.

I had this nagging feeling that Maxwell was lying through his teeth right now. Something's not right.

"You know, you can always tell us if you're in some kind of trouble."

"Oh, no more than usual." He pocketed the envelope. "Anyway, thanks for finding it! I owe you guys!" He moved quickly to the door. "But now we better get back to work before Bertrand realizes we've stopped cleaning!"

Myers and I shared a look as he stepped out.

"Something is off. You getting that feeling too?"

"Yeah… It seems like Maxwell might be hiding something."

"And I want to know what it is."

"Maybe we'll find more clues while prepping the house?"

"We'll see. Keep an eye out, but try not to be obvious about it."

"Right." She nodded sternly.

We both moved towards the door, our hands touching the door knob at the same time. She quickly pulled hers back, as I opened the door, and gestured for her. "Ladies first."

"So chivalrous."

I grinned. "Only for you, Myers. Only for you."

She laughed and we made our way back to the ballroom.

Later that night, I was finally finished with the bloody bedrooms, and went down to the foyer to let Bertrand know; except when I got there, Bertrand was nowhere to be seen, and Liam was here with Myers.

I quickly hid behind the wall, blatantly eavesdropping.

"- shouldn't be here at all. The party isn't until tomorrow."

I sneaked a peek. While Myers was smiling widely - her waitress smile - I knew her well enough by now to detect the irritated undertones in her voice. It's probably cause she's tired. Bertrand worked her pretty hard today.

"Something about you consistently compels me to do things I shouldn't." He took a step closer to her, taking her hand. "I arrived early because I knew you'd be here, and I wanted to see you before the festivities began."

"Aww…"

I couldn't help my fists clenching as a wave of jealousy hit me.

"I know all of this must seem strange to you… jet setting around Cordonia, attending grand, formal events… I imagine it's much different from dating as you usually know it in New York."

"Heh. You could say that, yeah."

"I appreciate that you've thrown yourself into courtly life with such enthusiasm, but I wanted to… meet you halfway, so to speak."

My stomach tightened. Why was I even listening to this?

"Oh?"

"I also have this idea… it's maybe a little silly, but… will you go on a date with me?"

"A… date?"

"My first true date. I want it to be with you."

"We're on an estate, surrounded by acres of vineyards. Where would we go? What would be do?"

"Leave that to me. I promise you, it'll be a proper first date. Tonight, I just want to be Liam and Camilla, two normal people going on a normal date. What do you say? I know it's a bit last minute…"

I felt crushed. Realistically speaking, there is no girl in the world who would say no to such an earnest propo-

"Liam, I'm sorry… it's just… I'm a little tired after today." What?! My jaw dropped to the floor in disbelief. She was… turning him down. "Maxwell and I have been preparing for the party since this morning… We made so many appetizers…"

As she rambled on, apologizing to Liam and making excuses, I had to fight the giddiness that coursed through my body, making me want to jump up and down with joy. And then, of course, I felt like the terrible piece of shit friend I am.

It's just… she'd turned down Liam… for me… That has never happened before.

You know, you don't have to be so happy about it.

I'm sorry! It's just… I couldn't believe it. Everything she'd said this morning was true…

"... I'd hate to keep you up then. Good night, Lady Camilla." He took her hand and kissed it, failing to hide his disappointment… at least from me.

"Good night, Liam…" she rose on her tiptoes, and gave him a quick peck on the cheek, before turning up the stairs to her room.

I, very carefully and quietly, stepped back from the wall and headed back to my room.

A/N: I want to thank everyone who's taken the time to review this story, and a special shoutout to guest reviewers Ana, Claire and DrakeLover. Since I can't thank you via PM, I'll do it through here. All of your kind words motivate me to keep writing.

Also, I added the bit with Maxwell, because:

1. I'm convinced he's smarter than he lets on, and if your MC told him she's falling for someone else, he wouldn't rest until he fiynd out who.

2. I don't like it how, when your MC declares her love for someone other tham Liam, nobody really comments on it, so I figured ut was because they all suspected something was going on between your MC and their chosen love interest as well.