A/N: Wow! Many of you got at good guessing about what will happen in this chapter.
Millenium Hotel.
It was Fuji's engagement party. Fuji and Lavinia, dressed in their formal attire, made an outstanding young couple. Lavinia's ethereal grace complemented beautifully with Fuji's elegance. The photographers clicked nonstop on the button of their camera, not wanting to miss one single move of the young couple. Like them, the guests of the engagement party were too blinded by Fuji's and Lavinia's blazing presence to notice something out of the ordinary. The shadow behind Fuji's and Lavinia's (stiff) faces was visible to only a very small number of people. The first strange point was that, from the moment Fuji and Lavinia stepped in the room, they didn't talk to each other once. The guests took it as the young couple being able to communicate with one another without needing to exchange words. Another strange point, Fuji was colder than his usual attitude. He was much more unapproachable and Lavinia seemed to want to vanish away. But because it was Fuji Syuusuke and Countess Lavinia de Lavoiselle they were talking about, the guests took their quietness as something absolutely normal coming from those two dreamy creations of the Lord. And the most important point, the two of them didn't exchange a single glance from the beginning of the party. The two fiancés stood side by side, but each of them looked at the opposite direction of the other. There was no harmony or happiness in the aura surrounding the young future husband and wife.
On the stage set in front of the guest, a man, appointed as the master of the ceremony, stepped up to the mike.
"Ladies and gentlemen," the man started, "Thank you for your presence here today to celebrate this wonderful event. You will be the privileged testimonies of the first step in the union of the Fuji family's heir, Fuji Syuusuke, and the heiress of the Count Maximilien George de Lavoiselle of France, Countess Miyabi Lavinia de Lavoiselle." The guests clapped their hands. "But before everything, Fuji-dono would like to have a word with you." The man turned to Fuji-dono, bowing respectfully to her and showed her the way to the front. "Fuji-dono, please this way."
The guests clapped their hand again as Fuji-dono stepped on the stage under the flashing lights of the photographers.
"Ladies and gentlemen," Fuji-dono started, "Thank you for your presence here today to celebrate my grandson's engagement with the Countess Lavinia de Lavoiselle. From this moment, the Fuji family will shine brighter in the future with the union between grace and intelligence."
The guests applauded Fuji-dono as she climbed down the stage after her short speech. Brief and strong like always, that was how Fuji-dono's speech had always been qualified. Everything she needed to say, she expressed them all in only one sentence. The master of the ceremony took back his place on the stage.
"Now presenting to you the two honored young people of the night, Fuji Syuusuke and Countess Miyabi Lavinia de Lavoiselle," the master introduced dramatically. The guests gave a loud applause once more as Fuji and Lavinia walked onto the stage. Once they were in the middle of the stage, the applause concerto became stronger and more lights flashed in the room under the hand of the photographers.
"And now, it's time for the exchanging of the engagement rings," the master of the ceremony continued. From behind the stage, Touga and Sora, prettily dressed, walked out, each holding a cushion in their hand. On their cushion, a ring was attached with ivory silk ribbons. Touga carried the ring for the fiancé while Sora had the one for the fiancée. And, like Fuji and Lavinia, they too didn't smile. Unlike the many guests of the room, Touga and Sora sensed the true feelings behind their uncle's and Lavinia's calmness. Touga and Sora stopped next to the fiancés. Touga stood next to Lavinia while Sora stood next to Fuji. Fuji brought his eyes on Sora's cushion, fixing his eyes on the engagement ring with no expression in his eyes. They were lifeless. He didn't do anything to take the ring. Fuji-dono became impatient.
"Syuusuke," Fuji-dono called him back to his senses. Fuji bit his lips. Slowly, he raised his hand to detach the ribbon and take the ring on Sora's cushion. Next, he took Lavinia's left hand in his. Lavinia stiffened and her hand was trembling, but Fuji saw nothing. He was too caught up in his own emotions.
'Ryoma…' he thought, his heart aching. Fuji positioned the ring in front of Lavinia's ring finger and closed his eyes. He didn't want to see anything of what he was going to do.
'Ryoma, I'm sorry!' Fuji wanted to cry. With his shaking hand, he started to slide the ring onto Lavinia's finger.
But, to everyone surprise, as soon as the ring touched Lavinia's finger, Lavinia rudely retreated her hand from Fuji's hand.
"No! I can't!" Lavinia yelled, trembling.
Immediately, many shocked "Oh!" could be hear in the room.
"Mi-Miyabi…?" Lavinia's parents stuttered.
"Lavinia!!!" Fuji-dono exclaimed, scandalized, but Lavinia ignored her. Lavinia turned her head away and closed her eyes.
"I-I can't…" Lavinia repeated, tears rolled down her cheeks.
"What?" All the guests in the room, including Fuji-dono gasped.
"What is happening?"
"Why did she…?"
"How come…?"
The guests started to whisper among them, totally shocked. But no one was more shocked than Fuji-dono. She was furious.
"Lavinia!" Fuji-dono reprimanded harshly. "What is the meaning of this?!" she demanded.
"I-I can't…" Lavinia muttered again. She covered her face with her hands and desperately cried.
"Lavinia-san…" Fuji murmured, dumbfounded. He too was shocked. He didn't expect Lavinia to react like this.
"Syuusuke, I'm sorry… I cannot continue to do this…" Lavinia sobbed out.
"Lavinia-san…" Fuji whispered, feeling a little bit of pity for the poor girl in front of him.
"Mi-Miyabi…?!" Lavinia's father stuttered.
"Miyabi…" Lavinia's mother came to her little girl to talk to her.
"Père, mère, je ne peux pas faire cela…" Lavinia talked to her parent, "Pardonnez-moi, mais je ne peux pas." (Translation: Father, mother, I cannot do this. Forgive me, but I cannot.)
". . ." Laviniva's parents didn't say anything. They couldn't say anything. They clearly saw that their daughter was suffering and that made them sad. They also felt guilty because it was because of them that their little girl was suffering.
"Lavinia, explain yourself to me!" Fuji-dono ordered, but Lavinia ignored Fuji-dono again. Instead, Lavinia turned to face Fuji's parents to answer Fuji-dono's demand. Lavinia felt that it was to Fuji's parents and to Fuji that she owed an explanation. She didn't feel that she owed anything to Fuji-dono.
"Fuji-fusai, I'm sorry, but I cannot marry your son," Lavinia addressed to Fuji's parents, "Syuusuke is a wonderful young man and I know that he will make a marvelous husband and he will make the one he will marry happy until his death. But I cannot marry him." Fuji's parents patiently listened to Lavinia, more particularly Fuji's mother. "I respect you too much to lie to you," Lavinia continued, "I like Syuusuke, but not enough to be his wife. If I marry him with while knowing this, it is worst than betraying him and your family. I don't want to marry Syuusuke because I don't want to chain him all his life to me when I know that I cannot make him happy. That's the reason why I cannot marry him," Lavinia finished.
Fuji's mother camly talked to Lavinia, not detaching her eyes from the young Countess.
"And what do you mean by this, Lavinia-san?" Fuji's mother asked. Lavinia bit her lips and bent down her head.
"I…" Lavinia hesitated. "I already love someone…" she whispered. However, it was loud enough for the the people standing near the stage to heard her.
"Oh!" a guest in front exclaimed in shock.
"What? What did she say? I didn't hear!"
"She said that she already loves someone else."
"What!? For real?"
"Who? Who is it?"
The noisy whispers of the guests concerning the last turn of the event spread thoughout the the room. Meanwhile, the shock of Lavinia's words still lingered among the main characters of the event.
"Miyabi!" Lavinia's parents and Fuji-dono exclaimed in horror, Fuji-dono more scandalously than Lavinia's parents.
Syuusuke opened his eyes wide to look at Lavinia. He never noticed that Lavinia could have someone in her heart. It was also true that he never took the time to make a better acquaintance of her, to ask for her opinion of this forced engagement.
". . ." Fuji's mother still hadn't say anything. She kept staring at Lavinia. Syuusuke's mother saw Lavinia's secret glance at someone in the lounge. She followed Lavinia's eyes to see a young man around twenty with green-black hair and golden-like eyes among the guests. It was Ryoga.
Ryoga, who came with Yagyuu, also stared at Lavinia. His eyes and Lavinia's crossed and met each other in the air.
'Miyabi…' Ryoga thought.
A/N: Yes, Miyabi loves Ryoga.
Post on Saturday December 26, 2009.