“Shall we?” Bradon asked as he offered 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 engagent announcent to co to an end. Even though he should have been reassured now that Diana was taking my place at the ceremony, it seed 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 , I had no idea how Diana managed to convince Desmond to let her take my place at the engagent ceremony, but I was glad of the outco, regardless of the reason. Seeing Diana with Desmond gave a funny feeling. Although I had to say they looked great together, there was sothing that felt very strained between the two of them. Desmond clearly wasn’t exactly pleased that Diana had taken my place. I tried my best to ignore his intense gaze when I caught him staring at . Thankfully, there was so much distance between us and so many honorable guests present that the king wouldn’t have much ti to entertain personally.
The atmosphere was peaceful, yet there seed to be a subtle tension boiling underneath the surface. Everyone seed like they had sothing they wanted to say but probably thought it better to hold their peace. Just when I thought the event would start and end peacefully without any unexpected developnts, suddenly, I could hear loud protesting noises coming from outside. A chill ran down my spine as I began to suspect that trouble had begun brewing right outside. Everyone else must have heard the noises coming from outside as well because suddenly, everybody seed very restless.
“I wonder what’s going on?” Bradon whispered close to my ear. He interlaced his fingers with mine and gave my hand a squeeze as if to tell that everything would turn out fine.
The guards were on alert as security tightened. Whatever was happening outside didn’t seem to subside. One of Desmond’s advisors approached him and whispered in his ear, and I figured the man was updating Desmond on the situation outside. I felt a mix of curiosity and worry at this unexpected turn of events. Whatever the man had said must have gotten enough of Desmond’s attention for him to pause the upcoming ceremony.
“It seems that the king is going to deal with it himself,” Bradon whispered to as we both watched the king stand up from his seat and walk away. Diana looked quite confused and slightly flustered before regaining her calm and making her way to catch up with Desmond.
“Shall we go and take a look outside as well?” Bradon suggested exactly what I had in mind.
The closer I got to the exit, the clearer I could hear the chanting from outside. By that ti, it was apparently clear that there was a protest right outside the building where we were. A dark sense of déjà vu washed over when I clearly heard what the crowd was chanting.
“Howrecker! Howrecker! Howrecker!”
I should have realized that the peaceful days leading to the royal engagent announcent were nothing more than the calm before the storm. My father had been unusually quiet after the ruin of his political career. At first, I thought he might be looking for support from other noble families, or perhaps he had simply given up on all hope and resigned to a simple life sowhere out of the public eye.
Regardless of what I thought, I had to admit that it never quite occurred to that my father would have been plotting one of the worst revenge sches against . After all, it was Desmond who decided to ruin my father and our family the way he did. Of course, in truth, I was the one who plotted revenge against him and our family with Desmond’s and Bradon’s help. Whether my father knew about that, or if he was simply acting out of anger because I refused to help him, I would never know. However, I was absolutely certain that the gathering of the mob was not rely a coincidence.
I glanced over at Diana, and her face was as white as a sheet from the pure shock she was undoubtedly feeling. Once again, my father did not hesitate to exploit my weakness. Little did he know that, just like many other things in my life, nothing is really as it seems.
“Diana,” I whispered under my breath so softly that I was certain no one else could have heard as I stared at my sister’s ghastly face with worry.
...
**During Our High School Years**
“Leya, I think I found the love of my life,” my sister said excitedly before letting out a girly giggle. Her face was flushed a beautiful shade of pink, and that seed to make everything around her glow from the effect of her extre happiness.
“Are you serious?” I asked with widened eyes, without hiding my surprise and joy.
“Of course. I’m talking about true love and not just so crush like before,” my sister replied with conviction.
“Who is he? Do I know him?” I asked curiously.
“It’s a secret,” my sister replied before winking mischievously at .
“A secret? But we never keep any secrets from each other,” I replied without hiding my dissatisfaction.
Diana had always been very vocal about expressing her interest in guys, so when she told she wanted to keep it a secret, I naturally got even more curious than before.
–To be continued...
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