“Sister.” Sophia whispered. “I’ll have to excuse myself. Is it okay to leave you on your own?”

I gave her a thumbs up.

“Help yourself then.” Sophia chuckled. “Save that slice for me or else I will report you to Nanny.”

I gave her a thumbs up. Hesitantly this time. Even though I was not a fan of Sharman household, I really needed to give kudos to their pastry chef. Cream, texture and strawberry. The way the cake melted on my tongue and slowly slipped away down to my throat. The way the buttery aroma suffocated me along with fresh tingling scent of orange juice in a dazzling glass; this was a paradise. A sweet one if we ignored Dahlia. The others were fine except they looked me and Sophia in a bewildered glare that screamed detestation. Some ladies gathered at some distance from me, covering their mouths with bright red fans with their raised eyebrows in disbelief. 

Not just ladies.A man,too. No. A boy. Ginger hair like Dahlia but with slightly redder even under the shade of leaves. He appeared tall even though he was leaning against the tree. He noticed me and immediately turned to his side, folding his arms so. I knew exactly who he was. And what he was going to do in future.

Alex. I was not sure whether his last name went by Sharman or not but he sure was a distant cousin of Dahlia. His mother was a Sharman and despite her sisters and brothers engaged with nobles of high ranks, she married a commoner. Of course, the head of the Sharman at that time was furious and she was not heard ever since then. However, they took custody of Alex and here he was. Peeking at me.

Another love interest for Lady Sophia. He was by far the most unpredictable one; there was one chapter in novel where the “Nicholas” himself admitted that it was challenging, even for a man like him who relied on logics and strategies in his plans to predict Alex. If Nicholas was a cold, scheming and devious winter storm, Alex would be unstoppable, incalculatable and scorching fire.

Hasty footsteps approached to my right which snapped me out of my thoughts; only to realize that I seemed to be looking at Alex one-sidedly like a fool.

“Sophia!” she was standing still like a statue. “Took you long enough.”

“Sister, let’s get going.”

“I saved this slice for you.” Sophia seemed to pay no attention to my words or the last slice of the cake instead she was already walking towards the gate of the garden, to our carriage.

“I guess it doesn’t matter then.” I grabbed the plate, put the whole slice inside my mouth and covered it as I ran to catch up with Sophia. “Wait for me!”

“Sophia.” I spoke. “What happened? Are you okay?”

“Nothing. I am perfectly fine.” She smiled as usual. And she turned to the side. Quickly. She had been acting weird since she excused herself at the tea party. And she hadn’t spoken a single word in a carriage on our way home. Something was bothering her but she couldn’t tell me or anyone.

“Is it the bullies?”

“What? No.” she waved her hand.

“My etiquette teacher is here. After class.”

“After class.” I nodded.

Was I worrying too much? Was she actually fine or was she pretending to be? Only if I could translate her smiles into words. And her words into feelings. I was pretty sure no one would dare bully her after Lord Elijah saved us. No one was powerful enough to meet us face to face after all. The party had ladies whose fathers and brothers were Counts, Barons and those with high ranks at imperial military. No sight of anyone from Vespertine Dukedom. And no sight of Imperial Princess either. Three out of four Marquess households were present: us, Elijah and Dahlia, the host herself. What was bothering her then?

“Lost in thoughts, Lady Ophelia? but at least mind your manners.”

Nanny hissed. She then stared intensely at me and my sitting position.

“There is a guest coming.” She placed the silver plate full of carefully put cupcakes on a desk before me.

Quickly, I raised my upper body which was lying down on a soft sofa before and my legs hanging on its hand and brought myself in front of the cupcakes. A few inches apart.

“No.” Nanny combed my messy hair with her fingers as she patiently ran through every tangled strand of my hair. I sulked and folded my arms.

“Did you not just return from a tea party?”

“But-”

“No buts. What if you get a stomach ache or develop a cough?”

“Fine. But a teeny tiny bite would soothe my-”

“No.”

That was how I ended up at the library. My father’s library to be exact. A never-ending spiral staircase with thousands of books along the curve; it spun my head 360 degrees. There were paintings on the ceiling, the chandeliers which resembled the grape vines and the bookshelves twice the man. I seated myself on a sparkling marble floor as clear as crystal which returned my reflection. Around me was books with all sizes: some open, some closed and piled on top of each other. Even though there were millions of books in this place, I haven’t come across with a single readable romance book yet. All it had were tactics, history, battle techniques and sometimes even about magic and mana which I would invest my time only if it were a subplot in a romance novel. Along the shelves, I found books almost as heavy as me with its every sentence related to spells and magic. I would rather die out of boredom instead of my disease right now: no romance novel, no Sophia and no cupcakes. I could do nothing but pray for the mysterious guest to come fast and leave even faster.

“Why isn’t there any readable book here?” Out of frustration, I shouted. And the only one who could hear me was myself. “Life is so boring without romance novels.”

“A change of heart, I see.”

A voice replied to me. Deep and booming. One I have never heard before. And the worst part was the library door was locked.

“Who are you?” I turned from side to side as my eyes surveying across the library. “Where? How did you get in here?”

“One at a time.”

I took a deep breath, filling my lungs with courage and my heart began to pounder. I clutched my fist and gulped. “Are you perhaps a ghost?”

There was a silence. And a soft chuckle.

“Answer me.” I raised my voice.

“Did you faint too often that you even forgot your fiancé’s voice?”

I looked back. Behind me. His silhouette towered me, blocking sunlight from the window panel. Golden eyes of his flickered under sunlight, different from what I had read in the novel; they were bright, sharp and surprisingly warm in contrast to cold, malicious frown. The edges of his lips were slightly curved almost as if he were smiling. But he wasn’t. He was so pretty. To the point that it was ineffable to describe his looks. On a moment like this, it would be extremely difficult to convince one that he was ruthless, harsh and cold-blooded. That person would be a fool. Like I was.

“Welcome back.” his face in a close up was the first thing I saw. And a slight smile.

Again, this fragile body could not spend a single day without fainting but in a worse condition today. I found myself lying. On Nicholas’s lap. And with his palm beside my face.

“Ahhhhhh!”

I got up but instead bumped into his chin and fell back down on his lap not so gracefully.

“You sound more scared to talk with me rather than with a ghost.”

Yes, I am. Only if I could say out loud.

“I heard that you attended Dahlia Sharman’s tea party this morning. Glad to hear you are socializing more.”

“Is it supposed to be an insult?”

“A compliment.”

“Oh.”

Nicholas carefully looked at me from my head to toes. As if he were a police officer investigating a criminal, his golden set of eyes surveyed me strictly enough that I got no choice but to avoid his stare. And he finally spoke a word.

“I am sorry for not being here as soon as you woke up.” his voice seemed to be soft. He looked at me. “I come here to discuss about work with Marquess.” I nodded in silence.

“And how long are you going to be laying like this?”

“I am sorry. I will move right away-”

In a blink of a second, he stood up and I was already in his arms, and one moved under my legs and the other hand supporting my back like a groom carried a bride. In surprise, I subconsciously wrapped my arms around his neck which brought me closer to his body. Nicholas smirked as he spotted me flinched in surprise. I could not dare maintain an eye contact, even for a split second. Sudden heat brushed me up from inside as I broke into cold sweat. Butterflies in my stomach and heat across my cheeks, I froze inside his chest. Heartbeat loud enough to burst through, I could not tell whether it was from me or him. Maybe it was from both of us.