‘Juliet, is it true what I’ve heard? Did you actually slap Mr Grey yourself?!’

I lifted my head to look at her. My white pillow was smeared with make-up and tears – a sight that could only indicate my complete breakdown. I sat up straight, wiped my tears with my hand, and said in a faltering voice:

“Yes… I slapped him…”

Sofia cried out loudly, her voice filled with anxiety and fear.

“Have you gone mad?! Do you think he’s just an ordinary man?!”

“I know he’s got a team of lawyers…”

She cut me off.

“It’s not just that, you idiot! I’ve heard he’s got connections in the House of Lords… Do you realise what you’ve got yourself into?!”

“The House of Lords?!”

I repeated the phrase as if I were swallowing poison. Silence reigned in the room for several minutes until Sophia broke it, saying:

“What are you going to do now? If he takes legal action against you, you’ll definitely be expelled; the university administration fears for its reputation, and you’re studying here on a scholarship.”

“Sophia… what about my mum? What will happen to her if she finds out?” ”

Sophia fell silent and sat down quietly beside me on the bed, then sighed and said:

“Can’t you just apologise to him? Let go of your stubbornness, Juliet! You don’t have enough money to hire even a run-of-the-mill solicitor; how on earth are you going to deal with a businessman of Mr Grey’s standing?!”

“Isn’t there any other solution?”

“What else is there? Kill yourself? You fool! Did you really have to slap him?!”

“What would you have done in my place? A stranger talking to you without any introduction? And he’s one of those arrogant rich men—he certainly had no good intentions towards me!”

Sophia shouted. 

“He’s a well-known figure at the National Church! He’s not romantically involved with anyone! Even if he was harassing you, couldn’t you have just calmly sent him away?! You must go and apologise to him straight away!”

I shouted sharply.

“Fine! I’ll go and meet that bastard! But if it doesn’t work out, I’ll end my life without fail!”

Sophia tried to stop me.

“Hold on, I wasn’t…”

I slammed the door shut and didn’t hear the rest of what she said. I moved quickly and left the hall of residence, heading out onto the street, where I hailed a taxi.

“Where to, miss?”

“.... Do you know where Alistair Grey lives?”

“Huh?”

“I just want to go there… I’ve been in touch with him to meet up.”

The driver looked at me in surprise, but eventually sighed and started the car. I gazed at the road and the people walking by, going about their lives as normal; they didn’t have problems like mine. They really are lucky.

The car stopped in front of a majestic Victorian-style mansion. I paid the driver his fare and got out, gazing at the mansion. I stood rooted to the spot, marvelling at its beauty; it was as if it had stepped out of a nineteenth-century novel. Could he really live here?

I snapped back to reality and looked ahead. There were two guards at the gate. I didn’t know what to say to them, but I stepped forward anyway and addressed them.

“Is Alistair Grey here?”

The guards stared at me for a moment, then one of them said:

“Who are you?”

I was flustered, but I replied calmly:

“Just tell him I’m Juliet Sinclair… he’ll certainly recognise me.”

One of the guards looked at me intently, then went into the mansion. Two minutes passed and the guard returned, opening the door for me warmly:

“Mr Grey is waiting for you.”

I was genuinely surprised by what had happened; it had been easier than I’d thought. I entered the mansion, and the interior was even more beautiful than the exterior; intricate, elegant carvings and striking decorations, as if Michelangelo himself had designed the walls. I took my eyes off the ceiling and walls and looked ahead, to see Alistair Grey sitting on the sofa, in an elegant dressing gown and holding a cup of tea. He was giving me a look that was both cold and piercing; I felt as though he wanted to kill me right then and there.

“What do you want?”

He spoke calmly, in stark contrast to his gaze. I stammered:

“I’m here… to sort things out.”

He set the cup of tea down on the coffee table, then gestured towards the sofa next to him for me to sit down. I sat down, my heart pounding in my chest like war drums; the silence between us was so eerie that I could hear my own heartbeat clearly. I finally broke the silence by saying:

“I’m really sorry for slapping you.”

He laughed a laugh devoid of any merriment, then looked at me intently:

“Do you think the word ‘sorry’ is going to solve the problem? And are you daft enough to come to the house of the man you assaulted this morning just to apologise?”

I wasn’t surprised by his words; they were largely true. I took a deep breath, then said in a steady voice:

“I know what I did was stupid, Gray… but you can’t tarnish your good reputation by hurting a girl who’s come to apologise, can you?”

“That’s right.”

I continued:

“Well then… Accept my apology.”

He said sarcastically:

“Pardon? And why should I do that? Give me one reason to forgive you.”

His words made me even more flustered; I really didn’t have a single logical reason. Should I tell him I’m from a middle-class or lower-middle-class background? No, he’d think I was pathetic; I had to find a better way out.

“Mr Grey… you know I’m in my second year at university, and you know my future will be ruined if you take legal action against me. Please accept my apology; I was genuinely afraid of you. Would you blame me if a stranger came along and quoted a line from *Macbeth*? You wouldn’t feel comfortable, would you?”

You can find the rest of the chapter on Wattpad under my account NOORASAKZY95