Love, Over and Out

The next day, the maids dragged me out of bed and began giving me a makeover before I could even wake up properly. As I looked around hazily, William walked into the room.

He looked dashing in his custom-fitted black tux. His hair was swept back, and his eyes held a magnetic charm that could put me under his spell.

Perhaps his looks were the reason I had fallen in love with him in the first place.

William patted me on the head out of habit.

"I want you to attend a banquet with me."

I stared at him, completely flabbergasted. Our relationship was secretive in nature. Not to mention, William had told me that his social status was very special, which meant he couldn't make our relationship public.

What was he up to?

But when we arrived at the banquet hall, I found out that it was actually Elaine's birthday banquet. William was worried that others might find out about our relationship, so he chose to maintain his distance from me. We even entered the banquet hall separately.

I turned on my heel, ready to leave. Yet, Elaine was quick to stop me.

"Yay! I'm so happy that you came to my birthday banquet, Daphne!"

I frowned. But in the end, I didn't say anything mean to her, seeing as there were other guests around us.

But Elaine didn't plan on stopping there. Instead, she decided to piss me off even more.

"By the way, Dad misses you a lot. You shouldn't have run away from home, you know? He's getting on with the years, so he needs his daughter to take care of him. What you did was really inappropriate."

I couldn't resist talking back to her.

"My business has nothing to do with you. You're not my sister either—you meddling in my business won't make you look like a good daughter to him, too!" I said.

After that, I shook Elaine's hand off me and entered the banquet hall.

Elaine turned to look at William, obviously upset. She looked so pitiful, like she was about to cry.

Although I had my back on the couple, I could still feel William glaring at me in displeasure. When I turned around, I happened to catch sight of him comforting Elaine gently. I didn't know what he said, but Elaine giggled happily in return.

The discomfort of having to suppress my sadness was starting to get to me. I took a deep breath before opting to sit in a corner. I didn't want to get noticed at all.

Meanwhile, William introduced Elaine to all of his friends. They accepted gifts from everyone they met.

Whenever Elaine was thirsty, William would pass her a glass of water. If she were to step on the hem of her dress, he'd lift the hem for her. When she was done eating a slice of cake, he'd even wipe the corner of her mouth carefully for her.

The thing was, William had never shown me such gentle care before.

As I watched the couple being lovey-dovey in front of everyone, I could feel my heart getting cut over and over again by their actions. It hurt so much that I had a feeling my heart could never recover.

Once the birthday banquet started, Elaine walked up to the stage under everyone's gazes. She gave a polite speech that was met with a round of applause by the guests.

Since Elaine and William's relationship was more or less public by now, someone began inquiring about their future plans curiously.

"Elaine, when are you going to marry William?"

With flaming cheeks, Elaine turned to look at William. Then, she bowed her head quietly without responding to the question.

"Look at how bashful she's become!"

William soon got onto the stage as well. He looked at the guests before saying, "Don't make fun of her. She's still young."

Someone else quickly asked, "Does that mean you're planning to marry her?"

William shot a glance at me subconsciously, only to see my eyes firmly glued to his face.

I'd like to know the answer as well.

The next thing everyone knew, William declared his affection for Elaine on the spot.

"If I were to get married, I'd choose her."

As soon as everyone heard the answer, they began cheering loudly. Elaine's embarrassment deepened even more, but she also smiled happily at the same time. Clearly, she was immersed in the happiness William's confession had brought her.

On the other hand, the final trace of hope that I had been clinging to all this time dissipated the moment I heard William's words.

My heart pounded erratically behind my chest. While pain seized my senses, I could feel flames of rage burning me alive as well. In a way, I was being tormented by my feelings, making me feel as though I was about to fall apart.

So, I fled from the banquet hall with my tail between my legs.

Upon reaching a corner, I ended up tripping over my feet and falling to the floor because I wasn't able to keep my balance. By then, I was already in a state of helpless panic, making me seem like an absolute fool.

A man approached me and helped me up to my feet.

"Miss, what are you doing lying on the floor?"

Instead of letting me go, he trailed his hand upward in an attempt to cop a feel of my chest. Instinctively, I backed away from him before slapping him in the face.

"Get lost!"

Now that he got slapped, the man reached out to grab me furiously.

"You fucking bitch! How dare you slap me?"