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Declare

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Chapter 10: Declare (Spencer's POV)

She watched me with her eyes narrowed and a look of uncertainty and doubt etched onto her face. "I don't know if I believe you or not." 

"Ask Ms. Sunny yourself," I replied. I was telling a story about how one time Ms. Sunny was cleaning the library and the power went out in the castle. During that time, Ms. Sunny heard multiple books falling off the shelf and landing on the floor with multiple thuds. I remember this happening when I first came here. Ms. Sunny screamed and panicked, we all heard her through the castle and she ran out of the library and came to get me. 

"So, you went back with her when the power came back nothing was on the floor? Everything was just fine?" 

I nodded. 

"Maybe she was imagining things," she mumbled, fidgeting with her earring nervously while looking around. 

"That's a very specific situation to imagine, isn't it?" I asked, lifting a brow. 

A bush in the corner moved loudly with a shuffle and she jumped, looking over while shifting closer to me on the bench as I looked over and only saw that one bush moving, none of the others. "Let's go back inside, it's kind of..." 

"Scary?" I smirked. 

She glared at me. "Cold." 

"It's a hot July this year, my love," I teased. 

"Let's just go back inside." We stared at each other for a moment in pin-drop silence. You could barely hear all the noise from inside and only a few crickets were chirping out here. 

"Sir." 

"Oh, my fucking God!" Delilah exclaimed, shooting up to her feet with one hand on her chest while she spun around to the door. 

I chuckled, looking over, and saw Ms. Sunny standing there. She looked between us with confusion. "Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you..." She looked at me suspiciously. "Did you tell her scary stories?" 

I nodded. "She asked to hear them." 

She sighed, shaking her head. "The guests are starting to notice that you're missing. Um, both of you. You best go back." 

"We'll be right there," I replied, nodding. She left and I stood up, watching Delilah with amusement. 

She claimed to be someone who never gets scared of anything right before I told her the story. "See." She smacked my arm. "I told you we should go back inside." She scoffed, rolling her eyes and turning to leave while breathing out, "God, please save me." I grabbed her arm, pulling her back as I spun her around. She stumbled a little, nearly crashing into me but she caught herself. "What?" 

"We don't have a lot of time. You need to tell me your answer." 

She blinked in confusion, "Regarding what?" 

"Regarding whether you will marry me... or not?" 

"I have a choice?" 

"Not really, but it would just be plain rude if I don't even ask," I smiled. 

She rolled her eyes. She glanced at the door and then back at me. "I don't think you should marry me. It'll be bad for you."

"For me?" I chuckled. "Why?" 

She narrowed her eyes. 

"Nobody can do anything to me, Delilah. People have tried to kill me multiple times, don't worry." 

She huffed, "If you say so. Just don't say I didn't warn you." 

"I won't. But I'm asking you this to make sure you're prepared. I'm about to declare it when we get back inside." 

Her eyes widened in surprise. "Now?" 

"Hmm." 

"My aunt might have a heart attack," she said absentmindedly while I linked her arm with mine and started leading us back inside. 

"That might be better for the people of Everton," I sighed as we reached inside. I closed the backyard doors, locking them behind us, and then we walked back to the ballroom. The moment we stepped through the doors, all eyes were on us. I'm nervous. And that's rare, not to toot my own horn. But when I get nervous it's generally because what I'm doing matters. It truly matters and it has a huge impact on me and my actions. Because this affects my future so largely, I'm determined to do it right. 

"How are you not showing any emotion?" She mumbled softly as we walked through the room, hearing whispers, hearing theories. "Are you empathic or cold?" 

"I'm determined, Daisy." I turned to her with a small smile. 

"I'm scared, Spencer," she exhaled. "Why are you doing this to me?" 

We stopped walking under one of the chandeliers and turned to each other. "I'm doing it for myself," I answered honestly in a low voice. 

"You're not empathic, or cold, or determined." She stepped a little closer. "You're just selfish." 

"I don't care, I don't care, I truly don't care... unless I do... but that's my choice because I say so. And as of now, I really don't care. I didn't invite you here to have fun, I invited you here so I have a way out of the situation I'm in." 

"Fair enough. And I'm just supposed to let me use you?" 

"Yes." 

"Tonight?" 

"Every night there is to come from tonight, up until we die." 

She loured at me, a frown on her face. "You're insane if you think I'll just let you do that." 

"I might be. But the facts remain... till death do us part, my love." I smirked, taking her hand in mine, turning both of us around to face the crowd. I didn't smile, she didn't smile. In fact, no one in this room was smiling right now. 

"Have you made up your mind, Spencer?" My father's voice came from the very center of the crowd as he stepped forward, a glass of whiskey in his hand. "Have you found yourself a wife?" He smirked, lifting a questioning eyebrow at me. 

"I have indeed, father. I think you know her very well." 

She sighed beside me, staring at the ground instead of facing the crowd. 

"I think you know exactly how often I visit her at work," I started and the crowd began whispering again, looking at her. "Exactly how often she visits me here." Her hand tightened around mine. "Exactly how long we've been seeing each other." I fed the crowd bullshit. And they ate it all up. 

"Spencer, you're pushing it," she whispered. 

"Declare it," my father demanded. "This relationship seems to run deeper than anybody here thought. Make the announcement we're all here for, Spencer." He smiled. 

"Spencer, please," she said, keeping her voice down. 

I could feel her looking at me. I almost felt guilty. She's being dragged into this situation for absolutely no reason. Her only mistake was that she ended up being my waitress, and she agreed to be my flower girl for the week. That's all I needed. I set up a trap and she fell right into it. It's not her fault, but she can't really expect me to let her go after all this time. "Ladies and gentleman," I cleared my throat. 

"Fuck you," she breathed out, lifting her head and smiling at the crowd. 

"Please meet Delilah Celeste, my wife-to-be!" 

People seemed confused but started clapping slowly anyway. I don't have to explain anything to these people. I don't need to make a story about how we met, how things started, how they led to marriage. But worst comes to worst, if anybody asks, we'll cook up a story and stick with it. I went to Mirage, found her there since her uncle owns it, I was drawn to her, I started going there often, we started getting closer to each other, and now that I'm at an age to be married, I've concluded that nobody is better suited to me than her. That's all the crowd needs to know. 

People broke off into their groups again, however, Delilah and I remained in the same place, turning to each other. "You're ruining everything for me," she spat out. 

"Delilah." 

She looked over at her uncle who seemed utterly lost and confused. She glanced at me and then walked over to him. 

I watched as she gave him an explanation. He seemed confused and very unconvinced. Rightfully so, he has every reason to doubt the story we're feeding people. He hasn't seen me at Mirage too many times and he has no idea about her day job so he can't even say that she never came here delivering flowers to me. He has no choice but to believe her. 

I'm manipulating the situation and all the people in it so it suits me better. What's wrong with that? Manipulation never seems wrong when you're the one doing it, it only seems wrong when it's being done to you. 

She nodded as he slowly walked away and she spun around, walking back to me, her dress flowing around her feet, gliding over the floor. "We're leaving," she said. 

"You can't leave." 

"They want to go home." 

"I never say they couldn't leave. I just need you." 

She shot me a pointed look. 

"I might need you for when we answer people's questions." 

"I need to get home with them, Spencer." 

"I'll drop you home later." 

She sighed, running a hand through her hair and I watched as her hair was pulled back before it eased back into the way she had styled it as her fingers left her hair. "You can answer a few questions on your own." 

"Our stories should match," I shrugged. "You're staying. I can drop you off later and if it's too late, you can just stay here." 

She slumped, her shoulders falling in defeat as she stood beside me, watching the crowd with me. 

I looked down at her, a small smile on my lips. I dropped my lips down to her ear, talking into her hair. "In the haunted castle," I whispered eerily. 

She shivered, turning to me as I pulled back while elbowing me. "Why do you have to say it like that? Stop it," she whined, stepping further away from me. 

I chuckled, grabbing her waist and pulling her closer before tucking her hair behind her ear. "Don't mope, Delilah. Just come to me when you get scared. I'll help," I smirked. 

"I hate you," she scoffed. 

"No, you don't," I retorted. "You should, but you don't."

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Chapter 10

Because I didn't actually show how rude he was at the beginning and I mean if I don't do that, then how are we going to know that he's a dick??

next chapter: rush