THE REVELATION

You're not the stories made about you, sweetheart.

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CHAPTER XXXI

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THE REST OF that Sunday had remained uneventful, and I found myself making the same mistake for the third time on three days later on Wednesday. The first two times were forgivable as I could just pin it down to naivety.

The third time though? It was just plain stupidity.

I, Araceli Constantine Cruz, did not have good days. So I had no idea why I made myself believe I did.

Even if it started off good, there was a ninety-nine point nine per cent chance that it would, most definitely, not end good. I got the rude awakening when the doorbell had rung and I, yet again, was the only possible person to answer it.

"Does nobody in this house know how to answer the damn door anymore?" I muttered angrily under my breath as I stormed over to the large front door and threw it open.

And like the last time this had happened, I had the overwhelming urge to slam it shut again.

"Hello, um... What did you say your name was again?"

"Araceli," I replied with a fake smile because unlike the raging bitch in front of me, I didn't have an inferiority complex. People forgetting my name was the least of my issues because I couldn't care less if you had the memory of my pet goldfish, may he rest in peace.

"Ah, Araceli," Samantha said, returning the fake smile as she stepped to the side to reveal two other girls. One had red flowing hair that I could tell was fake, because who couldn't? And the other had brown hair with golden streaks in her loose curls.

Looking at the gorgeous girls in front of me, I already knew what they were here for.

Or who more rather.

"Yes? Is there any way I can help you?" I asked, leaning against the door frame and not making room for them to come in. "Because if you haven't noticed, we're all very busy. Daniel's fiancée just came back from France and we're trying to make her feel welcome."

"That's actually the exact reason we came here," Samantha said, her voice coming out strained as she turned back to the two girls who looked nowhere as confident as she did. "We decided, as Daniel's good friends, to come congratulate him personally."

"That was horrendously nice of you, but you could've just left a Facebook message." I then made to close the door in their faces, but someone had called for my attention from behind me and I whipped around quickly to see who it was. There was a number of people that I was hoping it wouldn't be for my own personal safety.

"Who's at the door?" Celeste, the fiancée, asked me as I contemplated telling her or not. I mean, if I told her, she really couldn't hate me because it would look like I was on her side. But why would I treat Samantha and Co like that when I was just like them in this situation? Celeste had the upper hand and we were all just raging bitches drooling after her fiancé. She won and I would be achieving nothing.

I didn't get to make that choice, though, as Samantha barged her way in past me, effectively slamming me into the wall as if I weighed nothing. I glared at the back of the retreating girl's head as the two other girls walked in after her, none of them having the common decency to apologise for their friend's rude actions.

"Hi. I'm Samantha," she said as I straightened myself up and closed the door behind them.

Celeste stared at her outstretched hand before looking at her and completely ignoring it. "And I don't care. What are you doing here?"

Samantha dropped her hand but kept the smile on her face. "I'm a good friend of Daniel's. I heard about the engagement and just wanted to come over and say congratulations."

Celeste looked at her before rolling her eyes and making her way to one of the sofas. "While that is nice of you, I agree with Araceli. You could've just sent a message on Facebook."

I grinned victoriously at her as she turned around to glare at me. She flipped her brunette hair over her shoulder and huffed as the two girls stood in the corner uncomfortably and watched the show.

"Well since we're here already, we may as well go see Daniel."

Celeste shrugged and took her phone out of her pocket. "Sure. He's in his office if that's what you want from me." She then looked up and met my eyes. "Take them up to see Daniel."

I nodded but by the time I had looked up at them, they were already making their way over without me. I rushed after them, making sure to pass them because as a maid, I had to tell Daniel about them and ask if he wanted to see them first before I let them in.

I reached his door, putting a good distance between me and the other girls and pulled it open. He looked at me as soon as I let myself in and smirked as I walked over and the first thing I did was place my lips on his.

He responded immediately, grabbing holding my chin and pulling me in deeper until I pulled away a couple seconds later. "Some girls are here to see you," I said as I worked on calming my breath.

"What girls?" he asked, frowning at me.

"Samantha and the lot. Do you want to see them?"

"He doesn't have a choice, do you, Daniel?" Samantha said, letting herself into the room with a mischievous smirk on her lips as I quickly stepped away from him. The two girls came in after her and stood near the back as I rolled my eyes and went to close the door behind them.

Daniel smirked and leaned back in his chair, letting his eyes roam over all the girls in the room. "Samantha," he said, pointing to her before pointing to another girl. "Collete." He then looked to the third girl with fake red hair and squinted his eyes, trying his best to remember who she was. "Missy?"

"Millie," she corrected, making him roll his eyes and shrug.

"Right," he smirked, showing that he very obviously did not give a shit.

"We just wanted to congratulate you about your wedding," Samantha said as she took a seat on the chair in front of his desk.

"That's nice of you, but you could have just left a Facebook message."

I couldn't help the victorious smile on my face as the two other girls chuckled and Samantha scowled. She glanced back at me before looking at an unknowing Daniel who seemed like he didn't want to know either.

"Look, let's cut the pretence. I came here to let the bride-to-be know what exactly you got up to in your free time," she said, making Daniel look away from his laptop and towards her.

"Then tell her? Why are you coming to me?"

"Tell who what?" Celeste asked, allowing herself into the office and searching through his library for a book. I think earlier that they, she had mentioned something about a project.

"Tell you that I've fucked all the girls in this office," he said, making my eyes widen in horror. "Except the maid."

I let out a relieved breath, happy that he would cover for me as Celeste looked at the three women in the room. She then turned to Daniel with a frown. "I'm kind of disappointed. They aren't up to your usual standard."

The girls gaped at her before Missy - or was it Millie? - shook her head and made her way over to the door.

"I'm done here. Samantha, you're on your own." And then she left. Colette followed after her, not even saying a word to Samantha as she glared at the retreating backs of the girls.

"So what? You don't care that the man you're going to marry slept with other people behind your back?" she asked Celeste who smirked at her and walked over to the door with a green, thick book in her hands.

"Imagine how crazy it gets when he fucks people and I'm only in the room over," she smiled, acting like it really didn't matter to her. "I wouldn't still be here if I did." And then she closed the door behind her.

Her words puzzled me. If she really didn't give a shit about Daniel, then why was she still so adamant about marrying him? Was it for the money? There was a high chance that it could've been and Emma was busy accusing me of being a gold digger.

Samantha stood up, a completely defeated look on her face before she turned to me and gave me a smirk I knew all too well. The one that told me that she still believed she was better than me because she had been further than I had.

"You still enjoying my remains, hun?" she asked as I crossed my arms over my chest and stared blankly at her.

"Come here," Daniel said in that tone that let me know that he was referring to me and only me. I slowly stepped away from Samantha and made my way around his table. Directly in front of him, I bent down and placed my hands on his thighs to support me and with my bum up in the air, I kissed him.

As if that wasn't blow enough, the necklace that he had given me had fallen out from beneath my uniform and swung from back to front as we continued to kiss in front of her. Slowly pulling away from him, I looked up at her with a smirk playing on my lips, enjoying how she gaped at us like a fish.

"Thoroughly." I smiled, biting my tongue as I turned back to Daniel who looked just as amused as I felt. I placed a small kiss on his lips before standing up straight and walking towards the door. "Should I escort you out?"

She scowled, making her dislike for me evident before she barged past me much like earlier and went storming down the hallway. I pressed my lips together in an attempt to hide my smile and without casting a last glance toward Daniel, I went following her.

"You think you have the upper hand?" she asked as she walked ahead of me.

I raised my eyebrows as if she could see me and shrugged.

"You don't." She suddenly stopped and turned around to face me with a frown. "Daniel will play you like a toy because you're innocent." I almost snorted at that. Everyone thought I was innocent until they got to know me. "He'll make you feel like you're special; he'll sleep with you a couple of times." She glanced down to the silver necklace resting on my collarbone and picked it up gently. "He'll even give you his necklace just to make you feel like you're different from all the other girls." She then tugged on it harshly, pulling me to her as I almost choked. "But then he'll get bored of you and then he'll dump you for the next girl."

She chuckled and grabbed a lock of my curly hair, stretching it out gently before letting go of it so it sprang back into place. "I've been where you are, hunny. And I am where you will be in a couple of weeks." She sighed and took a step back from me, a smirk growing on her lips once she realised that her words were getting to me. "I'm not against you. I hold nothing against you. It's Daniel that I want to ruin. It's Daniel that I fucking hate."

"You don't know him," I tried to say in a firm voice, but it came out weak and pathetic as she let out a loud giggle.

"Oh, I know him. I've been his girl," she let her eyes roam up and down my whole frame before continuing, "In public." Ouch. "The same protection he's offering to you, he has given to me. I know him better than you think you do. And I'm telling you now, you're nothing to him. Just give it time."

"I think maybe it's time you should leave," I said, brushing past her and making my way to the door. And even though she was a couple steps behind me, it felt like she was leaning over my shoulder, whispering into my ear.

"I'm not against you, Araceli. You should join me. Before it's too late."

I held the door open for her, gesturing for her to leave. She smirked at me and clicked her tongue before walking out of the door and letting me slam it shut with a relieved breath.

I stood there for a couple seconds, trying to collect my thoughts and catch my breath in the process. I glanced in the direction of Daniel's study, but couldn't find it in me to go see him. After everything that Samantha had just said, not only was I doubting myself, I was doubting him too. I couldn't walk in there and pretend that everything was okay, because it wasn't and I wouldn't be staying honest with myself or with him. And I respected him too much to lie like that.

With a sigh, I stuffed the necklace back into my dress and fixed the collar before heading over to the kitchen to finish the work that I was given before Samantha's surprise visit.

I didn't know why I got so surprised when after half an hour, I felt a pair of hands grab my waist. I jumped up in absolute terror, ready to grab the knife I had just finished washing to stab my assailant. Turning around, I couldn't help but let out a breath of relief and a sound of terror once I realised that it was Daniel.

"Why are you here?" I asked, letting the knife slip from my fingers and onto the floor as he took a step back from me and crossed his arms over his chest.

"You didn't come back," he said, completely desregarding my question as I rolled my eyes at how typical it was. Why did I even bother?

"I had work to do."

"What did she tell you?" he asked, taking me by surprise as I stared at him in shock.

Shaking my head to snap out of it, I only smiled pleasantly at him. "I'm confused. What do you mean?"

"Don't lie to me, Araceli," he said, grabbing my face and making me almost purr at how my name rolled off his tongue when he was pissed.

"I'm not lying," I struggled to say as he held my gaze intensely. I wanted to look away because I knew he was going to get the truth out of me if I kept it up, but it was like I was being hypnotised or something. "Daniel."

The smirk returned to his lips as I let out a sound between pain and pleasure. By all means, I wanted to get out of that situation. But I also wanted him to keep looking at me the way he was.

"I'm going to give you one more chance to be honest with me," he said, his voice low and full of warning as I shivered at his tone.

I let out another pained sound, feeling conflicted as my heart just wanted to spill everything out and bask in his comfort and reassurance while my head wanted to stay put in its pride and not admit that I was feeling insecure.

I worked up the courage to place my hand on his chest in a weak attempt to push him away, but obviously, since he worked out and I didn't, he ended up not moving an inch.

"She told me stuff; some confusing stuff that I'd rather not share with you. But I'm working through it."

Something flashed in his eyes that I didn't quite catch before he let go of my face and instead hoisted me onto the counter as he stood between my legs.

"All I want is for you to not lie to me."

And then I got it. He didn't want the whole entire truth, how I felt about it and how my dog felt about it too. He just didn't want me to lie about it. He didn't want me to say it was nothing or I was fine. He just wanted me to acknowledge that it happened and let him know that I would be okay.

I wanted to tell him that I was going to make a conscious effort to try not to, but was swiftly cut off by the kitchen door opening.

Since his arrival there, we were alone, but meeting eyes with the one person I didn't want to find out about this relationship, I couldn't help but wish it was someone else who had walked in.

"What the fuck is going on here?"

*****

I DON'T KNOW WHO NEEDS TO HEAR THIS BUT THIS STORY HAS A HAPPY ENDING I PROMISE. I CAN'T HANDLE SAD ENDINGS SO WHAT MAKES YOU THINK I'D WRITE ONE????

any way so above is Anna's moodboard. Isn't it the sweetest? I had so much fun making that.

And in regards to the little thing at the top - the one about not being the stories people make up about you - this one is personal to me.

Basically, because of who I'm friends with - nothing wrong with him lmao he's just made a name for himself in my school because this guy has no fucking chill he will not tolerate bullshit from anybody (not even the principal) anddddd he's trans - people who have no idea who am as a person have labelled me to be something I'm not.

And then basically, they'll act all surprised when they have a conversation with me and I end up not being like the perceived image they already have of me and I'm just here like... Why?

It's not like they're coming to these conclusions based off things they've heard or seen me do or say. It's all based on my friends and what they think I've done and I just want to know why. People need to stop judging honestly because you're not getting anywhere. The person you're judging has no idea you even exist at all so what good does it do you?

But... Tbh I'm flattered that I was important enough for yall to talk about me when I wasn't even there lmaooo. Yall make me feel special - like a celebrity almost.

anyway... who do you think caught Daniel and Araceli? Believe, the next chapter is going to be straight fire so... get ready.

Anyhoo see you in two days. Remember, important A/N for Mondays update so don't miss it please. Love you guys. See ya!