Chapter's song: Stay with me by Sam Smith :)

ChaPtEr THIRTY-SEVEN _________________________

In between cupcakes and brownies...

My mind was still reeling from the morning's events.

How bizarre was that I had to retell Jason what was going between us?

My heart ached for him as I'd felt his arms around me...

I was surrounded by him but at the same time, we were miles apart. Things would never be the same, would they?

My whole body fell flat on my bed. I was sulking into my pillow when my phone rang. I really didn't want to talk to anybody, so I left it ring. I closed my eyes trying to forget about everything. Maybe I could dream that Jason remembers me...

The phone rang again. Groaning, I scrambled out of bed and searched for the stupid device that I'd left on my bag. I froze at the caller's photo. Dirty blonde hair, grey eyes and a killer smile stared back at me. My stomach clenched as I slid my finger through the green phone icon, "Hi?"

"Hey!" Jason's voice greeted me from the other line. My heart skipped a beat at the sound of his voice. I was so pathetic. I swallowed hard and was about to open my mouth to say something when he added, "I'm calling to ask you something." He sounded somewhat nervous. Even embarrassed.

"Okay?" I laid back on my bed. This time, I stared at the white ceiling questioning if he was actually calling me.

"I was wondering if your invitation is still open."

My invitation?

What was he talking about?

I blinked furiously as I started to ask him what he mean, "What are you-"then it dawned on me. He was talking about my birthday. An invitation to my birthday party. Frowning, I stayed quiet for a moment. "Are you talking about my birthday party?" I asked incredulously. In my defense, he was always trying to avoid any event that included more than us.

Jason sighed relived, "the one and only."

Taken aback, I answered warily, "of course..."

"Awesome! At what time should I arrive?"

I blinked furiously, "Aren't you in the hospital?"

What the bloody hell?!

"Yes..." he said as it was the most obvious thing in the world. "But I cleared it out with my doctor and I just have to follow some rules. I'll be ok." He paused, "that is if you want me to be there." Doubt crept into his voice tone.

"Yes," I added hastily, "I'm just surprised. Sorry."

He chuckled, "that's ok. I can't drive, though. Danielle will drive me. At what time should I arrive?"

I stopped biting my lip. My stomach was making me feel queasy. "I have a photo shoot scheduled at six, I guess around seven?"

"Great."

"Uhmm...I'll tell Tom, my bodyguard," I explained because he didn't remember him, "to wait for you guys on one of the back entrances, I'll send the location through google-"

"Why on the back?" he cut me in. Once again, I was rendered speechless. "I mean, Danielle is driving me," he stressed out his sister's name, "so that means that she expects to have this grand entrance through the front door." Who is this guy? "If that's ok with you..."he trailed hesitantly.

My brows were furrowed as I answered, "Whatever works for you guys."

"Awesome. I'll see you at seven, then."

"Yeah..." The call ended and I stared like a stupid at my phone.

Seriously, who was this man? This was so...unlike Jason...

I couldn't concentrate. For the rest of the day. I was a complete zombie as Valerie arrived and chose my outfit. She kept gushing about Peter and her and I honestly couldn't say a thing. I was completely taken aback at this Jason.

What could he possibly be thinking?

Was this like a game to him?

Did he know how much he affected me?

I wasn't even sure that I wanted to see him. I rolled my eyes. Ok. I did.

I wanted to see him so badly it hurt.

But...what was more painful? To see him and be reminded that he had no idea of who I was?

Or not to see him and try to keep on living without him?

Was that even possible?

I didn't remember how I applied my makeup. Or when Valerie pulled my hair in a stylish up-do. However, when I looked back at myself from my reflection at the mirror, this beautiful girl stared at me. Green liner made my eyes pop out. Pink glossy lips and blushed cheeks finished the look.

My eyes travelled down and I recognized one of my favorite black dresses. A small solitaire diamond dangled from my neck. A pair of diamond studs complimented the necklace. I looked up to see my best friend already dressed in a white dress. She was wearing her hair down. It cascaded down her shoulders. Her lips were bright red. She looked fabulous.

"You look great, M!" she beamed at me.

Grinning back, I added, "So do you. Peter is going to be completely smitten over you." Her cheeks flushed as I cracked up. "Thank you for putting up with me..." I frowned as we stepped out of my room.

She snorted, "You mean because I've been talking to myself all afternoon?"

"Sorry," I grimaced clearly embarrassed.

She sighed, "I'm just letting it go since it's your birthday." She raised a finger, "only for that."

"Thank you."

"Are you nervous?" she asked as we hoped inside the car that was driving us to Buckingham Palace. Her green eyes looked concerned as she eyed me.

No need to lie, here.

"Very..."

Her eyes softened, "for what it's worth, I thinks it's really sweet that he wants to go to you party despite being in the hospital and such." By such, I knew perfectly well that she was referring to his mental condition.

I shrugged evasively as I looked through the window, "I guess."

We arrived to the Palace in no time. Ashley and Mom were also on the car with us. They'd both stricken up a conversation with Valerie as I stayed quiet inside the car. My father was meeting us at the Palace since he'd already been there. Apparently, he was slowly taking control of all King duties. A couple of guards opened up the doors for us. Everyone stepped outside. Guarded, I swallowed hard. Here we go...

The photographer was completely professional. He took several pictures of Ashley, Andrew (our cousin) and me. Then, one picture with me and every member of the family. By the end of the hour I was completely exhausted, yet, when Tom texted me to tell me that they'd arrive, my heart leapt in my chest and I speeded trough the palace to greet them.

Danielle was driving. I presumed it was her own car since I'd never seen that lime green new beatle. Her eyes were avidly studying every little detail. As an artist, she was delighted takin in the historic building.

"Hi," I smiled at her.

Jason started to step out of the car as she whistled, "this place is huge!"

"Would like to stay?" I shook my head completely embarrassed, "I'm such a fool, I wanted to invite you in the first place..." I just thought that your brother wouldn't want to come.

As she was opening her mouth, Jason stood by my side, "she doesn't." He was wearing a grey suit. With a blue tie. And it brought his eyes out. His hair still had that messy-sexy out of bed style. He'd arranged it so it could cover part of the white patch above his left brow. He smelled between spices and wood and it was too disturbing to have him so close to me.

Ignoring him, I looked at Danielle, "seriously, you should stay."

Her grey eyes shone excited before looking at her clothes. "I'm not dressed for the occasion." She had jeans and a pink sweatshirt, "besides my brother is pretty much telling me that I'd be dead if I stay." I looked at him and caught him gesturing with his hands to his sister. His cheeks flushed a bit and he left his arms fall limply beside him. I bit my lip trying not to chuckle. Danielle smirked at him. "Ok, so you know," she eyed her brother, "I'm not your chauffeur, so when you finish, you should call a cab to get back to the hospital." Her smile was wide and smugly.

Jason's eyes narrowed. It was pretty obvious he was trying hard not to retort. "Whatever," he muttered.

"Have fun, you two!" Danielle blinked at me, "remember that you have to be back by eleven!" she cracked up, "not even as late as Cinderella. That sucks, mate!"

He crossed his arms. "Just go, Danielle."

"Aye, aye" she gestured with her hand as if he was a captain. He rolled his eyes completely annoyed.

When the car was out of the gates, we started walking through the palace's grounds. My dinner party was on a secluded part of the gardens. "How did you managed to get out of the hospital?" I blurted out genuinely curious.

He chuckled, "well...I sort of manipulated the doctor. Danielle played a huge part on it," he shook his head, "we played the poor-princess-card on him." He smiled, "I do have to follow some rules, though." He frowned.

"Like what?" I grinned back at him.

"I can't drink alcohol, I can't dance, I can't walk much, I shouldn't be overexposed to artificial lights and if I feel anything on my head. Even an itch, I have to go back to the hospital." He tilted his head, "to be honest, I'm like the worst companion ever. Sorry about that." He shook his head.

I chuckled, "well...thank you for doing it all to be here." It means a lot, I wanted to add. But I didn't want to push him or make him feel like we had to be together or something.

"No problem" he gave me a mega-watt smile. "You look amazing, by the way."

My cheeks flushed at his words. And intense eyes, "thank you."

The small patio was illuminated with small twinkling lights. Four large lamps were on each corner and a large table was set on the middle. White flowers in glass vases adorned the table. Pretty much everyone invited had arrived. They were all talking and mingling as we set foot on the patio. Knowing that Jason didn't remember anyone at all, I introduced them all to him. Grandma Isobel was observing him with calculating eyes as he greeted everyone. To his credit, he didn't looked either embarrassed nor out of place. And he didn't seem to mind that everyone looked at him with concerned eyes.

Mom sat him next to me over dinner. Right in the middle, when everyone seemed engaged in each other, Jason leaned by me. "I'd met almost everyone on this table before, right?"

"Almost. You hadn't met my grandparents or great-grandmother. Or my uncles."

"Mmhh..." he thought for a moment. "Figures. They were all looking at me with pity in their eyes."

I grimaced, "sorry about that."

He shrugged as he straightened the napkin on his knees, "It's ok. I'm getting used to it."

"So," Grandma Isobel said in a loud voice, "it's a pity you don't remember why you left the navy, Mr. Lee."

Everyone was silent by now. My mouth was clearly open in surprise. How the hell did she know?

My stomach was in knots as Jason cleared up his throat, "it's a shame, really. I'd like to know myself." He cleaned the corner of his mouth before placing the napkin back on his knees, "but I'm sure I had a good reason to do so."

Grandma Isobel brought her white wine to her lips. "I don't think any reason is a good enough to leave our country's service."

My wide eyes snapped to my father. He was calmly listening to the exchange but he caught my panicked expression. He raised his glass and smiling to everyone, added in a calm tone, "come on Grandma, let's toast for Marianne." Everyone raised their glass. Grandma Isobel, begrudgingly so, "Happy birthday, sweetie."

"Thank you," I voiced to him after the toast. He tilted his glass with a satisfied smile on his face.

I'd ask Ashley to make me brownies instead of the typical birthday cake. She left right before dinner. The waiters cleared up the table and served coffee as my sister walked in with a tray in her hands. She made the best brownies ever. But they always looked horrible. Don't ask me why. They usually crumbled as you cut them and they were not fudgy-thin. They looked like a mixture between a cake and brownies. We never cared about the appearance, especially since she made them. But since Jason was here, she was a bit embarrassed as she set the tray on the table.

Jason's eyes looked at the mushy tower as I leaned closer to him, "my sister makes them. And they're really good. Trust me."

His eyes trained on me for a moment. Slowly, a smile formed on his lips, "I can't wait to try them." My heart skipped a beat at the way he was looking at me.

After dinner, we took a stroll around the garden, not getting too far away since I was concerned at his health condition. I'd asked him a thousand times if he was feeling alright and he'd patiently answered me all times that he was fine.

"I got you something," he blurted out after we reached a small fountain close to the party.

"You didn't have to..." I trailed on shyly.

"But I did." He pulled out a small gauze bag.

I bit my lip as I opened it. A small charm bracelet slip out. It was a simple yet elegant chain design. The charms were a dog, a house, a car and a cupcake. I stared at it for a moment thinking what every charm meant.

"It's a bit silly to be honest." He shook his head, "Danielle's idea."

"What does it mean?" I looked at him for a moment before putting it on.

His fingers brushed my wrist as he reached out to touch each charm as he explained. "Snickers," he smiled, "the house I bought," little tingles played where our skin touched, "what used to be my car," he rolled his eyes, "that was my sister's idea," he shook his head.

"And the cupcake?" my heart was racing. I swallowed hard.

He tilted his head with a soft smile on his face. "I don't know. It was the first charm I chose." He frowned. "Does it mean anything?"

I touched the small silver charm dangling from my bracelet. "You called me a cupcake the first day we met." Butterflies fluttered in my stomach. Not at the memory itself but at the fact that he'd remembered that. In some sort of way.

His brows furrowed, "well...that was bold..."

I cracked up at that. "We didn't start on the right foot. You see, I was sort of a snob when we first met and you called me princess in a sarcastic way, which only made me angrier. I reminded you that you shouldn't call me that, so you called me cupcake."

His eyes trained on the small waterfall for a long moment. He looked deep in thought before speaking in a soft tone, "I wish I remembered everything..."

My stomach clenched at that. "We didn't part in good terms," I shook my head, "I'm glad you don't remember that."

His grey eyes stared at me. "How bad was it?"

I smiled, "I told you to fuck yourself." I blushed, embarrassed.

He chuckled, "I'm sure I deserved that."

Shaking my head, I straightened my dress as I added, "I don't know. Maybe. You do need to learn that when I say no, I'm probably saying yes. Not all the time, though." I gestured with my hand like I was teaching him a lesson. Which I probably was.

He blinked at me, "How the hell am I supposed to figure that out?"

Cracking up, I shrugged, "I have no idea."

He rubbed the back of his neck, "girls are so complicated."

I laughed at that. "You're complicated!"

"What are you talking about?" he mocked being hurt by placing a palm on his chest, "I'm the least complicated person. Ever."

Are you? I looked at him in pain.

"Why are you here?" I heard myself asking in barely a whisper.

Jason's grey eyes bored into mine. His eyes roamed all over my face for a moment. "I'm here for you."

Why?

He took a deep breath. "It's hard to explain. I'm trying to figure it out myself" he looked at the waterfall as he continued, "I don't remember you here" he signaled to his head as his eyes trained on me, "but I do remember you here," he placed a palm on his chest.

My lips parted as my breath caught in my chest.

"I can't stop thinking about you and I have these overwhelming," he frowned, "feelings that I don't know how to deal with..."

My heart was thumping so loudly that I was sure he could hear it.

I didn't know that to say.

What about my royal baggage, though?

Was he thinking about that, too?

His eyes travelled from my lips to my eyes as he added, "I feel like I've been giving a second chance here. And I don't want to lose it." His hand cupped my chin. My heart was about to leap out of my chest as he brushed his thumb over my bottom lip, "can I kiss you?"

I closed my eyes for a second reeling on the feeling of all of this. However, I shook my head as I whispered, "no."

His lips curved up on a sly smile, "is this one of those times when you say no but you're meaning yes?"

My own lips tugged up. "No, it isn't." I grabbed his hand and gently pulled it away from me. I swallowed hard. "I just...I know that if you kiss me, I'm going to have all this feelings for you...and you probably won't. Not like me." I looked away from him.

I'm scared that you'll kiss me and find out that you really don't have any feelings for me.

I'm scared of getting hurt.

His hand cupped my chin once more as he turned my face to his. "Rest assured that when I kiss you it will be to prove you that what I feel is real..."He was so sure of himself. His eyes were sincere and completely honest. "Trust me," he added in a final note.

My eyes bored into his. And I knew that he meant every word.

____________________________________________________________________________________

Ok. First of all...YOU CANNOT COMPLAIN ABOUT THE UPDATES!! I'm like updating the fastest ever! ;)

Guys, this is up for the wattys...along with a gazillion other stories so pleeeaaase vote on all chapters and help me out by sharing this story with #mywattyschoice too!!! Pretty please? :)

Thank you all for your constant support!!!

Remember to check out Wattpad's Block Party summer edition! There's a small conus chapter on PWB :)

Gaby

Theswiftiejiwi: Happy birthday!!! I dedicated the chapter to you, but I'm not sure if it's the same username on wattpad as on IG!! :)