Chapter 9: Wine (Venus's POV)

"Venus, honey!" 

I stood up from the couch where Clarissa and I were watching Thumbelina and walked over to the front door where my mother was calling me from. 

"This is your dress for tonight. Take it upstairs." 

"Tonight?" I blinked in confusion. "Oh! Mr. Hudson's party, right. Sorry, I forgot. When do we leave?" 

"Seven sharp. Be ready by then, hmm?" 

I nodded, taking my dress up to my room. Until five, we killed time. 

At five, I went to shower and started getting ready. I straightened my hair, I shaved, hell, I even exfoliated. And then I started doing my makeup. Makeup is something I adore and I love doing it. I don't get enough opportunities to play around with it though. Mostly for parties like this one, I just have to do a nude, soft, glowy look. So that's what I end up doing. Even tonight. 

I put on the final swipe of lipgloss and then put everything back into its assigned spots in my vanity. Then I took the dress. I locked my door and changed in the room. The dress was pretty and fancy enough but not too fancy. It wasn't a ball gown. Just a dress. I then put on silver heels because they went better with the dress. I sprayed my favorite vanilla perfume and then headed downstairs. 

My dad was waiting for my mother while Clarissa was spinning in circles, enjoying the flow of her dress. I went and sat beside my dad. "The Lockes will be there tonight, damn it," he groaned. 

"Why do we give them so much importance?" I asked. "So what if they'll be there? We can just ignore them, right?" 

"We can ignore them, but we can't fall under them." 

"We already do, dad. They're the royal family," I deadpanned. 

"So what? We're just as respected and rich as they are," he scoffed. 

"That's true. But we aren't leading this country. Not to mention, we don't live in a palace. And nor do I want to," I chuckled. 

"You just stay away from that Carden boy, okay?" 

I nodded as my mother finally came downstairs. And then we all left. My dad drove himself, my mom sat shotgun, and Clarissa and I settled in the back. "Don't run around too much at the hotel, okay?" I told Clarissa, brushing fuzz out of her hair. 

She nodded, looking out the window. 

The party is at a hotel and is being held in the banquet hall. So, chances are. I'll slip out halfway through and walk around to catch a break from all the chit-chat people do around me. 

When we got there, inside the hall, most of the guests were already there and the rich, special ones were still coming in. 

"Tanner!" Mr. Hudson exclaimed, coming to greet us. But then halting. "Pierce," he chuckled. 

I looked over, seeing the Lockes standing right beside us. Now poor Mr. Hudson won't know who to greet first. He looked between the two families, clearly in a dilemma. And my father won't bow down and let him greet Mr. Pierce first. Even if he's the king. The king can be damned, he'll say. 

"Oh dear," Mr. Hudson mumbled. 

I rolled my eyes, stepping forward. "Congratulations on your daughter's wedding, Mr. Hudson," I smiled. 

"Oh thank you," he sighed in relief, giving me a quick hug. 

As a Princeton, I got the first greeting. I looked over at the Lockes, flashing Mr. Pierce a smile who was glaring at me. My eyes traveled to Caden who was smirking at me, checking me out. 

Mr. Hudson then proceeded to greet my dad first when my dad asked about the wedding and they both got lost in conversation. After making small talk, he turned to Mr. Pierce. And he didn't apologize like Mr. Pierce expected him to. I mean, what should he apologize for? Greeting the nicer guests first? I don't think so. 

"Venus, keep an eye on Clarissa, okay?" my dad asked. 

I nodded, keeping Clarissa around. Once we parted ways from my parents, she left to play with some girls from her class but stayed closeby. And I started wandering around. 

Remy isn't here. She was meant to be because her dad has worked with Mr. Hudson in the past, but she isn't. Her dad was too busy. 

Roman, however, was. So Caden found company fairly quickly. 

I settled with a group of girls from our grade and talked to them for a while. "Will you drink, Venus?" 

I shook my head, "I'm good, thanks." 

"It's just one glass of red wine. Our parents are too busy to see, come on," she scoffed. 

"No, I just don't like alcohol," I shrugged. 

"Oh," she frowned. "Not even red wine?" 

I shook my head. "I'll be right back." I walked away, knowing I wasn't going back. I did not want to be there when their parents found them drinking. I went to the bar and asked for an iced tea. 

While I waited for that to be stirred up, he showed up. "No wine?" he smirked. 

"I don't drink," I replied, taking my iced tea from the bartender, mumbling a 'thank you.' 

"What a pity. I bet you're a sight to see when you're drunk." 

I ignored his comment and took a seat, enjoying my iced tea while watching the crowd, keeping an eye on Clarissa as well. He pulled his stool closer to mine and sat down. "Careful, Caden," I sang. I turned to look at me, arching a brow. "Your dad might see us. Remember what happened last time?" 

Last time, his dad dragged his ass back home. I'm teasing him for it but it really did scare me at the time. I don't think his dad would do anything. But my father has never acted like that and he's seen me talk to Caden multiple times. So seeing Mr. Pierce's anger really scared me. That too just for talking to me and cracking a joke. 

"Careful, Venus. I might pour wine on your dress," he said mockingly. 

"Go ahead. I'll have an excuse to leave," I mumbled. 

His dad came around and he stood up from the stool and faced his back to the crowd, looking at the bar. I glanced at his dad then at him. 

"Are you scared of him?" I asked.

"He's a scary man," he sighed. 

"But he's your dad. He wouldn't do anything to you. You're the prince," I mumbled without looking at him. 

"Last time he saw me talking to you, he slapped me," he blurted out. 

I froze, staring ahead of me. My eyes followed Mr. Pierce until he was gone. "He's gone, you can sit." I turned to him. "If you want to." I'm not in the mood to play games and create drama tonight. I'm hoping it's one of those times where he will settle for decency. 

He sat down, keeping his back to the crowd. 

"It's been a long week. Do you agree to no drama tonight?" I asked. 

"I agree," he replied. 

I really didn't want to be here tonight. I'm drained, and all I want is my bed. We sat in silence. Comfortable silence, for a change. Not the king we're both trying to fill with insults aimed at the other. I wanted to ask about the slap. But I didn't. It wasn't my business or my place. 

I straightened up and set my glass down when I saw Axel and Clarissa bump into each other, causing both of them to fall to the floor. "Oh shit," I whispered. 

I pulled myself off the stool, ready to rush to them and pull her away but he grabbed my wrist. "They're better than we were at that age. Sit your ass back down." 

I sat down hesitantly and watched. 

They both brushed themselves off and shared a nod before acting like it didn't happen. Axel knew better than to apologize in front of an audience and Clarissa knew better than to throw a tantrum about it. 

"See?" Caden smirked. 

I grabbed my glass, sipping on the drink with a straw. "What was your theory, Caden?" I couldn't resist. I wanted to know. 

He came in, didn't tell me the theory, acted all kinds of strange, and then left, acting like he was satisfied. Like he got what he came for. "I can't tell you that," he replied. 

"Then can you tell me if your hypothesis was right or wrong?" 

"It was right. Much to my dismay... I think," he mumbled the last bit under his breath. 

"And what proved it?" 

He smirked, his eyes glowing with mischief how they always do around me. He grabbed his stool, pulling it even closer to mine. He leaned in by my ear, his lips barely brushing against it. "The fact that you didn't pull back," he whispered huskily, his voice low and throaty. 

I blinked in confusion. 

He looked at me, trying to read my face. "Want me to clarify?" 

I nodded. 

He leaned back in, letting out a dark chuckle before he spoke. "The fact that you didn't pull back... when I leaned in to kiss you," he said. 

My head snapped over, my eyes searching for his face. And when I found it, I realized how close we were. Too close. Barely inches apart. 

"And you still aren't," he smiled.

I think I'm in trouble. Heaps of it. 

Why didn't I pull away? Why aren't I now? Oh no.

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Chapter 9

I really wanna know how you guys think this story is going to go. like the basic plot of it and stuff. any guesses?

next chapter: sherlock