Lady K

"Get us something to drink. Something with little or no alcohol."

The maid bowed at the sound of Susan's voice. She turned away quickly to carry out Susan's instruction. Barely past three PM, and the birds were still chirping in the air. The white roses surrounding the garden blossomed. and their aroma was everything. It brightened the table even better.

"Oh that reminds me." Oma's face brightened as she reached for the shopping bag beside her chair. She lifted it to the table, and then pushed it to Susan. "I got you something."

Susan stared at the bag for a second, and then slowly reached for it. She opened it, taking her time with it. Oma watched her, the smile on her face didn't fade a bit. She watched Susan pull out a bag wrapped in paper from it. It had yellow highlights around it, with the words "Prada" written on a tiny silver pin.

"It's a limited edition." Oma added. "I thought you'd like it."

Susan raised her head to her. and smiled.

"My daughter in law is so thoughtful."

Oma went red. She loved it when Susan complimented her like that, and referred to her as her daughter- in -law. She also loved being treated as a part of their family.

"It's nothing really. You're Jeremiah's mother, which means you're my mother too. It's only normal for me to get you gifts like this." She told her. "We should go to the spa sometime, have some mother-daughter make over."

Susan nodded. She pushed the bag to the side a little bit.

"Your mother called, to tell me you changed your mind about calling off your engagement with Jeremiah."

Oma shifted uncontrollably on her seat. The smile on her face was barely struggling to hold its ground at that point.

"That's really considerate of you, considering what happened the other night-"

Oma exhaled, and then managed to brighten up her face.

"It's nothing. mother." She told her. "It's nothing I'm not used to. I know the man I chose to marry. It looks like I don't sometimes, but I do. I might not know everything, but I'm slowly going to learn. When I agreed to get married to Jeremiah, I knew he was someone with a lot of issues, I knew it wasn't going to be easy, so I won't give up on him."

Susan exhaled. and then leaned closer to Oma. She stretched her hand, and gently took Oma's, rubbing it gently.

"Thank you for being so understanding." She told her. "I can't wait for you to be a part of this family."

Oma's face brightened. It was obvious she couldn't wait either.

"Can I see him?"

───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ─────

Jeremiah

I stood still. I had my eyes glued to Oma, with my hands in my pocket, while she just stood there glaring at me. Of course they let her see me. My marriage with Oma happened to be the most important thing to my father.

After the stunt I pulled at the gala, I was almost very sure he did all he could to make sure the engagement didn't go down the drain, so Oma being at the mansion must have been a given to him, and so he must have permitted it. I didn't know much, but I could tell she wasn't over what had happened. Funny how she came over, the moment I had asked her to, with Kingsley's phone.

Oma had a soft spot for me. Some kind of dedication and obsession, and I knew it. Sometimes I felt I was taking advantage of it, exploiting it. This was one of those times.

She slapped me.

That was the first time. First time she ever did, and I was okay with it, because I knew I deserved it. Besides, I was getting a lot of slaps lately. I didn't expect to just get away with what I did, after playing her like that. I slowly lifted my head, rubbing my jaw and pretending to be fine. I watched her take deep breaths, hoping she was able to get over her anger after that slap.

"Do you feel better now?" I asked her.

"Don't you have something to say to me?" She asked me.

I took a deep breath, and exhaled. I did have something to say to her, it wasn't what she wanted to hear, but I knew what I did was wrong and selfish, and she deserved an apology.

"I'm sorry." I told her. I wasn't going to say it twice. She scoffed in disbelief, folding her arms. "I should not have done that at our engagement party."

"So you wished you had done that somewhere else?" She lowered her gaze on me. I didn't move a muscle, I just kept staring at her. Her frown got worse.

"You're not sorry are you? You were dying to do what you did again, to kiss her."

I rolled my eyes.

"Do you regret it?" She asked me. "Do you regret what you did?"

I took out my left hand from my pocket, so I could scratch my brows with it.

"Oma-"

"The things you said," she continued. "The things you said at the gala, you meant them, didn't you? You like her, you didn't kiss her because you wanted to rebel, you kissed her because you actually wanted to, because you have feelings for her."

I looked at Oma. I wasn't really sure what to say, I wasn't even sure I knew the right answers. My mind was clouded. and I was barely even thinking straight. She scoffed.

"I can't believe this." She kept her eyes focused on me. "I've been trying to win your heart for six years, and in just a few months, someone not even better than me has been able to sway you. Is it me or do you just have a poor taste in women?"

"Oma, you don't have to forgive me, if you don't want to-"

"Forgive you?" She asked me. "I can never forgive you, or her. Do you know who I am?" She was slightly starting to raise her voice now. I could see how extremely irritated she was.

"I am Oma Richards, one of the most beautiful and popular girls in the country. Do you have any idea how many people would kill to be in your shoes? How many guys would want me to look at them, the way I look at you? Do you not know how rich and influential my family is? Everything you'd get to benefit from getting married to me? Just the thought of our engagement shook the entire country, how could you? Why did you? How could you take me for granted, because of some filthy wretched whore?"

I knew it was never going to be that easy anyway. Anyone would have been this upset if they were in her shoes. I knew I couldn't blame Oma for lashing out the way she did.

I nodded.

"Fine." I told her. "You don't have to forgive me, as a matter of fact, don't forgive me, but Kora, you don't have to hurt her. I'm the one you should be angry at. I'm the one you should focus all your anger on, not her. Take everything out on me instead, giving her a black card because of what happened is not necessary."

Oma let out a sarcastic chuckle. She must have found everything I said funny.

"You have got to be kidding me." She tried to stop laughing. "Did you actually call me here to take her side? To beg for my mercy, not for yourself, not to ask me to take you back, and go on with the engagement, but for that girl's sake?" She asked me. "You are truly a clown, Jeremiah." She continued laughing so hard.

I waited.

I knew I had to take it slow, I didn't have to rush it.

"How can she be more important than you right now?" She asked me. "You must really take me for a fool."

"Let's stop this." I cut her off. She stopped talking for a while. to listen to what I had to say.

"We've been at this for so long, Oma, I'm really exhausted. You of all people know I have no intentions to go on with this wedding. I'm only nineteen, marriage is the last thing on my mind right now. I know what our fathers meant to each other, and how they wanted us, wanted our marriage to merge both our families, but if we think about it, we don't know anything about being a couple, or starting a home. I still have a lot to do, a lot of things I need to put in place. I still have to get myself together. I like you Oma, but I don't think I can ever like you the way you want me to."

I exhaled.

"We've been at this for years. You've done all you can, you've been there for me, but all I've ever done is ignore you, hurt you, and be a jerk to you, at some point, you're allowed to not want this anymore. I know you try to hide it, and pretend like you're okay with all of this, with the way I treat you, because you just want to live up to your father's expectations, you want him to be proud of you, and you want to fulfill his dying wish, but nothing you do is going to change anything. Your father is proud of every choice you've ever made, and this marriage won't change a thing. You're just as scared about this as I am, I know, but you're allowed to reject this. It can only be you."

I could see tears in her eyes already.

"I know you don't like me Jer, you never have, at least not in the way I've wanted you to, and I also know you're the least interested in this wedding. I know you hate the thought of spending the rest of your life with me, and it's probably going to get worse, after we get married, but I don't care. I'm ready to be patient with you, to do all I can to make you realize that you can be happy with me, but don't think that I'm a fool, and I won't protect what's mine."

She sniffed, her frown worsening.

"You're mine, and I'm not going to let you replace me with someone that isn't even halfway better than me. I'm going to ruin her life if I have to, and ruin yours too, if you try to stop me. I'm not going to call off our engagement, I never will, I actually don't care who you choose to love, it doesn't matter to me, because in the end, we are eternal. I'm the one you're going to be with, our names are written in the stars, the whole world knows this. If she truly loves you back, then she must be ready to face the consequences of loving you, because I'd never sit back, and watch the both of you humiliate me like that ever again."

I exhaled. This wasn't how I had imagined our conversation to go at all.

"I already told your father during our dinner yesterday, that my mother and I have no intentions to call off the wedding, and you needed to see how that news made him so excited, too excited that I think he might actually buy us a house on banana island after our wedding. It means you get to come back to school tomorrow, and not be grounded anymore. You are welcome by the way."

She turned quickly. I didn't try to stop her.

I had my eyes glued to where she stood, even though I knew she was walking towards the door. I heard it open, and then close again. She was gone.

I took a deep breath, and then exhaled.

Wow. Just wow

───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ─────

Kora

I walked in the moment Grace's door opened.

"You would not believe how crazy my day has been." Even though I knew that news about me getting a black card was all over school, and she must have probably heard about it. I wanted to be the first to break it to her. I threw myself on her sofa, flinging my bag out of my sight. I didn't care where. I threw my head aback. Gosh, I needed an aspirin for my migraine. I had cried so much that I had given myself a migraine.

"I'm sorry I wasn't there today. I'm sorry I couldn't help."

I raised my head slowly to look at her. Even though Grace had ignored all my calls earlier, I appreciated the fact that she texted me later, to tell me she didn't feel too good. I was almost scared she was too scared and embarrassed to be seen outside with me. Not that I blamed her though, who wouldn't be? I exhaled.

"It's okay." I told her, finally bringing myself to sit upright. "How are you feeling?" I could see she wasn't feeling well. She looked pale, and nothing like the Grace I knew. She couldn't even maintain eye contact with me for a whole minute.

"I'll be fine." She nodded, looking around her room like she was looking for something.

"Did you find what you were looking for?"

"Huh?" She turned to look at me quickly.

"What you were looking for." I went further to remind her. "Your text. You said you needed my keys to look for a book you left at my place, did you find it?"

"Uh." She hesitated for a while, and then cleared her throat. She shook her head. "Looked like I didn't need it after all. It was here all along."

"Oh." I threw myself back into the sofa. "Really?"

"Your key is still where you left it though, you should consider taking it everywhere with you from now on, so your things don't get stolen."

"What would anyone possibly want to steal from me?" I scoffed. "What could I possibly have that no one else here doesn't? All our rooms are practically the same, NAUN owns all the furnitures." I tried to button down my shirt. I was so exhausted

"But still,"

"I honestly just want to rest a little bit." I told her. "Do you have any snacks?"

"I could order pizza, if you want."

I looked at her and smiled,

"That would be perfect."

She forced a smile. I could see her trembling beneath that smile. She turned to leave.

"Grace?"

She turned back to me quickly. I frowned.

"Are you sure you're okay?"

She hesitated for a second, right before she scoffed, and then chuckled.

"Of course." She told me. "Why wouldn't I be?"

I shrugged my shoulders.

"Let me just grab my phone. Hold on."
She turned, and then walked away.

Churn!

I slowly turned to my phone at the sound of the churn. It looked like I had a text message. Luke's name popped up on my screen. I looked around for a second to make sure Grace wasn't somewhere looking, right before I exhaled.

What on earth was I thinking? Why did I even care to read any of his messages? I opened it anyway.

"Don't think much about what happened today. It's definitely going to get easier by tomorrow, and the day after. Good night."

I stopped breathing for a second, and then pulled my phone away from my face. I really didn't need to reply him. Nothing about what had happened was going to change things between us anyway.

He doesn't mean any harm, Kora.
I tried to tell myself.
He's just looking out for you.

I exhaled, and raised my phone back to my face.

"Thank you for tonight. It means a lot to me. Good night."

I threw my phone back on the sofa.

I knew I had lost my damn mind at that moment.
You have lost your mind Kora, all of it.