2018, December 4th
"Are you people out of your bloody minds!"
Zoey knew that she was yelling, but she couldn't help it.
"I just met the lot of you two days ago, one day really," she sucked in a deep, much needed breath, "and now you want me to marry some dude I have never even met?"
His Grace raised his hand in dismissal of Zoey and said, "Silence! You are of the House of Arden and you will accept the prince's hand. There will be no discussion on the matter."
Duke Arden, however, was not accustomed to Zoey's temper.
"The hell I will! You know what? How about you keep your money and I keep my hand and we just call it even? Cool? Dandy."
She stormed off, well aware that she was bound to get lost in the mansion and not caring at all.
"Why that little... You come back here this instant!" Duchess Arden shrieked.
"She seems to have the right idea," Bart shrugged, fishing his keys out of his pocket and tossing them up into the air.
"She shouldn't be having any ideas at all, and neither should you. We do not have the luxury of her throwing a tantrum right now. His Majesty and His Highness will pay us a visit soon," said the duke, annoyed at the lack of gentility displayed by his daughter.
He was so affected that his annoyance soon became anger.
"Ready the Lady Zoey!" his voice boomed. "She must be presentable for the visit."
The butler and the maids scattered, all in desperate search of the lady in question. The place was hardly small and not knowing her way about it would not help their chances of discoverying her.
The nerve of the man! She thought he might want to meet her. That after 23 years, he might like to get to know his only daughter. That maybe, just maybe, he had missed her too. She had thought wrong, and it was her own folly for having done so. It was while she was storming down some unknown hallway that it happened. She was pulled from it and into a room that, though smaller in size, was decorated just as well as her own. Furnished in an expensive, arrogant style that seemed to pay homage to Terres Somnia's nobility.
Zoey guessed that this must be one of many guest rooms not often used. It took her a moment to realize that while she had been examining the room and its furnishings, someone had been watching her. It took her another moment to remember that she had been pulled into this room. She turned too quickly, and he caught her just as she might have fallen. Her eyes widened in panic as he held her, his hands on her arms.
"Shush!" he hissed in a hushed tone, covering her mouth and holding up a finger to his lips as he winked at her. That was when she heard it.
"Lady Zoey! Lady Zoey!" echoed the maids.
"You are wanted as a matter of urgency! Please say if you can hear us," said Thomas the butler, his prudent voice giving way to agitation.
It was not screaming exactly, but it wasn't any less urgent for being said in hushed tones throughout the house.
"It would seem that you're a wanted woman, Lady Zoey," the handsome stranger said, removing his hand from her mouth and whispering to her as his eyes and lips neared hers.
Zoey was a smart woman. She had and always would excel in any endeavour she took on. Unfortunately, Zoey had never taken on dating. Despite ample interest from many suitors, Zoey always seemed to run from the idea. No man, be he handsome or smart or funny, had ever truly managed to capture her interest. Until now.
Those alluring, ocean blue naughty eyes held hers and when she looked to look elsewhere, she found nothing was safe. His long sandy brown hair was brushed back neatly without a hair out of place. It made her want to make a mess of it. The way his big hands curved around her arms made her want to take a step closer, to curve the rest of him to her. Even his suit wasn't safe. His jacket was open with the first two buttons of his shirt undone. Seeing this made her want to undo more of them, to explore, discover and for the first time in her life, the lady found she wanted for breath because of a man.
But Zoey would not remain so for long.
"What do you think you're doing?!" she snapped, when the voices had passed.
When she took a step back, he simply took one forward. This was too much for her. All at once, her anger took hold of her and she slapped him. Her jaw dropped, and it took everything in her not to apologize. Not to raise her hands and cover her face in horror. He watched a string of emotions dance all over her face and burst out laughing.
"Feisty one, aren't you?" he quipped, his eyes drowning in mischief.
Oh, the things he wanted to do to her! She might've been a mere commoner, but heaven help him, she was beautiful. The way her long golden locks moved with her when she got all worked up was enough to drive any man insane. She was a tiny little thing, with inquiring big hazel eyes and an hourglass figure, sparking sexy librarian fantasies in his head.
Seeing the way that he looked at her, she went back to being angry and started to storm off again.
"Wait, wait, wait!" he said, still laughing. "I was just so eager to meet you. When I heard that you were at present detained, I thought my heart would burst. I just had to come and find you."
He practically sang the words, holding his hand to his heart in a melodramatic fashion. He jogged a little ahead of her, blocking her path.
Zoey wasn't thinking. She didn't see the danger that was him. She was all anger. It didn't matter who he was or what he wanted. She just wanted to scream, to leave.
"Get. Out. Of. My. Way!" she demanded, fiercely yanking at the doorknob.
"Where will you go? Everyone's looking for you. The moment you step outside of this room, you will be found."
2018, December 4th Aaron put his thumb and his index finger up to his chin and feigned concern. His question gave her some pause. It was quite the conundrum she found herself faced with. It was only a matter of time before she was found, whether she gave herself up or not. Zoey searched her angry brain for the way out, because she had to find the way out. She was not going to be married off, used as some sort of bargaining chip. No, they would have to find another way. She would have to too. Perhaps a part-time job or selling off all her mother's bags and shoes. Yes, another way. Normal, everyday people did this stuff all the time and Zoey had never been raised in a fancy mansion so as to make her feel or think of herself as but every day. He could see the gears moving in her head as she contemplated what to do, her hand still on the doorknob, with only his body preventing the door from swinging right open. He had done this many times, come for some girl or another in the depth of t
2019, March 4th As Zoey digested that for the second time in her life a proposal of marriage had come to her under the most unusual of circumstances, James' phone rang. The screen lit up to reveal the name Emily. After the ringing stopped, Zoey happened to look at the screen again. He had 53 unread messages and 71 missed calls. "Shouldn't you call her back?" "She's the woman in the photo with Aaron," James answered coolly. His face morphed into a look of disgust. Emily, sweet Emily. She would never be sweet Emily again. Not to him. "I see," Zoey answered, looking down at her feet. Of course. She was hot again with anger and embarrassment. "She's your girlfriend, right?" "Fiancée." James held up a hand, made a fist, and bit into it. "Former fiancée," he said, correcting himself. He turned to her then and could practically see her neurons unravelling. They weren’t in love. This was a business agreement. Hell, for him, it was a straight up revenge ploy. But James knew better
2018, December 4th "Fuck!" Aaron screamed in agony. It was only for a brief moment. Just a little jab. He would be okay. Zoey justified her actions to herself as she lifted the heel of her 6-inch stiletto off of his shoe just as Jesse was slamming the brakes on the car. Jesse whipped his head back, panicked. "Are you okay, Your Highness?!" "Fine," Aaron grunted through his teeth. Zoey was out of the car before Aaron could recover, but his grimace soon turned into a smile as he watched Zoey's younger brother Bart take his sister's hand and try to lead her off like she was a naughty schoolgirl. Zoey, however, was done taking orders. She marched her way right up to the gates. The guards bowed. "Open it up," she demanded. The guards looked sheepishly at Bart, who was standing behind her. "I, Lady Zoey Arden, demand that you open the gates right now!" No one could have been more surprised at her words than Zoey herself, but both Bart and Aaron were watching her now, stunned. "My L
2018, December 4th Zoey opened her eyes as an umbrella suddenly came into view above her head. Then, seeing who was holding it, she groaned. "Dude, seriously, just go away," she sighed. "Not marrying you, not marrying anyone. I haven't even spent a minute alone with the person I actually came to see." Zoey was tired, and the words were coming out of her mouth more freely than usual. "And who might that be? Should I be jealous?" Aaron smirked. He liked looking at her. Despite the many concerns he had, looking at her made him feel light somehow, made him feel like the version of himself that most people thought he was. Zoey got up and started walking again. "I have a life, you know? I'm starting my PhD soon. I have a mom. I have-" Here she fell short. What else did she have? This thought had just started making her feel depressed, and she was on her way back down again when she felt something being pressed into her hand. It was the handle of the umbrella. When next she knew, she
2019, March 4th Zoey was tossing and turning in her bed. Bart had finally retired to his own room for the night, leaving Zoey alone to watch the clock count down. In 20 minutes, James' deadline would be up. She went through her phone, which Bart had returned to her after much debate and warning, and groaned. The missed calls from Aaron were racking up. Her inbox was full. Zoey's mom had called and left a few messages, too. How would she tell her mom what had happened? But that was a problem for tomorrow. Tonight, she had bigger fish to fry. She texted her mom to let her know that she was okay and that she would call in the morning. 15 minutes left. It would take at least 10 to get to the place where she had met the duke, the prince, earlier that night. It was bizarre. Less so that Duke Beaumont turned out to be a prince. More so that Zoey would have married Aaron at the end of the month without even knowing he had a brother. Did she even know him at all? What else would fall throug
2019, March 4th "Sorry I'm such a mess. I didn't really think it through when I left," she said, biting her lip. He wanted to laugh at her, at the very different thoughts they had about her appearance, but swallowed a chuckle. "You look lovely, Lady Zoey," he flattered boldly. She frowned in disbelief, then quickly corrected herself and pasted a smile on her face. This time, he did laugh. It was a short one, but he couldn't stop it slipping out. Her eyes warmed to the sound of his laughing and she smiled, for real this time. Oh his heart, oh that smile. Something had changed. The feeling of familiarity was now more than just a feeling. He dared not hope, but he could swear that she had lowered her guard and he his own. They had, in a moment, become comfortable. "Good evening, Your Grace. Would the lady like something to drink?" the waiter interrupted. "A glass of red wine, please," she smiled pleasantly. "No," he said instantly. "Weren't you the one that wanted to have a drink?
2018, December 4th (5 minutes to sunset) As Aaron set Zoey down in front of the gates of the Arden residence, he knew his opinion of Zoey had changed. She was still exactly what he had pictured: innocent to a fault, lacking in experience and sure to have a difficult time as a royal. But there were other things too, like the way she crossed her legs when she ate ice-cream on that bench like she was at home. Or the way she claimed her name as an Arden and demanded to have the gates opened. Zoey had her own way of doing things and was skilled in getting what she wanted. "One future princess home on time," he smiled, pulling some leaves out of her hair. He locked his hands behind his back, afraid that old habits would betray him to her even more before asking, "So, lunch tomorrow?" Zoey thought for a moment. She knew what she had done today wasn't a feasible plan. She had no money and all her belongings were still in a room behind those gates. So maybe she was going to be stuck here
2018, December 4th "Why so tense, Bart?" a voice asked, seeming to come from nowhere. Bart was immediately alert. No guests had been announced. Who was this intruder? "Calm down, I come in peace," she said, appearing before him. Bart took her in. She was dressed in an over the top, probably highly fashionable, baby blue wrap dress. His eyes lingered on the sash a moment too long before his eyes finally met with hers. "CC," he sighed, relieved. "In the flesh," she giggled. "So, what do we got? What's the 4-1-1?" "Did Aaron send you?" "No one sends CC anywhere. I was merely made aware that you might need a little help dealing with the old people." She slipped past him like it was nothing. Bart sighed and re-entered the house after her. "So, he sent the master manipulator, huh? What are you playing at, Aaron? Where the hell are you?" "Daddy! Mama!" CC yelled, throwing her arms out. "My dear, sweet girl!" Queen Mary returned. "Is that Caroline Condor?!" Duke Arden asked in del