Florence stood in shock, completely unable to register what I had done.
"I can't believe you...I thought we were all friends. And yet you...you..." I muttered as I took a step back from him.
In my eyes, the Florence in front of me was practically a monster.
Maybe a demon had possessed him at some point and I had no idea.
But right now, I could honestly care less.
How dare he.
"Lia..."
Finally, he used the nickname that he affectionately gave me in the past.
But it was already too late.
"I don't even understand how you can say half of the things that come out of your mouth and expect me to still be fine with it..." I whispered as I turned away from him and prepared to storm away.
I was just so mad that I didn't even know what to do.
I hated this.
I hated it.
I hated it.
I hated it.
What in the world was going on in his head?
I could have honestly cared less if he continued to harass only me but...if he was planning on hurting any of the other boys, I would immediately draw the line.
"You're not allowed to leave me, Cordelia," Florence snapped as he gripped my hand and held me back from going anywhere.
"Give me one good reason why I can't," I spat.
With his hand, Florence grabbed my chin and forced me to face him.
"Because you belong to me, right?" he said as his green eyes flashed red and an unnerving grin appeared on his face.
I shuddered.
"I don't belong to anyone, especially not you," I frowned as I twisted his hand off of me.
"Are you sure? Even after all that I've done for you?" Florence asked.
"And what have you ever done for me?!" I asked.
"..."
All of a sudden, an empty silence covered every inch of the room and I felt a strange chill run down the sides of my back.
"Hah...hahaha..." Florence laughed.
It was the insane sort of laugh...the kind of laugh that would make anyone stop and watch to see what was going on.
"F-ck. Well, whatever. It doesn't matter either way," Florence chuckled as he let go of me, "Just know that I will never let you escape me. Never."
"...We'll see," I said as I brushed off his hand and left.
Even though today, the day of my father's wedding, was meant to be a happy day, I felt sick to my stomach, and it was all because of one man, Florence.
Surely, there has to be a reason why he has changed so much...
But what?
It was as if though I were missing something...a key piece to a puzzle.
Florence...
What happened to you?
.
.
One Day Ago
.
.
The first day of the wedding celebration was a small party held at the dukedom estate.
It passed by quite quickly and the only individuals invited were close family and friends.
I was able to meet Sophie's relatives as well, which was a small but stable baron family that seemed to be full of genuine warmth and joy.
Now that I think about it, Sophie's life seemed to follow that of a fairy tale princess.
Because now, as the sole daughter of a baron family, she was about to marry to the second-most influential and prestigious family in all of Silver Bell, second to only the royal family, the duchy.
"This feels like a dream...I don't believe it..." I once overheard Sophie say to my father.
"Is that so?" my father replied.
"Yes...I don't even know if I deserve all of this..."
"You deserve everything and more, Sophie. And I'm going to make sure I give you exactly that," my father promised her with a wide grin.
And, with that, Sophie gave my father a quizzical look and gave him a light kiss on the lips.
I, of course, realizing that I shouldn't interrupt their little moment, left them alone to themselves on the night before their wedding.
.
.
Present Time
.
.
After that, a day had passed and it was already time for the real wedding ceremony to begin.
I was so nervous that my hands began to shake a little...even though it wasn't my wedding to begin with!
"Will it be alright, Ash?" I asked as I turned to my brother with a worried look on my face.
"Of course, it will. I planned everything out to perfection after all," my brother huffed as he attempted to calm me down.
"Well, yes, but..." I murmured.
Ash was definitely a very reliable man.
He was a male lead too after all.
So there shouldn't be anything for me to worry about...
"Cordelia," a voice filled with reassurance called out from behind me.
"Ah...Ace," I said as I turned around to face him.
I could recognize his voice anywhere.
And, just as I expected, he was dressed to perfection—no doubt thanks to the monstrously talented maids of the dukedom.
He looked ethereal...and was dressed in clothes that gave him a mature, refined feel.
Every inch of him was shining so vibrantly that I had to squint my eyes to make sure that I wouldn't go blind from his beauty.
"It's all going to be okay," Ace said reassuringly as he gripped my hand.
His words were like a refreshing breath of air and I could finally feel my racing heartbeat slow.
I gave a deep sigh to let out all of my tension.
I could feel the gaze of my brother, Ash, burning into the side of my face so I turned to look at him.
He seemed quite upset for some reason.
"Don't you think you're touching my sister too much?" Ash asked with a pouty frown.
Ah.
I looked down to see my hands entwined with Ace's and blushed.
Oops.
We held hands so naturally that I didn't even realize how it might have looked to the people around us.
"Tch. Kids these days," Ash muttered as he shook his head and pried Ace hands off of mine, "No man is going to touch my sister under my watch."
"Aren't you a man too though, Ash?" I asked my brother with the cock of my head as I looked at his hands wrapped around mine.
"...! I...uh...y-yes, I am...but it's d-different," Ash stuttered as the tips of his ears suddenly turned red.
I gave a small chuckle at his reaction and let go of him.
"...I-I'm your f-family so..." Ash continued to ramble.
I wrapped my arms around him and gave him a hug before he could continue.
"Yes, I know. Thank you, Ash. I love you too," I smiled as I patted my overprotective brother on the back.
"...!"
Ash was now completely frozen stiff from shock and I gave another laugh at his reaction.
That's right.
There was nothing for me to worry about at all.
After all, I had my friends and family by my side to support me through it all.
"Tch."
I heard the sound of someone's tongue click from behind me.
And when I turned around, I could see Ace's eyebrows twitch.
Oops.
It looks like I accidentally made someone jealous...
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A/N: AHHHH! I know I promised last week to update an extra-long chapter this week to make up for the weeks of shorter chapters lately, but I couldn't...
For those of you who don't know- I took the second dose of my vaccine two days ago so yesterday I was completely knocked out with fever, which meant I couldn't write at all! I decided to delay my update until today...but I am still feeling a bit unwell... ‧º·(˚ ˃̣̣̥⌓˂̣̣̥ )‧º·˚
WHY MUST I SUFFER SO MUCH FROM THE SIDE EFFECTS?? I swear that the rest of my family had hardly any problems with it...Maybe this really is karma for torturin- I mean...slightly bullying you all every week...
Anyways, since I am still feeling a bit sick, I still didn't have much motivation to write as much as I usually do...so I just edited as much of this chapter as I could and decided to publish it anyway, even if it was a bit shorter than I intended.
I will continue the rest of this chapter next week~ Sorry for the disappointment, guys! But also, thank you for your patience~
Thanks, again, to my readers/voters/commenters for everything that you do! Also, thank you so much to those of you who wrote me such sweet get-well-soon messages yesterday~ I love you guys so much!
Stay safe, everyone~
Okie byeee!
Word Count: 1334