Buckle up guys, things are about to get... interesting.
I had not seen Catherine all evening, which was probably to be expected if you take into account how many people were currently in the ballroom. But sure enough, servers started filling in from all corners of the room to serve champagne to all of the guests. This was as good a sign as any that something permitting a toast was about to go down.
The orchestra started playing a soft tune and everyone's attention was drawn to the small stage in the front of the room where Catherine Knight was busy ascending the stairs. Her hair was pinned up in an elaborate up do and her gown had a short train following behind her. If I had to sum up her appearance in word, it would be "elegant".
As she reached the top of the stage a microphone was already waiting for her to address her guests.
"Good evening friends and distinguished guests," She started, her crisp voice filling the ballroom, killing off all other sound.
"It is my great honor and privilege to welcome you most warmly this evening to the "Leukemia & Lymphoma Society Charity Ball". Knight Incorporated is pleased to host this event, which aims to raise money to further cancer research. This cause is so near to me personally, having lost my husband Walt to lymphoma eight years ago." Her voice cracked slightly with the last sentence.
The woman was good. I was almost inclined to believe her speech had all the emotion (along with the tears brimming her eyes) not disappeared in a matter of seconds. There was no way a woman who truly cared for her husband and was still grieving his death after eight years would be able to switch off deep pain like that in a matter of seconds.
"Last year's event was a tremendous success," she continued, without so much as a quiver in her voice, "and I have no doubt in my mind that this year, with the immense generosity from all of you, we'll be able to meet, if not exceed what we were able to raise last year. Now, I can spend an eternity up here, thanking and welcoming each and every esteemed guest personally, but let's be honest, we don't really have enough time."
Que the chuckles from all the self-important guests. My eyes inadvertently moved to William to see whether he was as absorbed with his own importance as everyone else present. A part of me was pleased to see that he had not joined in with everyone else, although this could be because of his inability to laugh. I chose, however, to believe that he wasn't as pretentious and stuck-up as everyone else.
"So without further ado, I will leave you to enjoy the rest of the evening." She ended, gesturing towards the orchestra to start up again.
There was a mixture of applause and music filling the air.
Catherine made her way down the stairs and through the crowd, stopping every so often to talk with guests.
William lightly held my elbow, drawing my attention away from his aunt and towards him.
"Would you like another drink?" He asked, already taking the empty champagne flute from my grasp.
"Uhm, yes, thank you." I answered.
"I'll be right back." He made his way to the bar area to place our orders.
My eyes followed his retreating back. How was it possible that he was handsome from every angle?
"Good evening Miss Bennet." Catherine said from right behind me.
I jumped slightly, not realizing that anyone had been standing so close until she spoke.
I turned my attention to her, straightening up as I did so.
"Good evening, this is quite the spectacular event." I commented, allowing my eyes to travel across the décor.
"Why thank you and are you enjoying yourself so far?" She asked with a hint of accusation in her tone.
I knew exactly what she was implying and I wasn't going to take it laying down. I haven't done anything to earn her ridicule.
"Yes, William and I have been having a perfectly pleasant evening." I answered, emphasizing William's name.
I knew what this was about, this was about William. Clearly she looked down on me and didn't approve of him bringing his assistant to her fancy ball, where I clearly did not belong.
"Yes, it was really nice of him to bring you along tonight. He's always been dedicated to his work. I can understand why he brought you along, you never know when he'd need a note to be taken down. I have to admit, I did think he was going to bring Sophia tonight." She stated with a knowing smile.
That stopped me in my tracks.
"I'm sorry who?" I asked, struggling to mask my surprise. I didn't want to give her the satisfaction.
Her smile only grew, she was victorious, she had one-upped me.
"Don't tell me you didn't know."
Clearly I didn't you absolute troll.
"His fiancé, Sophia Romano." She answered simply, taking a sip of her champagne, keeping her eagle eyes trained on me.
There was no way that he was engaged. I would've known!
Wouldn't I?
She had to be lying. Sure, I've been confused by everything I've heard of him and even thought some pretty bad things about him. But the way he treated me, how kind and considerate he was towards me... No matter what thoughts I had entertained about him before, never, not even once did I think of him as the type of man that would play with a woman's emotions like that.
"You're lying." I stated flatly.
This only made her chuckle.
"Now why would I need to do that. See for yourself." She said, looking past my shoulder.
I turned around, searching for William in the crowd. My eyes quickly landed on him across the room, he was still standing at the bar, our drinks now placed on the counter. But his attention wasn't on our order, he was looking in the other direction.
I followed his line of sight and saw a woman gracefully making her way towards him with a graceful smile spread across her face. She was gorgeous, caramel hair cascaded in effortless curls down her back, her lips were painted ruby red to match her exquisite dress that fit her like a glove.
William grinned as she approached, pulling her into a hug. I could see his lips moving as he said something into her ear before pulling back and placing a kiss to her cheek.
A stab pierced my heart.
"As much as I would love to stay and chat, I have to greet the rest of my guests. If you'll excuse me." Catherine said from my side, her Cheshire cat smile seeping into her voice.
I didn't turn to see her depart.
She had accomplished what she set out to do, she had completely derailed me in the most humiliating way she possibly could without publicly placing herself in a bad light.
This was like a car crash, I couldn't look away, even if I desperately wanted to. My eyes stayed on them as they spoke, Sophia's hands caressing his forearm in a familiar way.
They were close.
Her eyes sparkled up at him adoringly. The affection of a loving fiancé was definitely present on her end, but what about him?
He was certainly smiling a lot more than I was used to...
No...
My stomach made a nasty turn. I felt like I was going to be sick.
I had to get away, I couldn't look at them any longer.
My eyes searched for an exit, any door at all would do to provide a safe haven at this point.
I rushed to the first door my eyes landed on, exiting the main ball room, inhaling deeply once I was out on the balcony.
This wasn't quite what I had in mind, but it was better than staying in the same room with them.
My heart squeezed and it felt like my limbs would give out under me at any moment. I leaned against the outside wall to keep me upright.
My mind tried desperately to play catch-up, to put together all of the pieces of the puzzle which was just thrown out in front of me.
Dread spread over me as I realized the gravity of the situation.
William was engaged.