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As Sadie was consciously aware that time was flying like an arrow, she also started to realise that she was not the only one involved in her situation. Both Mr Cooper and Drew were desperately waiting for something to happen. Sadie came to realise that she was the pilot, not only of her life, but also theirs. Time flew and Sadie had not found the right words to say to Drew about wanting to end the relationship however her cold shoulder resulted into their drifting apart. They never kissed or hugged or laughed together. They did not text or go to each other's houses. What sort of relationship was that?
On the other hand, Sadie started spending so much time with Mr Cooper even if, deep down, she felt that she was keeping some very important information from him. So far, Mr Cooper had no idea that her father was the Mayor of Yorkwood and she wanted to keep it that way for the time being. Sadie feared that if Mr Cooper had to find out, it would push him away from her. Who would want to get involved with the mayor's daughter, after all? Plus, she assumed that Mr Cooper had gone through her files before he became her teacher.
As this silent transition from one relationship to another was happening, Sadie was constantly pressured by Jenna to leave Drew. Although their friendship had improved during the month of February, Sadie was worried that if she had to leave Drew completely, she would end up alone at school.
"I don't want to end up having everyone in this school ignoring me, you know," Sadie was expressing her concerns to Mr Cooper one day as she sat on his lap at his office. "I want to end it with Drew - well, there's nothing to end, to be honest - but I don't want to ruin any friendships."
Mr Cooper sighed nervously as he held her waist and looked into Sadie's eyes. He saw fear and concern, but he could also see strong affections. "Not everyone will ignore you, love, you know I would never do that." Sadie smiled as her cheeks turned pink. "And I understand that you don't want to lose any friendships, but I'm sure that Drew would understand. He's been quite good to me lately."
Sadie smiled and seemed thoughtful. She wondered whether Drew would hate her forever if he ever found out she was seeing their history teacher. Sadie longed to get this stressful situation off of her chest. She longed to feel comfortable with Drew as a friend again. She wanted to rest her head on his shoulder while watching a movie without worrying that he would make a move on her just like the old times.
David cleared his throat to get Sadie's attention, who seemed to have snapped out of her thoughts. He seemed nervous for a second, as he suggested, "So, um, you know Valentine's Day is coming up this weekend," Sadie nodded, "And, um, my brother should be away. So, yeah, I was wondering whether you wanted to, you know, spend it with me. We could cook dinner together and watch a couple of movies."
Sadie blushed and looked away. "Yeah, I'd love to, David. But what will I tell Drew?" she asked as confusion filled her features.
David sighed and drummed his fingers on his desk as he balanced her on his lap. "Sadie, I don't want to pressure you, but I honestly think it's time you choose."
"I choose you, David, but - "
"Then there should be no buts," he raised his voice, not letting her finish. When David noticed Sadie's pouts, he continued, this time with a calmer voice, "I love you but I can't keep sharing you with someone else, okay?"
"You're not sharing me, David. Nothing happens between Drew and I."
David studied Sadie's features and all he could see was honesty and love. He hated that she had not fully broken up with Drew. David detested being upset with Sadie, so he smiled while caressing her rosy cheeks. "I know, sweetheart," he reassured her. "I know."
Sadie closed her eyes as her muscles relaxed. She felt her teacher's warm hands move around her cheeks, which she assumed were as red as a beetroot. She had no idea why, but David's touch always made her blush. Then, Sadie felt David's lips slowly peck hers and she opened her eyes once again. "I'll do it tonight," she promised after he pulled away. "I'll tell Drew it can never work out between him and I."
"I have a lesson now," he sighed. "But call me as soon as you do it, okay?"
Later that evening, Drew noticed that Sadie had been playing with her food for the last couple of minutes and had barely touched it. He knew that something was up, as Sadie would never refuse a dish of chicken curry rice especially if it was prepared by the chefs at the Wilsons.
Liz, the housekeeper and her maid, had invited Drew for dinner that night hoping to cheer Sadie up. She noticed that Sadie had been down lately, and assumed that she was missing her sister, Emma, or was too stressed with school. Therefore, she had contacted Drew and planned to surprise Sadie.
Drew sighed and, since he was so lost in his thoughts, he accidentally dropped his fork on his plate, causing Sadie to jump. "Sorry," he apologised. "I didn't mean to scare you like that."
Sadie shook her head and forced a smile, shugging. "It's alright, Drew, never mind."
Drew inspected the fairly large dining room in order to kill time and avoid looking at Sadie. Beautiful paintings covered the four walls, exhibiting people who seemed to have come right out of period dramas. Most of them were portraits of both males and females who wore the prettiest old fashioned clothing. No wonder Sadie is obsessed with history, he thought. Who wouldn't be with all of these period portraits?
In order to break the silence which had filled the room, Drew decided to comment on the paintings which he had never truly cared for until that day. "So, um, these paintings are amazing. Who are they?"
Sadie lifted her gaze from her rice dish and looked around the room. Drew could notice a hint of pride filling her abnormal pale face as she informed him, "They're my family's ancestors - maternal and paternal."
This information led Drew to realise that some of the people depicted looked an awful lot like the Wilson family members, especially Sadie. Most of them seemed to have had soft, pale skin and light coloured hair. He remembered Sadie once telling him that her family had been involved in politics for the last couple of centuries, but she did not want to carry on with this tradition as she wished to become a writer.
When he noticed that there was no painting for the present Wilson family, Drew questioned Sadie about this. Sadness filled Sadie's features as he remembered that the family subject was a delicate one for her. She replied, "Its been removed ever since Mum left."
Wanting to change the subject and knowing that he had been wrong to ask such a hurtful question, Drew immediately pointed out, "Look, Sadie, please tell me what's been worrying you lately. I'm not two years old - I know something is up."
When Drew reached for her hand which she was resting on the dinner table, Sadie took hers away as tears filled her blue eyes. She gazed at him and, for a moment, did not know what to reply. But she knew she had to do it that evening. She was hurting way too many people with her wrong decision to give Drew a chance. Sadie decided to, first and foremost, apologise. With a broken voice, she managed to voice out, "I'm so sorry, Drew."
Drew encouraged her with a smile, saying, "Tell me what's wrong, Princess, and we can work this out together."
Tears leaked down Sadie's eyes upon hearing Drew calling her Princess. He had not called her with her pet name for such a long time and it finally felt like old times. "I can't do this anymore," she confessed with a broken voice.
Drew's eyes darted towards her piecing blue eyes. Although he had been expecting this to happen, he was not expecting this to happen so soon. "Stop," he stated, looking away. "I know where this is going so, please, don't go on."
Guilt filled Sadie. Her heart was telling her to reveal the whole truth to Drew but her mind was saying the exact opposite. While Drew deserved to know that she had been seeing someone else, she did not want to get Mr Cooper into any trouble. Plus, what would Drew think of her?
"I should have told you sooner, Drew," she cried as Drew stood up and paced back and forth. "But I didn't know what to say. I don't want to lose you forever."
Drew stopped close to her with tearful eyes. He looked directly into her eyes, saying, "You will never lose me, Sadie. We'll always be friends."
"Always?" she repeated, with a hopeful tone.
"Yes," he sighed. He sat back down at his spot and dried his cheeks with his sleeve. "There's someone else, right?" Sadie hesitated to reply and looked away to hide her guilt. Drew stood up and walked towards her direction and lifted her chin gently towards him, "Who is he?"
Sadie felt his cold fingers against her chin and shook her head, murmuring, "What?"
"Is it someone from school?"pressured her Drew as he slowly released any physical contact with Sadie.
"Yes," she blurted out, immediately regretting it.
"Do I know him?"
"I can't tell you that."
Drew tapped his foot nervously. So there was another guy involved and it was his fault that Sadie did not have any feelings for Drew. "Why him?" he cried. It should have been me, he thought.
"Because I love him." Sadie still could not find the courage to look Drew in the eye. She was worried that she would reveal an extra detail which would point towards Mr Cooper. Part of her was hoping that Liz or any other helper would walk in on their argument. This would lead them to change the subject. She needed to consult Mr Cooper.
"Oh," mouthed Drew as tears formed in his eyes.
Sadie wanted to make things right and did her best to find an excuse for not loving Drew back. Therefore, she said, "It was an accident - we didn't mean to fall in love."
Drew lifted his gaze towards Sadie as he tried to figure out who the mysterious guy was. He attempted to guess, "Is he the senior student who attends the history seminars after school - the one you mentioned a couple of days ago?" Then it hit him. "Is he even a student, Sadie?"
Sadie, with tears streaming down her face, glared at Drew without giving him an answer. This seemed to have been enough for Drew to understand what was going on, leading him to walk out of the dining room and storm out of the house. Sadie was left on her own, crying.
When the front door was heard shut, Liz rushed into the dining room, inquiring Drew's whereabouts. With a broken voice, Sadie replied, "He left."
Without giving Liz time to question what had happened, Sadie grabbed her phone which she had left on top of the dining table and ran to her bedroom, leaving Liz to figure out what had happened on her own. She knew better than to follow her to her bedroom. Liz knew that something had upset Sadie and she needed the time to calm down and cry.
As soon as she closed the door to her room, Sadie unlocked her phone and dialed Mr Cooper's number. "Hey love," he greeted her. When there was no reply, he asked, "Sadie, are you alright?"
"I broke up with him," she sobbed, sitting down on her bed.
"That's good, right?" she heard him say with a concerned voice.
"I guess."
There was a pause. Both were trying to figure out what they should say to each other. Mr Cooper decided to break the silence, "Sadie, did he get angry?"
"I think he figured it out," she confessed. Then Sadie went on to explain every single detail which had happened that evening as Mr Cooper listened carefully.
"Now what?" he sighed.