Chapter Three
1177 Words
James walked into the room when I was done getting dressed. He put his hands in his pockets while his eyes wandered over my form till he met my gaze again.
“You look beautiful… You are beautiful.”
“Thank you,” I said as my skin turned red, “You look great too.”
He wore a suit that exuded power and wealth, and it was a perfect fit to his well-sculpted body.
“How is Amy doing?” I asked, but he stared right at me with a look in his eyes that made my heart flutter.
“James..”
He smiled now and walked closer to me with his hands still in his pockets. “She’s good. She is excited about seeing you tonight.”
My lips spread into a smile. It was great to know that I could hang out with Amy amid so many strangers.
I tried my best not to be nervous about the party. So far, I was doing okay.
The truth is I had already started counting down the days until I would be back home to my regular-uneventful life. It was the best.
James had a stern look on his face now. “Thank you so much, Alyssa. This is important to me.”
“You are welcome.”
He opened the door and said, “Shall we?”
When we stepped out into the beautifully decorated garden, many of the guests turned to us.
My grip tightened on James' arm, and he pulled me close, sensing my discomfort. Amy had sighted us when we walked in and made her way to us, beaming.
“Alyssa! You look gorgeous!”
My God was she sweet. “Thank you, Amy. You are stunning.”
She looked perfect, but it was nothing compared to how lovely her soul was.
She had tears in her eyes when she thanked me. James was smiling at us when a young man walked up to him saying that his father had sent for him.
“Excuse me, ladies,” he said, then walked away.
He returned shortly after Janette had introduced me to all of her friends. Her rich friends. She included the part that James and I were lovers, which caused most of them to ask questions about my family background.
I had expected it at some point.
James disappeared again when he received a phone call, leaving me with Amy and that's when she arrived.
Claire Gould.
She walked into the garden dressed in the most stunning silk dress I had ever seen. Her bone-straight, blond hair lay perfectly below her shoulders and her green eyes looked down on everyone she walked past.
Now, that is the kind of girl you think James would be with. And indeed he was. Amy mentioned it moments later as we both stared at her. It was hard not to look at her.
According to Amy, they had been together for a long time and everyone thought they would get married.
“James never mentioned what happened between them. He doesn't talk much about–” she paused when she shifted her gaze to me. “I am so sorry Alyssa.”
“It’s fine, Amy.” I gave her a reassuring smile, but she still looked concerned.
It really should not matter to me who James has been with or who he will ever be with. Why should I care?
I shouldn't.
I really shouldn’t.
But, I did. A part of me did.
All of a sudden, I wanted to be close to him. It was a new feeling, but I decided not to be scared.
Claire walked up to Amy and me before I could go look for James. She wrapped her slender arms around her in a warm embrace while my eyes searched through the guests for him.
“It is so good to see you, Amy.”
“It is so good to see you too! You look stunning.'' Amy replied with a broad grin spread across her face.
“Why, thank you. So do you.” She gave a gracious smile and then faced me. “Hello.”
“Hi.”
Amy broke the silence that followed and said awkwardly, “Uhm Alyssa, meet Claire,” she faced Claire, “Claire..this is Alyssa.”
“Nice to meet you,” I said, stretching out a hand. She hesitated while looking down at my hand with a cold glare, but shook it anyway.
Facing Amy now, she asked, “Where is James? I need to speak with him.”
“I have no idea,” Amy replied, searching the garden. “I haven’t seen him for a while now.”
“Well, if you do see him,” she began when she met my eyes, “Could you tell him, I need to see him?”
I almost laughed. The silence between us was deafening, and I had a mission to find James.
“Excuse me,” I said, and left their company immediately.
After I had walked around, looking for James, I returned to Jack giving a speech.
It was windy. A storm was coming.
Amy jumped out of her seat when she saw me approach her. Thankfully, Claire was not with her anymore.
“Alyssa! There you are. Come on. It is time for Daddy’s speech.” She took my hand and led me to a seat beside her.
Jack gave a pretty interesting and heartfelt speech. He thanked everyone for coming, gave a large amount of credit to Janette for being the perfect partner, and he mentioned how proud he was of his son and his profound success.
“And Amy,” Jack said and directed his eyes to her, “My beautiful daisy…you are my joy. I love you.”
She burst into tears while also laughing, then walked up to him and kissed him on his cheeks. She returned to her seat beaming with delight when the music continued and people paired up to dance.
I was still wondering where James was when Amy grabbed my hand and nudged me out of my seat. “Dance with me,” she said with an adorable laugh.
I got up and we danced. We laughed whenever we got the moves wrong, but it did not stop us. We kept dancing and I enjoyed every second of it.
I twirled her around a couple of times and she also did the same.
She stopped abruptly when I twirled her again and looked past my shoulders with a smile on her face, causing my brows to furrow.
“Turn around.” she giggled.
The music stopped and so did my heart. It was James. He was looking more serious than usual.
I was breathless, and my hands went cold as most of the guests turned their attention to him.
He got down on one knee, took out a case from his coat, and opened it. Then, he looked at me with pleading gorgeous eyes.
“Marry me, Alyssa Clark.”
- Writer
