Sweeter Than Romance

Chapter 9: Calm before the Storm

*Nicholas*

“ Dammit!! That annoying woman!” I shut the door loudly, not caring if it would be broken or dented. What’s the use of our riches if we can’t even fix a freaking door?

“ Ughh. I won’t let her get away with this.” I said as I clutched my fists and thought hard.

Doesn’t she have any shame? Isn’t she afraid that I’ll let her out of my house if she won’t cooperate? I can absolutely do that but the thing irritating me is why I haven’t even done that by now. Is it because I’m a good person or.. Ughh. I’m too tired of this.”

A knock from the door and I glanced to where the sound was coming from. I swear if it’s that Lianne Girl I wouldn’t know how to react. But how would she know where my room was? Not unless if George told her a while ago.

“ Nicholas, it’s me.”

“ Come in, George.” I replied and flopped down on the bed.

“ You seem stressed. What’s bothering you?”

“ You know damn well what’s the cause of all of this, George. “ I replied with attitude in my voice. George just took no offense and shrugged it off.

“ I’m guessing Lianne didn’t cooperate , did she?”

“ Bingo. You don’t have to guess.”

“ Why didn’t she cooperate then?”

“ She refuses to sign the agreement cuz she thinks her life might be in danger! Like. What the hell? Why is she turning this against me? It’s supposed to be the other way around.”

George laughed at my statement and I can’t help but scoff on his reaction.

“ Ha. Ha. You think this is funny, don’t you?”

“ No.. I mean, Yes. But seriously, I think it’s pretty ironic.”

“ Idiotic is the right word.” I replied and rolled over so I was laying on my back.

“ That kid sure is something.” George said with a grin. “ I have a feeling that she and your brother would get along just fine.”

“ Yeah because they’re both annoying and screwed in the head.”

“ What are you gonna do now? Will you still convince her to sign those papers?”

“ Of course! It’s the only back-up I have to protect my secret and shut her up. Once I got her to sign the agreement, she can’t spread my secret or else it will be used against her.”

“ Hmm.. Why are you so bothered when she doesn’t even have evidence to support her claims against you? In that case, people would just ignore her and won’t make a big deal about it.” Said George with his brows furrowed.

“ You know how rumours work George. Though it isn’t proven, some people would still believe it! And I can’t let even a single word about this issue reach father’s ears.” I released a heavy sigh and rolled over so I was now facing George.

“ And besides.. I’m not even sure if Lianne has an evidence or not so I have to be careful no matter what.”

“Fine. But don’t be too hard on her. Lianne is a good kid. I can definitely say that. “ said George as he raised his hands in surrender.

“ You call her a good kid?!” I asked incredulously.

George just chuckled and waved goodbye as he left my room. I was left alone to dwell with my thoughts and a memory between me and my grand mother occurred instantly.

Flashback:

A 7 year old Nicholas was standing in front of her Grandmother. He was staring at the ground with his head low while Emelia shook her head for his behaviour.

“ Now Nicholas, what did I tell you about treating people? “

“ They should be treated the way they wanted to.” Mumbled Nicholas while playing with his hands.

“ Close but not quite.” Replied Emelia with a smile.

“ That you should always treat them with respect and respond to their actions ? “ answered Nicholas but more like in a questioning tone.

“ Correct. You should put that in mind little one. “

-End of Flashback

“Hmm.. Treat them the way they wanted to, eh? “

A mischievous smile appeared on Nicholas’ lips and he sat down on his bed while the gears start turning on his head.

“ If this is how you wanted then I’ll change it the way you like. “

Nicholas grabbed a phone from his table and dialled some specific numbers to execute his plan.

“ The game is on.. Lianne.”

---(TIME SKIP)-------

*Lianne*

“ Commander, our fortress is under attack. We need to strengthen our defenses right now!”

“ All right! Give me the Grenade Launcher and mark the enemy’s territory near the frontlines. Archidons, rain on them with your fiery Arrows!”

“ YES MAM!”

“ Don’t let them get any nearer from our starting point!”

I fiercely watched the battle from our head quarters. The Archers should be enough to fend off our enemies while my tactical leaders devise some plan for our counter- attack.

“ What’s the Status out there chief?”

One of my tacticians shook their head and he responded with a look of worry.

“ This is bad Commander. The enemies have placed a huge defense on every corner. There’s no way we could penetrate through them without losing a huge number of our allies.”

“ Then that leaves us no choice.” I picked up my grenade launcher and headed to battle.

“ Commander! You don’t mean to-

“ CODE RED! CODE RED! THE ENEMIES HAVE PASSED! I REPEAT, CODE RED!”

The static voice alerted us and we all tensed up until an explosive sound can be heard.

“ CODE RED! WE NEED TO-

(BOOOM!!!)

I shouted at the top of my lungs and I realized that it was just a dream. What woke me up was not the explosive sound effects of my action-themed dream but the loud blaring of the trumpets coming from the servants inside the room.

“ Wha- How did you get inside?”

They continued blowing the trumpets and I rolled over the bed while covering my head with the pillow. I shouted for them to stop despite knowing that I won’t be heard anyways.

“ What time is it anyways?”

I glanced at the clock on the wall and the time read 4:30 A.M. What? It’s still freaking early so why are these servants barging in the room at this hour?

They finally stopped with the trumpets and I released the pillow I was holding.

“ Miss Lianne. We are here to inform you that you shall begin with the morning walk before other activities.”

“ Walk what? Didn’t you see the time? It’s still dawn! And no thanks.. I don’t do Morning walks and I’m not the type to do exercises.”

I lay down back on the bed but the trumpets started blaring again. This caused me to jolt up and cover my ears.

“ Stooop It! Geez. Okay I get it. Is this a tradition in this house or something?”

No response and I was only met by the sound of Trumpets.

“ Ugh. Fine. I’m guessing this is Nicholas’ doing.” I threw the pillow in annoyance and got out of the room. Damn. I’ll find a way to get back at him some other time.

“ Good Morning, Miss. “ greeted the servants before they went out of the room. I could go back to sleep but because they had me annoyed, I didn’t have the will to do so. I’m wide awake and it’s still 4:55 A.M. Geez.

I decided to just take a bath and prepare for school. I searched for my uniform but it wasn’t in my bag nor in the cabinet.

“ I’m sure I just placed it in here.”

I searched at the drawers and all corners of the bed. Still, there was no trace of my uniform. I thought hard and remembered about the servants.

“ Maybe one of them took it since they were able to enter the room earlier.”

I decided to ask the maids about my uniform; hoping that they would have a clue about it. Maybe one of them took it to the laundry. Who knows?

“ Um Excuse me but have you seen a-

My words were cut off when the maid sped off. Wait, she heard me, didn’t she?

With a sigh, I just shrugged it off and decided to ask the other maids. Strange enough, they all responded the same way which was probably ignore me.

“ The last time I checked I was still human. Did I turned into a ghost overnight?”

I walked away to head downstairs when I caught a glimpse of Hazel carrying a basket.

“ Psst! Hazel!”

Luckily, she turned her head and faced my direction.

“ Oh Lianne. You’re up early. “ she said in a questioning tone.

“ Well.. I was forced to.” Came my reply with an awkward laugh.

“ Okaay. Were you looking for something?”

“ Yes. I was looking for my uniform. Did you by chance saw it anywhere?”

“ Does your uniform have a red tie? Because I saw one near the Swimming pool.”

“ SAY WHAT?! What is it doing there?” I asked with wide eyes. Did my uniform teleport or something?

“ I thought you went swimming last night and forgot it there.” Hazel said in confusion.

“ No, I wasn’t. Anyways, Thanks Hazel. I gotta go.” I didn’t wait for her reply and dashed towards the swimming area. That’s it. Nicholas is actually playing tricks on me.

I looked for the item and finally, my eyes landed on the uniform. It was hanged on the railing and judging from the droplets coming down from the fabric, I can tell that it was soaking wet.

I picked it up with clenched fists and shouted at the top of my lungs.

*Nicholas*

“ NICHOLAAAS!!!”

I faintly heard my name being shouted at the distance. Heh. Lianne surely got a dose of her own medicine.

I smirked to myself as I did my morning stretch before taking a bath. Lianne’s uniform was taken by one of the maids. I ordered her to wash the annoying woman’s uniform cuz yeah, I’m still a good person. I specifically instructed to placed it near the swimming pool and I’m sure it was still wet because it was only washed 2 hours ago.

As for the trumpet alarm, let’s just say it was clearly a way to piss her off.

“Ah. Today is a Goood Day.” I hummed to myself as I soaked in the bath tub and washed my self. 30 minutes later, I got out of the bathroom and changed into some casual clothes. I tend to eat breakfast first before actually changing into my school uniform. My uniform might get dirty so yeah.

“ Come in.” I said when a knock to the door was heard.

“ You know, Lianne was complaining about her uniform being found in the swimming pool.” George said as he slid inside my room.

“ Yeah. I heard her shout earlier.”

George shook his head and grinned at me.

“ What? I was kind enough to order the maids to wash her school uniform. I’m sure it definitely stinks.”

“ Man.. Kids these days..” said George and turned away from me. “ Before I forgot, would you like to request something for breakfast today?”

“ Anything would be fine.” I replied and adjusted my cotton shirt.

“ I’ll go and inform Lianne about breakfast. Just be careful though. She might be a little pissed.”

“ Well if she’s being annoying then I’m only returning the favor.” I replied as if it was no big deal at all.

“ Did Dad went home last night?”

“ No, he didn’t.”

“ I’m guessing he extended his business trip. Maybe it’s a good thing since Lianne was here.”

“ I’ll be going ahead, Nicholas.”

The door closed and I got up from by bed to head downstairs.

*Lianne*

“That cunning little fox.” I shifted from my position as I held my uniform with both hands. I am currently standing in front of the air conditioner while extending my arms to dry off the clothing.

“ I swear.. when I got the chance, I will get back at him.”

I heard a knock and I responded with a low ‘Come In’ without moving away from my position.

“Lianne, good to see you’re already up. Breakfast will be ready in a few minutes.”

“ I’ll follow soon, George. I just have to dry my uniform and I’ll be prepared.”

George got out of the room and I heaved a sigh as I relaxed my numb arms.

---------------------------

“ Good Morning, Lianne “

“ Good Morning to you too, Nicholas “ I emphasized the word Good as I gritted my teeth in reply. Nicholas just flashed me a silly grin as he took a sip with his coffee.

“ I suppose you slept well.” He asked with a raised brow.

“ Well of course. Who wouldn’t be? If you have a grand parade as an alarm clock.” I answered in sarcasm.

“ Only the best for you.” He said with a smirk.

I rolled my eyes and hugged my self to preserve body heat. Gosh, it feels like I’m wearing a winter costume because of the uniform. Damn you, Nicholas.

“ Really? I must thank you then because you have the thought to wash my uniform and place it in the swimming pool too.”

“ I did order the maids to wash your uniform but in the swimming pool? Nope. Maybe there was a mistake.” Said Nicholas as he placed a hand in his mouth in feign shock.

“ You’re so childish. Are you aware of that?”

“ Same to you. Why won’t you just sign the papers?”

“ Huh. After what you’ve done, you think I will just do that? Dream on, Nicholas.” Came my reply as I harshly chew on the bacon.

“ Let’s see about that.” Nicholas smirked mischievously and I can’t help but wonder on what crazy plan he is thinking.

We ate in silence and after Nicholas finished his meal, he called one of the servants and whispered something in his ear. The servant just nodded and walked away after doing so.

“ I must prepare and change for school. Wait for me outside, woman.”

“ Whatever.”

Nicholas rose from his seat and I begrudgingly grabbed my things to follow the devil’s orders.

“ Tsk. Just wait until I get out from this place.”

I stood outside the garden and watched the driver prepare the car .

“ I wonder what will happen once we leave this place. Will Nicholas continue to pester me or will we just act like strangers? On top of that.. I have to share a ride with him to school. Just great.”

After a few moments of silence, the weight of my statement dawned on me and I knew for sure that my quiet life was already doomed.

“ What the heck? Share a ride with him? Oh boy.....”

“ Guess the school population will be shocked by this.”

I massaged my head as I prepared myself for an incoming storm.

-Chapter End-