Chapter 18. Sage's observations

MELODY'S Point of View

I sucked in a breath.

Hillary said nothing, but it was obvious she had guessed why I'd walked out of Seth's room looking disheveled.

I took a long look at the silhouette of the sexy goddess in the full body-length mirror.

Was that me? Is there something I'm missing here, this dress was also picked out by Her Majesty. I'd told Hillary earlier in the day to pick out a dress that could feed Seth's eyes. So how did that information reach the Queen? I tensed up a bit, it seemed Hillary's loyalty was with the Queen, I had to be more careful of whatever information I tossed around in the future.

Although the Queen didn't seem to have a problem with Seth and me earlier, you can't really tell what people really think about you just because they're nice. Maybe she thought I was slutty, his plaything even.

Let's not assume the worse just yet, but it wouldn't hurt to be more cautious around her. The black dress brought out the beauty of my hairline and blonde eyebrows. It was backless, a string of gold held the upper bodice strongly around my neck. It clung to my body, and the little stuffing made my hips look wider, there was a narrow slit on the left, showing off my legs.

It had lots of coloured stones in the bust out, it gave off this shiny metallic feel on the slimy texture of the dress, almost obsidian. it had a feathery touch at the edges and it was long enough to slightly graze the floor. I was happy about that aspect, I didn't want any risk of stepping on my dress and possibly ripping it because my heels had thin bases. An open-toe ten-inch stiletto dress sandals.

The makeup artist swept my hair to the side, in my signature 'just got out of the shower look'. I just like the style of wet hair.

It was a black and white ball. Hillary and a brunette maid I'd never seen before escorted me to the limo. It was after I'd locked the door behind me, I realized that the person inside the car waiting for me was not Seth.

***

PROSE MODE.

Luke stepped into the car that picked him up from Oceana's airport. He was still lost in thought about Melody dating Seth.

That pretty much crossed out a lot of things off his plan. At the park, he thought that maybe it was just a coincidence. What are the odds of the crown prince running into his ex-girlfriend when he'd barely stepped out of the house?

Everything became crystal clear to him at the breakfast intro on the morning of the new year. He wanted to yank her out of his cousin's embrace but...The Queen.

She could read everyone's minds like an open book, plus if he harbors any evil thoughts it'll just be like he threw his memories right at her, in other words, his history with Melody will be exposed. He decided to just pretend not to notice her, it was better to surrender now and fight later.

The new shipments of the enhanced power amplifiers had arrived, maybe if he used that enough he'd be able to take Melody back by force. He still needed to wrap Fabian around his little finger.

He sighed.

"Stop at the Mall, I wanna buy a suit for the party tonight."

He regretted many things. Playing with her feelings, he thought she'd always be with him no matter what he did. But she'd moved on so quickly, leaving him stuck in the past.

He wasn't gonna let her off that easy, he'd refused to mark her back then because he wanted to keep playing around. He was such a catch bad then, I'd be a waste to just tie himself down to one woman who he presumed was willing to do anything for him.

He miscalculated. She may have been in love but she was not naive. He should have treated her better when he had the chance, it might be too late but he wasn't planning on giving her up, not even close.

He was gonna get her back at any cost. Even if it meant he was gonna force her.

***

MELODY'S Point of View.

Sage picked me up instead. My phone's notification sound popped up and I looked at a text message from Seth.

'Sorry, I can't pick you up babe. Mom's making me take care of some things ahead of schedule, one of my sisters will pick you up, okay? Love you'.

Melody glanced at Sage. She was absolutely ravishing.

Her butterscotch hair color had been implanted with very thin highlights. She wore an off-shoulder cerulean lace dress, with an overskirt that had flower embroidery designs.

She barely looked in my direction, apart from the leering gaze she flashed me when I displayed my surprised expression that she wasn't the person I was expecting to meet.

"I never thought my brother was actually gonna get a girlfriend anytime soon."

My head tilted in her direction, her gaze was fixed on me.

"Your highness I..."

"It's Sage. Just call me that when it's just the two of us," That would have been a friendly interjection on my part, but she wasn't smiling at me. She looked so resolute and plain.

"It was a shock to me when he came home and said he met a girl he liked. I'd like to believe you'll take him seriously, he's already seen a lot of beautiful girls out there, don't think you're somehow better than all of them."

I swallowed, although I could think of a few reasons why she said that, I chose not to conclude. Seth had briefed me about the dispositions of all his sisters and the one he was closest to was Sage. If he trusted her, then I shouldn't deduce the worst of her on a whim.

"He's gone on dates before and discovered a lot about those girls. They were either just after money, power, his influence on the media, the title of crown princess or just to have a pretty face at their disposal. But even after all that I hadn't seen him as upset as that day after your first date with him. I guess he really wanted you to like him."

Sage stared blankly at the empty seat to her left. I felt a little tenser, I knew that I'd hurt his feelings that day but hearing it from someone else hit me differently.

"I observed you for a while, you're not like those girls. But I can't say you're better than them either, you like Seth but why do I feel like you're not ready to give your heart to him completely?"

She scrutinized me as she spoke those words, hanging about to catch my reaction.

"If you're not willing to do that, it's better you leave right now because if you hurt my brother I will never forgive you."