Partners In Crime

Chapter 22

Frankly, I woke up utterly baffled. As I opened my eyes, the sun had not spared me a single second before assaulting my pupils with its glaring sun rays.

After a long while of rubbing my eyes in an attempt to rid myself of any leftover sleepiness,  I scanned the unfamiliar room which I later registered as my temporary bedroom.

Unfortunately, my recollection skills unraveled to be rather unavailing at the moment, as I had no idea how I ended up in my bed. As far as my memory went, William and I finished our project planning around midnight. After that, my mind approached a blurry subconsciousness.

Though, one thing seemed fairly strange. The other side of the bed had been perfectly tucked in. 

I am a bothered sleeper. The type to move in my sleep generously, as it appears that no position deems to strike my satisfaction for more than five minutes, hence the idea of me laying stock-still for eight hours is nearly fallacious.

Still, I chose to ignore the phenomenon by walking towards the dining room. Perhaps William could inform me of the blurry details. 

"Good morning."

"Good morning to you as well. Have you seen SoSo by any chance?" Payton asked while stirring her morning tea, her plate filled with Pain au Chocolat.

"I'm afraid not, for what purpose?" 

"For the mere reason of her irresponsibility towards her own wedding." 

"Do not allow me to begin with Sebastian. The two of them ran off, leaving us with piles of paperwork regarding guest invitations, paychecks, and the rest of their responsibilities!" Sofia explained, her tone progressively becoming more irritated the further she continued with her rant, stopping the moment she chose to say no more.

"I see..." I sat quietly, not wanting to fall under Sofia's burning hand. 

Moments later, William and Fred came into sight, joining us for the family meal. 

William sat beside me while Fred positioned himself next to Payton.  

We ate in silence yet the tension screeched loudly from Sofia's direction. I worry that tonight might just be SoSo's last night... alive. 

In hopes of distracting myself from the pressuring rock smashing my brain harder each time Sofia cussed out SoSo under her breath, I shifted my attention towards the only person who kept me sane. 

William.

I noticed how he barely took a bite out of his food, instead, he recommenced working on school documents which he'd been working on since our journey towards The Kingdom of France. 

I watched his eyes beam with excitement.

Judging from William's reaction, the student must've submitted a well-written article. 

I smiled to myself, experiencing a slight mixture of emotions. Part of me felt pleased to witness him get all excited, like a kid, over some letters scrambled together on a sheet of paper, yet part of me felt such an intoxicating emotion that was hardly describable. 

The thought alone of me not being the author of the article belonging in his hand was... rage-filling, and somehow I couldn't figure out why I felt such way. 

"Did you know that snails are considered a fine delicacy in France?!" Finally, the bride herself decided to show up.

I slowly gulped, aware of what will happen hereafter. 

"Well, I am certainly glad that you're enjoying yourself, perhaps a bit too much, considering how you act as free as a bird. My goodness, I can't seem to remember a single moment where you've been held back by... I don't know... maybe your rightful work." 

And- it happened. Sofia placed her elbows onto the table, resting her chin on her hands as she mercilessly scolded SoSo. 

Unquestionably, SoSo chose to defend herself instead of admitting to her wrongdoing, causing a big commotion to unveil.

In addition to my headache from earlier, another one formed gradually the more they screamed at each other. Luckily, William had noticed before the obnoxious yelling appeared, signaling me to follow him. I did as I was told to.

Together, we ended up in the backyard, sighing loudly.

"Whatever happened in these last few minutes, is none of our concern, we have one problem to worry about, so please don't get ill on me." He placed his cold hand on my face, rubbing his thumb slowly against my burning cheek.

It felt delightful, like a cold drink on a hot summer day. I relaxed my neck by instinct, allowing my face to rest on his hand as his arm supported the weight of my head.

My actions struck me after a few seconds, forcing me off of him.

"I apologize." I bowed down, feeling ashamed for exposing myself in such an unprofessional manner.

"For what exactly?" He smiled, compelling my face to turn bright red.

I did not answer. Simply because I hadn't a clue of an appropriate response. Regardless, I apologized once again, gaining a ton of confusion from his side.

"In any case, tonight will be the finale to his 'glory'. I'm entrusting you dearly with this mission." 

"I understand, I shall not disappoint you, William."

"Good." He patted my head lightly. "In the meantime, let us explore the beauty of France." 

A/N: Hey everyone. I'm so sorry for this short chapter. In all honesty, this chapter was a bit troublesome to write for I struggled with sorting the events. The next chapter will come a lot sooner and a lot more exciting!  I took a short break during my birthday week and a bit after that to enjoy some summer weather; however, I am ready to feed you once again LOL. I love all of you and I appreciate you sticking with me! I'll see you in a couple of days, in the meantime feel free to comment a few interesting events that you would like to see in this book and I can potentially add to my plot :)