**June 22nd, 3am**
Aurora: okay, i may have done something
Aurora: [Photo]
Aurora: do you think he'll notice?
Sebastian: is that archer???
Sebastian: why is his hair hot pink???
Aurora: he fell asleep
Aurora: i merely...took advantage of his distraction
Stefan: Do neither of you know how to put more than one clause in a single message? Jesus Christ. You're blowing up my notifications.
Aurora: sorry, sir
Aurora: won't happen again
Sebastian: yeah
Sebastian: our bad
Sebastian: we'll be better next time
Sebastian: right, rora?
Aurora: yep!
Aurora: goodnight!
~~~
**June 22nd, 8 am**
A small smile rises to my lips when I read the text chain in the morning. It quickly disappears when I remember why I'm up this early. Suppressing a sigh, I climb out of bed before making my way to the dressing room attached to my walk-in closet.
A crisp black suit has already been prepared by one of my staff members, and I dress carefully to avoid wrinkling it before pairing it with sapphire cuff links that perfectly match my eyes. I stop in the bathroom to comb style my dark hair before grabbing my phone and quickly making my way to my father's office.
I knock twice before entering, as he always expects. Any less and it makes you seem like you're barging in, any more and it makes you seem desperate.
He doesn't even look up from whatever he is writing as I walk in. "You're late," he says simply, though his cold voice immediately sends a wave of awareness down my spine as I take the seat across from him. By three minutes.
"I apologize. I will set my alarm earlier next time." Lie.
"Do you know why I called you in here?" He asks, still not looking up. I resist the urge to stab his monogrammed pen through his eye to get his attention.
"Seeing as you provided no explanation for your summons, I do not." He'd added an event to my calendar for today at 8:15 without any context. Not that he's ever given context, but still.
He finally looks up with a set of eyes almost identical to mine, but wearing an expression so cold that the room instantly plummets to subzero temperatures. "Giovanni Romano's gala is in just over a week. You do understand that you will be expected to do everything in your power to earn Aurora's favor." He doesn't even bother phrasing the last part as a question. He is well aware that I know exactly what is expected of me. "If even a fraction of the rumors going around are true, then you should have no problem doing so." The rumors that Aurora and I are secretly dating. The ones she's gotten mad at me for starting yesterday, though I had no idea they even existed until she called me.
"They aren't," I say, earning another sharp look from my father. I amend, "But I know what is expected of me." Earn Aurora's favor. Win her hand. Produce heirs with her, whether willingly or not. The thought alone brings a sour taste to my mouth.
He only nods, his expression unchanging as he picks up his pen and resumes his work. "You are dismissed." I make my way out of his office as quickly as my feet will take me, and barely make it into the nearest bathroom before my breakfast makes a gross reappearance.
~~~
**June 22nd, 10am**
Aurora: do you guys have plans tomorrow?
Niklaus: Alek and I have a meeting at 8 with our fathers, but nothing else. Why?
Aurora: [Screenshot]
Aurora: these tickets are 10k a pop.
Aurora: don't let this be a waste
Stefan: In Manhattan? Ew.
Sebastian: great!
Sebastian: we'll all be there
Sebastian: updates on The Archer Thing?
Aurora: he's still sleeping
Aurora: i'll let you know
YOU ARE READING
Mio Sole
Action[English] After her 'parents' (who turned out to have been ex-mafia members who turned against their leader) had died, Aurora was sent to an elite boarding school in Los Angeles, California. ~~~ Aurora is a 16 year-old French fashion student and d...
