Fresh Air - Anthony Bridgerton

I Miss You.

"Lord Bridgerton couldn't keep his eyes off you all night!" Annabelle giggled, jumping onto my bed.

"It's only because we haven't seen each other in years," Scarlett tried to reason with her sister. Anthony was engaged. To the Diamond of the season no less. Scarlett doubted that he would look at her at all.

"Oh really... That's not what Lady Whistledown says!" Annabelle exclaimed, pulling out the newest copy of Lady Whistledown from under Scarlett's pillow.

"Hey! Give it back!" Scarlett jumped up and chased her sister through the halls of the castle. Laughter echoed from every floor as the girls played their game.

Her Majesty always let them have fun together. She never separated them like everyone told her to, because they were the last family each of them had.

After about an hour or so, the girls got tired. Scarlett snatched the paper from her sister's hand and made her way back to her room. She lay on her back, staring at the ceiling. She couldn't sleep. All she could think about was Anthony and Daphne, her two closest friends from her childhood. Though she was always more fond of Anthony. Daphne was her best friend, besides her sister. When Scarlett left for France, she was meant to never talk to anyone from England again. Not her teachers, not her friends, not Daphne or Anthony, no one. But Anthony and Daphne wrote to her anyway, and she always wrote back. The letters from Daphne never stopped, unlike Anthony, who stopped writing to her after a couple of months. The last letter Anthony had ever sent to Scarlett said he was sorry, and to not take it personally. So in Scarlett's books, Anthony is not a man to hang around. Not a man to love. Not when he can leave you just like that.

As Scarlett lay there, memories flooded back to her. The days spent in the gardens, exploring hidden nooks and crannies of the castle, and the whispered promises exchanged under the moonlight. Anthony's face lingered in her mind, his smile, his laughter, his warmth. But alongside those memories was the pain of his absence, the unanswered questions, the feelings she never shared with him.

As Scarlett closed her eyes, trying to push away the thoughts of Anthony and the tantalizing rumors from Lady Whistledown, she couldn't shake the feeling that the past was about to catch up with her, whether she was ready for it or not.

In the quiet of her room, memories flooded back with a force that took her breath away. She remembered the laughter they shared as children, the secret adventures they embarked upon in the sprawling gardens of their estate. Anthony, with his mischievous grin, leading the way as they explored hidden passages and chased after imaginary foes. And Daphne, always by their side, her laughter ringing like music in the air.

But amidst those cherished memories, there were also painful reminders of the day Scarlett left for France. The tearful goodbyes, and the ache of separation that lingered long after she boarded the carriage and left her home behind. Anthony's last letter echoed in her mind, his words a bitter reminder of the distance that had grown between them.

Despite her efforts to move on, to build a life far from the shadows of the past, Scarlett couldn't escape the hold that Anthony Bridgerton still had on her heart. She had tried to convince herself that their childhood bond was nothing more than a fleeting connection, easily replaced by the passage of time. But deep down, she knew the truth - that the bond they shared was woven into the very fabric of her being, impossible to sever no matter how hard she tried.

With a heavy sigh, Scarlett rolled onto her side, staring out into the moonlit night beyond her window. The faint rustle of leaves outside seemed to whisper secrets of the past, stirring memories long buried beneath the surface. And as much as she wanted to resist, to keep the walls around her heart firmly in place, Scarlett couldn't deny the flutter of anticipation that danced within her chest.

Perhaps, she thought, it was time to avoid the ghosts of her past, to finally lay to rest the unanswered questions that had haunted her for so long. And if Anthony Bridgerton happened to be the ghost of that journey, well, Scarlett would face whatever challenges lay ahead. Tomorrow was the day the day she came out.