Love Amidst Wars

four

Jay led Juliette into an unknown room, somewhere she had never been to before and she had been to the palace numerous times already. She walked in and saw the nobles around her age, drinking and laughing with each other.

"Jake! You made it!" A woman stood up from her seat to greet the duke. She looked like she came from a higher-status family. She gave Juliette a confused look before averting her attention to the prince, "And this is?"

"Ah! Clarissa, meet Juliette," Jay politely introduced her before going to pour himself some champagne.

Juliette stood there awkwardly, clenching her fists. She wasn't poor, she was not a commoner. She too, like them, was born with a silver spoon. But somehow, being there made her feel so small. It was just a small gathering with the prince's close friends. But it felt like she was standing in a big room, filled with people that made her anxious.

Jake plopped himself on the sofa before keeping his eyes fixed on the poor noblewoman. His lips curved into a small smirk as he took a glass of wine from Clarissa's hand.

"Are you just going to stand there like a fool?" He asked in his arrogant tone.

Juliette nervously sat at the corner of the sofa, maintaining a small distance from the other nobles. She kept her gaze lowered to her hands as she listened to their random conversations. The conversations where she had no idea what they meant.

"Have you seen her dress just now?"

"It was so hideous!"

"I can't imagine if Jay chooses to dance with her just now!"

"Guys, please. I won't, haha!"

The conversation then became muffled into her ears since all she wished was just to leave as early as possible. She felt foreign. They made her feel like she was a commoner among them.

"Would you like something to drink, Juliette?" Clarissa politely offered with a bright smile.

"She doesn't drink alcohol," Jake interrupted and arched an eyebrow at her. Juliette frowned before returning the smile to the noblewoman, "Sure."

As soon as Clarissa handed her the drink, she began gulping it down in one shot before wiping her mouth. Due to the strong liquor flowing against her throat, she coughed as she hit her chest gently. Jay immediately grabbed a tissue before handing it to her, "Are you okay? You should slow down on the alcohol."

Jake stood up before taking the same glass and pouring some more liquor. He then gave it to her before smirking, "You wanna prove to me that you can drink? It seems like this is your first time. Drink this."

It sounded more like an order rather than a suggestion. She gave him a death glare before taking it. Jay frowned, "Don't. If it's your first time then slow down."

"Jay! Let her gain some new experience!" Clarissa frowned as she crossed her arms, "You're boring, Jay."

Juliette hesitantly took it before thinking for a while. She could feel Jake's stare towards her and his mocking smirk. She tightened her grip around the glass before splashing the liquor at the hated duke.

Everyone in the room gasped at the sight of Jake standing there frozen, trying to process what just happened. Before he could even start talking or yelling, she instantly left the room and smiled to herself.

"That felt nice," she muttered under her breath before heading back to the ballroom.

In the prince's room, everyone awkwardly drank their wine as they saw Jake silently wipe the liquor off his suit with a napkin.

"What did you do to make her hate you so much?" Clarissa asked as she watched him from the sofa. Jay scoffed, "What else? His foul mouth of course."

"That lowly brat," Jake clenched his jaw before gulping down his wine.

"She does not earn that title. She's a daughter of a viscount," Jay said as he poured himself some more wine.

"And I am a duke," the man arrogantly said before taking a seat next to Clarissa.

⋅•⋅⊰∙∘☽༓☾∘∙⊱⋅•⋅

Juliette inhaled the fresh night air as she walked through the forest. She finally reached the spot where she buried Bambi and sighed at the sight of a flower she planted on the grave of the poor deer.

"Why is everyone so arrogant and cruel to me?" She asked and her smile faded.

"I just wish I didn't have to meet them ever again."

She sat next to the grave and leaned against a tree bark. She brought her knees to her chest and buried her face into it, "I'm not poor. Yet they treated me so awful."

"What's wrong with trying alcohol for the first time?"

"Why is the duke so cruel to me?"

"I felt so lonely in a room full of people."