Love Amidst Wars

sixteen

Why the hell would he act like that?

Has he lost his mind?

I didn't think he would really jump into the lake...

And why is he suddenly interested in courting me?

Juliette brushed away the thoughts and fastened the pace of embroidery she was doing. Without realising which direction she was poking with the needle, she accidentally got her thumb.

She winced in pain and sucked on her finger to ease the painful sensation. "I can't believe he's occupying my mind right now," she scowled and placed the embroidery on a small table next to her.

"My lady!" Her maid barged into her room in panic. "What is it? What's all the fuss about?" She asked out of annoyance and saw the maid bringing a newspaper with her.

"You have to read the gossip section!"

Juliette sighed and took the paper before widening her eyes. A picture of her frowning and shouting at a wet Jake in the lake was displayed on the front cover of the paper.

"God! Look what happened now! Everyone will be talking about this!" She angrily threw the papers away before running her fingers through her hair out of frustration.

She stormed towards her bedroom before putting on her cloak. Her maid watched her with an anxious expression, "My lady! It's almost midnight! Where are you heading?"

"You don't need to know. What I need you to do is keep quiet and tell my parents I'm asleep."

The maid couldn't do anything but nod in defeat. Juliette left her room slowly before making her way to the entrance door. She paid the driver to make sure he would keep it a secret and let him take her to the place where it left a huge history for her.

After thirty minutes in the car, she finally stepped out of the vehicle and inhaled the scent of the midnight air. She took a deep breath and looked at the sign in front of her that had Military Site engraved on it.

She knew the Duke would be there. Why would he not? She heard he was a devoted soldier after all.

"Lady Juliette," a soldier greeted her, "What are you doing here? Your father isn't here."

"I know. I need you to keep this a secret. I have to see the Duke."

He widened his eyes in surprise as he kept silent. She frowned, "It's nothing intimate. I have to talk to him about the scandal that he caused."

The soldier nodded before helping her sneak into the site. He carefully led her to the Duke's tent without letting anyone know she was there.

As soon as the tent came into her sight, she barged in and saw Jake sleeping with his head resting on the desk.

"Grab me a bucket of water," she ordered the soldier and waited. As soon as she received what she wanted, she held the heavy bucket and dumped the water on the sleeping Duke.

Jake gasped and glared at her, "What the hell is wrong with you?!"

She threw the bucket to the floor before sitting on a chair across from him, "I should be the one asking you that question."

"And now all the papers are wet!"

"I suggest you lower your voice. I came here uninvited and I don't want the words to spread to my father, Your Grace."

He couldn't help but laugh at her ambitious request, "And what happens if I refuse?"

"You can create more scandals."

"Oh," he let out another chuckle, "So this is why you're here. I assume you've read the papers for today."

"Believe it or not, Your Grace, I do not wish to get involved in a scandalous rumour with you. And now everyone is saying that we have a secret intimate relationship, which we don't because I hate your guts."

He laughed again and ran his fingers through his hair. Juliette's cheeks reddened when she saw him do that. She averted her attention to the wall and calmed her beating heart silently.

"Just ignore the rumours. What's so hard about that?" Jake rolled his eyes before arranging his documents.

"Your Grace, I don't have any friends. I don't have any supporters. If I get into this scandal, let alone with you, people will hate me. All the other noblewomen especially. You are very famous, you have friends and you have a high status. People will soon laugh it off for you and things will go back to normal. But not for me."

"Well then, you came to me for a solution? Is that right?"

She nodded and waited for what he had to say next. He smirked before towering over her, "Allow me to court you. And you can't refuse."

"You're a bastard!" She pushed him away to get up from the seat.

"What do you see in Jay anyway? He's a royal stuck-up. And he only cares about his position and status. I bet he will not even think about you later on."

She scowled at him, "I'm not planning to fall for him. I'm not planning to fall for anyone associated with you."

"Good. That means I can court you then."

"Your Grace, you see me more as a victory than a mere human. What is wrong with you? You can just court Lady Clarissa."

"I don't want her," he bluntly responded before sitting on his chair.

"You're despicable," she muttered before leaving the tent. Jake rubbed his temples before calling a young soldier, "Johnny."

The young soldier walked in before saluting. "Yes, Your Grace!" He responded enthusiastically. The Duke sighed before leaning against his chair, "Make sure Lady Juliette gets home safely. Accompany her. Then, find the person who wrote this scandalous paper. I want to meet him."

He slammed the newspaper on the desk to let the soldier read it. Johnny nodded before excusing himself out of the tent.

Jake couldn't help but close his eyes and contemplate his conversation with Juliette.

How can I make her love me?

"You see me more as a victory than a mere human. What is wrong with you?" Juliette's piercing words had him thinking hard that he couldn't continue with his sleep.