The Orphan And The Crown

31

My heart fluttered and my stomach was doing somersaults when he told me he loved me yet again. On impulse, I leaned in and kissed him, passionately.

"I love you too," I responded, gazing into his dark eyes. "You honestly make me the happiest woman."

"I'm glad, princess. I've got a surprise for you." He told me. We made our way to the beach, hand in hand. We stood there watching the sky. It was a full moon and the moon was a dark red. It was such a spectacular sight to see.

In a few minutes, fireworks were erupting in the sky. I gasped and covered my mouth in shock.

"This is so beautiful!" I squealed and he chuckled.

He hugged me from behind and kissed my cheek. "You deserve the, princess." He whispered in my ear. My lips lifted into a smile and I snuggled more into him. We watched the fireworks before deciding to leave.

***

"OMG, that's so romantic. Looks like your date went better than mine." Kate shook her head. 

I was telling her about my date with Alessandro yesterday and how special it was.

We were sitting by the pool with our feet dipped in, drinking smoothies made by Alessandro's chef. Alessandro was in his office quickly doing some work.

I looked at her confused. "How so? I thought you liked Leonardo."

She heaved a sigh. "I do but on our date yesterday, I realized that we have nothing in common. I also hated how he was talking about himself and his achievements the entire time." She rolled her eyes.

"Oh, that's awful." I said, cringing internally. "Pretty selfish of him too."

"Exactly! And you know I hate people who only talk about themselves. For gods sake, its a date, not an interview." She continued to complain. "I even had to fake being sick to leave early."

I chuckled. "Then are you still going to go to his pool party?"

"I'm not sure. I don't think I want to see him again." She admitted. She used her hairband to tie her hair into a messy bun. I pursed my lips at her and she raised her eyebrow at me.

"Oh come on, Kate. Who will I hangout with besides Alessandro. I know he'll want to be with the guys and I'm not in the mood to deal with fake, jealous girls there."

She huffed. "Okay fine, I'll go. But you owe me one."

"Anything." I promised and she raised her eyebrow at me.

"You better not forget this promise." She warned and I nodded.

"Besides maybe just tell Leonardo you're not interested in him and would rather be friends. That way he'll stop pestering you for dates."

She nodded, taking a sip of her strawberry and mango smoothie.

"Okay, let's go get ready. I still have to choose my outfit and you know how indecisive I can be." I told her.

"Literally, your worst trait." She laughed.

We got to the pool party and found it packed with many celebrities. Some of them, I recognized from Leonardo's previous party. The whole mood shifted when Alessandro walked in. Everyone was staring at him and whispers could be heard as we walked closer to the pool area where the party was held. Some of the girls were giving me dirty looks. I usually got them but this time they were much more, making me think that there's something I don't know.

Rafael was immediately surrounded by girls who wanted to impress him. Given his flirtatious nature, he entertained them.

Girls were wearing bikinis leaving nothing left to imagine. Guys wore shorts and summer tops while others walked around shirtless showing their fit bodies.