𝐄𝐍𝐎𝐔𝐆𝐇 𝐅𝐎𝐑 𝐘𝐎𝐔; benedict bridgerton

𝟎𝟐.

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𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐓𝐖𝐎

THAT WAS DEFINITELY the week Benedict had slept the least in his entire long existence, and the worst part was that he knew exactly why: Victoria.

He couldn't exactly say he was in love, but the way his heart beat faster whenever he thought of the girl wasn't easy to disguise.

It was as if all his life he had been waiting for that moment in the Queen's parlour. As if that moment summed it up.

The best part was that he felt happy, even though he was confused about his feelings. He had never felt this way about any of the other women he had met or even flirted with, which made him slightly worried, but at the moment he was more absorbed in how he was going to get back to painting, since now that he had found out about Anthony's donation he didn't feel motivated enough to practise again.

Only he knew how hard it had been to think that he hadn't been good enough and that he had only joined the academy because of his brother's actions.

It hurt him so much that Benedict had broken up with all his colleagues at the academy and stored his painting materials in a trunk in the basement. It was childish, but it would prevent him from feeling worse.

He would have liked to blame his brother and confront him, but Anthony was so happy right now... It wouldn't be fair to spoil his happiness with Kate, and Benedict wasn't a selfish person, so he preferred to live with this feeling of helplessness for a while.

Benedict couldn't stop thinking about everything, but mainly about Victoria. He thought of her brown hair, her shrewd brown eyes and her poise in the presentation, she was magnificent...

"Benedict, Benedict!" Cried Eloise, snapping him back to reality.

Only now did he realise that his sister was standing beside his bed.

"I've been calling you for ten minutes. What the heck happened?" Eloise asked irritably.

Benedict stretched, checking the sun shining through the window.

"I'm sorry, I've been... thinking too much," he explained, scratching his eyes with the back of his hand.

Eloise rolled her eyes with her arms crossed.

"Next time, I'll pour a bucket of water over your head and you'll wake up in no time," she complained and started again, "but for now, suffice it to say that you'll soon be able to talk to your beloved."

She said this in a honeyed voice and Benedict threw a pillow in her face without a second thought.

"She's not my beloved, she's just an interesting woman I'd like to meet," she replied, getting out of bed while Eloise recovered from the throw.

"Of course, and that's why you're so angry, in fact denial is the first stage of infatuation, so I don't think you'd like to know the precious information I have," she threatened.