My Life As A Bridgerton

Part The First

I DO NOT OWN BRIDGERTON. ALL RIGHTS BELONG TO JULIA QUINN & SHONDA RHIMES. I WAS INSPIRED TO WRITE THIS BY THE MODERATE SUCCESS OF MY REIGN FANFIC: MY LIFE AS THE DAUPHIN. THIS STORY IS SET IN THE SAME UNIVERSE AND SOME THINGS IN THIS CHAPTER MIGHT NOT MAKE SENSE IF YOU HAVE NOT READ THE FIRST CHAPTER OF THAT STORY. SHOUTOUT TO EVERYONE WHO OFFERED THEIR OPINIONS ON THIS STORY.

FACE CLAIMS

TOMMY SCHULZE- ANSEL ELGORT

MELANIE CASTEX- SARAH JEANNE LABROSSE

Bridgerton House. London, England. September 17, 1815.

Writing with quills is something that I have never gotten used to and to be honest, my penmanship probably looks like a kid drew it. But my wife says that I'm getting better by the day and to be honest she should know. I genuinely wish that I could tell her the truth about who I am and where I'm from. I know her great secret after all. But to be honest, I'm afraid that if I tell her, I'll lose her. Thus, I'm left with only a diary to ease my emotional burdens.

My real name is Thomas Oliver Schulze, but everyone knows me as Colin Bridgerton: 3rd born son of the late viscount Edmund Bridgerton and the dowager viscountess Violet Bridgerton. How this happened, I still ain't a hundred percent sure, but after 3 years in the Ton, I've reconciled myself to the fact that this is my life now. Besides, I couldn't leave even if I wanted to. I have a family, friends, and a wife who showed me what it was like to truly love.

Still, I don't want to forget my old life. My history professor always said that your past is what makes you who you are. Partly in corniness, but partly I believe, in truth. Anyway, before we get in too deep; here it is:

I was born in Santa Fe, New Mexico. I had a pretty decent childhood with a loving family; few good friends. I'd always wished that I could have had siblings, but it was what it was. I graduated cum latte from Santa Fe High School; class of 2021. I'd always had a fascination with Europe, so when my guidance counselor told me about the American University of Paris, I jumped at the chance. A friend of my dad's worked on a fishing boat and got me a job over the summer and I helped catch fish to save up money for my time in Paris. It was during my freshman year that it happened.

American University of Paris. Paris, France. February 23, 2024.

I quickly raced inside my dorm as I gazed at the clouds outside. It had been threatening to either rain or snow all damn day and a part of me wished that the weather would make up its damn mind already.

"Do something or don't." I muttered at the sky as he walked up the stairs. As I made my way to my room, I stopped for a moment outside the dorm room of my best friend: Nolan Ayers.

He was a fellow American and we had gotten along pretty well; sharing a few classes, playing a lot of card games and such. He'd even introduced me to my girlfriend Melanie. One day, he had just vanished without any explanation. All of his stuff was still in his room, phone and wallet included; the only thing missing was him. Nolan had been missing for months and it was an urban legend around campus. Those of us that new him personally, still missed him. His family hadn't claimed his possessions and 1 day, the RA had decided to put them up for sale. Despite how outraged I was, I ended up buying some of Nolan's shirts. On the day it happened, I was wearing one of his shirts and it still smelled like him and that brand of marijuana he had smoked: Mexican Joker. I actually felt a little buzzed just by inhaling the smell.

I shook myself out of my melancholy as I walked back to my room. At first, I was surprised to see the door unlocked, but then I walked in and saw Melanie waiting for me. She always loved to surprise me after a long day of classes. She leapt into my arms, as she was wont to do and we enjoyed a passionate kiss. If i'm being honest, the way Melanie kissed was my favorite thing about her. It always felt like she was kissing you for the first time, every time.

"Tommy, qu'est-ce qui t'a pris si longtemps? J'attends depuis quinze minutes." Melanie insisted, having waited in my dorm room for the last 15 minutes.

"Le mauvais temps a dû faire un écart à travers les bâtiments." I replied in French, explaining that I had to swerve through the buildings because of the sus weather. Melanie preferred to speak in French and my own grasp of the language had definetly improved since I started to date her; although I still spoke it with an American accent.

"Je pensais que nous pourrions regarder Bridgerton en boucle ce soir, j'ai entendu dire qu'ils allaient sortir une bande-annonce pour la saison trois la semaine prochaine. "Melanie said as I forced a smile.

"Si tu veux, mon amour." I replied, even though I didn't really want to watch Bridgerton. I had nothing against period dramas, they just weren't my favorite; and Bridgerton seemed way too historically inaccurate for my tastes. But Melanie adored the show and wanted to binge the first 2 seasons in preparation for the season 3 trailer. I reasoned that there were worst ways to kill a night, so I agreed. We shared a supper of spaghetti and then settled into watch.

As we watched, I tried to hide my disdain. The worst part of the show for me, besides Daphne Bridgerton potentially forcing herself on Simon Basset, was the whole Polin aspect. Penelope Featherington was one of the characters that I could tolerate best, but I felt like she could be incredibly selfish at times. Not to mention Colin Bridgerton and how insanely dense he was. He couldn't tell that Penelope was hopelessly in love with him and he just threw himself at Marina Thompson in season 1. It got freaking painful to watch. As we finally got to the season 2 finale, it was late in the morning hours and I was fighting off drowsiness. I had never felt this tired before in my life and it honestly felt freaky as Hell. The last thing I saw before the darkness of sleep finally overtook me was Penelope in her room at the Featherington ball, regaining her voice as Lady Whistledown.

REVIEWS NEEDED AND APPRECIATED