Just a Maid

Chapter 24

He stared at me thoughtfully, thinking of an answer I hoped. I began to take a step forward as I realized we were blocking everyone's way. He followed my lead.

"Do you really want to know?" he suddenly asked.

"Yeah," I said, frowning. "Why would I ask if I didn't?"

He shrugged and then smiled as he stared up at the blue sky. Snow had stopped falling and we were left with a miniature winter wonderland. I loved it.

"It's a boring tale," he began. "Our parents set us up at the age of ten."

"At the age of then?" My eyes widened.

He nodded. "Yeah, they wanted us together since the day she was born, two months after my own birth. Her father is the one of the wealthiest landlords in the country of Imperial, same with my own dad. Imagine having two of the wealthiest children married. That would double the worth of each family."

I frowned as I looked down at my feet. That was smart, I had to admit, but incredibly sad. It made sense why they were together now, it was forced upon them since their existence.

"So when we were ten," Donovan continued, causing me to look back up at him as we crossed the street. "I met Brianna. As most guys, I was stunned by her beauty. I never understood why she didn't become a model with her looks."

I felt an unpleasant feeling stir in my stomach, but I forced it away. There was no time to feel what I presumed was jealousy.

"Brianna was surprisingly sweet back then, and I guess you could say I fell for her a little as we became good friends. We were the type of friends to play silly games and laugh about the foolishness of the rich people we knew. It was pure bliss. Back then I also hadn't known I would have to marry this girl, so I was content with the idea of her." Donovan shook his head sadly. "That seemed to change though. Year by year it seemed like Brianna was losing her sweetness. She was becoming the rich people we mocked; arrogant, rude, snobby, and selfish. My feelings soon vanished."

As he spoke of her change, I saw some sort of sadness in his eyes. It seemed like he really did care about her, and even though my stomach was still stirring, I felt bad for him. I could tell it must suck to have the person you like change before your eyes to something horrible.

"By the time I realized the girl I knew was gone, I was sixteen. I wasn't perfect either of course, but I didn't want anything to do with Brianna. My parents didn't care though and you can see how it ends."

I looked up at Donovan, wanting him to continue the details. The ending of his tale was vague, leaving me with plenty of questions. I knew he also wanted to speak about it, so I held his arm more tightly.

"Continue Donovan," I said gently. "Tell me what exactly your parents did."

He looked down at me, eyes softening in the process. "Okay."

Donovan then took a deep breath in. "They told me on Leonardo's birthday that I needed to ask her out and eventually marry her in the future. I obviously rejected the idea with surprise, and even explained to them that she was nowhere near my type. That lead to them yelling at me, tears from my mom, threats from my dad, and whatnot. I didn't want to displease my parents, as you know I do everything they say, so I eventually agreed. That pleased them, but left me empty."

I was already holding onto Donovan tightly, but I tried to hold him even more tightly to somehow comfort him. My heart ached for him. It must suck to be forced into dating someone when there were so many other fish in the sea. It must suck even more dating the devil daughter. I wished I could do something to help him, but obviously I couldn't. In the end of the day I was just a maid.