"Hello?" Pt. 1

Sophie 3

So, where is this going? Read to find out, but first, a slight rant...

I read another author's A/N where they ranted about authors who don't edit their updates and saying that it was disrespectful to the readers. I'm notorious for not editing but that doesn't mean I don't respect you as the readers! I've said it before, and I'll say it again, you are the most important part of the story. Danphie comes second to you all. 

However, the difference between the author who ranted and me is the fact that with this story, I update every day. Some updates run into the thousands. 

For example, the wedding update was over 8000 words and took me about eight or nine hours to write. And I did that without taking a break. Of any kind. So, no, I was not going to spend an hour reading over it and editing. (I did read it after, as a reader and not as the author. I didn't see that many mistakes. At least, nothing major.)

From here on out, I'll try to proofread and edit when I can, but it's kinda hard when I'm juggling a full-time job, a huge exam of my own coming up AND writing "Hello" and worrying about when I last updated Good Morning, Beautiful. BUT! at times, it will literally come down to- do I edit, or do I publish?

I'm notorious for changing my mind, so if I did start proofreading, chances are I would change the bloody lot! And I might not update at all because I'm not happy with what I've written. 

So, yeah... Rant over.

Sarah, xx

~*~*~

I think Daniel is in shock. Or denial. Which is the first stage of grief again?

Taking out my phone once again, I type in Five Stages of Grief and scroll through the results. Hitting on the first result, I see that Denial is the first stage of grief. 

'Denial is the first of the five stages of grief. It helps us to survive the loss. In this stage, the world becomes meaningless and overwhelming. Life makes no sense. We are in a state of shock and denial.'

Well, that sounds about right for Daniel. After Evelyn's call yesterday, Daniel pretended as if he'd never heard the news that his father had passed away. He refused to answer Samuel or Connie's calls and was determined to enjoy the rest of the day with my family. He  jumped back into the pool, continued to play volleyball and even helped Dad prepare the barbecue. All the while, he avoided speaking to me about what was going on in his head.

I tried not to be offended but secretly, I was. I always thought that Daniel would open up to me about how he felt about his father's death, maybe even cry and lament the fact that they never managed to fix their broken bond, but nothing. 

Seeing as Daniel was ignoring their calls, his brother and grandmother were phoning me instead. I spoke to Samuel at length, hearing all about how Laurence Courtenay had drunk himself into a stupor, liver failure and heart disease finally being the official cause of death. Samuel wasn't upset by his father's passing and I can't say that Connie was all that devastated by her son's death either. When I spoke to her she cried, but her tears were more for her grandsons that they were for Laurence. Connie then went on to rant about Veronica, her daughter-in-law and how there'd be a huge battle for Laurence's inheritance. Still, there was one thing that no one would be able to take away from Daniel and that was the fact that he was not the Duke of Kendal. 

Technically. It was in bad taste to use his new title so soon and as is custom, Daniel would need to wait at least until after the funeral before styling himself as a Duke. His new position as the head of the Courtenay family would bring about massive changes although I highly doubt Daniel would let it change things too much. He'd still work and as far as I could tell, he and I could continue to date. There would be more interest in Daniel in the next few weeks but that would die down in due course and he'd be able to return to his normal self soon enough.