between us | klaroline (book 1)

Chapter 17: Evil Runs In The Family

Having Alissa here at the castle brought back dreadful memories of when we were children. We used to be angels as best friends but as we got older, I grew more jealous of her beauty and personality. She was so smart, smarter than me. We grew apart, especially as teenagers and tweens. She was nothing like her mother.

I've always admired her mother. That's obviously where she got her beauty from, her mother is gorgeous. Her father always looked formal, like mine. He was quite handsome as well. I'm not near as beautiful as Alissa. Her mother is so polite and generous. Her father is...rather rude and unkind. I could see it ran in the family where she got her attitude from.

The moment I saw her standing there in front of the castle, I had to hold back all the hate and bad memories as I hugged her, it was horrible. After our greeting she extended her small hand to Charlie. He politely kissed it and she was overjoyed. I gave her a piercing stare and she smiled, that's her cover up. Pretending to be what everybody wanted. She stood out definitely.

"Cousin! It's lovely to see you and one of your suitors. He's rather dashing." Alissa spoke in her flirty voice as we entered the castle together. Guards held her bags behind her and my mother came running down the foyer.

"Alissa! Darling you look so pretty, I haven't seen you in forever!" My mother overreacted. I rolled my eyes, looking at Charlie next to me. He grinned at me, placing his hand on my back comfortingly.

He leaned in and almost touched my right ear with his lip, whispering. "She's nothing compared to you Amanda." I giggled almost too loudly, causing Alissa to whip her head back around. She gave me a stern glare and flipped her hair over her shoulder, walking and chatting with my mother.

"Ugh can we leave please?" I whined. Charlie kissed my cheek playfully and smiled. "Soon love."

-

"I can really tell how much you dislike her." Damien scoffed as we intertwined our fingers, sipping our tea in the living room. Charlie excused himself out of dinner earlier to go pamper up, he seemed really feminine whenever he said that. It made me laugh.

"Oh you have no idea. Whenever I see her face I have the slight urge to vomit." I couldn't help but roll my eyes once again. I'd lost count how many times i'd rolled my eyes today. "Don't let her get to you." The prince winked at me. I smiled at his gesture sweetly. "I'll try. You've met her right?"

"Yes we passed in the hallways and she curtsied. She's beautiful but you are something else." Damien shook his head, staring into my eyes. I couldn't help but stare back, taking in his fantastic features and gorgeous dark brown eyes. His hair was perfect today, styled up and he wore a grey suit.

We talked for a bit, speaking about little facts about ourselves. I learned that he was afraid of several things, including rejection and loss. He had already lost his brother, hopefully in his lifetime he is spared the loss of another family member and loved one. Damien and I just walked through the castle, talking for hours. It felt good to know more about the person he is.

"How 'bout we go walk outside?" I pointed toward the front door once we ended up once again in the grand foyer. Guards blocked the doors safely. "Sure." He replied, grabbing my hand and leading me to the front door. The guards separated and opened up the huge doors, revealing outside. I rolled my eyes immediately when I saw Alissa standing outside in front of one of our cars.

"Amanda ooh and Damien." Alissa squeaked as we exited the castle, walking toward her in a polite manner. Damien held my hand the whole time, putting on a fake smile. Same as I did.

"Hello Alissa, I thought you were visiting with my mother." I said, making my cousin smile greatly. "Oh no! I just went for some shopping at the...tiny stores in town. Almost bought out the whole store if I might add! It's so very small! I had forgotten how quaint this country really was." She scoffed, judgement filled her voice. She had lived here all her life in a house much smaller than the castle. She shouldn't be complaining.

"Yes, i'm sure Milan is much..bigger. Speaking of which, are you heading back there soon?" I replied in a annoyed tone. She raised her eyebrows, looking a bit offended. Good. Serves her right for dissing her home town. My home town.

"Hmm. I was going to head back soon but now that i'm here, why not get to know these handsome prince's much more?" She laughed. I held back my anger but I couldn't hold back my annoyance at the same time. I squeezed Damien's hand hard, before realizing I was clutching too much. I released the tension and talked again.

"I see, tell me Alissa. How is your boyfriend Jacob doing?" I questioned her, she looked a bit stunned but returned to her confident nature almost immediately afterward. "Well actually, Jacob and I ended things months ago. He proposed but of course I said no. He's not near as good as a husband should be."

"Right..."

"Alright! I'm going to head in because I feel a bit of a breeze! Maids please come fetch my things in the boot." She ordered the maids by the front door. They came rushing down and did what she commanded them to do. Like she was their boss or something. She was all too comfortable at my home castle.

"Oh and i'd love to go see where that other prince is and chat to him! You two enjoy your...date." She chuckled, walking away from us.

I was fuming by the time she left. Damien stared at me for answers. "She's awful." He scoffed, making me laugh.

"More than awful. She's absolutely evil."