To Be A Bougainvillea

Chapter 15

Aurelia guiltily stared at the letter she had written with her own hands. 

Dearest Count Of Zunick, 

In a marriage, it takes two to tango, right? Well, not in your case. Firstly, I want to congratulate you on your engagement with Miss Hana Nakamura. Albeit, many were very surprised and rather displeased that you chose to settle with a woman of poor, indistinguishable lineage.              

But it's not only that, sir. It so happens that your future bride-to-be is an adulterer. There are rumours that she has committed such sins of the flesh that only God himself could judge. No one will blame you if you break off the engagement for there is nothing more shameful than marrying a wanton. 

Furthermore, her heart belongs to someone else and I know how compassionate you are, sir, so believe me that if you marry Miss Hana, you shall have her but never her feelings. And a kind reminder that there is nothing more repulsive than the affection of someone you're completely disinterested in. 

Yours sincerely,                                                                                                                                                                        A well wisher 

As she folded the letter and slipped it into an envelope, she couldn't help but think about the cold laws of cause and effect. Everything she had written were lies. So, what would happen if it somehow got back to Hana? Or worse - if it got leaked and people found about it? Aurelia didn't even want to think about the consequences of that. 

I really am a moping, vindictive human being, she slumped on her desk, remembering the words of a man she had once been with. 

Rising out of her seat, she walked to her open bay window and glanced down at the manor grounds. It was a humid day, the sun blaring without any cool gusts or breezes. Just as she was about to turn back, she saw a familiar curly haired man walk into the iron wrought gates wearing a postal service uniform.  

Well, I'll be damned, she thought, before leaving her room. She made sure to take the enveloped letter with her just in case someone accidentally barged in and found it lying on her desk. 

As she dashed down the marble stairs, her father came out of the living room. They locked eyes before Aurelia awkwardly glanced away. The tension was still there and who knew when it would go. Perhaps never, Aurelia thought back to when she had told him to go to hell. 

"Greetings, Mister Hudson!" Aurelia walked out into the manor grounds, her feet bare against the soft grass as she waved at the grinning man. "Working for the postal service now?"

"Gotta make ends meet, Missy." He said with a smile. "And didn't I tell you to call me Marco?" 

"That would be improper of me, sir. You are my elder, no?" She inquired, cheekily. "So tell me, how is the revolution going?"

"It's going," He replied vaguely, fumbling through his delivery bag. "Have you heard about the Takashimas raising the tariffs again?" 

Aurelia dismally nodded, "Money-hungry, they are." 

"Correction," He handed her a couple of letters, "Power-hungry. It's getting real difficult, though. Recession's been increasing and unemployment has risen. And there's still the pressure on housing." Marco squinted up at the Princeton Manor, "You're damn lucky to be living in your family estate." 

Aurelia flushed and sensing her embarrassment, he quickly said, "I gotta say, Missy, stumbling to you once was a coincident but stumbling to you twice? Must be fate, eh?" 

"Flirting with me, are you?" She smiled through her unease, "You've got a lot of guts, sir." 

"Don't tell me someone as beautiful as you don't get flocked by men on a daily basis?" He teased. 

"Hardly ever. They find that I'm too intense and not submissive enough." She claimed, unabashed. 

"It seems as if the fellas can't handle a real woman." He peered at his shabby watch, "Gotta hit the streets. I only have three houses left." 

"In that case, could you, uh, do me a favour?" She took out the letter out of her skirt pocket, "Could you take this for me?" 

He took the letter and glanced at the address. If he was surprised by it, he didn't show it. "Sure. Well, good day, Missy." He waved a hand before turning back, "Take care." 

It was only when he had disappeared from her sight she started having second thoughts on giving that revolting letter in.

Breathing heavily, she went back to the manor with the letters Marco had given her. Her heart fell when she opened the first one and saw that it was an offer to perform abroad. She'd already had multiple sessions with Stressemann and still hadn't gotten over her fear of flying. 

Just as quickly her heart fell, it had rocketed again when she noticed a wedding invitation. It was to the wedding of - Aurelia's eyes widened - Relena Bougainvillea and Ame Keiths. She quickly noticed that there was a formal offer for her to perform at the wedding reception. Before she could even read the rest of the invitation, a note fell out from it. 

Lady Aurelia, 

For whatever reason I am not capable of understanding, my mother has convinced my cousin Relena to have you as the guest performer. I doubt you're going to decline so I'll have my chauffeur pick you up this Saturday morning. And in case you haven't noticed, the wedding's going to last the whole weekend so if I were you, I'd start packing. 

Oh, and forget the part of the invitation where it asks you to bring a date. You won't be needing one. 

Dietfried 

Aurelia's eyes widened when she saw that he had signed it off using his first name. Aurelia knew it was improper to use your first name when addressing an unmarried person. That only meant one thing - he thought of her outside the barriers of friendship and formalities. 

Suppressing a huge smile, she headed to the washroom's storage closet where all her designer dresses were kept, wrapped and protected in thick plastic. It was only Thursday but she had decided to check which dresses she would bring with her. She also needed to check if her shoes and accessories were in perfect shape. If not, she would have to order in new ones. 

I need a facial and nail appointment, she thought as she twisted the doorknob to the closet, and a wax and a - 

"What the f-"  Aurelia clapped a hand to her mouth, for inside the closet stood Hana and Franz, embraced in each other's arms, lips locked. They sprung apart the second Aurelia burst in. 

"Oh my God." Aurelia couldn't breath as looks of terror rolled through both Hana and Franz's faces. 

"Lia - it's-" Hana's voice came in short rasps, "I love him, okay? Please, don't look so horrified."

Aurelia wasn't horrified at catching her stepsister in the arms of their butler. She was horrified to realise that sending that letter was probably the dumbest mistake of her life.