Lesson in Luxury *BEING REWRITTEN*

Lesson in Luxury

This is a rewrite.

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Prologue

When one is bored, they tend to do a number of things they can't quite explain. Like when you watch the same movie five times in a row, or when you suddenly decide to learn how to make an origami crane. These are the things that normal people do, but then again, I was never a normal person. My mother used to tell me I was just creative and that I liked to do things in a way others wouldn't. Now she tells me that my unusual habits are what lead to me having little to no friends. On any other day, I would've pondered her words seriously, considering whether I should change. The answer was, and still is, a definite maybe. But I digress.

Anyways, I am a person of many interests, and so I tend to become easily bored. Now, my mother was a woman of high social standing and hosted parties and events quite often. She also forced my sisters and me to attend these events for hours on end. I didn't mind going, but as I said, I get easily bored. So you can imagine my attitude after spending the last hour or so being introducing to overly arrogant bachelors and being chided by my frivolous mother for being 'unenthusiastic'. Of course, I was acting "unenthusiastic" for a reason. The men strewn throughout the room were all from families of large wealth, and one of them was hoping to become my fiancé. This party was a way for my family to gain more fame and money through setting me up with men I was honestly not interested in knowing. It was as if I was in some Victorian-esque novel. The occasion was marked with the coming of my twenty-fourth birthday and I was everybody's excuse to get drunk. Wasn't that wonderful? Ugh.

I was quite fed up by the time Mrs. Knightly had waltzed through the ballroom doors. I was miffed when her husband came in with their youngest son, Ethan. But I was downright annoyed when that asshole, Jonathan Knightly, strolled through those ornate doors. I had no idea why I was angry--I blame the lack of entertainment and hours of standing, but I barely controlled myself when I saw the brunette man. I immediately ignored his presence in order to quell my anger. It probably didn't help that Jonathan had a habit of becoming very obnoxious, especially to me. I bit my tongue as he scanned the ballroom, hoping he wouldn't spot me at my table. No such luck. As Jonathan sauntered over to me, pushing through the crowd that separated us, I attempted to escape to the balcony.

Unfortunately, my mood had only darkened by the time I made it to the double doors leading outside. Mostly because I was forced to leave my seat. I liked that chair. Of course, Jonathan had caught up to me and had taken it upon himself to use me as his personal armrest.

"Remove the arm." I hissed at the taller man. Jonathan only grinned at me.

"Nah, I like how convenient your height is." I bristled at this.

That jerk knew I had a height complex and never missed a chance to remind me of how short I was. I shoved Jonathan violently, but he didn't budge.

"Pompous ass," I muttered.

"Tiny bitch." Jonathan remarked smartly.

Jonathan and I had a very interesting relationship. When I had first met him, he seemed pretty cool and relaxed, and I immediately became wary of him. He was too sarcastic, too arrogant for my liking, and I was too much of a "bitch" to meet his standards. Our personalities clashed constantly but somehow, we always managed get along over the most irrelevant things.

"What do you want Jonathan?" I sighed at last, glancing at the clock on the wall.

"What? I can't say hi to my favorite Jones? I must say May, your sour attitude towards me is starting to put a damper on my mood." Jonathan smirked down at me.

"You know, if our parents were to see us, they would get the wrong impression." I warned haphazardly. Jonathan didn't seem to mind.

"I don't care. If anything, my parents would stop bothering me about not having a significant other." The taller man murmured. I rolled my eyes and looked up at Jonathan as he surveyed the party. He looked more mature when he wasn't rudely insulting me. Time to change that.

"Well, that isn't my problem now is it?" I snarled, pushing him away from me. Jonathan scowled, crossing his arms and stepping closer to me. I unconsciously took a step back, crossing the threshold between the ballroom and the balcony.

"See? There you go again, ruining a good moment." Jonathan continued stalking towards me. I raised my eyebrow at this. What the hell did he mean by that? I shivered when I felt the cool night air caress my bare legs. 'Why did I have to wear a short dress to a winter ball?' I silently chided myself.

"What the hell are you babbling about, Knightly?" I'll be honest, I became nervous by the way Jonathan was staring at me. What a freak!

"I mean, what if we could help each other out? I hear your mom is looking for a suitor. For you. My parents want to betroth me to some stupid noble from who knows where." He was right in front of me, closing in quickly. Jonathan stopped a foot away, staring at me with excitement. "Let's make a deal." He stated at last. The taller man had me trapped between the balcony's railing and himself.

"Sorry Jonathan, didn't I tell you that I don't accept propositions from the desperate?" I tried to push past him, but the blue-eyed man remained steadfast.

"Don't be like that, May. I actually need your help this time." Jonathan took my wrist in his hand and gave me a pleading stare. I grimaced and pondered the pros and cons of accepting his offer. On one hand, Mother would stop forcing those sleazy men on me, but on the other, I would be agreeing to date Jonathan Knightly. I might as well be ringing my own knell. I blew out a frustrated breath.

"Couldn't you just ask some other poor fool?" I grimaced, pulling my wrist from his grasp. Jonathan snorted.

"What's the point? I'm looking for a way out, not a commitment, Carol." The brunette looked back at the party with a frown. "Besides, your mother would stop trying to hook you up and my parents would stop bothering me about being a 'player'. It's a win-win deal and you know it."

He was right and that made me angry. But I couldn't stop myself from agreeing with him. I mean what the hell, right? We were both sick and tired of our families trying to tell us what to do, and I, personally, could do without all the boring parties. Jonathan had mentioned that we should probably try everything to piss our parents off as well, simply because he didn't want to give them the pleasure of thinking they got what they wanted. Once again, I agreed. So the unthinkable happened and Jonathan and I had struck deal that night.

A deal that I had lovingly dubbed "Satan's To-Do-List", much to Jonathan's amusement.

And as the both of us, with our height differences and Cheshire grins, walked back into the ballroom, ready to unleash the legions of Hell, I couldn't help the twinge of excitement that made my heart beat faster. The pure thrill I got out of the prospect of finally doing something fun and disobeying my family made want to jump around. Somewhere in the back of my mind, I had registered that this was actually happening and that my life was about to change drastically. I didn't care though, why would I? I had been waiting for my chance to break the rules, and this was it. So what if I angered my mother? In my mind, it would be on of the best experiences I would ever have.

Oh how foolish I was.