Violet Morgan spent her entire life in the spotlight since she was a child. She was a Two, as close to royalty as you can get without actually being royalty. When she gets into the Selection, there was no doubt her parents had pulled every string th...
Miles wasn't at lunch and neither was one of the selected, Ana. I figured they were on a date and I tried my best not to be bothered by it. After dinner, I had a short amount of time to get ready before I would go downstairs to the gardens.
I change from my dress that I wore to dinner into a short maroon dress with long off the shoulder sleeves.
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It was comfortable and simple and I thanked my maids quickly before walking out of my room and getting down to the gardens. I didn't see Miles yet so I walk around and just admire the flowers I'd seen before already. I'd even studied some of them before. As I walk, I see a small area filled with a vibrant pinkish red that is never seen before. It was simpler than some of the others but still beautiful in its own way.
"They're beautiful aren't they?" I hear Miles come up behind me.
"What are they?" I ask him, curiously.
"The middlemist reds." He says and looks down at them. "They're the rarest flower in the world."
"I've studied flowers and I never learned these as the rarest flower. I'd remember if I saw this before, it's beautiful." I tell him.
"Did you ever study extinct flowers?" He turns to me and asks. Apparently the look of confusion on my face said enough so he decided to explain. "The middlemist reds are found in only one place on this earth and you're standing right there. But the rest of the world doesn't know they are here, so they are thought to be extinct."
"Wow." I manage. "Their beautiful."
"They are. Their mother's favorite." He smiles and interlocks our arms, beginning to walk down the concrete path between all the different kinds of flowers. "Why did you study flowers?"
"My mom was—" I spent a second deciding how honest I should be with him but when he looks down on me as caring as I'd ever saw anyone look at me I decide my answer. "She was mean and cruel, but she wasn't stupid. She kept me educated on politics around the world and business matters, but I got to pick other things to study. I studied so much of it, it seemed like I forgot to live it sometimes."
"Now is your chance I guess. Your mom doesn't seem to have a hold on you right now so protect yourself, Violet." He tells me and looks down at me.
I suddenly get an idea. One that was full of desperation and one that required more than I felt comfortable asking for, but I felt trapped without any other choice.
"Can you help me? Can you please help me with something?" I ask him desperately, turning to face him. He didn't do anything but nodded to which I said "I turn eighteen in a few weeks, just a few days after yours and I need you to keep me here that long. Just until then and then you can send me home I don't care but I can't go home until then." I nearly beg.
A million thoughts seem to run through his head before he answers with a simply yet definitely agreement.
"Of course. As long as you do something for me in return." He tells me. I pause for a minute but I didn't care, I'd do anything.
"What is it that you want me to do, I'll do it." I say definitely.
"I haven't decided yet. I'll let you know when I have, but you're not allowed to deny it." He tells me and begins to walk with my arm attached to his. I lose all sense of formality as I stumble towards him to keep up and begin walking again at his side.
"Deal. I promise." I state with a definite nod.
"Where will you stay when you go back and don't have a home to return to?" He asks me.
"My sister's house until I can get on my own feet. I have made enough money for myself, but mother has her name on all of my bank accounts so I'm not sure if I'll end up with any of it." I shrug. "I might write to the bank and see what I can do to legally fix it."
"I can take you to use the phone tomorrow and we can get something figured out." He tells me. I walk for a few more feet with him without responding but then I stop and look up at him.
"Why are you so kind? I'll never be able to pay you back for all of this— you aren't getting anything out of it, I don't understand." I tell him.
"Well you do owe me that favor." He responds with a shrug.
"But that's one favor and you continue to be kind and give me favors. I don't understand why you do it." I say, confused.
"Violet, you have to let me be kind to you." Miles tells me, holding both my hands in each of his. "Just trust me."
"The last time I trusted anyone, they ended up breaking my heart." I look at him, remembering every time Dylan had told I could trust me and ignorantly I believed him.
"I'm not gonna break your heart." He smiles at me a little bit, but I could tell he was thinking deeply into something. I thought about saying something but I didn't know what I would say. We continue to walk through the gardens barely talking and just enjoying the sun setting across from us.
"It's getting cold, let's get you inside." Miles wraps an arm around me and starts walking me inside the palace. When we get inside he looks at me curiously. "Are you ready to go in for the night or would you like me to show you around a bit?"
"Let's walk around." I say, smiling a little.
We walked around the dimly lit hallways of the palace as everyone quietly got into bed and he pointed out each room's purpose to me.
It didn't take long for sirens to alarm right above our heads and screams to echo throughout the palace.
