My body tensed and I felt Rogie's stare bore onto my back.
Anthony looked at Rogie and I saw a small smile crept onto his lips. "Congrats on your wedding. But you should attend to your wife."
I could hear Rogie's whispered grunt from where I stood. I knew that Anthony's words hit home. He snorted. "You surprised me. At least tell me that Synee will be here."
"It's a last minute decision."
Rogie did not argue with Anthony anymore and just bit his goodbye. But when he walked passed by me, he tapped my shoulder. A tingle spread down my spine as I watched him walk away.
Anthony's grip on my hand tighten.
"That's it." I huffed and opened the passenger door but Anthony held my wrist. I turned around and tipped my head back to look into his eyes. "Stop meddling with us."
His lips twitched and let go of my wrist. "He's married."
"I know." I looked away and crossed my arms against my chest. "We just talk about Lady Geneva and her husband."
His forehead creased but he did not insist again so I opened the passenger door and hopped in. Minutes later, the car drove its way back to the town. We did not talk until the car halted in front of his house.
But when I got inside the house, he asked, "Do you like him?"
I halted to a stop. Fist closed, I turned around to see him walking leisurely towards me. His hands were inside the pockets of his pants. He was staring at me. My throat bobbed. "I don't. Why are you asking me this?"
He shrugged and stopped in front of me. "He likes you."
I stared at him longer than I intended. He was not kidding. It was a statement that surprisingly I find hard to admit. Rogie said that he like me but I always dismiss his words because I believe that he was kidding. But hearing the words out of Anthony's mouth, I did not know what to say. So I just looked down and turned to climb the stairs. Anthony did not call for me again.
Morning came and I attended my class. I thought that it was a normal school day but the principal visited our classroom before the teacher dismiss the class. She looked around and smiled when our eyes had met.
"It's the month of love and our prom night is fast approaching. There will be delegates from some organizations and I will appoint the student council to arrange everything." She looked around again. "This class will be the representative for junior class. I hope your class president will coordinate with the student body."
A wave of silence enveloped the whole classroom. Then, the class president stood up and agreed to the principal.
"Great," the principal said. She looked at me before she exited the classroom.
I heaved a sigh but Isa pinched my arm. "Why was she kept on staring at you?" she asked.
She might be asking about the principal so I shrugged my shoulders. I did not want to think of something but maybe she had something on her mind and it's not my business to know it.
During breaktime, I saw Anthony on the hallway. He looked at me and his gaze lingered for a few seconds before he looked away. I lowered my head when I walked passed by him.
"Let's talk later," he mumbled.
I stopped in my tracks and turned around to look at him. But he was walking away. I could not help but to stare at his receding bulk. Was he mad at me for ignoring him?
Isa cleared her throat. "You're living with him. You know it's rude to just ignore him."
I looked sideways at Isa. "Oh?"
"Yes." She crossed her arms against her chest and gave me a half-smile that made her look... wicked. "I know who he is and I know that you two are living together."
My eyes blinked and I hastily pulled her aside. "Don't say that again!" I looked around and my breath hitched when I noticed from gazes on me. But I stared at Isa. "No one other than you, Rogie, and Anthony should know where I was living."
Isa smirked. "Relax. I'm not a fan of gossip." Her brow raised. "But it's inappropriate. I hope you know it, Sydnee."
I lowered my gaze on the ground and sighed. "Of course. It's a taboo. But what else can I do? I don't know where to live."
"Don't you have any relatives?"
I shook my head. "I don't know. I don't recall having close relative at all but nobody ever visited us in the hut over the years."
"You can't live with him forever."
"I know. I know." I closed my eyes and took a deep breathe. "Summer break is coming and I'll definitely find work so I could find myself some apartment."
"That's good, I guess." She smiled at me again before pulling a card from the pocket of her blouse. "Here's my calling card. If you need anything or there's a problem, you can call me."
I accepted her card and inspected it. "Really?"
"I know that you're not using him to meet your needs. So I wanna extend help to you too, if you ever need anything."
My gaze lingered in her face and huffed. "I can't believe you."
She flashed her smile and winked at me. "It's not easy to please a duke, and definitely not easy to please a princess like me."
I just shook my head in disbelief and put her calling card inside the pocket of my skirt. "We'll be late for the next class," I said.
"You're just a coward who hates some spice," Isa muttered.
But I did not argue with her and just dragged her back to our classroom. Well, the hallway was silent these days because the two notorious school bullies were gone and bullying was long gone, denounced. A good riddance indeed. But sometimes I wonder if what would Rogie think of this change?
"He won't mind," Isa said and patted my shoulder. "Rogie should be jumping in joy right now."
My brow raised and I looked at her. "What?"
She just grinned. "You missed that boy?"
I blinked. "What are you talking about?"
"Oh, don't be dumb, Sydnee. Rogie should be a happy husband right now." She shrugged. "But I heard that he's coming back for the prom night."
"Really?"
"Trust me. Don't be a pathetic lonely girl there."
"I'm not," I said. I even shook my head.
Isa huffed. "Sometimes I wonder if you're just dumb or some kind of...you know." My brow raised at her words. Isa grinned. "I heard what you did last night in the next town. You can't run after Rogie now that he's married, and you can't just pair up with our teacher Anthony. Girl, why don't you give yourself a break and stop sucking up in a forbidden love?"
"I don't." My brows knotted. "You just assume things, Isa."
She laughed. "You're the worst liar I've ever met, Sydnee."