C H A P T E R 5 2
?Be loud about the things that are important to you.?
It was finally time for the party. I had told some of Keith's friends to tell him that they were going to a really special place and to tell him to dress his best.
It was already seven in the evening so he must be here any minute now. I had worn a simple dark blue dress and wanted to ensure everything was perfect in the garden so I came a few minutes before seven o'clock.
His family had already arrived as quietly as could be managed. We had successfully kept Keith from knowing that we were planning something. I interacted with his family for a bit, playing for some time with the little children. The cake was ready and so was his present from me.
Now we all just awaited Keith's entrance.
"You did a nice job with the preparations." Said a voice next to my ear. I was startled for a second at the unexpected voice and turned around only to see Ethan.
"Thanks. What're you doing here?"
"I'm here to attend the party."
"I don't think you got an invitation."
"I don't need one."
I rolled my eyes. "Is it because I scolded you a little last night?
You don't have to be here if you don't want to.
I just wanted you to not hate Keith so openly.
I get that you hate Keith and I can't change that.
I just don't want you to show it because it can be hurtful. I wasn't forcing you to like anyone."
"And yet my heart is forcing my mind to like you." He said, leaving me speechless for a minute.
"Don't say things like that."
"It is what it is. It was like that even before. Saying it out loud doesn't change anything."
"Your mind is indecisive. A few days ago you were running away from me and now you're all about accepting things and feelings. Get a grip on your thoughts, Ethan. You shouldn't be like this. Have you forgotten that you have a girlfriend who's my best friend?" I looked at him accusingly.
His face changed as if he just realized it now.
"You're right. I shouldn't be like this." He straightened his posture as if he just changed the way he felt.
"Seriously though, get over these feelings.The longer it lingers, the more unfair it is to Heather."
He didn't answer.
A few moments later, we spotted Keith, led by his friends into the garden, blindfolded. It wasn't a part of the plan but it made it better.
The moment his blindfold was taken off, we all shouted "SURPRISE!"
He was clearly not expecting it as he jumped and looked a little dazed as if it was taking him longer than it should to grasp the situation.
"What is happening here?" He asked confusedly.
"Belated happy birthday!" We all said in unison to his question.
Keith looked incredibly embarrassed after he understood what exactly was going on here.
His little nieces and nephews ran towards him, hugging his legs as he tried to maintain balance. His whole family crowded around him, apologizing for forgetting his birthday and telling him how proud they were of him.
I smiled at Keith's happy face as he interacted with them.
It was obvious that he had missed his family very much.
He had taken all his nephews and nieces in his arms, with one boy even sitting on his shoulders.
It was an adorable sight to see him surrounded with kids and how he was so comfortable around so many of them.
He was even near to tears just by seeing his family. I wondered when was the last time he saw them.
"I'm so glad you guys are here," he said to his brothers and sisters and their respective wives and husbands. "I missed you all so much. But why are you all here? How were you allowed in?"
Everyone pointed to me. "That lovely girl over there arranged for everything and invited us. I'm so glad you have such good friends," a woman said. I wasn't sure if she was his sister or his brother's wife but nonetheless I was happy to hear it from his family.
"Juliet?" Keith had finally noticed me after his reunion with his family. "You did all this for me?"
I nodded. "I'm so sorry I didn't wish you on your actual birthday. I wanted to make it up to you for it. This isn't much but it's all I could do."
"Are you kidding? This is everything I would've wished for on my birthday. Just getting my family here was enough. Thank you so much."
Keith kept staring at me as if we were the only two in the garden right now. We were smiling at each other but his gaze seemed a little different now. A little intense than what I was usually accustomed to seeing in him.
And then the view of his pretty eyes disappeared when a broad back stepped in between, blocking our eye contact.
Ethan stood in front of me. "Well aren't you going to cut the cake?" He asked Keith, his voice a little too cheerful and nice which I knew was just him overdoing being nice to Keith.
"There's a cake?" He asked as if he couldn't believe his ears.
"Yeah," I said, all of us gathering around him as a few maids rolled out a table with a humongous cake on it.
He was handed a knife.
"I feel like a little kid," he blushed. "Juliet, would you mind cutting the cake with me? I mean you did all this for me, I think it's only fair that you get to cut it too."
"Oh, no, no. I didn't do much. Besides it was your birthday."
"Please?"
I didn't want to refuse him a second time so I opened my mouth to say yes but Ethan beat me to it.
"She apparently doesn't want to but don't worry, Kit-Kat. I'll cut it with you."
"Kit-Kat?"
Ethan nodded. "That's my new nickname for you because I feel like you're a sweet guy who everyone just seems to love." He then directed his gaze at me, almost accusingly. I rolled my eyes at him. I wasn't in love with Keith.
This was probably the most awkward cake cutting I had ever seen. Keith and Ethan both looked uncomfortable as they held onto the same knife. Ethan move their hands to cut the cake into triangular pieces but Keith stopped him.
"A cake is not supposed to be cut this way. We have to cut it in the middle, like a strip so that when it's removed, the other two parts will form another circle, this time a smaller one." Keith said, cutting the cake the way he described.
"Why does in matter? It's just a cake. And I've always cut it in triangles."
"Then you should probably change that. When you cut it in the middle, the other two parts remain fresh and taste better even if you eat it after a few days. Also, the strip that is cut makes it easier for distributing pieces of cake to people."
Sensing that Ethan was about to argue further and possibly ruin Keith's day, I interrupted before he said anything else. "Ethan, Keith's a chef so I'm pretty sure he knows what he's talking about."
"Fine," he said sullenly.
Everyone took turns to feed some cake to Keith.
By the time everyone was done, Keith's face was full of cake that he didn't even have the space to chew.
I suppressed my amusement at his state. He was also immediately flooded with gifts from his family and friends that I didn't even get the time to give him his present until the very last.
"Okay, this is a lot. I'm going to go through them later." He said.
I hoped he would like my gift.
We spent the next half an hour interacting with everyone present there. I got to know his family better and his little nieces and nephews were too adorable, reminding me of Rebecca. It had been a lot of time since I last saw her.
After some time the other cooks and kitchen staff retired to their rooms for the day and I took it as my cue to leave as well.
I had arranged to safely drop off Keith's family after they were done.
I figured I should give them a little privacy, after all it had been a long time since Keith saw a any if them.
So after bidding goodnight to Keith and the rest of his family, I made my way out of the garden.
Ethan had immediately left after the cake cutting, telling that he had business to attend to and told others to enjoy.
"Juliet," a voice stopped me from taking further steps. I turned around to see it was Keith.
He reached me and smiled down at me. "I wanted to say thank you for doing what you did. I think this was the best birthday I had in many years."
"I wanted to make you happy and show that people are there for you and care about you. I hope I did that."
"You made me more than happy. You did so much more for me."
"I'm glad to hear that. Now go back and spend some time with your family." I nudged him in the opposite direction.
Keith stepped closer, a lot closer and looked at me intensely. "Can I...overstep my boundaries a little for tonight?"
"What?"
He didn't answer but instead wrapped his arms around me, pulling me into a hug.
I was surprised but hugged him back. He was tall so my head only just reached his chest where I could hear his heart beating loud and fast, like how mine did when Ethan and I were close like this that one time in the hallway.
Getting this same reaction out of Keith was unsettling.
I pulled out from the hug but didn't let anything show on my face. I smiled and said goodbye before going up to my room.
What I was thinking...was it true? I might just be linking two completely different situations together to conclude something that was far from the truth and yet there was a possibility that it was actually the truth.
The next morning, I had my priorities laid out.
I was going to avoid Ethan as much as possible because it seemed that he wasn't going to make any effort to kill whatever it was between us.
I would hang out with Keith but those were going to be limited as I had my suspicions about him and if it was true I didn't want to lead him on.
I was going to concentrate on my studies, exercise and eat healthily. It was just to fill up my day so that if I kept myself busy, I wouldn't have to worry about unwanted interactions with either of the two guys in my life right now.
And I was going to spend time with people around me because I didn't know just how much time I had among them.
Just like the day I was kidnapped,there would be a day where my world would be completely turned upside down again and I didn't want to have any regrets about not getting to know these great people who not everyone had the chance to know.
I was going to make the most of it without complicating things with certain people.
The next day when I saw Keith I was happy to know that he had seen my present first and was wearing the watch I gave him. He also told me he loved it.
We still met up for my cooking lessons as I figured that much was necessary and would be harmless.
Time flew by quickly. I was busy most of the time with my course work and projects.
It was the starting of a new semester and already I was finding difficulties with my studies.
It was easy when I was in college as I could just clarify things with the professors and although here I could still get things cleared from my professors by electronic means but it wasn't the same.
Books for the new semester were supplied by Heather who delivered it to the mansion in boxes labeled dresses and makeup as gifts from her in case someone had doubts about the mysterious packages.
Days would pass by quicker than before. I was starting to feel lonely. I was aware of the fact that Olivia and I had drifted apart.
This was confirmed when I saw her and Heather discussing something secretively while coming out of her room, one week after the little party I threw. This was strange considering Olivia wasn't too fond of Heather as she thought she was a little cold and unfriendly.
"Hi, what's up with you two?" I asked.
Their faces looked alarmed. "Nothing. What're you doing here?" Olivia asked. She was acting suspicious.
"I was actually on my way to visit Tristan. It had been such a long time since I saw him. I had my exams so it has been almost two months. But then I saw you two and you were talking about something and thought I'd ask you guys what it was about."
"It's nothing. We were just chatting a little about Olivia's future plans and what she wants to be and stuff like that.
" Heather answered this time. She talked like how she normally did so I wasn't sure if she was lying or not.
Then again, she was a good liar. She could lie about the biggest of things with a straight face and directly look into your eyes while doing so which would leave you with no other option but to believe her.
"Okay."
If it weren't for Olivia's anxious stare, I would've actually bought it. That was how I knew there was something wrong and only Heather and Olivia knew about it and didn't want to let me know.
"Tristan!" I squealed as I caught sight of him with his horses. I ran up to him and pulled him in a hug.
Yes, Tristan loved horses and he was pretty good at riding one, or at least that was what he told me. I remembered his conversation with Ethan the first day I met him and how he beat him to a horse race.
"Juliet, hey," he said, sounding happy about seeing me which made me pleased.
"What have you been up to lately? Why did you not visit me this past month or two?"
"I was just busy with work." He shrugged.
"I feel like I've heard that sentence too many times in the last month." I groaned, remembering all those times Ethan told me that exact thing.
"What?"
"Nothing, so you had time to go horse riding but not to meet me?" I accused.
"Hey, horses are my first love. I'd never ditch them for anyone, sorry."
"And Olivia is your second?"
"No. The girl I was with, who was only with me for money. That girl was my second love."
"So Olivia is your third?"
"Was." He whispered and I almost didn't catch it.
This surprised me because I didn't think he would get over her this quick.
"Why? Don't you like her now? Did something happen between you two?"
Tristan caressed one of his horses. "I don't even know anymore.
There was this time when I thought she liked me back but then something happened and she doesn't want to see my face again.
So I thought I was just imposing on her, forcing her to like me back.
So I told myself to stop liking her and to stop bothering her and I'm still in the process of getting over her. " He said sadly.
"Wait, what happened between you two?"
"I don't want to answer that." He said, turning away from me to another horse.
"That's not fair. I feel like Olivia is keeping secrets from me and now you too. I don't like it. Don't you guys trust me?" I whined.
"It's not like that. Let's just say that we both are as confused as to what happened between us as you are."
"What is that supposed to mean?"
"Did you come here to argue with me over something that doesn't even concern you?"
I pouted. "One day I will find out."
"Okay you little nosy parker. Now do you want to ride some horses?"
"Not if they'll just make me fall. These are beautiful horses though." I said as I stroked a black one among a dozen that Tristan owned. "Does Amelia know how to ride one?"
"Of course I do." Said Amelia as she appeared with Ethan in tow.
"What are you doing here?" I asked to no one in particular but Ethan and I knew that the question was mainly directed at him.
"What do you think?" He retorted with a smile.
"I'm here to ride horses, and show everyone just how good I'm at it. As for Ethan, I don't know. He just suddenly turned up unexpectedly." Amelia narrowed her eyes suspiciously at him.
Tristan groaned from behind me. "More people, great." He grumbled.
"So let's ride the horses. Maybe have a little race, yeah?" Amelia asked, already walking towards a chestnut brown horse. "This is Amy, my horse," Amelia told me, stroking its nose.
"She's beautiful," I said.
"So on my way here, I heard that you don't know how to ride a horse. I can teach you." Ethan offered.
"Thanks but I'm fine. I don't want to ride one." I declined.
That was, sort of, a lie. Honestly, I was a little eager to learn to ride a horse but I didn't want to because of Ethan. I didn't know why he was even talking to me. I thought we had wordlessly mutually decided to not interact. What part of all the signs I was giving him did he not understand?
There were benches next to the stables that I made my way towards as Amelia and Tristan got on their respective horses. I caught sight of Ethan going somewhere, making me relieved because I didn't want to be near him.
Over the week, I discovered my incessant need to see him, even from a distance.
It intensified whenever the duration of me not seeing him exceeded six hours.
I knew that having no communication with him over seven days had only made me want to talk to him.
Over these seven days, I had barely seen Ethan and it annoyed me that just the mere sight of him today made my heart ecstatic.
I told myself a lot of times that I had to get a grip on my feelings, that I couldn't allow anything to happen between us.
But the bad news was that my resistance was weakening day by day and I couldn't do anything about it.
I knew what I was starting to allow was wrong.
I should stop. But it felt like it wasn't even in my control anymore.
I could feel my self control weakening. And I feared that if he made any more proclamation of his feelings towards me, I'd give into him. I hated feeling so weak.
I didn't realize I was staring into the distance and lost in my thoughts until fingers snapped in front of me.
I looked up to see Ethan with two cans of soda. He sat next to me and placed a can in my hands.
"Thanks," I said, getting up to go elsewhere because God knows how much space I needed to put between us for it to be safe.
"Stay, please." He said in a quiet voice and I almost didn't catch his words.
"I need to see if Amelia needs anything," I replied. It was a stupid excuse but I didn't know what to say.
He sighed. "We both know it's an excuse. I don't want much. I just want to sit next to you for a few minutes. Please."
I felt conflicted. My brain was telling me to walk away without sparing him another glance and my heart was telling me the opposite.
In a matter of seconds, I made a decision.