Everlastingly Loving You - Chapter 33

Clarisse took one last look at her quarters’ surroundings before she closed the doors, making sure to lock them so no one was allowed to enter.

“Alright,” she sighed.

“I’ll talk, as I said I would,” she said as she plopped down a chair.

Sophia was eagerly listening to her best friend.

“Right then,” Sophia said, “Get on with it.”

She was getting impatient.

“Come on, you know you can tell me anything,” Sophia coaxed gently.

“Soph,” Clarisse called nervously.

“Claire,” Sophia called impatiently.

Clariss shot up.

“An arranged marriage!” She yelled.

Sophia’s eyes widened.

“Claire, keep your voice down,” she reminded.

“It’s the Beldovian palace, not a soundproof booth,” Sophia said, mumbling, “And it’s not known for its privacy, the sounds of father and Emilia going at it is something I can’t unhear.”

The words Clarisse had told her finally sunk in.

“Hold on,” Sophia said.

“An arranged marriage?” She asked, shocked, “For whatever reason?”

“The king wants an advantage over Sanguis,” Clarisse explained, not bothering to call the king her father.

Her elder brothers were respectively a prince and a duke, making her a countess by order of birth. She, like Sophia and Nicholas, was a direct descendant of a king. Not that her father ever treated her like a daughter of his when he didn’t need anything from her.

He could be two completely different people. When he wanted something, he’d act different, far more pleasant than he usually was. It was distinctive, and also human nature.

He could turn from worst to best in a matter of seconds. Something Clarisse was not at all hesitant to leave.

Sophia had momentarily forgotten Sanguis was at war with Samar.

Clarisse explained further, “They want me to marry into another kingdom’s family to give them the advantage they need.”

Sophia winced. Yikes.

“When you put it that way, you’re more like, collateral damage,” she said.

“The only difference is it’s the complete opposite of unintended,” Clarisse sighed in disapproval.

“And I take it that’s why you’re now here in Beldovia, to escape from your daddy issues?” Sophia asked, trying her best to sympathize with Clarisse, even despite the fact it was her first try.

Clarisse nodded, feeling pathetic.

One would argue that she shouldn’t have run away. She was born to do these kinds of tasks for the sake of her kingdom. But, the fault wasn’t hers for being human and wanting a different life. She’d just wanted to exert some control over her life, instead of allowing her parents to control her every move.

Sophia wanted to yell. Sympathizing with friends on chaises was not her specialty, there was a reason she didn’t have many friends. She was just trying to be there for Clarisse’s sake, that was, before she dozed off, giving in to the soothing darkness, the vermouth taking effect, and her lack of sleep as well.

Clarisse, in a vulnerable state, noticed her best friend dozing off. She was outraged.

She shook her head.

“I should’ve never come to her,” she whispered inaudibly.

“There’s never been any other person’s side the Sophia Windsor was on other than her own,” Clarisse had a hand on holding up her head.

She’d been playing whilst she was here, seeing as it was Sophia’s territory and all, but there had always been one excuse after the other when it came to why Sophia was like this.

If it came to any other person’s problems, it didn’t matter and didn’t compare to hers.

In Clarisse’s eyes, had Sophia been the friend she claimed to be, she wouldn’t be asleep on the chaise of her friends’ quarters whilst she was in the midst of discussing what was troubling her.

Of course, Sophia had grown up in a different environment than her. She would get whatever it was she wanted, leaving the scraps for whoever was under her in the hierarchy. And for her, she grew up being the youngest child of a family who raised her to be intended damage.

She stared at Sophia, muttering, “Self-serving b*tch.”

Royals weren’t permitted to use expletives, but what they didn’t know wouldn’t hurt them either.

Perhaps Clarisse was taking Sophia dozing off whilst she was ranting too seriously, or perhaps she was sick of having to be the person Sophia would come to for help without having to worry about needing to help Clarisse back.

This had been going on for years, and every single time, Clarisse placed the blame on Sophia’s father’s death, but there was only so many times one could blame another person’s actions on their loved one’s passing.

Sophia’s chest heaved up and down.

Clarisse hadn’t taken into account it was the vermouth Sophia had taken during the dinner dance, or the fact that she’d hardly managed to get any sleep the past few days.

She shook Sophia’s shoulder.

Sophia, being a light sleeper, shot awake.

She mumbled something under her breath before she gasped.

“I slept through the entire time you were discussing what was going on in Samar, didn’t I?” Sophia asked, no hint of guilt or remorse in her voice.

The fact that Sophia didn’t seem the slightest bit upset only managed to make her more aggrieved.

The one time she really needed someone to listen to her. And more than anything, Sophia should have been able to sympathize, seeing as she was in a similar situation. But instead, she decided not to give Clarisse the light of day and drift off to sleep. If she’d apologized and explained why she did what she did, all would’ve been well, but no, she didn’t.

The way one would describe this situation was, ‘She didn’t seem to give a sh*t.’

Clarisse was outraged. This, all of this, was the last straw. She was better off in a place where she expected to be disrespected rather than a place she escaped which eventually turned out to be nearly identical to how the people she shared blood with treated her. Of all people, it was her best friend treating her this way.

She extended her arm vertically, her palm facing Sophia.

“Save it, Sophia.”