Everlastingly Loving You - Chapter 73

Sophia took a deep, deep breath.

She composed herself, grateful only Louis saw her this way.

God forbid someone else saw her this way… Nicholas especially.

She brushed off a couple of popcorn crumbs off her pantsuit and returned to her quarters to freshen up.

Louis – after he made sure his sister didn’t need assistance getting back to her quarters – had left swiftly.

Life wasn’t all rainbows and butterflies for royals, Louis was no exception. When he wasn’t spending time with his family, he was fulfilling his royal duties. Advocating for policies, meeting other royals and foreign dignitaries and all that.

Sophia changed into a more suitable outfit for the rest of the day.

Later that afternoon, she’d be having high tea with Nicholas… and Ava, much to her dismay.

She sighed, prepping herself to put up with Ava for yet another meal.

As she did her hair, she said whilst looking at herself in the mirror, “Don’t be too out of hand, you’re doing this not only for you but Nicholas and the dignity you have remaining.”

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“Ambrose,” Sophia greeted, smiling.

“Windsor,” Nicholas acknowledged.

It was great seeing her again, he’d barely seen her these past two weeks, and when he did, Ava was constantly there by his side.

“Can we get to eating?” Ava interjected.

Sophia tried hard not to glare at her.

Nicholas sighed, “Of course we can.”

Sophia inhaled sharply. This was going to be one long high tea.

She took a seat on one side, as did Nicholas and Ava on the other.

The room was silent; the tension thick.

Sophia could’ve swore Nicholas was about to say something before Ava began, “We should have a toast.”

“And what should we toast to exactly?” Nicholas asked, his mouth dry.

Sophia took a scone.

“The fact that everyone here’s still alive,” Ava answered insensitively.

Sophia let out a small gasp, dropping her scone.

Nicholas had to resist the urge to smite Ava. That was highly insensitive of her, saying that when she knew exactly what Sophia had recently gone through.

“Ava,” he warned before looking over at Sophia.

Sophia looked at Ava, constantly taking deep breaths.

Ava had gone too far this time.

She remembered the promise she made herself.

She was a woman of her word, most of the time, she wouldn’t let it go to waste for someone like Ava; she wouldn’t let Ava get the better of her.

She was the embodiment of silent but deadly, staring holes at Ava.

Nicholas was certain Sophia would use her butter knife and stab Ava with it. It was only a matter of time.

“Ava, we need to talk,” she said, her tone seriously calm.

Ava was frightened by her calmness.

She narrowed her eyes, answering, “We do.”

Nicholas looked at Sophia and Ava back and forth, determining as to whether or not he should accompany the both of them.

Sophia shot him a look, wordlessly reassuring him.

‘I’ll be fine,’ Sophia said with a curt nod.

“If you’ll excuse us,” Sophia said as she got up.

Ava then followed, closing the door behind her.

She turned to face Sophia.

What Sophia told her next was quite surprising.

“No,” she said to Ava.

“If you think I’m going to fight you, no,” she elucidated.

“Why, scared you’ll give Nicholas a horrid impression of yourself?” Ava taunted.

Sophia laughed softly.

“No.”

“Not because I’m afraid I’ll give Nicholas a horrid impression of myself, but because you’re just not worth my time,” Sophia admitted to Ava.

Ava growled.

“Now that Nicholas isn’t here,” she began.

“I don’t have to put on some false front to make you think I actually like you,” Ava said.

Sophia blinked.

“And why’d you think I’d want to know?” She asked.

Ava was baffled.

She rolled her eyes.

“Because you don’t actually–”

It was at that moment Ava realized Sophia had no inkling as to why Nicholas actually courted her this entire time. She knew something Sophia didn’t, and she decided she’d milk it for all its worth.

“You really don’t know what I’m talking about, do you?” Ava asked.

She was close to doubling down in laughter.

Sophia really didn’t know.

Sophia wondered if Ava really did know something she didn’t, or if she was playing mind games with her.

She wondered why Nicholas was friends with a woman like her.

“Unlike you, I respect other people’s boundaries, and if I really needed to know what it was, Nicholas would’ve already told me by now,” Sophia reasoned.

“It’s called trusting someone, you should try it sometime,” Sophia added.

Ava raised her eyebrow.

“And here I thought you really were as immature as I heard,” Ava said, pursing her lips.

Sophia sighed dreamily, “If only we could sit around all day, trading insults.”

“You done with the insults? There’s a perfectly scrumptious scone I’d like to eat,” Sophia asked Ava straightforwardly.

Ava sputtered, “You…”

She proceeded using words Julia would’ve found most derogatory.

Sophia shrugged as Ava threw her more insults, calling her names.

“You are what you say I am,” was all she had to say before she opened the door and entered the living room, where Nicholas was waiting for her and Ava.

As she shut the door behind her, she shot Nicholas a dazzling beam.

“Taking the high road, refreshing,” she said before she returned to her seat.

Nicholas didn’t understand what Sophia was referring to.

That was until Ava entered the room in one piece although she looked sullen, which was unlike her since she was usually enthusiastic and cheerful.

Nicholas stared at Ava before peering at Sophia.

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“How did high tea go, darling?” Julia asked her granddaughter.

“It went decently well,” Sophia admitted truthfully.

Julia peered at Sophia over the newspaper she was previously reading.

“You’ve got to tell me more than just ‘decently well’,” she urged.

“What did the three of you talk about?”

“Was there any tension?”

“What’s this Ava girl like?”

Julia continued bombarding Sophia with more and more questions.

“Grandmere!” Sophia exclaimed.

“I can’t answer all your questions if you won’t give me any time to speak,” Sophia said.

Julia blinked before clearing her throat.

“Right,” she said as she adjusted her glasses that’d fallen to the tip of her nose bridge.

Sophia smiled gratefully.

“Alright,” she sighed.

“High tea was quiet, no one really talked about anything,” Sophia admitted.

She then filled Julia in with the rest of the details, as she’d asked when the only reason she’d asked her granddaughter these questions in the first place was purely because she wasn’t too fond of Ava.

Oh, she knew her alright.

Julia knew her as the little girl that’d been obsessed with Nicholas ever since she was in kindergarten. And now that she was back, she was convinced those feelings she had for Nicholas never once changed over the years. She visited Beldovia for him too, and she was certain she was practically glued to Nicholas’ side at all times.

“Is that so?” She asked Sophia once her granddaughter informed her of what Ava had said to her.

Sophia nodded curtly.

Julia placed her newspaper down.

It turned out she was right after all.

Ava still had unwavering feelings for him. Her actions proved it.

“So what did you do next?” She asked Sophia.

Sophia answered Julia’s question, giving Julia an answer she hadn’t been expecting at all.

Sophia taking the high road was unheard of.

Even though Julia thought highly of her granddaughter, what her granddaughter told her was baffling.

“I’m proud of you, darling,” Julia praised.

“What you did there was not what I personally would’ve done, but, you did well,” Julia elucidated.

Sophia scoffed.

Unlike her, her grandmother was the classiest and most collected person she knew.

She could definitely learn a thing or two from her.

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Right after high tea ended, Ava was a raging ball of fury.

She was downright furious.

She’d been humiliated, right in front of Nicholas too. That only made things worse.

She never liked Sophia to begin with.

From the very moment she’d seen the duchess with Nicholas on the tabloids, she resented her to the very core.

Ava wasn’t oblivious.

She knew Nicholas only had eyes for one girl, and she wasn’t her, nor could she ever be.

The girl he loved didn’t deserve him. She didn’t deserve to be loved the way he loved her.

She couldn’t help but feel jealousy wash over her whenever he was with her.

How his gaze lingered on her, how she was blissfully ignorant about everything and didn’t have a clue about the feelings he had for her.

But, she wasn’t one to give up.

As always, she’d get back up her feet and find ways to thrive.

She narrowed her eyes, glaring at the floor before an idea came to her brilliant mind.

An idea that might change things for the better, as well as ruin everything.

She smirked as she concocted the perfect, foolproof plan.

She uttered under her breath, “Once she’s out of the picture, he’ll be all mine.”