Everlastingly Loving You - Chapter 84

“So, this was your idea,” Nicholas mused.

Sophia looked up at him. Her head was on his lap.

“This is what you do in your free time?” Nicholas asked, scrunching his nose.

“Sometimes, yes,” Sophia admitted.

“Romance movies?” Nicholas asked.

“Never pegged you as the romance movie… type,” he admitted, putting it out there.

Sophia responded with, “There’s a lot you don’t know about me.”

Nicholas chuckled.

“I couldn’t be more excited to get to know you,” he said lovingly.

Sophia scrunched her nose, Nicholas found it adorable.

Nicholas popped a couple of popcorn in his mouth.

He watched the romance movies closely, studying them from his seat.

As evident, he knew nothing when it came to romance.

He’d never watched a romance movie before, this was his very first time.

He studied the expressions of the characters on the big screen, analyzing their every action and movement.

Sophia was baffled. He seemed to be enjoying the movie more than she was.

She was under the impression he enjoyed it, when it wasn’t the case.

Sophia looked at Nicholas longingly. She had work to do, but she was watching romance movies with Nicholas instead. Guillermo would have her head, but she couldn’t care less.

Who was the one person she had in her thoughts day in and day out?

Who was the one person she desired to spend the rest of her life with?

Who could she never live without?

The answer was at the tip of her tongue, and yet, she was still afraid.

Afraid he didn’t think of her as much as she did.

Feelings she never thought to have felt were rushing in.

She’d admitted to herself she had feelings for someone already, that’d been cleared.

But what was next was her confessing to that person instead of keeping it to herself, only for it to be kept in the dark and never to be revealed.

She buried herself in more and more work which managed to take her mind off of such matters.

Of course, soon, it didn’t prove to be as efficient as it was at the start; she was running out of shortcuts.

She sighed, keeping her eyes on the movie screen. She couldn’t bear to look at Nicholas.

She just couldn’t. She couldn’t comprehend why.

Nicholas freaked out.

Were things going wrongly?

Did she abruptly decide to cancel the second date?

In a panic, he glanced at her, hoping for her to speak and tell him what was actually happening, if he was coming up with everything, if this was a figment of his imagination, or if he’d spotted the small details.

And yet, he couldn’t get himself to speak.

He pondered the question of why he was behaving this way.

Why he was evidently different around Sophia and himself when he wasn’t.

“YOU LOVE HER!” He heard someone yell at him.

He glimpsed at the screen. It was a movie character.

He watched the scene, which appeared to be a character coming clean to their friend in the movie they were watching.

(Author’s Note: So the next dialogue will be that from a movie scene. It’s not a scene from an actual movie, I just made one up.)

“That’s why, alright?” She said irritatedly.

“That’s why,” she repeated.

“That’s why your heartbeat quickens whenever you see him,” she insisted.

“It’s why you’ve found every part of him irresistible.”

“All his quirks, all his oddities, everything.”

“Can’t you see, you blind cretin?”

“You’re in love!”

“You’ve fallen in love!”

“You’ve fallen madly in love with him!”

“And you’ve been in denial all these years.”

“Are you simply going to watch as you lose him?”

“Or are you going to do something about it?”

“There are countless other people who’d have him.”

“He’s getting married.”

“James is getting married.”

“Today. In city hall,” she added.

“And I can’t believe all you’re doing is sitting here, as though waiting for him to come barging in these doors and confess his feelings for you.”

“Unless you’d rather stay here.”

“Watch the love of your life get married to a woman you know he doesn’t love even half as much as you.”

“Do I need to spell it out to you?”

“DO SOMETHING!”

“You can’t allow him to slip away!”

“If you truly loved him you wouldn’t.”

“This is your one chance to prove to him you love him.”

“So do it.”

“Or else you’ll spend the rest of your life regretting your choice.”

“Your choice to sit back and watch as the man you wanted to spend the rest of your life with marries another woman.”

“Someone that isn’t you.”

“You’ll have to wake up everyday knowing someone out there’s making the love of your life happy.”

“Are you ready to live with that?”

“Are you ready to live with the consequences?”

“If not, then as I’ve said before, feel free to do something.”

“Because really, it seems as though I’m the only one putting any amount of effort into this.”

Nicholas paused the movie. He was surprised not to hear Sophia protest, only to realize she’d fallen asleep on his lap without him noticing.

He had a small smile on his face.

He moved slowly, so as to not wake up the duchess from her much-needed slumber.

“There you go,” he mumbled as he managed to place a pillow under her head.

He covered her with a cosy blanket.

He lowered the volume of the romance movies and resumed watching.

Nicholas hadn’t realized he had been watching movies for three hours straight.

He paused the movie for the second time when he heard someone knocking at the door.

“Your grace?” The majordomo called.

“Your royal highness?” The majordomo called next.

Nicholas glanced at Sophia who had remained  asleep at the time. She hadn’t woken up.

He glanced back at the door.

He kept silent.

He decided it was time he woke her up.

“Sophia,” he called, poking her in the shoulder.

“Wake up,” he said to her, giving her one last poke in the shoulder.

“Ow!” Sophia exclaimed, half-awake.

“What’d you do that for?” She asked grumpily since she’d been awoken from her nap.

“About that,” Nicholas began.

Sophia mumbled something under her breath. She then heard the knocking sound coming from the door.

“Who’s there?” She asked, her voice slightly strained.

“It’s me Guillermo, your grace,” he answered.

Sophia glanced at the wall clock.

Her eyes widened.

“I slept for hours?!” She cried.

She pulled the blanket off of her and slipped on her slippers.

“It’s nearly time for dinner!” She exclaimed.

Nicholas reassured her, “We’ll make it in time.”

Sophia didn’t have time to obsess over the fact he called her and him ‘we’.

“I’ve got to get going.”

“Clarisse is going to smite me,” she said, panicking.

She grabbed her cardigan before she left for her quarters in a rush.

A quick change later, she sighed in relief, she’d made it.

Of course, she’d be a couple of minutes late, but she doubted anyone would mind.

She rounded on Nicholas’ quarters.

“You ready?” She asked him.

Nicholas had changed into a casual button-down shirt, as well as dress pants.

Clarisse and Oliver were the ones that were to be put under the spotlight for the evening.

“Of course,” he answered.

__

“So you don’t have any idea who the special guests are?” Sophia asked.

“I don’t,” Nicholas admitted.

“And you’re certain?” Sophia grilled.

“I’m certain I don’t,” he said.

He and Sophia had finally arrived at the dining room.

Sophia inhaled.

She was ready to make sure Clarisse was alright.

She was determined to be a better friend.

“Ready?” Sophia asked Nicholas.

“I am,” Nicholas said, blissfully unaware of what was to come.

“And also, I’ll be sitting next to Clarisse,” Sophia declared.

Nicholas immediately turned to face her.

“What?” He asked in astonishment.

“I wish I could sit beside you, but it’s… Clarisse’s night,” she said with her teeth gritted.

Nicholas gazed at her reassuringly.

Butlers bowed in front of both royals before opening the grand doors that led to the dining room for them.

And boy, was it a beholding sight to see.

There, in the dining room, sat Clarisse, Oliver, Louis, and two other royals Sophia didn’t recognize.

They were elegantly dressed, although they looked to be in their 50s if not 60s.

She didn’t recognize them, but Nicholas sure did.

He couldn’t believe it. Was what he was seeing real? Or was it some illusion?

‘This couldn’t be happening, not right now,’ Nicholas thought for the millionth time that month.

Nicholas blinked. It made a certain amount of sense, their sudden arrival, but he wasn’t prepared to face them. Not yet, at least.

“Your majesties,” he greeted in a monotone.

It took Sophia all her willpower not to gasp and yell. Realization dawned upon her. It hadn’t taken much piecing to figure out.

‘Excuse me, what?’ Sophia nearly asked aloud.

She tightly squeezed Nicholas’ hand.

Oh, how the tables have been tabled.