Trust In Love - Chapter 263

“Are you sure you’re okay, Alex?” Lauren asked, a scowl between her brows.

She sat on a yellow monoblock chair. Ankles crossed, her hand held a cup of bubble tea. She rested her elbows on the white square table. Paper bags filled up the seat next to her. Mall goers passed by as they checked out the food stalls.

Across from her, Alex bit on a slice of spicy tuna maki. The fish, crispy tempura coating and spices exploded in her mouth. The dipping sauce with wasabi added a tang. The Japanese mayo also made it creamier in texture as she chewed.

She reached out for another piece with a pair of chopsticks.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” she replied in between bites, “It’s still my first day since it came late yesterday. The flow is heaviest when it’s my second day. That will be tomorrow so I’m good.”

Emily swallowed the rice cake in her mouth. She grabbed her glass of iced tea, toning down the spiciness. Her chopstick had a fishcake ready for her to eat. “Admit it. You’re just really excited about your date. You didn’t want to delay it further.”

Alex chuckled. “I’m busy next week. I think most of my weekends will be.”

Her mother sent her a schedule of activities. There were notes on which events were optional. In the past, she joined them whenever she had free time. It felt good to do something that made others happy.

“And you’ll miss Logan so you have to spend time with him now,” Emily teased, smirking her lips. She fluttered her lashes when a glare pointed in her direction. Her hand dragged the fishcake around the plate and coated it with more sauce.

Lauren ċȯċked an eyebrow. “Aren’t you also going to be busy?”

“Yeah… I have to prepare for the pageant. I want to take down Evelyn Danes.” Emily jabbed the chopstick on the dark sizzling plate. Her teeth gnashed together. “I came really close into doing it last year. I don’t know what hocus pocus she did but it won’t happen again. If it did, I’d just have to rally the audience to my side.”

Ever since she came to the school, that snobby daughter of a wine empire had targeted her. It didn’t matter if Emily provoked her not, Evelyn would find a way to make into a competition. The pageant last year was one of them. She entered because of her classmates. They had nominated her into it.

She did it for them back then.

This time, she’d do it for herself.

Everyone should be prepared because Emiliana Greenwood wasn’t about to make it easy. These coming weeks were crucial to her victory. She had planned everything in the past year.

“That’s during the Winter Ball, right?” Lauren sighed. She stirred the milk tea with her straw. “Too bad outsiders can’t attend.”

Emily narrowed her eyes.

An idea began to form in her mind. It would surely turn the tide—change the battleground. Among the candidates, Evelyn had the most influence inside Freccia Prep but that didn’t mean she had the same power outside of it. It would be an even bigger fight for online votes. Connections would be key.

Her cobalt eyes sneaked a peek at her cousin.

Then, they flickered towards Lauren.

“That might just be a good idea. I remember how impressed grandma was with Woodlands’ festival. I think I can convince the headmistress about it.” Emily said, her mind formulating a good speech for the proposal. “The more people attended, the bigger the event would be and the higher funds the school would raise. It’s an almost guaranteed approval.”

Alex frowned. “Don’t get her hopes up. We’re not even sure if that would happen.”

“I will make it happen,” her cousin declared. She mustered every ounce of conviction her petite frame possessed. “I’d just need to convince more people like a few student council members.”

“Neal?”

Emily snorted. “Yeah, right. Who would want that bastard’s help?”

Lauren leaned forward, folding her arms on the table. It was the first time she heard of that name. She hadn’t expected to hear another person who irritated Emily.

“Who’s he?”

“He’s the male representative for the 3rd years.” Emily replied. Her tone became cold. “I don’t like him. He hurt Alex when they were younger. He hadn’t even apologized for it.”

Alex choked on her maki. She hadn’t thought of that incident for a long time. How old was she? 10? Or younger? She couldn’t even remember what year it was. Her mind buried it under a rock.

That moment only made her feel embarrassed.

She’d rather not think about it ever again.

A hazy memory resurfaced at the back of Lauren’s mind. Faint words slowly spoke louder, filling her ears. It came with a ŀȧptop screen. The visual matched the sounds. It helped enhance the voices and sharpen the image.

Then, it clicked.

“Is he Alex’s first crush?” Lauren exclaimed, gaping at the two cousins. ���The one she mentioned in the livestream?”

Emily gave a hard nod. “It is.”

“How did he hurt her?”

“He rejected her confession.”

Lauren snapped her head towards Alex. She searched for any sign of denial. It soon became a failed mission as the other party kept quiet. Gray eyes focused on the plate of maki.

“You confessed to someone?!” Lauren demanded, slamming a hand on the table. “I never knew you had it in you.”

Alex finally looked up. She closed her eyes briefly. “Please, let’s not talk about it.”

“There’s no need,” Lauren ȧssured her. She shook her head and cupped her cheek with her right hand. “I’m stunned speechless. You actually liked someone before. Liked him enough to confess. Wow. Logan would be jealous.”

Alex stared up the ceiling, heaving a sigh. The corners of her lips curled a bit.

“It was a long time ago. My grandfather planted this idea that I’d marry Neal someday. Back then, he was the only person I considered myself to be romantically involved with,” she explained. She kept her voice as nonchalant as possible. “It turned out those were merely my imaginations. I just mistook the infatuation as something I felt for Neal and not the idea of us as a pair.”

Emily shrugged her shoulders, eating another rice cake. “I don’t care what you felt back then. He could have rejected you more gently.”

“That’s just his personality,” Alex pointed out. Neal was known for his distant attitude. He never spoke to anyone unless he needed to. He also liked to cut to the chase, skipping the small talk.

It made sense that the rejection was very blunt.

“Why are you even defending him? You weren’t a stranger to him. He should have considered your feelings carefully.” Emily snapped. She exaggerated an eye roll. “Not to mention how his family had you transfer because of that stupid engagement and we all know it.”

“What engagement?” Lauren nearly choked on a tapioca pearl. She pulled back from the straw and chewed it for a while. “Alex is engaged?”

“Not yet,” Emily replied before her cousin could. “But… it is a possibility. Some old agreement between the families. That was what she meant about grandfather planting the idea of having Neal as a romantic partner when they were young. Since that agreement existed, it almost seemed like they were to get married without a second thought.”

She stabbed a fishcake with a chopstick. “Until…! Aunt Angie had it delayed for a while. That doesn’t mean it had completely disappeared though.”

Lauren scowled. She disliked Alex’s situation even more now. It was one thing to have her transferred but another thing if it was for this kind of reason.

“What if she wants to be with Logan?”

Emily sipped on her ice tea. “Simple. The agreement passes to the next generation. It sucks.”

“Yeah, it does a bit,” Alex added.

She wasn’t the first person subject for this engagement. She was the second. The previous one was from her father’s generation. They hadn’t talked about it much before but it seemed to be a complicated time.

“Why are you not worried?” Her cousin finally questioned her.

Before, Emily didn’t pay attention to it much. Now, Alex was dating a guy. Shouldn’t she be alarmed about this? Especially when the Conary Family clearly made a move? They wanted this engagement.

That meant they’re a threat to her cousin’s current dating life.

“Does Logan know?” Lauren thought out loud, suddenly remembering about him.

Alex shook her head. “No.”

“Why not?”

“Well…” she started to say but stopped. She took a deep breath, putting down her chopsticks. She composed her expression and faced both girls. “Why should I worry about something that is more than a year from now? I have other things more important.”

To her, worrying about the future too much was a hindrance. That mindset would fog her sight from the current reality. If she troubled herself over it now, she would just waste the energy instead of using it for something that could make her happy.

“Like your first date later, hm?” Lauren smirked. Her voice broke the silence. She eyed the plates around the table. “Are you guys done yet? We still haven’t chosen an outfit for Alex.”

“Fine, fine!” Emily huffed. She shoved another rice cake into her mouth. “I’ll shut up and finish this tteokbokki.”

Lauren became quiet, still smiling. She slowly absorbed the new information. She considered it luck that they hadn’t encountered the guy when they picked up Alex. She didn’t know what would happen if Neal suddenly revealed his connection with Alex. Her heart hoped that her friend would tell Logan soon.

It didn’t seem to matter to Alex now but…

… Logan might think otherwise.

It would devastate her if this came between them.