Chapter 157 COLLEGE.
SLOANE’S POINT OF VIEW.
A YEAR LATER.
“Whew…I guess that’s it for college applications.” I groaned, my bones screaming for exhaustion as I plopped onto the chair beside Lucien. Seraphina snickered as Theo fed her from the bowl of diced apples after dipping them in ice cream.
“I don’t even know why you bother with applications,” Lucien remarked, lifting me from the seat beside him and onto his thigh. “You know one phone call from me or your father would get you the top spot in whatever school you want, right?”
“Yeah….I know.” I giggled at the feel of his stubble poking at my jaw as he kissed a trail up my neck. “But still, I want to do this right. My grades should be more than enough to get me qualified, so I want to do this as everyone else does. If I weren’t the daughter of the Valerian, I would want to know if I would get the spot.”
“You’re better than me.” Amara laughed, sipping on the mango ice cream smoothie she managed to concoct after multiple horrible attempts in the kitchen. It was almost comical how many times she screamed, groaned, and cursed every time she didn’t get the ‘perfect’ taste.
And of course Ace was by her side every single step, taking her profanities like a champ while he cooked up a storm for us. We were at Lucien’s mother's spa.
Even though it’s been a year since everything happened, we still haven't been able to forget it. My body still shivers whenever I recall the look Eldric gave us while he was wheeled away after receiving the life imprisonment sentence.
He swore that one day, he would break free from prison and come for us all, taunted Alicia, and relished in the way she sobbed in Lucien's arms, unable to look the monster in the eye.
It wasn’t even two weeks ago that we got the unfortunately pleasant news that finally got us breathing easier.
Eldric was found dead in his cell. Apparently, his prison mates were the son of the doctor he murdered, who got into prison six months after Eldric’s sentencing to avenge his father’s death. I remember the moment Lucien got the call….he made sure all matters related to Eldric would be sent to him, and not his mother or grandparents.
They’d suffered enough, so he and his aunt, along with my parents, oversaw Eldric’s affairs.
Lucien hadn’t looked the least bit sad…rather, he looked relieved. As were we all.
Roxanne, on the other hand, was sentenced to ten years in prison for working with Eldric to get us kidnapped. She was pregnant when she got the sentence, and had the baby in prison.
We had no idea what happened to Matt or the baby; all we knew was that we left the world of chaos Ravenscroft High shoved down our throats the second we graduated….good riddance.
Now, I was searching for a way to let them know I would let them down.
My dad has plans for us, Seraphina, Ace, and me….and that is the company. And I knew his plan. He thinks that since I am his blood and his first child, I should get the majority of the company and run it, while Ace and Sera assist me.
But the thing is… that isn't what I want at all.
At first, I thought I wanted to be a culinary master, then when being with Lucien got hard because of Eldric, I wished I had my name attached to a conglomerate….but now that it has happened….I can't help but desire the one thing I truly want.
“Hey,” Lucien whispered, his ring glinting in the light. “Penny for your thoughts?”
Did I mention he proposed?
Yeah… it was chaotic as hell, but I loved every second of it. All I remember was Seraphina, Amara and the horsemen, of which Ace is now a part of, tiptoeing around me as if I would bite them while they cajoled me into getting into an odd-looking vehicle blindfolded.
And next thing I knew, I was escorted to the top of the most beautiful hill in all of Westridge; the hill filled with a thousand little stars….the exact place I wrote in my diary for my proposal venue. And at the end of that hill, stood my father who wept like a baby, my mother, his mother, and grandparents….the love of my life in the middle with at least ten thousand roses spread around him, while we stayed on one knee before me.
“Sloane….the second I laid eyes on you, I knew you were it for me. It was hard for me to tell you how I felt, so, like a fucking coward, I bullied and tortured you with my presence so you would never find someone else.
I knew you liked Matt….but I still pursued you because I'm a selfish guy….and I wasn’t going to let someone else take you.
So I came up with the fake dating idea, even though I didn’t care that Roxanne was with someone other than me, to get you to my side, finally. And as we spent days, weeks, months, and a full year together, I realised there's no one else I want to be with… no one but you.
Left to me, we would have done this months ago, but I didn’t want to scare you. I would like you to know that I have asked your father for your hand and gone through every single task and ordeal he laid out for me to be worthy of you.
And although I aced them all, I still think I am not half worthy to lace your shoes. You complete me, Sloane…..far better than I ever thought. For the first time in my life, I don’t care if I lose everything, but I cannot lose you,” he said with a smile that left me feeling both breathless and shattered, his eyes twinkling and shiny with the tears that filled them, as well as my own.
I’d stood dressed in a pink designer dress I’d found on my bed that night, not knowing he was the one who got it there.
“So with all that out of the way,” he chuckled, and it made me chuckle. “Would you do me the absolute honour of letting me be your husband?
I promise to love and cherish you, and treat you with every ounce of goodness in me, and even more. I will prove to you that I am worthy to live in the same orbit as you every day of our lives, and I swear on my life that no matter what, you will never want for anything. Be it material things, or even my fucking soul….I-“
“YES!!!” I screamed for joy, involuntarily not letting him complete his sentence. And with that, he slipped the ring on, kissed me, and we looked to the future together.
It was the best day of my life.
“Sloane…” He called again, and I smiled up at him.
“Nothing….just about college.”
“I told you, you 've got this.” He encouraged.
“No….that 's not it,” I said with a shake of my head. “I don’t think I want to work in Dad’s company.”
“I know.” I stared at him in shock.
“How do you even know, Lucien?”
“There's nothing I could ever miss about you.” His eyes were dark as he said it, and as I stared into those pupils, I was reassured again that he was right. He stared at me a lot, even if we were on different sides of the room.
“Haha.” I mock laughed, rolling my eyes, but all that met into a yelp as he nipped at my jaw. “Ow.” I pouted, then signed as he caressed the skin of my lower back.
“You don’t want to be a CEO of Everhart group, rather, you want to venture into the arts….you want to be both an actress and a singer….which is why you applied not to oxford, or Cambridge, or harvard but to Broadway….the one place your father might not have connections because you wanted to be sure you got in cause you’re good enough.”
‘Ugh. I hate that you know me so well.” I grunted, my head thrown back with a sigh.
“Too bad…..we’re stuck for life, and even in eternity.” He chuckled and kissed my neck softly.
“I just don’t know how I’m gonna tell my dad without breaking his heart into a billion little pieces.”
“I might have an idea.”