Since the school was reserved for children from aristocratic families or those from very well-off families, I realized quickly that, just like everyone at the event, Kevin must have a pretty good backing of his own.
“I guess we’re bound to run into our old friends in an event of this size,” I said before showing him another practiced smile.
“By the way, do you remember our teacher from school? Mr. Howard? You know that teacher that taught us science. He’s here. I just met him, he’s over there. I couldn’t believe it at first. I mean, why would he be here?” Kevin said excitedly.
“I’ll go see him later,” Bradon replied.
“We should head over there now before even more people turn up. It’ll be hard to find him afterwards. You two used to be so close. I’m sure he’ll be delighted to see you after all these years,” Kevin replied before throwing his arm around Bradon’s shoulders.
I could sense Bradon’s discomfort although he wasn’t letting it show. On the other hand, Kevin was completely oblivious to what Bradon was thinking. That made sense considering that he had no idea that the man he thought was his friend from school was actually someone else.
“I’ll go see him later. Right now, I need to escort my wife,” he replied while trying to keep his tone light.
“Oh, is that it? Trying hard to act like the perfect husband. I’m sure that your beautiful wife won’t mind if I take you for a couple of minutes. Do you mind, My Lady?” Kevin turned to ask me.
“Of course not. You two can go ahead. I’ll head over there and catch up with some of my friends,” I replied with a smile.
Bradon glared at me, but I was unfazed by the warning in his eyes. I knew that I was ignoring the rule that he had set but I didn’t see the harm in us separating for a moment. Security at the event was tight, so I felt safe enough to roam around the party alone without an escort. On top of that, it would have been extremely suspicious and unnatural if Anthony did not head over to see his old teacher after all that his friend had said.
“Diana...” Bradon called me as he stared at me.
“I’ll be fine, honey dear. There’s nothing for you to worry about. Just enjoy yourself with your friend. I’m sure that your teacher can’t wait to meet you. I’ll see you later...” I said before smiling at the two men.
“Let’s go. Let’s go!” Kevin said enthusiastically.
“Bye...” I murmured as I lifted a hand and waved.
I watched Kevin ushering Bradon away with him with a hand around his shoulders. The truth was that there was something that I wished I could sort out without Bradon’s knowledge. There was no guarantee that something would happen, and I might have been over thinking things. However, I didn’t think that the head of the Wanderwalt family would host such a large event to show support of my father’s pollical career without getting endorsement from his daughter first. Perhaps after all these years, she had decided to let bygones be bygones. It was possible that she no longer held a grudge against our family, more specifically against me.
“Excuse me,” a man said in a whisper as he slowly walked past me.
“Yes?” I whispered back.
I knew that this was the moment that both parties had been waiting for. The moment when I was alone without Anthony by my side. Without meeting my eyes, the man pressed what felt like a piece of folded paper into my hand. Just as suddenly as he had appeared, the man walked past me and disappeared into the crowd of people. I acted natural as I pretended to look around while my hands slowly unfolded the piece of paper that he had placed in my hand.
“Oh, hi! How have you been?” I replied to a woman who greeted me.
At the same time, I crumbled the small note and secretly let it drop to the floor. No one would be able to figure out the meaning behind the message even if they picked it up and read it anyways. After reading the short note, my suspicion had been confirmed and I also knew where I needed to go.
“Great. I’ll definitely invite you to one of my parties very soon. Let’s keep in touch, Diana!” she said with a laugh as we parted ways.
I made my way smoothly through the crowd as I greeted a few people that I knew and smiled charmingly at everyone else in the process. Unfortunately, the rotten feeling inside of me was right and my dear friend from school was truly here and wanted to see me. As to whether she wanted to see me as Diana or as Dahlia, I wasn’t quite sure.
I’m sorry, Bradon, but I really can’t keep on running away from the past.
I apologized to Bradon silently in my head as I took the first step in facing a ghost from my past.
...
“Diana! I’m so glad that you could make it,” the host’s daughter greeted me brightly the moment that I entered the room.
“Thanks for the invitation and big thanks to your father for agreeing to host this magnificent event,” I replied with a bright smile.
Daphne Wanderwalt, the only daughter of the Wanderwalt family and my friend from school. Everyone thought that we were close and grew up as best friends and they couldn’t have been more wrong. If my sister and I were known as the famous double ‘D’s from our names, then this girl was the one who tried her hardest to make herself the third ‘D’.
Her wavy brown hair framed her beautiful face and highlighted her round hazel eyes. Daphne is famous for her beauty and the long history of her family. Everything about her was welcoming and right and also only ever second to my sister and me. If Diana ranked first and me second, then Dahne would always rank third. The third ‘D’. The pale gold dress that she had on looked beautiful and was undoubtedly expensive.
--To be continued...