Delilah was looking over the necklace that the price had bestowed upon Delilah. No matter how much she wished desperately that her friend wouldn't marry a man she truly did not want to marry. She couldn't argue that the prince had impeccable taste when it came to showering a lady in gifts.
"It is quite a necklace." She looked over to Daphne, "Do you like it?"
"It is very beautiful." Daphne nodded.
"But do you like it?"
Daphne sighed in her seat and turned around to her best friend. "If you should have something to say, Delilah, please say it."
Delilah put the necklace down and turned to Daphne. Maybe, just maybe, Delilah could convince her to not move forward with the prince.
"Well, I only wonder." She turned to the necklace again, "If you should wear that necklace at tonight's ball, what will the duke think?".
Daphne let out a groan, "Oh, Delilah!"
"Until you have decided to accept the prince's proposal, I simply think you should keep your mind open." Delilah suggested sitting down on Daphne's bed. Daphne turned to her best friend, giving her a very pointed look.
"Delilah, I do not care what the duke thinks. Besides, he will not even be at tonight's ball." Daphne sighed again and turned back to her vanities mirror.
"What happened between the two of you?" Delilah asked.
"Nothing happened." Daphne scoffed quietly, "He is leaving."
"I know my best friend. And I know Simon. I know it was not nothing between you." Delilah argued. Daphne shook her head with a louder scoff. She clearly did not agree with Delilah's statement, and she was determined to figure out why.
"You do not know. You do not know anything." Daphne dismissed.
Delilah shook her head standing up from the bed. "Daphne, I know what I saw!"
Daphne shook her head with a new look in her eye. Sadness, something in Delilah's mind switched. There was something else going on that Delilah didn't know about. And from the looks of it, Daphne was about to tell her everything.
"What you saw..was a lie." Delilah looked up to Daphne in confusion, "What?" She whispered.
"It was a lie. It was a ruse. The duke and I..we were pretending, all so I could attract a suitor of a high enough rank, all so that I could be much more..desirable. It was an agreement. It was an act, and it worked. We got what we wanted. Mama did too. I now have a prince. She should be proud."
Delilah could see the glossy eyes Daphne had when she turned around. She quickly embraced her in a hug. "What your mama wanted for you, and what I want for you as well, is for you to have the best not in terms of rank, but in love."
She pulled back slightly looking at Daphne in the face, "And what I have seen between you and the duke-"
"It is not real, Delilah!"
Daphne shook her head at her best friend, "Everything you saw..none of it is real. Well, it...it is over now. I do not have to pretend any longer." Her voice cracked slightly, "I am sorry, Delilah. I am so sorry."
She turned back to her vanity, Delilah still partially frozen behind her.
"It is a beautiful necklace. I should like it very much." Daphne spoke quietly.
YOU ARE READING
Real love, harsh commitment
FanfictionDISCONTINUED: The edited and completed version of this book is on my page and is beginning to be uploaded. It's called: Season's Feather. If you would like to read this version, you are more than welcome to. But, I would suggest reading Season's F...
