𝐅𝐎𝐑𝐁𝐈𝐃𝐃𝐄𝐍 𝐃𝐄𝐒𝐈𝐑𝐄 | ✎

𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟏𝟔

With my mallet in hand, I effortlessly whack the red croquet ball into the hoops, feeling the satisfaction of getting a score. The sounds of the mallets and the clanking of the balls echo through the palace garden as Ava, James, and Isa go after me.

James scoffs when I score another point. "You cheated."

I roll my eyes back at him. "It's not my fault you suck," I taunted.

Ava swings her yellow ball into one of the hoops and throws her hands up in celebration when she scores a point. Unfortunately for James, she also accidentally hit him with the mallet. Ouch.

The prince clutches his nose while some blood runs down his hand. "Bloody hell! Damn it, Ava!" His British accent is prominent when he speaks, which makes me laugh—especially when he curses.

"Oh, suck it up," Ava groans and drops the mallet, "you're so dramatic."

Isabella immediately drops her mallet as well, goes over to James, and hands him a handkerchief for his nose geyser. "Ava! Have a little compassion; you could have broken his nose!"

While I watch the argument, I notice the sun slowly setting, casting a beautiful orange and pink glow over the palace garden. It's a peaceful moment, one that helps me calm down after the day's events. I take a seat on a nearby bench, feeling the warmth of the sun on my skin.

To no one's surprise, J is still fuming. "I'm really starting to get tired of her," he mutters, eyeing Ava with a scowl. "She's so self-centered and obnoxious."

Ava rolls her eyes. "Please, like you're any better!"

"I'm a lot better than you, at least!" James retorts, his brow furrowed.

I let out a small chuckle, watching the two of them go at it. It's always amusing to see them fight like children, even though they're both adults.

Isabella, on the other hand, seems to be a little uncomfortable with their bickering, which is understandable. She's always been the peacemaker in the group.

"Can't we all just get along?" she pleads, but no one is taking her seriously.

James suddenly makes a wide swing with his mallet and smacks his ball into one of the hoops with force, making it fly out of his hand and into the pond. He immediately swears under his breath for nearly ruining his chances of getting another point.

Ava makes another sassy remark towards the brunet, which only riles him up even more. They start going back and forth with each other, having a screaming contest at this point. And James is definitely winning.

"GUYS!" Isa shouts over them. "That's enough! I'm going back to Spain tomorrow, and I don't want to spend my last day here watching you two argue!"

I finally stood up when she mentioned she was leaving tomorrow. Isabella is the Duchess of Villena, so she obviously can't stay here in Italy for long. She's also distantly related to Marco, but I've never held that against her.