Timeless [h.s]

Twenty nine

Stuart

"Do you think I'd be capable of pulling this off?" I asked Sienna, looking deeply into her eyes, a small hint of desperation filling my heart. Harry's scent lingered on her clothes after coming back from their meeting. I was going wild, missing him more each passing day. Ironically, the only pictures of us I had were the ones Gaston sent me. Even though they were proof of his insanity, I still cherished the moments they represented.

"Of course, Charlotte. Harry is going to the ball and I told him about the secret rooms upstairs. I can guarantee that as soon as Gaston spots him, he'll follow Harry around." I nodded, feeling awful for using the man I loved as bait. If I had any other ideas I would never involve Harry, but deep down I knew he needed to be there.

"I'm scared, Sienna. What if he doesn't believe me after I explain myself?" my voice trembled a bit, anticipation making my heartbeat quicken and my body feel restless. I was dying to see him again but far too terrified with the outcome of our conversation.

I couldn't postpone it, not longer than I already had. I needed to tell Harry the uncensored truth, even if it meant he would never look me in the eye again. The weight of my lies became heavier with each passing day, the guilt consuming me whenever I thought about what had happened because of my cowardly actions.

"You have an hour or so to convince him. If you don't, our entire plan will fall apart." She answered, aggravated at the thought of things going wrong. "He is so in love with you, Charlie. He may not believe you but I think he'd help, even against his better judgment."

I sighed, pondering over the weight of my actions. If I did one small thing wrong I could never regain my freedom; worse than that, I could trigger Gaston and make him kill Harry for good, out of spite.

"I'll show him the secret path to the place you'll be and buy you some time before the party starts. Oliver will help me with guest patrol." I nodded, knowing our plan perfectly. Find Gaston, lure him inside a trap and kill him. Everything needed to work flawlessly, otherwise we'd be fucked.

"Oliver will slip something in his drink and drag him upstairs. We'll search him for the blade, interrogate him and finally do it." I recited, tapping my feet against the floor. We were only a few days away from the big event, and I definitely was not ready to attend.

"Yeah. You won't be able to do it until after the formalities, considering you're the guest of honour and all that. I'll try to make my mum talk less, but you know her." I smiled a bit, thinking about Linda after a couple glasses of wine. She was a talkative drunk, had always been. We needed her to keep the spotlight on me for a minimum amount of time.

"She's risking a lot with this ball. What if some of her old acquaintances see pictures of us after the event?" I pondered, thinking about the people I had met through the years. Back then I kept to myself most of the time, never present when guests were in the living room. I was just the nanny for them, someone almost invisible, tending to babies and keeping them happy while the adults chatted about politics and money. The idea of being recognised by those people terrified me a bit, although I knew the actual chance was very slim.

"They moved away from that house ages ago, Charlie. Mum did not keep in touch with many people from her past and those who are still in her life didn't question her about you or the fact that she had an extra baby even though no one saw her pregnant. Rich people tend to keep their mouths shut regarding family scandals because they know their own offspring has its secrets. Don't worry about it." she dismissed my concerns rapidly, although I still felt a bit uneasy. The only thing taking my mind off that issue was the bigger threat we'd face.

"I have to talk to Oliver about this, about the entire situation. I have been leading him on for long enough and frankly I need to know if he'll help even though I don't want to be with him." I spoke again, changing the subject wildly. Sienna raised an eyebrow at my words but nodded along.