𝐈𝐌𝐈𝐓𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍 𝐎𝐅 𝐃𝐄𝐕𝐎𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍 ❙ theodore laurence

𝖾𝗅𝖾𝗏𝖾𝗇

HIS IMITATION OF DEVOTION

"DARLING," AUNT ALICE called from her living room. she was a stern woman with increasingly greying hair. she was frail, but you could tell she had gotten healthier from the last time you had seen her. her hair was covered with a navy blue veil, and her dress was of the same navy blue. she never failed to look sophisticated, even in her own home. alice beauregard always wore her same expression, harsh and unforgiving.

"yes, aunt alice?" you questioned, hurrying from the balcony to her. you didn't wish to make her upset, as she had quite the temper.

"come sit, dear." she requested. so you sat next to her in a chair as she sat on the velvet blue couch.

"soon, you will need to marry," she started. you almost wanted to roll your eyes at her but you knew she would be furious.

"oh?" you played innocent.

"of course. so, as the gracious, generous, kind, aunt i am, i'm happy to assist you." she said, proudly. "i'm quite prominent in england as well as paris, and i will gladly find you a suitable husband."

"thank you, aunt alice." you said, feigning gratefulness.

"don't praise me, girl." she waved you off. "in a few months time, i will be traveling to france for a while. traveling will easily allow you to find a husband and my connections will help you as well."

"there, we will meet james chadwick and his grandson oliver. he is rich, richer than you." you froze. oliver chadwick. the young man who had told you to come find him in paris? the one who assumed that you and laurie were...messing around?

"i..." you paused choosing your words carefully. "i've met him before. at the debutante ball. he's a very respectable young man."

"splendid! then you must be off to a good start. you'll be engaged in no time." you wanted to argue with her. you wanted to tell her that it didn't make sense for you to throw your money away.

"that's all i wanted to say, go back to your singing and drawing or whatever you were doing." she waved you away, perhaps to nap once more.

heeding her, you went back out onto the balcony and looked out into the garden. humming, you continued to draw out the landscape. your mind wandered to laurie, and you seen began drawing him.

it was only a figment of your imagination, but you could really see him, just there, past the hedges and laying down on the lush green grass. you tried your best to capture what he looked like, and even though you had seen him almost everyday of your teenage life, you found it difficult to draw him so accurately.

the breeze blew through your expensive beige dress and your hair with it. although the scenery and such was beautiful, you couldn't help but feel a bit sad.

the house was quiet, not lively at all compared to the march's. you longed for company. you longed for someone.

did laurie even miss you? you shook your head. of course he did, no matter how much time he spent with jo he would always miss you. he had said it himself.

you couldn't stop your mind from thinking about laurie. there was just something there, as of late. something that made you want to stare into his kaleidoscope eyes until the end of days. something that made you want to smile whenever you thought of him or heard his name. and you wished for him to look at you with the look he reserved for jo. you didn't know if it was the loneliness getting to you, but you wanted to feel his arms wrapped around you again.

before you left that morning, laurie told you things with jo hadn't been going as well as he hoped. he was trying very hard, he had said, but he could never catch her staring at him the way he stared at her. so you offered to help him make her jealous, which seemed as a last resort. once you returned, you would act friendlier with laurie and him with you, in attempt to make jo act the same way towards him.

at first you were worried, you hadn't ever really liked anyone before, so it you feared it would be hard to fake it. but over the past week of being alone,you realized that it wouldn't be hard to act as if you liked laurie. subconsciously, you had been falling in love with laurie all along. his mannerisms, his hair, his eyes, his smile, his...everything. the love you had for him was new, something never encountered before. and as you stood on the balcony, letting your thoughts take over, you realized your yearning for the curly haired boy.

you were sixteen going on seventeen, expected to marry soon and well, to a man you didn't care for, even much less loved. how could you marry someone else when your heart belonged to another?

throughout the years, laurie had taken pieces of your heart without you noticing at all and now it was too late.

and as you journeyed back home the next day, having said goodbye to your aunt who was indeed expecting you soon (she said she would collect you from concord at that time), you readied yourself for your return home. you would act like you were in love with him, without really revealing your true feelings. perhaps he would just regard you as a good actress.

in the dark of the night, on a rocking ship and in a decently comfortable first class room, you readied yourself for his imitation of devotion.

IRENE SPEAKS 🥺🤠

ahh, hi guys ! wooo this chapter was a big one . finally realizing your feelings for laurie ! now we can finally get onto the ROMANCE !! be prepared to get your heart broken and mended within these next few chapters . i cannot wait . don't forget to comment ! xoxo <3